Oh my god I am so sorry. It took forever to get the motivation to finish this chapter. Still not completely satisfied with it but I hope it's good enough for you guys!

Added new pictures to the photobucket album! Check out chapter seven for the link~ Mor, Vreagon, Renel, and an upcoming character, Mnem, models are now uploaded.

"Ngh..."

"Oh look at that, he's waking up."

"Heh. About damn time."

Eyes opened to look up at his captor, the brunette girl glaring down at him. "Still want to mess with me?" She snapped, and the man groaned, looking about him. Mor had his bow drawn and aimed while Vreagon leaned back with the sword in his grip, smirking and shifting slightly, watching his friend deal with their problem.

"Aw, Cupcake, now why are you doing this? Clearly it ain't your thing-" he was caught off guard by another punch to the gut, the girl pressed dangerously close.

"Listen here, Cupcake," she mocked, the male's eyes narrowing angrily. He didn't dare move - between the two men waiting for the chance to rip him open and the girl leaning over him (his eyes nervously moved over her thigh at the blade), he knew when he was defeated - but he wouldn't give up. That just wasn't his thing. "You are in no position to make jokes. If you haven't noticed you are no longer in control of the situation."

"I wasn't aware I was in control before."

"Oh you were. You were in control - you could have given up the chase, you know."

The stranger scoffed, looking away. Ari smirked, pulling away. "Alright. Listen. My friends and I talked it over - we aren't murderers, alright? We don't like killing people. So we've come up with a deal. We noticed some things in your bag that you'd left by the river-"

"You went through my belongings?"

"Oi." Vreagon spoke easily, his sarcastically sweet voice floating over the others, "Shut up and let her talk."

"Thank you. Anyway..." Ari sighed and tilted her hips as she leaned down, heaving the bag that had belonged to the other man, curiously digging through it. "Hmm... It seems that you were absolutely prepared to steal from our mines. Signs are everywhere. You knew they were private property but you didn't care, now did you?" She reached further into the bag before looking up, smirking. "Oh? A diamond? Now how did you manage to get that?"

He shifted. Naturally, Ari knew that he could have gotten it before even stepping foot into their home, but his eyes gave him away.

He had stolen it.

"I have a little deal for you, Sweetheart. Either you give us back everything you mined and we give you four hours to get the hell out, or we will allow you to keep the materials you found - if you stay alongside us so we can keep an eye on you."

The man's eyes narrowed further, his body shifting as he attempted to writhe away from the girl as she smirked. "What the hell- why would you want to keep your eye on me!"

"Well..." Ari sighed, leaning back and running her tongue along the upper row of teeth. "We need an extra hunter. You need to use the materials. Tell you what. You helps us out and travel with us, or you give back what you took and run the risk of Mor here shooting you."

Mor grinned in response, poking the tip of an arrow. "Well...? What do you say?"

The man shifted, looked as if he was prepared to argue before seeming to rethink it. Ari smirked, tilting her hips.

"…Fine."

"Good!" Ari clapped her hands, giggling childishly before throwing the man's bag at him, listening to it smack him square in the chest. "Now. Since we're all going to be friends here, I believe you deserve to know our names. I'm Ari. This is Vreagon. And of course, I already introduced you to Mor." She spoke easily, grinning as she pointed to each respective person. "Will we have the great honor of knowing your name?"

"…Renel."

Ari raised her brow, Mor breaking into a laugh. "Really now?" Vreagon asked, mirroring Ari's action of surprise, "…isn't that a woman's name?"

Despite Mor's roaring laughter, Ari kept her face straight, leaning closer to the other, inspecting his features. "…he's serious. Well. Welcome aboard, asshole."

Vreagon cut the vines. "First job. Take care of Duck. Just letting you know," Vreagon began to whisper, watching Ari walk away to do her own work, Mor following suit, "she is extremely protective of that chicken. If she hears him clucking madly and sees you next to it, I have no doubt she'll push that sword of hers through your gut."

And Vreagon was gone, joining his brother and his friend a short distance away.

Renel stared in shock before huffing, looking down at Duck as the chicken stared back up at him. "…What?" Renel snapped, growling and snagging the dirty bucket, dumping it out and going to the river, scooping up fresh water. What a long life this will be…