Sorry for the wait, but Chapter 5 is here! Its mostly dialogue in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it!

I breathed a deep sigh of relief as Orna poured the cure on my bare back. I could feel my broken bones beginning to mend and the pain slowly leaving my body.

"Ready?" Orna asked anxiously.

I slowly got to my feet. "Alright but just to remind you, I'm just fulfilling my promise. So don't expect anything extra during the night of the festival. This isn't because I like you or anything, just because it's convenient for me got it?"

"Yep, I gocha. Nothing more than a convenience." Her words seemed sincere enough, but the wry smile on her face would suggest otherwise. Was she mocking me?

"Whatever, let's just go. It's quite a ways to Sacred Mt. Craylia, but we should be able to get there by sundown."

Orna nodded her head in agreement and we started down the dirt path. Ten minutes passed in silence before Orna blurted out, "So who's your favorite?"

"…Sorry?"

"Of the six heroes? You almost declined going to the Winter Solstice Festival but changed your mind when I told you the six heroes were going. So you must really admire one of them to have such a big change in attitude, which one is it?"

"Look Orna, if there's something you should know about travelling with me it's that I don't like to talk."

She gave a slightly deflated expression at this, but stayed silent nonetheless. But a few minutes later, and…

"Is it Vargas?"

I ignored her and kept on walking.

"How about Eze? I think it's cool the way he charges lighning into his sword when he attacks."

Again, I ignored her and kept my eyes forward. I've dealt with Maxie's poking before, so this should be nothing…

"Magress? You seem to possess the same element, so maybe there is an affinity there..."

I gave a grunt of annoyance, but Orna missed the hint and continued pestering me.

"What about Selena? Guys always fawn over how beautiful her hair is, or how graceful she is with her sword or-"

"If I was that shallow, I would've proposed to you by now." I said impulsively. A second later, the reality of my comment struck me. Did I just say that out loud?

"….." Orna had ceased her poking, apparently deep in thought. I could see a slight blush on her cheeks and her lips slowly curved upward into a goofy smile.

I rolled my eyes. Is she really imagining that? And is she enjoying it?

"Hello? Hello?" I shook her back and forth. "Grand Gaia to Orna". She shook her head and looked at me, an expression of embarrassment on her face. She had definitely enjoyed whatever fantasies between us she had created. Geez, and I thought her sleeping next to me was creepy.

"You know that was a joke right?"

"Ye-yes I….joke…right…" She said weakly. In a flash, she was back to her questioning.

"Well if it's not Selena, then what about Lance? His demon spear is cool and he can control the earth and he's like "one with nature" and he-"

I stifled a laugh. Oh, Tia.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing."

Orna gave a sharp breath of annoyance, but dropped the subject.

Of the six heroes, Lance was the once I had never seen before. Perhaps it was because Rowgen was a prick and refused to share "valuable information about his mission" with the rest of the loyalists. Orna's description of him reminded me of when Rowgen and Tia were sent out together for "bonding" after Maxwell was fed up with their arguments. I don't know the details of what happened on that mission, but I overheard Rowgen taunting Tia on the way back to the temple.

"Oh you like him don't you? Don't deny it Tia"

"Shut up"

"He's one with nature just like you! I know you can't resist his spiky green hair or his adorable little glasses…"

"Augh! You are so annoying!" Tia said as she stormed off.

"Well that leaves Atro." Orna said, interrupting my thoughts. "D-do you think she's…pretty?"

Did she really say Atro was a- "C-come again?" I asked, trying to hold back my laughter.

"I was just asking if you thought Atro was pretty or not. I know you said that you're not into girls based on looks but she-"

I burst out laughing.

"W-what is it THIS time?"

"Atro…..is….a…GUY!" I managed between breaths.

Orna's expression was priceless. "WHAT!? That's impossible! She can't…he cant….whaaa…"

"You really thought he was a girl?" I laughed.

"Well, she, uh he has long hair and the war support fliers refer to him as "Goddess" Atro so…"

"Probably just a typo. I mean, I've seen the guy many times before so I know for sure he-"

"You have?" Orna asked, surprised. "That is so COOL! Did you get his autograph?"

