Ban's P.O.V.-
The pixies led us to a part of the forest I'd never been to before. It was about an hour's walk or so. The whole way Sencha told me about the forest-life and how the ecosystem worked around here. That only made this place feel colder to me; it was organic and developed completely on its own. Outsiders were truly outsiders; that's what I was… My gaze unconsciously wandered over to Sencha, who was conversing with one of the pixies. I wonder if she felt the same way. She was the only source of warmth for me in this endless forest…. but where was she source of warmth? Who kept her warm? I didn't realize that I was almost blushing in that moment.
Sencha came to a halt in a little ravine. It was extensive yet tight; vast yet compact. The pixies tinkered, which was them talking, I guess. It must have been, since Sencha always answered back. "He's here, is he? What does he look like?" She asked them. More tinkering. "I see… well we definitely can't take him on." Even more tinkering. You know, I was starting to feel a little excluded. "But maybe if I talk to him?" "Talk to who?" I'd finally had enough; I wanted in too. "The monster," Sencha looked at me. "You…. wanna talk to the monster?" "Maybe I can get him to leave if I reason with him." "Or he'll just eat you; one of the two."
Sencha mulled this over of a second and I was surprised she was even still considering it. "Why don't we see him? Size him up, and then we can decide what to do?" "I dunno," my hands rested behind my head nonchalantly. "I think we should head back; no point in going looking for a fight." The pixies did not like that, as they started pulling at Sencha's flower dress and hair in a panic. "Please, Ban; what's the harm in looking?" "Well…. alright," I sighed shoving my hands into my pockets. "Where should we start?"
Sinensis's P.O.V.-
The pixies told me that this whole area was the monster's domain; he could be anywhere in here. It might take all day to find him if we stuck together. "We maybe should split up…." "Huh?" This caught Ban off guard. "It's a big area; we can cover more ground if split up." "Uh, yeah; no. Wasn't this a monster you're talking about? A killer monster? A monster with a taste for flesh?" "I'm not saying we confront him; just find him. Then we can figure out what to do. Maybe there's a peaceful resolution." "Uh huh, sure," he frowned, placing one hand on his hip in an unimpressed way.
The pixies continued to beg, and Sencha turned to face me straight on. "Please Ban? If we separate, we can cover the whole area in a couple of hours. The pixies aren't going to light up, so please….." He didn't reply for a moment, looking like he was thinking about something. "Alright, fine," he eventually huffed. "Thank you, Ban," I gave him a grin. "You take that side of the forest and I'll take this side. We can meet back here by sunset if you want." "Sure." But as I turned to leave, Ban's voice caught me by surprise.
"Sencha." Pausing, I peered over my shoulder at him. He had this resolute expression on his face; one of concern. His red eyes narrowed onto mine. "Don't…. don't do anything without me. Just wait; if you find him, I'll come to you." He wasn't asking; he was begging. I was so astonished that I couldn't help but nod my head, my eyes still glued onto his. "I will, don't worry." But his expression said that he worried. Not really sure what else to say, I spun my head back around and took off into my section of the forest. I'd lived here for four months, during which I'd seen my fair share of monsters. Running from monsters was not new to me. But that look Ban just gave me…. He didn't know that, and I bet it wouldn't help anything if he did. He was… worried about me. Me, of all people; a fairy princess who guards the Fountain of Youth. I didn't understand where this concern was coming from. I didn't…..
Ban's P.O.V.-
That Sencha… who does she think she is? She has no way to protect herself; what does she expect to do when and if she finds that thing? Talk to it? Negotiate with it? She's clearly had her nose in those books for way too long. That's not how monsters operate. "Oh, hi there Mr. Flesh Eater? Would you mind leaving the forest?" Give me a break, I shoved my hands into my pockets as per usual. With luck, I'll find it before her, so she'll never even see it. At least I can protect myself; I've had to all my life. But her…. I don't why but the thought of her in danger is a feeling completely foreign to me. It's like regular fear times a hundred. That made me think, maybe what I've experienced before wasn't real fear, or a milder version of fear. But when it came to Sencha…. My eyes narrowed a tad. I don't know where these emotions are coming from, but they were most definitely there. And they're strong….
I wandered around for about two hours with no success. I did come across a few springs, some with waterfalls, a valley of flowers, a bog, and a really creepy cave. The cave caught my attention; not just cause it was the perfect place for a monster to hang out but because it was neat inside. Pitch black, obviously. A few precious gems were wedged into the walls. I could use those, I pondered rubbing my hand under my chin. I'll come back for them later, and I'll bring Sencha. She'll probably get spooked in here; the perfect opportunity to playfully scare her. A mischievous grin rolled across my face. That'll be fun; I'll even let her chase me around a little afterwards.
Fun…. Wait, I turned to the entrance of the cave. How long have I been searching now? Two hours? I gave a yawn and put my hands behind my head casually. Eh, that's long enough; I've been apart from her long… My heart skipped a beat as my arms dropped. I simply stared at the darkening sky with my mouth opening a little. That's right, we separated to find the monster that's been plaguing the area. I didn't find anything, which means that he's likely nowhere near me. But what about….?
