"I feel kind of bad for beating up those forest dwellers like that…" Rena sighed. Aisha nearly gaped at her.
You were the one who started beating them all up! She shared a glance with Elsword. Rena is really scary sometimes…
"We still haven't seen the Ancient Phoru yet, huh…"
"No signs of Banthus either," Elsword grumbled. "It's like one of them jumps out at us no-"
"AAAHH!" Elsword and Aisha both screamed as a giant gray monkey flew out of the mist. Quick as a flash, Rena drew her bow and fired, sending three arrows neatly through the attacker. The monkey fell to the ground, roaring as it got up. Aisha wasted no time. She swiftly sent three fireballs spiraling towards the monkey. Elsword and Lowe followed suite, delivering a solid (and painful) hit to its head.
"I swear," Aisha began. "You have the worst timing."
"What do you mean?"
She merely facepalmed.
"We're almost through. Keep your guard up. You never know when the Ancient Phoru will pop out," Lowe warned.
Is this also going to...?
"It's here!"
Knew it.
"Out of the way!" Rena yelled as she readied her bow. After checking to make sure that no one was in the line of fire, she let loose.
"Rail Stinger!"
The arrow flew straight and true, blasting through the Ancient Phoru. However, it merely roared and looked straight at Rena.
"You alright?" she panted, giving a quick glance at Aisha. Her clothes were ripped from where the Ancient Phoru's claws had grazed her.
"I'm fine!" she huffed in reply as she teleported to the Ancient Phoru. "Gust Screw!"
"Mega Slash!" Elsword chimed in as he thrust himself at the Ancient Phoru, somehow managing it to stagger back a few steps.
"Watch out!" Lowe warned. "Take cover!"
The Ancient Phoru roared and leaned forward, blasting fire all over the clearing. Luckily for the gang, they had all dove flat onto the ground and out of the way.
"Now!" Elsword shouted as he charged. Everyone else followed suit. Rena slid in with a kick and began letting the arrows fly. Lowe was chipping away at the Ancient Phoru by weaving in between its legs. Aisha was sending fireball after fireball at the Ancient Phoru. For some strange reason, the Ancient Phoru tucked in its head. It then thrust itself forward, sending everyone flying into the trees. Rena felt the breath burst out of her lungs when she crashed into a tree. She fell to the ground, gasping and choking for breath.
I definitely got myself a couple of bruises... she grimaced.
"Is everyone alright?" Lowe called out, his voice sounding a tad bit sore.
"Yeah!"
"I'm good!"
"I think!" Aisha croaked. She scooched her way over to Rena. "Buy me some time!" she hissed. "I need to charge up a little more mana!"
"Consider it done," Rena replied, picking up her bow and circling around to get a better position.
"Take this!" they heard Elsword yell as he charged once again at the Ancient Phoru. Rena began firing arrow after arrow, forcing the Ancient Phoru to shift its attention between her and Elsword.
"Clear out!" Aisha yelled as she raised her staff. "Chain... Fireball!" she cried as she thrust her staff at the Ancient Phoru. It finally fell to the ground, letting out a shrill cry as it did so.
"Is it down?" Elsword panted.
"I think so," Lowe replied as he inspected the holy beast. "I guess there was no way around it..."
"Ann was right. We have to take back the El right away," Rena affirmed. She headed back to where they had flung off their bags when the battle had started.
"Unfortunately, this is as far as I'll be going with you," Lowe said.
"Whaaat?" Elsword and Aisha both chorused.
"Aren't you going to stick with us until we find the El Shard?" Elsword asked.
Lowe shook his head. "I still have duties to fulfill in the town. Hagus and I have already talked over it and we've decided that you three will have to continue on your own. I'll report what happened here to Hagus."
Rena pulled out medical supplies out of her bag and began laying them on the ground. "I suppose this is where we'll be parting then. We'll be staying here a bit to recoup."
"Right, I'll be off," Lowe said as he headed back into the mist, out of sight.
"Gather 'round," Rena called to the other two. "We need to tend to your wounds." She grabbed onto Aisha first and inspected her.
Nothing serious, she thought. She grabbed a roll of gauze and a couple of bandages and handed them over to Aisha. She then turned to Elsword. After examination, she noticed a particularly nasty bruise on his head. She grabbed another roll of gauze and began wrapping it around his head, making sure to be applying the right amount of pressure. Once she was done, she then looked at herself.
