{-Alfonse-}

Thankfully, nothing eventful had happened. Most of it just felt like Eir proving that she wasn't going to lead them to Hel… the rest was trying to get Anna and Veronica to stop arguing with each other. He didn't care about the fact they had two possible enemies with them because neither of them had yet to even hint towards a malicious intention. What he cared about was the constant bickering and doubt he could do nothing but just listen to.

"As far as I remember, this should be far enough from any village that you will be safe from Hel," Eir announced. "She might have changed that, however, since the last time I was here. It will be in your best interest to send someone to make sure."

"There's no way I'm sending either of you alone with Alfonse or Sharena. I'm not leaving them with one of you, either." Then realizing the only option that seemingly remained, Anna sighed. "Which means Alfonse and Sharena need to go together. Are you both okay with that?"

They both nodded.

"All you need to do is check the nearby area," she instructed. "Stay close so we can come if there's any trouble. Come back as soon as you figure out there's nothing there, got it?"

"Gods, you sound like their mother," Veronica moaned. "Are you going to send them off already or are you going to ask them to pack a snack in case they get hungry, too?"

Suffice to say Alfonse was glad to leave when it meant he didn't need to listen to the rest of that conversation. Instead, it was just the two of them and the silence that made it obvious that they both had things to say.

He decided to be the one to start. "You've been a bit drowsier than usual, haven't you?"

"Blame Lekra," Sharena said with a shrug. "They've been worrying a lot lately. It's like, since they don't really have energy of their own, they're using mine instead. But they don't mean any harm by it and it's just making me a little tired."

"Just be careful, alright? I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I promise." But then it was her turn to ask a question; "How are you holding up?"

"I'm sure you already know the answer to that."

"I figured I'd ask in case you actually wanted to tell me. Sometimes it helps to say it all out loud."

"The last thing I want is to hear it out loud."

She hummed. "Well that's gonna be hard to do when you're expected to jump right into it as soon as we're back. I'm honestly surprised Mother didn't say anything to you about it before we left."

"You were eavesdropping?" He knew that wasn't something that she would say if she hadn't heard it. As far as she was supposed to know, they only discussed continuing into the realm of the dead.

"Come on, don't act surprised."

"You did have a surprising lack of questions when I came back…" He shook his head to clear it. "You should really stop doing that. I mean it in your best interest when I say that one day you're going to overhear something you're not supposed to."

Alfonse stopped to look around. "It doesn't look like there's any kind of building near here. It should be—"

Sharena moved before he even realized there might be a problem. And he was glad for it, too; her quickness helped her block the ambush. But Alfonse still hadn't caught up to the situation until he saw their attacker.

Líf, if just for a moment, looked no less surprised than they were. "Sharena? I didn't—no, I've got to remember that I don't care." He stepped back and calmly studied his opponents. "I guess I was wrong to think you'd be alone. But that doesn't mean I can't use this to my advantage."

He used the space between the siblings to get behind Sharena, grabbing her shoulder with one hand and holding his sword near her throat with the other. "I told you to be ready to die when I next saw you, Alfonse, and now you've got an incentive. Either you come with me or the little lady gets to stay here."

Alfonse knew he had to think of something—fast. He didn't know what Hel wanted with him but he knew that following Líf meant wasting the sacrifices made to keep him alive. But he couldn't lose Sharena, not after this and not when the only thing she ever did was be beside him. Líf had to have known that; it would've been just as easy to disarm them both and bring Alfonse to Hel.

So why didn't he? What did he think he could gain from doing this instead, or what was he trying to avoid? Was he trying to coerce a moderately compliant surrender, limiting the possibilities that the others would come for Alfonse? Did he hope to avoid a fight altogether? No, it almost seemed like his intention had been to kill. What changed with seeing Sharena, then? Having the whole group there was an understandable reason to retreat; after all, that would leave him at a major disadvantage. Having two—especially when one of them, admittedly, didn't even look to possess any threat—shouldn't have changed the plan very much at all.

Maybe… Líf wasn't so much as trying to avoid fighting as he was trying to get Sharena out of the picture. If they had gotten in a fight, she would've done what she could to help Alfonse. If Líf knew that somehow, then this would be the best way to keep her out of it without hurting her. Well, if it wasn't for the fact that he looked completely willing to kill her if he couldn't get Alfonse's cooperation.

It was a risk, but one he felt he had to take. Alfonse slowly put his sword done. "Release Sharena and let me ask her two things. After that, I'm all yours."

Líf hesitantly let her go. "You've got a minute."

Alfonse tried his best to give Sharena a reassuring look, though a smile wasn't something he could muster. "Can you tell where Lekra is even if you can't see them?" He was quiet, but still loud enough that Líf could hear him if he was really that worried about their conversation.

"Kind of..?" It didn't take her long to understand at least a bit of his calmness.

"How far can you be from each other?"

She glanced over his shoulder. "Maybe from here to our last camp? They're not really sure."

"Alright, time's up," Líf decided. He pointed his sword to Alfonse. "You're coming with me."

((A/N: Well, this wasn't what I had planned for this chapter! At least it reminded me to change something that happened later…))