"You were asleep for the entire month?" For some reason Fie seemed most interested in that part of his story as she looked at him strangely. It took him a long second to remember that this was Fie, and that look was definitely one of awe.

"...It wasn't as fun as you seem to think." He dryly replied. "Waking up in the middle of nowhere with no idea how I got there or what happened to all of you. I would have died from the cold or starvation were it not for Valimar. Not to mention my back still hurts from sleeping on the rocky surface..."

And yet for all his points the silver-haired girl remained unconvinced. "I doubt it was all that bad. At least you didn't have to deal with Machias and his snoring-"

"Hey!"

"...And the view was probably a lot better, too." She continued, easily ignoring the protest. "I bet if we moved a bench up there it would make for a great napping spot."

Rean wasn't sure if she was being serious or not, but saw no harm in humoring her. "Sure. Why not? Might be fun." He could think of better things to do than dragging a bench up a mountain, but if Fie was with him it could make for a unique experience.

"But still.." A concerned Elliot tactfully chose to ignore their little tangent. "Waking up like that must have been hard."

"Tell me about it." Celine scoffed unhappily. "The idiot spent most of the trip down the mountain ignoring me before picking a fight against a Magic Knight that he had no hope of beating. His stupidity would have gotten us killed if Toval didn't arrive when he did..."

That reminder was enough to earn the swordsman three pairs of glaring eyes. "...I couldn't run away and let it reach Ymir." He protested weakly.

"...Still a work in progress." Fie muttered with a long-suffering sigh, before turning her attention to the bracer in the group. "Thanks for saving this idiot."

"Haha. It was my pleasure."

Machias let out a small cough, drawing all eyes to himself. "Now that that's all finished we need to think of what our plan of action will be."

"It's going to take a little while longer for Valimar to regain enough mana to return you to Ymir..." The cat warned him.

Waiting for Valimar to regain his mana so they could go back to Ymir would be the easiest move to make, simply waiting around didn't sit right with the Awakener. There had to be something that they could do, and it was when he glanced at Elliot that the idea came to mind. "While returning to Ymir is a valid choice... why not keep going and try to get to Garrelia Fortress instead?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that." Elliot wasn't the only one, as both Fie and Machias also seemed to be pondering his words.

The bespectacled shotgun-wielder hummed thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea. We were trying to get there to contact the 4th Armored Division ourselves before you came." He reminded needlessly.

"It's gonna be dangerous..." Although she said it, Fie didn't seem all that concerned about the risk.

In the end Rean's idea was agreed upon. Getting to Garrelia would give Class VII the bigger picture that they so desperately needed and would allow them to begin formulating a plan of action once the entire class was back together. Not to mention visiting the general would give Elliot some peace of mind, and vice versa.

To do that meant crossing the Twin Dragons Bridge, which would be no easy feat. Luckily Fie seemed to have an idea on that front, although she refused to elaborate further. That didn't bother Rean at all, as he trusted her implicitly and it seemed that after a month on the run the other boys did too. They would just have to wait and see what she would come up with.

But all of that was a task for the next day, as evening had already settled in and there was very little daylight remaining. It was time to focus on more immediate concerns. As that thought came to mind three pairs of extremely haunted eyes turned to the two newcomers, causing them to sweatdrop nervously. "I-Is there something we can do for you?" Rean questioned nervously.

The three fugitives glanced at each other before silently electing Fie as their spokesperson. "Cowards..." Said girl muttered in disdain before focusing her attention back on their leader and the bracer. "We have plenty of supplies here, but come to find out we all suck at cooking..."

"...I wouldn't say we suck at it, per se..." Machias argued. "...but without proper kitchen appliances we have been unable to-" His rebuttal died under Fie's unimpressed stare. "...We suck at cooking." He conceded reluctantly.

"It hasn't been the easiest month, that's for sure. So we were hoping that you guys could possibly handle dinner? You always carried that recipe book around with you, right Rean?" Elliot next turned his attention to Toval. "And bracers are always traveling, so surely you must know how to improvise, right?"

The swordsman floundered under their hopeful looks. "...I kinda lost my recipe book when I fell unconscious." He winced as all three of his classmates shifted to looks of disappointment. Not wanting to be responsible for that negative feeling he hurriedly spoke up again. "...But I'm sure I can come up with something!"