"You idiot!" she heard Aisha cry as she grabbed Elsword's arm. "Look at this burn! Why in the world are you trying to hide it?" She scanned the items scattered on the ground.
"I'm fine! Just take care of yourself," Elsword argued as he looked away.
"You have to treat it if you don't want it to get worse," she growled as she grabbed a bottle of burn medicine and began applying it on Elsword.
Oh? It seems that no matter how much they argue she actually cares about him, Rena laughed to herself as she watched the scene unfold. She finished tending to the last of her wounds and stood up, slinging on her backpack as she did so.
"Let's get out of this mist and find a better place to have lunch," she said.
"Finally!" Elsword exclaimed. "I'm starving!" He ran ahead of the others until they walked out of the mist.
"This should be a good spot," Rena said. They had reached a small clearing, much smaller than the one in which they had fought the Ancient Phoru in. Setting down her bag, she relaxed as she sat down. "It's about time we had lunch, don't you think?"
"Between fighting and walking, I can definitely use some food right now."
Elsword dived into his own bag and began chowing down, stuffing food into his mouth. "That's much better," he mumbled, mouth full.
"Finish eating before you start talking!" Aisha snapped. Elsword rolled his eyes and did what she said.
Rena smiled and bit into her own sandwich. At least they seem to be getting along a little bit better... She glanced at her watch.
"Looking at the time right now, I think we can expect to arrive in Elder in the evening."
"And then we just have to find the guy named Hoffman, right?" Elsword asked, shoving yet another piece of bread in his mouth.
"Yeah... HOW MUCH ARE YOU GOING TO EAT?!" Aisha gasped.
"Until I'm full, duh."
"You shouldn't just scarf down everything like that! At least try to savor it!"
"And why should you tell me how to eat?"
"Guys, guys," Rena attempted to interrupt nicely. Unfortunately, her voice went unheard amid the clamoring of the two kids.
I suppose I should expect this to be normal routine by now... she thought, lips twitching into a strained smile. But I still can't help but get... annoyed... out of my mind... whenever this happens...
"WILL YOU GUYS QUIT IT?!" she finally screamed, shooting up abruptly. "Since both of you are arguing so much I assume you're done?!"
"A-a-ah no, ma'am."
"Then sit down, SHUT UP, and finish eating!" She heaved a big sigh and sat back down. Pulling out a map, she spread it out on the ground as she nibbled on her sandwich.
The route Lowe told us to travel is this way... she thought as she pulled out a marker and carefully outlined the pathway. She then picked up a different colored marker and circled Elder village. I hope I'll be able to get my hands on a more detailed map of Elder once we arrive...
Unbeknownst to Rena, Aisha and Elsword were whisper-arguing as quietly as they could while pretending to be eating.
"For the record, you still suck," Aisha hissed.
"You're more stupid."
"Can it, little boy."
"Quit calling me little when you're the same size as me."
"Well, I'm older so I can do whatever I wan-"
"Alright then!" Rena exclaimed, bouncing up and slinging on her bag. "If we're all done, shall we head to Elder?"
"Ahm, er, yeah!" Aisha gasped, startled but trying hard not to show it. Elsword snickered at her, picking himself off the ground.
"I'm all set," he said, shooting a smug look at Aisha. This didn't go unnoticed by Rena.
"Hmm? Did something happen between you two? Like, say, a certain..." she leaned in and made a tiny heart with her fingers, a teasing glint in her eye.
"Wait- what?!" Elsword stammered, his face beginning to turn a shade of red. Now it was Aisha's turn to laugh at him. "I'll never do that with her!"
"And I'll never go out with Elbrat here," Aisha laughed as she jabbed her thumb in his direction.
"Oh? Who's to say that you won't?" Rena smiled.
"What are you talking about?" Aisha asked, suddenly breaking off her laughter and blushing angrily at Rena.
"Relax, I'm just teasing you two," Rena giggled as she turned around and walked on ahead. Ahh, youth. I feel kind of bad for scolding them and then teasing them, but... they're just sooo cute, she sighed happily. Well, they certainly have better chances than most. You never know what can happen, after all.
"Right then!" Rena smiled. "Off to Elder!"
Aaand with that, we're finally moving out of Ruben! /is hoping that things will actually pick up/ Soon... very soon... we'll be getting to the good stuff... :3
Also, I only just noticed this now, but Velder is literally Elder with a V. yeah. considering what's going to happen in Velder, I find it very appropriate owo
