Hey guys, sorry with the long update! My exam is coming up so my mind is quite muddled right now, so I will update my stories in baby steps (maybe with the exception of my Story of Seasons story because like with any new stories, inspiration comes fast). Plus I know you guys read this and stuff, but getting lack of reviews is quite discouraging somehow... *le sigh*

BUUUUT I'm still super thankful for those showing your support (follow/fave/reviews)! Thank you all! ^^

In any case, I'm trying to give Neil-Reine a different relationship pacing in this story... more like reluctant friends (with a teensy beetsy crush, perhaps? hohohoho) so yeah! This, and this genre, is quite a new thing (okay, I got Dragon's Tear but that's only talking about dragons, not multitude of other creatures at once) for me, so please bear with me! ^^

As for why the sisters could pass through the Mist and what are they... please allow me to sustain the suspense for a while ^^

Thanks for being patient! ^^

Reine led her horse to their usual spot at the town square. She had taken (more like being forced to take) a week break and today would be her first day working again. As she set her stall up, her mind was mulling over the fact that Echo Town was…

We're living between a vampire and who-knows-what, Reine groaned at the fact that she had no idea of what Neil truly was. She asked Rio, but the earth nymph/farmer didn't know any better.

"Neil is secretive as hell about his identity," Rio told her. "Since I couldn't identify him, it's quite safe to say he's not… earthbound, so to speak."

"How about Dunhill?"

Rio shrugged. "He didn't force us to answer and if we did he promised confidentiality. He's a no-go."

"Right, of course."

Reine put the cashier machine on the counter, followed by the bell, and it was that moment Neil came next to her with his wagon.

"Mornin'," she greeted.

"Hm."

Reine watched the blond as he worked expertly to set up his stall. He began by drawing out the fence to keep the animals safe and led them out from his wagon. After they were fed, Neil left them to chew on their food while he set up his counter. All done before twenty minutes were up and Reine had been watching him since.

"You're good," she admitted.

"What?"

"Dealing with animals," she told him. "Are you a centaur or something?"

Neil scowled. "For someone who refused to believe she gave shelter to a werewolf, you sure adapt quickly."

The pinkette rolled her eyes. "We survive by adapting, please," she retorted. "So?"

"What? I have no obligation to tell you what I am."

"No, I mean where's that werewolf."

"Rod?"

"Right."

Neil glanced over at the direction of the forest. "Rio offered to build him a house, but he refused. He said he's more used to living in the woods."

"So… that's that?" she was obviously unsatisfied; after sheltering him and nearly got a heart attack, the said subject easily settled in the woods? Really?

"Not every creature has a human form," Neil told her, this time in a less aggressive tone. "And among those who do, that doesn't mean it's comfortable to stay that way."

"And what about you?" the human asked, not bothering to conceal her interest in the guy in front of her. "Is it comfortable?"

"Being next to you? No."

Reine balled her fist. "Sorry I made you uncomfortable then," she hissed. "I guess the feeling is mutual, since I don't know whether you are a human-vore or not."

"Sorry, what?"

"You heard me," Reine shrugged. "I'm preparing myself lest both of my neighbors devour humans."

Their conversation was interrupted rather abruptly when they saw someone coming towards the town square. They immediately switched back to their work mode and only stopped when Gwen came by to have lunch with them. By this time, Neil was a regular invitee to the sisters' lunch; Gwen always made enough for three. No one complained, not even Reine; in fact, they kind of enjoyed this new 'normal'.

"Reine." The pinkette looked up while still munching on her rolled egg and made a low 'mmhmm?' sound. "I'm going to the woods after closing."

Reine shrugged—as if saying whatever—and drank some water to help her swallow the egg. "I'm going to take a walk," he gave more info, but Reine just nodded absent-mindedly, paying more attention to the spread of food in front of her in order to decide what to pick next.

Gwen had been watching them and now she could barely stifle her giggle. Should I help him out?

Gwen glanced at the blond and found that he was glancing back at her. She was tempted to ignore him, by simply giving him a playful smirk. However, in the end she relented and called her sister. "Reine,"

"Yes?" she asked back, this time with a rice roll inside of her mouth.

"Do you want to accompany him?"

"Why should I?" she asked between munching. "He can go anywhere he likes."

"He, in a very very subtle way, is asking whether you want to go with him."

"He said he's uncomfortable being next to me," Reine pointed out. "Maybe it's you he wanted to ask."

"I called you, idiot," Neil spoke up, the pent up annoyance seeped out from his shell.