Toval meanwhile had already begun digging through their stockpiled goods. "Yeah, I think I can make something work here. Got any ideas, Rean?"

He hummed thoughtfully before an idea sprang to mind. "Oh! I still have my fishing rod with me! Not sure what I can catch around here, but I'm sure I can get enough for everyone. How does that sound?"

Clearly that was the correct answer as there was a positive mood change from the desperate students. "Why are you guys so dramatic about everything?" The cat in their group muttered aloud. "It's just food."

"I guess Celine just isn't interested in fish."Although it had only been a couple hours, Fie felt like she was getting a good idea of how the stubborn magical cat operated. And if she was right...

"...I didn't say that!" Celine looked away hastily. All present suspected that if cats could blush than her embarrassment at being called out would have been prominent. "I just-"

Rean wasn't alone in laughing at the feline's misfortune. "Don't worry, Celine. I'll be sure to bring you back something fresh."

"Fine." The cat conceded with a huff that didn't fool anyone considering she was licking her chops. "But only because you are insisting!"

Decision made, he stood from his seat and prepared to exit the windmill, but was surprised when another followed suit. "I'm coming with. It's dangerous out there alone."

The look on her face made it clear she would accept no argument against her decision, but it wasn't as if he had any intention of doing so in the first place. Machias shook his head in annoyance, but no one else commented as the two made their departure.

The two made the journey in silence as they simply enjoyed the company the other provided. Although Fie wasn't wrong when she stated that the area was dangerous, especially at night, the two were able to avoid any encounters and the short trip was a peaceful one.

Once they reached the river Rean took out his fishing rod and prepared to cast. "Are you gonna be alright just watching me? You want to fish or something?"

She shook her head. "Nah, not this time. You go ahead and do that, I'm just happy to be here... I really missed you, you know?"

That admission made him smile as he took a seat at the bank of the water and cast his line. Normally he wasn't a fan of sitting while fishing, but it had its advantages. Such as the girl who quickly took up the unspoken offer and seated herself next to him. "And I missed you, of course."

Her expression took on a more mischievous tone to it. "I bet you missed me more than you did Elliot or Machias, didn't you?"

Now that was a loaded question. "...I definitely missed them too."

"That wasn't a denial." She teased. Conversation paused briefly as he had his first bite of the evening. A quick battle ensued before he successfully reeled in a decent sized carp. She waited until he finished dealing with the catch and cast his line once again before leaning her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for coming back to me."

He shook his head. "I promised, didn't I?" It was just that simple.

"It's not that simple." She countered immediately. "I've seen war. It destroys everything. Even the most determined promises break in battle. I worried about you every day, you know? Were you alright? Had you been captured? Had something worse happened?"

He never truly considered just how much easier he had had it compared to the rest. As much of an ordeal as his entire experience had been, it had all happened over the past three days. For the others it must have been a long month filled with fear and uncertainty... "Right, sorry about that."

"It's fine. You're back now and that's what counts."

"Right! And once we're finished here we'll go and reunite with the rest of our friends."

Once again the teasing smirk returned. "And when you say the rest of our friends, you mostly mean Laura, don't you?"

"Fie!" Just because she was right didn't mean she needed to call him out on it!

She smirked victoriously at getting another rise out of him. "Don't worry. I miss her too." She conceded after the fact before letting out a yawn and laying herself down on his lap.

After that no more words were spoken as Rean continued to fish while she rested peacefully on his lap. Although it wasn't easy, he was proud of his ability to both fish and stroke her hair at the same time. Something about this girl reminded him so much of a cat that he couldn't help himself and she certainly didn't seem to mind.

There were a few moments where he thought she had dozed off completely, but somehow she remained conscious the entire time. The proof came whenever he received a bite and she let out a quiet whine as he needed both hands to reel it in. As soon as he finished, she all but forced his hand back onto her head. A cat indeed.

The next couple hours passed peacefully and all too soon Rean decided that he had done enough. "C'mon, Fie." He gently prodded the girl who had barely moved at all. "We need to get back."

Although the darkness of night was now all-encompassing he could tell that she had focused baleful eyes up at him. "Do we really need to? This is nice..." She whined.

It was nice, but even still... "The others are waiting for us." He insisted. "Or would you rather everyone go hungry tonight?"

"They can wait." She countered immediately, but her argument was soundly defeated by the grumblings of her own stomach. "...Damnit."

