Briana: Here it is! Chapter three!
Ooggle: I thought it was going to be sooner then this...
Briana: I did too, but you never know what's going to come up for me...
Ooggle: ...
-
That next morning, Thany laid asleep, as Dieck looked down at her...
"Thany..."
The young girl murmured something while turning her body to the other direction.
"Thany." the mercenary repeated, a bit louder.
Slowly, the tired knight opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"...Mr. Dieck?"
"It's time to get up." He explained. "Come on out whenever you're ready."
"Okay..." she nodded, still half-asleep.
He nodded as he left the tent and she forced herself onto her feet. She quickly thought over what had happened the night before, and decided that this day would be a fresh new start. She smiled as she walked out of the tent, but the result wasn't to pleasing to her...
"Oh, look who finally got up!" Ward exclaimed. "It's about time!"
Lot tried to hide his laughter, but was failing.
"He's right, Thany."
"Give her a break." Dieck replied defensively. "This is her first day here, remember."
"I'm sorry!" she cried, bowing slightly. "I'll try harder next time!"
"That's okay." Dieck smiled sympathetically as he motioned for her to sit on a tree stump next to him. She did so, and faced him, noticing he had something to say. "Now listen up gang, we had planned on training today, but we're running low on food." he started. "Ward, it's your turn to do the chores, so you can go hunt something for us today."
"What?! Me?!" the fighter's eyes widened. "But, Bro...!"
"Ward..."
Ward searched his thoughts, trying to think of a way to get out of the job he was just assigned. Then, it hit him...
"Can't you just get Thany to do it?! She hasn't done any of our chores yet!"
Dieck thought about this for a moment.
"Great idea! Take her with you!"
The pegasus knight's eyes grew in surprise.
"That... That's not what I had in mind!" Ward cried.
"So, you don't always get what you want." the older man answered.
"Alright then!" Thany suddenly cried, running over to her new partner, who silently cursed his luck.
Lot could help but chuckle as he looked over at his childhood friend.
" Heh heh... Have fun."
"Shut it..." Ward growled before Thany started dragging him to the woods nearby. Dieck watched them in wonder.
'I wonder if this is going to work out...'
-
"Okay..." Ward sighed in pain after he was free of Thany's grasp. "What should we get?"
The knight thought about it for a moment. "...Maybe some rabbit?"
"Well then... If you can come up with something, you should hunt it."
"What?!" she gasped. "Me, by myself?!"
"What? Can't you do it yourself?"
"No, I know how to hunt, but... We're supposed to work together..."
"..."
"...That's what Mr. Dieck said..."
Ward looked at Thany out of the corner of his eyes, her eyes filled with sadness.
"...Oh, all right! Fine! You win! We can both hunt down some rabbit!"
"All right!" she smiled. "Now, Let's see..." she replied, looking at the ground. Then she spotted some tracks, and excitedly bent down to observe them closely.
"What kind are they?" the fighter asked, leaning in a bit.
"...Hm... They do look like rabbit tracks, but..."
"Ah! There it is!" he gasped as he pointed to a white rabbit nearby.
"Oh! Great!" she smirked. "Now let's- - -"
"Die, stupid rabbit!" he yelled before she could finish. He then drew his axe and tried hitting the animal. However, his speed wasn't the best, so each attempt ended in failure. "Hey! Get back here, you stupid thing!"
"Um... Ward?! Ward!"
"Gah..." he turned around, panting heavily. "W-what?"
"You, uh... Can't get it like that..."
"...You can't?"
"...This is going to be a long day, huh?" she frowned. The man gave her no answer. "I guess I should tell you about what my brother-in-law taught me about hunting..."
-
"...Hey, Bro?" Lot spoke up. Dieck looked at him questioningly. "Why did send Thany with Ward? You know how he is..."
"Yeah, and that's why." Dieck answered.
The orange-haired fighter tilted his head. The mercenary wasn't making any sense...
"He needs to get used to her, so I figured doing things with her would help."
"Oh..."
"You'd better expect doing something with her, too. In the near future."
"What?! B-but, Bro!" he cried, before narrowly dodging Dieck's sword. "Whoa!"
"Heh heh!" Dieck chuckled. "Be prepared for anything, Lot!"
-
"Ha!"
Ward once again attempted to pin a poor rabbit to the ground with his body. However, the rabbit once again jumped out of his path, causing him to land face-first on the rocky ground.
"...Not quite..." Thany observed his movements.
"Shoot!"
"Don't get discouraged!" she smiled. "I'm sure the ninth turn could be a charm!"
"No! I give up!" he cried, and she looked at him sympathetically. "You try!"
She nodded, and started observing the ground for more tracks. She noticed a pair and bent down to observe them.
"Hm... I don't think these are rabbit tracks..."
"Uh, Thany...!" Ward gasped.
"...Definitely bigger..."
"Listen! We better go! Now!"
"Um... I think Zealot identified these kinds of tracks as those of a..."
"Thany!"
Th knight finally heard his cries, but was only able to look up at the brown creature in front of her.
"...Bear..."
The bear growled rather loudly, and the two quickly rushed away, with it following them.
"I was trying to tell you!" Ward screamed while running.
"I-I'm sorry!
"Now, what can we do?!"
"Uh! Um!"
Ward gasped as he grabbed her and pinned to a nearby tree, on the side opposite of the bear.
"H-hey!" Thany gasped, her face slightly red.
"Shut up! Maybe we can hide from it!" he whispered with anger.
"Then what?!" she questioned. "We stay here for the rest of our lives?!"
"Uh..."
"Let me handle this!" the young knight pleaded. "I can do it!"
The fighter looked at her in silence for a moment, then let her move.
"Okay..." she looked around for a moment, before gasped and grabbing a large rock that laid on the ground. "This should be good..."
"What are you doing?! Trying to get us killed?!" he gasped.
"No. Trying to save us..." She then smirked slightly.
'And gain your respect!'
"I-I can't watch!" he shuddered as she covered his eyes in an unusual fear.
"Here goes nothing...! Ah!" She cried as she aimed and threw the rock at the bear's head.
Ward was afraid to look as he heard a loud cry, unable to determine who it was. He remained still for a moment, before looking up slowly.
"...Huh?" To his surprise, the bear lay silently on the ground, and Thany looked down at it, slightly shocked herself.
"...I did it..."
"I'll say... Should we kill it, now?"
"I guess so."
-
"Ah..." Lot groaned as his sweaty body fell to the ground, his axe slipping from his hands. "Bro... I give up... Let's call it a match..." he panted.
"Heh heh..." Dieck chuckled, pointing his sword at the fighter. "If you don't improve, you'll be a hindrance on the battle field."
"Yeah, but... Just for now- - -"
"Hey!" a familiar voice interrupted them.
"Huh?" Dieck's eyes widened slightly. He knew the voice too well...
"Mr. Dieck! Lot!" Thany cried happily from a distance. Ward followed in a slightly slower pace, because of the heavy load on his back.
"Oh... Elimine...!" Lot gasped in disbelief.
"W-what are you carrying, Ward?!" Dieck questioned.
"A bear!" Thany answered for him. "We hunted it!"
"W-we're going to eat good tonight!" Ward stuttered, in sight pain.
Lot quickly rose up and rushed toward them as they told their story about the bear. Dieck watched them in amusement as he crossed his arms and smiled slightly.
'Looks like it worked out after all...' he thought silently. '...Good work, Thany...'
-
Ooggle: Well, there it is, obviously!
Briana: Yes, but don't expect things to be over just becasue this chapter ended happily... There's more to come!
Ooggle: Yes, so please review!