Ch. 6

Morning came, perhaps a bit too soon for the tree youngest adventurers. The small fire had gone out some time in the early hours, still, Bryan poured water over the blackened wood, just to be sure. Looking around himself now, Kenny understood why he hadn't noticed the end of the forest the night before. The thick growth of the woodland ended so suddenly, it was like someone had just decided: "This is where the open land begins."

Kai cast one glance towards the open field and pulled the hood of his deep blue cloak over his head to cover his hair and cast a shadow over his face. Tala started to gather the long scarf of his silver-white cape.

"I bet you'll find your way from here on," Bryan said as he watched everyone prepare to leave. "So you take care now."

"You're not coming with us?" Kenny wondered. He had simply assumed that the forest demons were joining the quest. As if reading the priest's mind, Bryan shook his head and said:

"Nah, the forest is our territory. And besides, you've got more than enough people to complete this mission." Rei secretly cheered. He didn't like Bryan, mostly due to the accusations the night before.

"So, Kai, you've better come back in one piece," the purple haired demon continued, raising his voice. "Other vice, who will hand over Tala at our Mating Ceremony?" Tala froze and stared in disbelief at Bryan who seemed to blush.

"When you return," the falcon started and cleared his throat. "We'll go back to Daemon and have a proper Mating Ceremony. 'Cause I know how much you want one…"

Tala snapped out of his shock and with a big grin he lunged forward to give Bryan a deep kiss filled with gratitude.

"Thanks, love," he said softly and hugged the falcon. "We'll be back in a few days. I promise. And things will be so much better for us."

"You'd better be back," Bryan muttered. "'Cause other vice I'll come and hunt you down." Tala laughed and slowly let go of his chosen mate who helped the redhead tie the scarf securely around his face.

"Let's go," Kai's ordered. Rei's sensitive ears detected a hidden softness in Kai's voice. 'I guess he really cares for his brother,' the tiger-demon found himself thinking. 'Could he ever care for someone else just as much? He just seems so cold.' Rei had to shake his head as their little group moved out from the protective shades of the forest. Yes, he liked Kai. He had a weakness for hot and mysterious, apparently. But he had to stop thinking about the leader in that way. He didn't even know Kai. He didn't know if he was to be trusted, especially since Rei definitely didn't trust the mission.

It seemed like only moments after they stepped into the sunlight that Kai withdrew back into his shell that only his brother could reach through. The group glanced back towards the forest a couple of times as they walked, but the forest demons were nowhere in sight.

"Be careful," Kai suddenly said. "Bryan warned me that there are hunters roaming around these parts of the land. We'd better not attract unwanted attention." The others nodded in agreement.

"So, Kenny, aren't you supposed to be our map?" Tyson asked, wanting to break the silence. "How much further until we reach the goblin cave?" Rei winced and tried to motion for the dragon to lower his voice. The tiger-demon had encountered some hunters once before, and he didn't look forward to meeting them again. In truth, most of the cat-demon clan had been whipped out that faithful day.

"Where are we heading towards now?" Max added in a lower voice, his blue eyes darting back and forth over the field. Kenny was silent for a moment as he conjured a mental image of the map Mr. D. had shown him before the quest.

"If we continue straight forward over the field and those hills," he said and pointed towards the direction they were heading. "We'll come to a lake. East towards from there is the cave Mr. D pointed out.

"It's about half a day's journey to the lake, and at least one more day before we reach the cave." Kai nodded his head slightly and Tyson groaned.

"We'll rest at the lake," the leader said.

"But that's half a day!" Tyson whined.

"No shit, dragon-boy?" Tala remarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

On Kai's orders, and some backup from Tala and even Rei, the group continued their travel until they reached a beautiful sapphire-blue lake. Not once did they let their guard down, knowing that the hunters were a constant threat along the area. They were, however, forced to make a few stops every now and then, for Kenny's sake. About halfway to the lake, Tala picked up the protesting priest-in-training so that they could keep moving swiftly over the hills they had seen earlier, and out of plain sight.

Tyson more or less fell to the ground and leaned against an old oak when the break was ordered. Max slumped next to his newly found best friend and Kenny joined them. Rei sat down with a bit more grace next to another oak near the lake. Tala followed Kai up on a large flat rock and lay down with his head in the blunette's lap.

"We can rest for half an hour or so, and fill our water supply before we leave," Kai said, looking over the silent lake.