You idiot! You complete moron! I scolded myself as I made a dash out of the cave. I wasn't aware in which direction I was going; I was just running away from where I was. It's been two hours! That's plenty of time for him to…. but no. Sencha said she wouldn't approach the monster without me. But what if she couldn't find me? I was probably over-racing, but just the very notion that she could be in danger… it made my legs run faster; faster than they had in a long time.
It didn't take me long to get back to the original spot where we parted. Unluckily for me, Sencha was nowhere to be seen. Ah great, now how do I find her in this god-forsaken place? Not like this stupid forest was going to help me. I thought too soon as in that moment, a pixy tugged at my sleeve. Blinking over to her with a startled expression, she motioned for me to follow her. Or at least that's what I think she was saying. "Alright then, you're the boss," I let her lead me down a path on Sencha's side of the area.
We walked- well, I walked; she flew- for a while until we arrived at another inlet; this one bigger than the former. The pixy pointed with her tiny green finger in a direction; when I followed it, I saw Sencha standing on the other side of the valley. A wave of instant relief washed over me as I literally sighed out loud. Then I cracked a grin and waved at her. "Hey, Sencha!" Her head immediately turned my way, though she wasn't smiling. "Oh, Ban! Did you find anything?" She hollered over to me. "Nah, not a thing. I think this search was a bust; we should…."
Before I could finish, the ground rumbled slightly. "What the hell was that?" I glanced down to my feet. The pixies started freaking out all around us. Sencha had just enough time to spin around as something tall suddenly rose up in front of her. It looked like this weird centipede thing; not the scariest I'd ever seen. But when I realized how close it was to Sencha…. That might have been the scariest thing I'd ever seen. I felt my limbs start to visibly shake as I watched for the next ten seconds. "Sinensis!" My voice echoed through the forest.
Sencha screamed; a terrified shriek. This was proceeded by its long tail coming up to bash her in the side. It was so tall and thick that it was almost as big as she was; powerful enough to send her crashing a way off. She hollered in pain as I saw her land harshly on the ground. And she just laid there like she was unconscious or something, not moving. Witnessing this… I stood there motionless, physically numb for a split second. Seeing that… was painful. But this wasn't the kind of pain I was familiar to. This was a new kind of pain. Sencha got hit but I felt like I had just been struck in the chest. It was powerful and agonizing… Something I couldn't just walk off or ignore like before. As I looked at her, laying sprawled out on the ground, something overcame me; pain…. and rage. My pain was quickly numbed out by the pure, unadulterated wrath flowing through my body. It touched every inch of me, every cell….. That monster…. I knew… I knew before I even looked back at it…. It was going to die, my head slowly turned back to face it. It was going to die, by my hand.
The fight was over before it began. The next thirty seconds were a blur to me but when I regained full control of myself and my senses, I stood there with its heart in my hand. Looking back, the creature slithered a bit forward before falling down dead. I wasn't even upset it wasn't much of a fight, I thought tossing down its heart to the ground. Sencha was my main concern right now. I ran over to her; looks like she was passed out for the "battle". Good, I gently put my arm under her to lift her head up off the ground. I didn't want her to see that anyways.
It was about then that Sencha started to come to. In reality, she'd been out for two minutes; still, two minutes too long in my opinion. Her eyes gently fluttered open. "B-Ban?" "Yo," I gazed down at her with soft eyes. "You ok?" "Uh huh," she nodded in a tired manner. "W-what happened?" "Don't worry, I took care of it." "R-really? You didn't get hurt, did you?" "Ha! What are you worried about me for? You really think something like that could lay a scratch on me?" No reply; she just breathed deeply for a moment. "You are ok? Does your head hurt?" "No, I'm just… tired, I guess." "Well yeah, we spent all afternoon looking for that thing. And you got hit pretty hard back there." Her head merely nodded. This girl… My eyes lowered onto her. This warm, warm girl….
I didn't hesitate to scoop her up into my arms princess-style. This made her blush as she blinked over at me with wide eyes. "N-no, that's ok. I can walk…." "What? You don't like being carted around like a princess? Hate to break it to you but you are a princess." "B-but I don't need you to…." "Would you just give it a rest?" I pressed my forehead into hers playfully. Playfully and tender…. Her eyes lowered onto mine; again, tenderly. "Heh, I kinda like taking care of you," I cracked a grin. "I've never taken care of anyone before." "But I'm an adult woman," her cheeks sizzled a tad. "Not to mention you're way smarter than me," I added, only making her smile grow. "But… I don't know; I just… want to. It makes me happy, like I'm actually doing something good to somebody for a change."
"You are good, Ban," Sencha replied in the sweetest, most genuine tone. I looked at her. "You really think I'm a good person?" "I don't think; I know." "Huh," I really didn't know how to feel in that moment. "No one's ever said that to me before….." "Well, it's true," I flinched as her head rested against my chest; boy, she looked tired. "T-thanks, Sencha. You're a good person too." "No, I'm not," she said with her eyes closed. This caught me by surprise. "I'm selfish…." She whispered very quietly. "Why? Because you like being taken care of? That's not selfish." "I never said I liked being taken care of." My eyes lowered intently onto her. "Well that's too bad, cause I'm still gonna carry you."