"Zaban City huh?" Ashe mumble quietly to herself.
Her gold eyes scanning the map in her hands.
"Hey! We're actually really close!" She exclaimed happily as she jumped on her now slightly shrunken beasts back.
"Let's go Cerberus! East to Zaban City!" The beast let out a mighty roar and took off.
*time skip*
Cerberus shrunk down to the size of a puppy as Ashe wandered through the city holding him.
"Where should we go now Cerberus?" she asked look at the canine.
He wiggled out of her hold and ran off.
"CERBERUS! Hey wait!" She called running after him. "Where are you going!"
The pup just barked and kept running until they were in a small seemingly abandoned town. Ashe looked around her curiously listening to all the small noises around her.
"Why are you all hiding?" All of a sudden a stage with people in white robes with crazy masks and hair appeared with an old lady in the center of it all.
"Doki doki..."
Ashe tilted her head very very confused by what the hell was happening. "Doki doki? What are you talking about miss?"
The people in masks started playing the instruments they had in a low rumble gradually getting louder.
"Doki doki...DOKI DOKI EXCITING TWO QUESTION QUIZ!" The old woman suddenly exclaimed startling the poor girl causing her to fall on her butt.
"Jeez what the heck grandma?" She said standing up and rubbing her abused backside.
"Will you take the quiz? 1 for yes 2 for no." the old woman asked looking the child in her eyes.
Ashe looked at Cerberus before sighing. "Well it couldn't hurt. I choose 1 grandma."
The woman nodded and a buzzer was placed down before Ashe.
"Your mother and your sister have been kidnapped by evil villains and you can only save one. Choose 1 for your mother or 2 for your sister."
Ashe's eyes widen at the two choices before slight anger takes over her shocked expression "Oi what the fuck kind of question is that grandma!?"
The old woman just stared. "You have five seconds. You can only choose 1 or 2 there is no other option."
Ashe stomped her foot childishly. "What the hell do you me-" Ashe stopped and sat down on the ground and held Cerberus."There is no other answer. Well okay then."
The old woman smiled as the timer went off. "Your answer is correct young one."
Ashe smiled brightly at the old woman.
"There is no right answer so the only other answer to give is silence." Ashe stated holding Cerberus close to her looking the old woman in the eyes before looking down sheepishly.
"I'm sorry about about snapping at you earlier. I really try to watch my language around my elders." Ashe said standing and bowing to the woman apologetically.
The woman smiled down at the girl with a glint in her eyes. "I do this every year to hope to see people like you. It's fine child. Go and become a great hunter."
A door to the right opened up and Ashe looked to the old woman determined and nodded putting Cerberus in her backpack before taking off to the door. She paused and turned back to the Woman bowing once again.
"I hope I meet you again in the future and by then I'll definitely be a hunter!" She ran off down the long corridor with a smile on her and a small howl from her little friend.
*time skip*
At this point it was night and she had passed so many 'Beware of magical beast' signs that she lost count.
"Hey Cerberus, are you a magical beast?" The said beast just huffed.
Ashe just giggled and looked ahead to see a small cabin near a Cedar tree. "They might know where the hunter exam is taking place!"
She ran towards the cabin knocking on the door. "Excuse me! Do you know where the hunter exam is taking place?" She asked pushing on the door only for it to open slightly and she was automatically on high alert.
She opened the door more to see a man on the ground bleeding and and woman in the arms of a creature. The creature grinned and jumped out the window.
"My wife! Please save my wife!" The man cried out to me with tears in his eyes.
Ashe put Cerberus on the ground and told him to stay with the man and took off after the creature with great speed.
"Give her back!" She yelled at the creature kicking it in the jaw making it lose it's hold on the woman.
She jumped down and caught the woman.
"Wait a sec..."
Ashe sniffed the girl then sniffed the air and then grit her teeth before setting the woman on the ground. "What kind of joke is this? You all smell the same. Meaning you guys are related!"
There was a pause before laughter rang in the forest and from the woman she just 'saved'.
"Honey! Come look at this! She knows we're all related!" The creature laughed and two of the creatures appeared and the 'kidnapped' woman got up too laughing with them.
"These are my parents and the one in the cabin is my brother." The woman explained as we walked back to the cabin.
A pang hit her chest when the woman said brother. 'Brother...' Ashe shook the thought from her head as they reached the cabin. She grabbed Cerberus and stood in front of the family with a smile on her face.
"I assume you're navigators to the exam sight correct?" The father nodded with a proud look on his face.
"Yes we are. And for your inhuman sense of smell and amazing deductive reasoning you've passed and I shall take you to the exam sight." He said with a closed eye smile.
Ashe jumped up and down happily hugging he navy blue dog tightly.
"Did you hear the Cerberus we're one step closer to becoming hunters!" She exclaimed as the father whisked her and Cerberus off into the night.