"I suggest we use this time to eat," Tala continued. "We've just got to make sure Tyson doesn't eat all our food." The redhead snickered at his own words as he dug out an apple and a knife from his pack. Rei watched with slight jealousy as Tala cut the apple into pieces and reached up to feed them to Kai. For a second or so Rei saw himself lying in Kai's lap, feeding the leader pieces of apple. The image was broken when Kai snapped at Tala to stop "acting like a love sick whelp just because Bryan proposed." The tiger hid his smile behind a piece of dried meat.

It was just one of those perfect days. The simple food tasted great for the hungry travelers. The water in the gem-like lake was cool and refreshing. The sun was shining warmly, yet the soft breezes kept the air at a comfortable temperature. The birds were singing in the trees. The tree youngest were happy and relaxed. But all of it had Rei on edge. It was too peaceful. Like the calm before the storm. The tiger realized he wasn't the only one suspicious. Kai and Tala, who had both grown up in the wild, felt that something was about to happen.

Keeping his senses alert, Rei leaned forward to refill his veil with the crystal clear water of the lake.

"Yo!" a voice suddenly said from behind Rei. The tiger startled and nearly fell into the lake. The voice laughed as Rei whirled around to face the stranger. How did he get behind the tiger demon without anyone noticing? The other members of his team seemed just as confused. The blond boy laughed again and gracefully stepped up to stand right next to Rei.

"I'm Enrique," he introduced himself. "What might your name be, pretty?" Rei gave the boy a suspicious look. The boy wasn't wearing anything except for a pair of pants made of a thin fabric. Water was dripping form his entire form and the tiger guessed that Enrique must have swum up from the lake, which was also the only explanation for his sudden appearance.

"My name is Rei," the tiger finally said and took a few steps away from the blond, and the lake. His senses were warning him, but he wasn't sure of what, yet.

"Have you been traveling for long?" Enrique asked with a smile. Rei shook his head no, but Tyson decided to take part of the conversation.

"Actually we're from Daemon," the dragon announced. "That's two days from here!" Enrique cast Tyson a look and a smile.

"Yes, I know. I've heard of it."

"I bet you have," Kai spoke from where he stood next to Tala, by the rock they had rested on. Enrique turned towards the hooded leader and gave him a flirtatious wink:

"Well hello there, dark and mysterious!"

It was impossible to see Kai's expression, but something told the group he was rolling his eyes in annoyance. Enrique didn't seem to take notice, though. He simply smiled.

"Would the lot of you like to join me for a swim this wonderful day?" he asked and gestured towards the lake with his hand. "The water is really refreshing." Tyson and Max's eyes lit up and they were about to agree when Kai answered.

"A swim would sound great, except…" the blunette started.

"…You're probably planning to drown us and eat us," Tala finished. At Enrique's shocked look he added: "Yeah. Bryan warned us about you too."

Max and Tyson stared at the blond demon with wide eyes. Kenny looked absolutely abhorred.

"You're… You're a demon! You wouldn't actually eat your own kind, would you?" the priest-in-training asked. Enrique's smile had died and his blue eyes narrowed.

"Well, there isn't much of a choice, is there?" he hissed. "Humans avoid these parts, and the hunters scare away all the animals. And quite frankly, no one really cares these days.

"In case you haven't noticed, the demons are on the brink of a civil war! Daemon is falling to pieces, and those weak human rulers that are chosen can't do anything except die after a few years. Though admittedly, choosing a temporary demon ruler would just make things worse." Enrique sniffed in distaste and leaned back with his arms crossed over his bare chest.

"Worse?" Max wondered. "How so..?"

"Most demons would be angered to have someone outside the royal bloodline sit at the throne, and having so much power," Kenny answered. "It could end up in rebellion and complete chaos. And even worse: The demon could decide to use their power to destroy a rivaling family. Like cats and dogs. No offence."

"The kid's got it right," Enrique commented. Before anything else was said, Kai raised his hand as a signal. They really didn't have much time to chat.

"Let's go," he said. "We still have a long way ahead of us."

Enrique, the snake-demon, didn't utter a word of protest when the group of adventurers left him.

TBC…

Right… I got my computer worked out, but I still can't promise you a regular update. (When have I ever?) I know there isn't much happening in this chapter, and I myself am pretty disapointed in it, but at least it's an update. In the next chapter of 'Survival' Kai gets into a tight spot, literally, and under Tala's lead, the group must reveal their strength.