"Haha. Let's go." She didn't protest as he gently prodded her to her feet before following suit. In hindsight having her tag along was definitely the right call, as walking through the wilderness at night with both hands occupied holding his catches would have left him completely defenseless normally. Fie, with her ever sharp senses, was more than capable of steering him away from any nocturnal predators and the two made it back without any issue.

Their arrival did not go unnoticed by the group that remained. "Ah, good. You're back." Toval was the first to greet them. "Hand 'em over." A cursory glance showed that he was making a chowder, which the fish were to be a part of. Understanding his intentions Rean was quick to hand over his collection of fish, which the bracer immediately began to carve apart.

The one exception was the one fish that Fie stole from the pile, which she promptly placed in front of Celine. All save for the busy bracer paused what they were doing to watch the cat. "Just because I'm a cat doesn't mean I am going to go crazy over a little fish." Celine grumbled. Nobody was convinced as she couldn't seem to take her eyes of the fish. "...You guys can stop staring at any point." Still they continued to stare silently. "Grr..." Resolve wavered as the cat began to shake. "You are all awful people!"

Inevitably resolve failed and did so in the most amusing way possible. "Nyaa~" With a burst of speed Celine pounced on the juicy fish. "Om nom nom!"

"Well this was certainly an... enlightening experience." Machias muttered as they watched the feline tear into the fresh fish with gusto. "I'm glad to see that the two of you managed to stay focused on the task."

"That's his fault." Fie muttered as she glared spitefully at Rean. "I was totally up for ditching you guys, but he had to be such a bore."

Elliot laughed sheepishly as the expression on her face made it quite clear she wasn't lying. Machias tried glaring at her, but the flat look she returned made it quite clear that it was ineffective.

Eventually the bracer finished with his fish chowder and the group settled down to enjoy a meal that while simple in its contents, was quite enjoyable given the company. Given that the next day promised to be an eventful one the group immediately began preparing for bed once the food was devoured. Machias, ever the proper one, was quick to take charge and organize the space inside to create separate spots for everyone to sleep on.

Fie frowned at that setup, but an idea quickly came to mind. "I think I need some fresh air, so I'm gonna go out to change. I'll be a bit, so don't wait up for me."

None of the others questioned her words as that was something they had been doing for the past month. And it wasn't as if she were lying, either. She did need to change and she did want a little fresh air.

It just so happened that she had ulterior motivations for her actions. It took a while, but eventually the sounds of activity inside the windmill faded. After waiting a few more minutes she reentered, and as expected everyone were in bed if not already fully asleep. Perfect.

Ignoring her designated bed without a second glance she stealthily approached her destination. The warmest and most comfortable looking bed in that little room, at least in her unbiased opinion. There was only one bed like it in the entire world.

It was, after all, the bed that Rean was sleeping in.

Although her stealth skills were superior, they weren't perfect, and the boy in question opened his eyes just as she reached his position. "Fie...?" She didn't reply verbally, instead letting her actions speak for themselves as she laid herself down right beside him. Even in the darkness it was clear just how red the noble was as his tired brain began to comprehend her actions. "Fie! We can't-"

"Shh." She quickly shut him down. "Don't worry about it. Just saving space." That argument was not very convincing as one glance was enough to confirm that the space Machias had designated for her – which was naturally the largest as he had segregated the genders – was still very unoccupied. "...It's rather chilly tonight?" Technically true, but they had enough unused blankets that it didn't quite hold up. Seeing his disbelieving stare she simply shrugged. "Look, are you really gonna argue against your chance to sleep with a pretty girl?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short of speaking. After a brief mental deliberation he let out a sigh, but grinned and moved over slightly so there was a little more space for her. "You know Machias is going to give us an earful once he finds out, right?"

She might have shrugged had she not been busy moving herself in. Even though Rean was offering her ample space the only spot she wanted was pressed right up against him. Although she could no longer see his face since they were both now facing the same direction she could hazard a guess that the boy was akin to a lobster right now. That and she could feel a certain reaction pressing into her, causing her to redden a little herself. "...We'll just need to wake up before he does." That shouldn't be hard, right?

In the end, it did in fact prove to be too hard for the two. The two ended up so relaxed that night became day before they even realized it and the next thing they could recall was the angry face of Machias Regnitz glaring down at them as they laid in bed. The tirade that the bespectacled boy unleashed upon them was truly legendary, to the point where Rean briefly contemplated throwing Fie under the proverbial bus. Unfortunately, sometime during the night he had wrapped an arm around the girl which made his guilt as an accomplice painfully obvious to all.