"I think you're the idiot here!" Reine glared back at him. "Why the heck you'd ask someone you're uncomfortable with to a walk in the woods?"

"That's—!" Neil gritted his teeth and Gwen sighed heavily. She glanced at him: What're you going to say now?

The blond man took a deep breath. "It's not the 'uncomfortable' that makes me don't wanna go in the woods with you."

Reine's brow shot up. "I'm losing you, Neil."

"Well, just say damn yes or no!"

Reine shrugged. "Might as well go foraging while I'm at it."

They walked past the Elder Tree, and then the mine. Reine collected some wild fruits—not so much—while Neil was literally walking and doing nothing else.

"Am I supposed to ask why are you asking me to go here?"

"Do you want to ask?"

"So that you know, Neil, I'm not hopeless when it comes to a fight."

"I'm not surprised," the blond shrugged. "You won't have to… just saying."

"Good…" she murmured.

They were deep in the forest when Neil abruptly stopped. Reine instinctively followed suit. He made a small circle with his thumb and index finger, put it into his mouth, and made a loud and long whistle.

"What are you—"

Suddenly, their faces were just inches away and Reine held her breath at the sight of his intense, magenta eyes. "Shut up."

A moment later, Reine heard movements from the bush. She turned her head slightly and saw a wolf came out carefully. Neil distanced himself away and held his hand out. The wolf approached him calmly and nuzzled his head. It was then Neil kneeled down and let the wolf nuzzled the crook of his neck.

More and more wolves came out and they surrounded Neil. Some of them grew wary at the sight of Reine. "She's not a danger," Neil said, then he turned to her. "Hold out your hand and let them nuzzle you."

"Why should I?"

"So that they're not feeling threatened, dumbass."

Despite making an audible 'tsk' sound, Reine lowered her body and let the wolves sniffed her. After a while, a wolf came to her and lowered his body. "You can pet him," Neil told her.

"O-okay…"

Reine ran her hand carefully across its fur. It was softer than she imagined it to be. Much to her surprise, the wolf made a purring voice; a smile broke through her face.

"I can't tell you exactly what I am," Neil said, bringing her attention back to him. "But, this, I can tell you: for as long as I can remember… these guys have been my friend. In fact, they were the ones who told me about this town."

"Why are you suddenly telling me this?"

Neil said nothing and now Reine knew that was her sign not to push any further. It wasn't like she was going to die because of not knowing it, right?

Suddenly, another wolf came out from the bush. It was significantly larger than the others, and the latter group tensed at its coming. Almost every wolf stood its ground as if a fight would break out at any moment. The wolf in Reine's hand stood up as well and faced the newcomer with his legs tense.

"Guys, please, he's not taking over your territory," Neil said, his voice not commanding, but more pleading. A moment later, the biggest wolf in the earlier group—the alpha male, Reine presumed—lowered his stance and went back to Neil. The blond smiled. "Thank you."

It was enough for Reine to know who the newcomer was. "Rod," she called.

The wolf faced her and grinned. It might seem intimidating, but she didn't feel that way; it looked more like a boyish grin to her. Despite being noticeably larger, his body was already covered with lacerations; it didn't take half a brain to deduce that the fight was intense.

"Why don't you settle down in the town?" Neil asked. "There's no way you can form a pack without a female."

Rod faced Neil; it seemed that Neil heard wolves' voice mentally while somehow they understood his verbal communication. "Well, she's not scared anymore now," Neil said, breaking the silence.

Hm? Are they talking about me?

"There's a difference between being 'shocked' and 'scared'," Neil continued.

"It was quite a shock," Reine admitted, drawing Rod's attention to her. "But, it's okay. Practice makes better, right?"

Rod looked back at Neil and the latter threw its long coat at him. Rod went behind the bushes while Neil seemingly told something to the rest of the wolves before they dispersed, but not before nuzzling Reine again in turn. "They said you smell nice."

"I hope not she's-a-prey kind of nice," Reine quipped half-jokingly. "…speaking of nice, you're much nicer than I give you credit for. I'm looking at you in a much better light now."

Neil rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Tch, just as I thought you were better!" Reine quipped, but they both laughed after that. As they did, Reine felt her heart clenched and its beat getting stronger by each second. She ignored it; somehow, it wasn't unpleasant, after all.

Who cares what Neil was if a friendship could still be built upon it?

Seems like Reine is warming up to the idea of living in Echo Town for what it is...

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thanks for reading! Please rate and review! ^^