"Well no, but…" I trailed off. Shit I've said too much! I mentally berated myself. I shook my head, "That's none of your business." I firmly stated.

"So you DO like Atro best!" Orna teased happily.

"Are you stupid? There is no way in hell I would ever like-"

"Kuda likes Atro! Kuda likes Atro!" Orna sang happily, skipping around the path.

"Orna! Shut up! Stop this! HEY!" I screamed as she grabbed my hands and begun to dance around with me.

"ENOUGH!" I screamed breaking free of her grasp and covering her mouth with my hands. "I'm going to make this VERY clear to you. I DO NOT have an affinity for guys, let alone that obnoxious knight. In fact, I don't even bother with romance at all."

"Huh? Why not?" Orna asked surprisedly.

"Love weakens you and the object of your desires can be used against you." I stated proudly. "Then there's always the issue of breakups and all that crap."

"But there are also moments of happiness when you are dating." Orna explained. "You know, those magical moments between you and your beloved when you share secrets or stories or even a kiss…" She trailed off, her eyelids fluttering as she pranced about.

And she's off again. I thought. I can't believe I promised to take her to that stupid festival just to get a chance to kill Atro. Maxwell better reward me for this…

The red trees of the Blood Forest that marked both sides of the path began to grow farther and farther apart until finally disappearing and giving way to snowy fields. The path we were walking on began to fade as we moved along, eventually stopping at the base of an enormous white mountain.

"Great, we're here."

"Mistral already?" Orna asked hopefully.

"You wish. This is Sacred Mount Craylia, the first stop on our journey."

"It's s-s-so c-c-cole here!" Orna shivered.

"Well get used to it." I said firmly. "We're spending the night."

"What!? Are you crazy? We'll freeze to death!" Orna exclaimed. "Why don't we just cross this and rest in the desert?"

"Unless you want to die of hypothermia halfway through the mountains, I suggest you camp here for now. It is almost nighttime, and temperatures can be deadly here, not to mention the monsters that come out at night."

"Fine" Orna frowned, plopping down on the ground.

"Hey don't relax now! Grab some wood for the fire, I'll find us a place to sleep."

"Hmph." Orna stomped off, muttering something about a bossy, fatheaded ninja as I began to look around for a big enough area for us to sleep in."

The fire flickered against the dark sky as Orna and I munched on some fruits I had found on the way out of the forest. They weren't exactly delicious, but after travelling all day and eating nothing, I gobbled up every bite. Our campsite was fairly simple, a large, flat area surrounded by rocks and sticks I had placed for protection. Mats of grass and leaves lay on the ground for sleeping. Not quite comfortable like my room in Maxwell's Temple, but good enough to survive in. When I finished eating, I got up.

"Alright, you can go to bed now. I'll keep watch tonight."

"Aren't you going to be tired?" Orna asked worriedly.

"No. We'll take turns night after night. It'll be your turn tomorrow. Naturally I would make us do shifts, but since you seem to have to experience I'll just keep watch for the whole night. You'll need the sleep anyway."

"Are you sure? I can switch if you wa-"

"Yes I'm sure. Now off you go."

"But-"

"Bed. NOW." I said forcefully. Orna sulked and lay onto her leaf "mattress". Barely any time had passed when she spoke up.

"I'm cold, Kuda."

"I already warned you about this." I sighed. "Just stay by the fire and you'll be fine". Orna lay back down, only to complain again a few minutes later.

"It's still reaaaly cold…"

"What the hell am I supposed to do about it?" I asked annoyed. "You have a fire, you have a grass mat and blanket, what more can I do to make this more comfortable for you?"

"You could…..er….sleep with me." Orna asked sheepishly.

"No." I said flatly. "We already agreed to NEVER do that again. Just put up with it until morning alright?"

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with a squirty on top?"

"You know I'm not shallow enough to chase something based on it being "pretty", nor am I a fan of squirties."

"Fine." Orna sighed sadly. The familiar feeling of guilt entered my chest as my heart sank. What the hell is wrong with me? Am I really going soft over this bubbly girl? I ignored the feeling and looked forward, keeping my eyes peeled for any surprise monster attacks.

Feel free to review on whether or not you like dialogue-based chapters more. Next chapter will be mostly description with some action-y parts so you can compare the two when I release it.