Eventually Machias relented, but only after the others reminded him that they had a very busy day ahead of them and needed to get a move on and that he could lecture them further at a later time, if he so desired. The swordsman had to admire the silver-haired girl's ability to completely tune out their classmate as she let out a yawn before walking off to get ready as if nothing happened. He too began his preparations for the day after receiving a thumbs-up from the amused bracer and a nervous laugh from the young musician.

This was the day that they would hopefully make it to Garrelia Fortress. They still didn't know what plan Fie had come up with, but all trusted her enough to know that she would explain it once they got there. Since there would be no coming back to the windmill that the others had used as a home for the past month they spent a little while packing the essentials that they could carry. Seeing Machias nearly have a mental breakdown at the realization he had to leave his coffee maker behind almost made up for the earlier lecture. Almost.

Come to find out he was alone pitying him as the former jaeger took great pleasure in smashing the machine to pieces while the owner looked on with a horrified expression.

The trip to the Twin Dragons Bridge took longer than expected as they came across a merchant under attack by monsters. After rescuing him they agreed to escort him most of the way back to Celdic. The detour actually proved to be something of a boon as they were further delayed by an armored convoy from Bareahard making its way to the bridge. It would have been tricky had that arrived while they were making their infiltration.

The bridge, as expected, was probably among the most heavily guarded places in Erebonia. Provincial soldiers were everywhere and multiple Panzer Soldats were stationed at the entrance. And it was sure that there were plenty more inside the central fortress itself. A frontal assault, even with Valimar, was doomed for failure.

That was when Fie finally informed them of her plan: The tracks of the Transcontinental Railroad ran parallel to the main bridge, at a slightly depressed altitude, before splitting away from the main road at the other end of the bridge. It was something of a risk, as while the tracks were at a low enough elevation for the soldiers to not spot them, it wasn't so low that a soldat pilot could not. They only had one shot at slipping through, as the best case scenario if they were spotted would be a panicked retreat away and enhanced security preventing future attempts.

As simply climbing over the railing and down onto the tracks was far too suspicious an action for the wanted students they needed to find an alternative way down. Once again it was Fie who suggested that there was probably a maintenance tunnel leading down to it and that their best bet would be to investigate the nearby rest stop. So that was their destination.

Inside were a handful of civilians with a few who worked there and the rest being down on their luck merchants trying and failing to find a way across the bridge. They did their best to subtly question the occupants for any leads, but none of the people inside had any idea what they were talking about. It made sense considering that these were merchants and not railroad engineers, but it was still a disappointment.

"I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be in need of some assistance." Came a voice from one of the bedrooms as they tried exploring the rest of the building for clues.

"...And who might you be?" Rean asked warily as the person stepped out. Calling the man suspicious would be a understatement. That was mostly due to the way he was wearing a hood to cover his face, but his poise and voice both seemed to be that of someone trying to evade identification.

Even the way he grinned at the question put them at edge. "Oh, no one out of the ordinary. Just another merchant forced to waste away here. I've been watching you surreptitiously snoop around, you see, and I have a feeling you would welcome a stranger's helping hand. That's why, out of the kindness of my heart, I've decided to lend you just that. Only if you like, of course."

"Umm..." Elliot looked understandably worried. The admission that he had been watching them was enough to put them all on edge.

"Sorry, but we're a little tied up at the moment." Toval at least seemed to find his words. "Mind finding someone else to buy whatever it is you're selling?"

The mysterious man's grin faded away briefly. "My, my. Batting away my generosity, are we? You're so cold. Perhaps we should take a moment to have Class VII weigh in on the matter rather than you, bracer."

If they hadn't already been on edge before, the casual admission that he knew exactly who they all were was enough to truly alarm them. A few hands instinctively went to weapons even if they all understood that a battle in that place would be extremely ill-advised. "How do you know who we are?!"

Machias's question was important, but Rean had one that might have been even more so. "...Who are you?"

"Heh. An excellent question from an inquiring mind. Let us set a little wager, then. I'll tell you exactly who I am... If you can catch me." Before they had even processed those words the man took off down a set of nearby stairs.

"Get back here!" The group was quick to recover from their surprise and set off after him. Heading down the stairs and rounding the corner they discovered... A dead end. "There's no one here!"

