Chapter 2: Drifting Away
''Hey, we should catch our prey already.'' Behind a inn, two soldiers argued back and forth about what to do with the young man that was just carried onto the stretcher. ''Prey? Grow up; if anything we must save him for later!'' Gray eyes, huge hands, these men pierced their swords through too many animals to count. ''Wait until he wakes up, eating him wouldn't be as fun if he died asleep. Or shall we report this to our master?''
''Master? Oh, must love come before survival? The ogre and his little slave don't care about what we do do, anyway. Get a hold of yourself, John. John pulls his friend's collar. ''Love? Don't make me laugh! Everything behind that ward represents pure destruction. Only a foll would believe in a such a humane ritual. How do you want to do this?'' John passes a cold stare at Leon, while he's knocked out. ''Where'd you find this depressing thing? He seems to want to die himself.''
''In the snow; his face was freezing right when I picked him up.'' John sighs. ''If he wants to die, then why can't I take his life away? Just look at him, the boy was probably crying his eyes out! If you don't agree with me, then something's wrong with your head.'' ''Shut up and follow orders. Complaining won't get you anywhere. Stay in check and nothing will occur, got it? Travis punches John in the stomach, tired of him already. ''Rest here until your punishment is over. Boch, come over to carry the chains!'' An evil smile crossed Travis' face when the big monster huddled over him. ''If he wakes up, you know what to do.''
''Ah! Travis! H-help me get up!'' John dragged himself right up by a tree. ''We're friends, Travis...'' Boch roared at John. ''You, quiet! No such thing as friends! There's no such thing as friends!'' Stomping in anger, Boch inspected John, throwing the ignorant man over his shoulder. ''There's no such thing as comrades, either! Travis has told you so! Trust Travis!'' Boch was the foolish type ever since we captured him. Oh, the beautiful nostalgia, Travis thought to himself. Relentless, John opens his mouth to speak.
''No such thing as stupidity I guess, either? Boch, let me go! You don't want to anger one of-'' ''NO, LISTEN! There are NO friends, No love, No affection! Emotions are for the weak!'' The nonchalant monster frowns, misbehaving because John won't give up. Travis grabs his watch from his pants pocket. ''Time for today's last meal, chow down Boch!'' Boch opens his eyes wide. ''A meal? Yahoo! Dinner's here! Jumping up and down, Boch rattles Travis off his feet. He hits his head first by a hole. ''What is your problem! Gosh, both of you are dumb! Useless! If this is what I knew what going to happen. I would've stayed at the castle!''
''I-I'm not DUMB!'' Swinging his chains, Boch slammed them into the dirt. A deep trail covered the ground. ''John, dumb! Me, not! John's dumb, I'm not!'' ''Ah, so stop acting like it! You stay in check!'' Boch flexed his fists. ''You stay in check! Sit down! Rest in your place!''
Getting up in alarm. Leon groans. His head feels compressed, while his left leg was cramped. Quietly escaping the scenes, Leon entered a alley that was lit up only with red lights. This is creepy; red lights with an empty alley doesn't send the right message.'
''Gah! The prey, it's gone!'' Travis slams fist into the stretcher. ''Well, we'll continue our search tomorrow. Let's report back at the castle. The slave and her master would love to see us.'' ''Are you sure? I think you admire the little brat. The way everything fits together is perfect. Stop comforting that kid. What's the use?'' John sighs.
''Admire? Be quiet, nothing about her matters. Just some slave, anyway. Only reason she's with our master is because of her work ethic.'' Crossing his arms, Travis laughs. ''Who cares about her? Let's get going. No use waiting here.'' Boch giggled. ''Har har har! Alicia's a no brainer!How old is she, five? Yeah, nothing important concerns slaves.'' John frowns at Boch and Travis, kicking his legs into the dirt. ''What is wrong with this world? If snow is south of this route, why isn't the north cold? What used to be a home to everyone is now falling to the hands of monsters that caused uproar everywhere. Katlar's to blame as well.'' Looking back at John, Travis shook his head, disagreeing.
John better not let his emotions get in his way. If you don't side with Katlar, you're done for. Living over death for me, so I chose to not be one of the oppressed. Thinking about these events made Travis sad, but he pushed them away for a long time. This way he can succeed without mourning over so many changes Katlar has put upon it's people. ''Katlar's not a fault, this world's been dying for so long it doesn't matter what happens to us. Do you ever think about how the monarchy of Katlar is formed? Answers everything clearly. What do you think, Boch?'' ''I've got nothing to say,'' Boch replied.
''Katlar's monarchy? What does that have to do with the land?'' ''Katlar used to be a small monarchy until war was declared. After thst the Katlar family joined our side with the Basons. The Basons lost out on their bet against Katlars for who would nurture the people more, who'd stop the war in the north first. The Basons lost, and here we are.''
''What are you doing in Katlar?'' Lon turns around, seeing the same girl that nagged him about those monsters. ''You were blown here, so I followed you...'' Picking himself up off the ground, Leon touched his head. ''Who are you, and what do you want?'' The pink-hair pigtailed girl held her axe at face range, then laying it down to her side. ''I'm Presea; I'm traveling with two other people. What about you?