"You're joking. Don't tell me he just up and vanished into smoke." The way the bracer said that almost made it seem as if he had encountered someone who could do just that.

"I sincerely doubt that..." Celine was quick to object despite the fact that such things were probably commonplace with the magical cat.

Fie too was not so easily convinced, and unlike the others she did kept her senses on high alert. Thus she was the first to solve the riddle. "...Wait. I can feel a breeze around here." A breeze meant only one thing. Investigating further gave her the expected answer: A ventilation shaft large enough for a grown man to easily fit through. "Looks like he went through here."

Given that this was almost certainly where the mysterious man had gone and the fact that there was a very real chance that this would take them right to the railway tracks the group decided to enter the dark spooky shaft. Normally it would have been nearly impossible for the humans to navigate through the tight confines in near total darkness, but luckily for them they had Celine with them. As a cat she possessed excellent night vision and her small size made it easy for her to scout the path ahead. And she wasn't alone as Fie - once again proving Rean's thoughts that she was at least part cat - also seemed to have little problems seeing and moving through the vent.

After a trip that was easy for the two girls but an absolute nightmare for the rest they once again found themselves back in the light. And even better, the light was the natural light of the sun, signaling that they were now outdoors. As they suspected, they were now right on the railroad tracks.

The man they had been pursuing was nowhere to be seen, which led them to wonder if he hadn't actually been secretly helping them out by guiding them onto the correct path. As much as they wanted to investigate that man further, now that they were on the tracks there was no time to waste. Although the spot they were in now was mostly concealed by the building they had just exited, it wasn't a perfect cover and nobody wanted to risk hanging around any longer than they needed to.

This led to the most terrifying sprint of their lives. Although the length of the bridge meant that it was only a minute or so of running, the fact that all of the soldats on the bridge were tall enough to spot them if they simply turned their heads was incentive enough to keep up the speed. Rean waited for the shouts from the bridge to herald their detection, but perhaps Aidios was on their side as they never came.

Reaching the fortress on the other side afforded them some level of concealment, but it also presented its own difficulties. More specifically, the freight train directly in front of them being loaded with Soldats. They were forced to pause their hurried flight and wait for the danger to pass, but fortunately that didn't prove to be too long as within a few minutes the train departed in the same direction they were going. It was obvious that there was soon to be another battle at Garrelia Fortress. Elliot was unhappy about that fact, but they were able to reassure him that his dad wasn't one to be beaten so easily, especially as he had already made it this far.

Once the officers and engineers departed from the loading dock the group once again set off. Again they went undetected and soon enough found themselves outside the fortress on the other side of the bridge, where they all collectively let out a big sigh of relief. It was one thing to put yourself in danger fighting a dangerous opponent, but banking your safety on the hopes that none of the garrison soldiers turned their heads in their direction was something else entirely.

Although they had managed to get over the most dangerous barrier in their journey, they still needed to be wary. They were, after all, approaching areas where the fighting had been heaviest. Fortunately for them, Toval, who claimed to have prior experience in this area, was able to guide them through a gate and onto a small byroad that the army was most certainly not keeping an eye on. This did increase the length of their remaining journey by a fair bit and sent them through monster infested areas, but it was a worthwhile price to pay to remain away from the gaze of the Kreuzen Provincial Army.

Given how tense the past few minutes had been the group allowed themselves the luxury of a short break. The students, bracer, and cat chatted among themselves as they prepared for the final stretch of their journey. Toval even made brief mention of some mysterious job he did before becoming a bracer, which caught their interest, but upon realizing his slip went tight-lipped about it, much to their curious annoyance.

There was one member of the group who didn't partake in the conversation, as for just the briefest of moments Fie thought she sensed people on the hills above them. People both very familiar to her and quite dangerous. A scan of the area revealed nothing, but she knew well enough to not let her guard down, just in case.

But she had to be wrong, right? Sure she knew that Zephyr were now working with the Noble Alliance, but what were the odds that they were in this area spying on them? It had to simply have been her imagination.

And yet even as the group began to once again move out she lingered behind for a brief instant to double check. And even after once again confirming that they were alone she was still wary. The ones she knew were more than skilled enough to evade her detection if they so desired. If they truly were here...

Her hand went down to where one of her gunblades were sheathed, finding reassurance in their presence.