Chapter Five: Kirito

"Do I even wanna know?" I asked Fang as he started to close our room door. The other raven shrugged and gave me a half smile. A panther tail wrapped around his waist and pulled him backwards; Amelia then stood in the doorway.

"If I am not out by midnight, feel free to take my bed. Amy already said it's fine by her," she told me. Before I could reply, she closed the door and locked it. I shook my head and walked to the living room, chuckling.

"Expect to sleep in the room with Amy. Those two can go on for hours without breaks," Max said bitterly with her arms crossed.

"You really do not like Amelia do you?" I sat on the couch beside her.

"I hate her," she answered simply.

"Why, though? I mean, yeah, she has her faults. Over the top arrogance that rivals even the cockiest of players being one of them. But she's not that bad."

"She took Fang from me. I've been close to him my entire life, and we've been dating for five years. Then she waltzes in and… and seduces him! It's like… what could she possibly have that I don't?!"

"The seductive quirkiness? The really nice curves? The magnetic personality?" She instantly caught on to my playfulness and hit me with a pillow.

"I'm being serious here." Despite her words, she was giggling. "We went through a lot together. I don't understand how it's fair that she just…."

"You're really uptight, Max," I cut her off. She looked at me when she heard the sudden seriousness in my voice. "I think that's why Fang is with Amelia instead of you now. She's more laid back."

"I spent four years trying to keep my family alive from scientists that wanted us dead. I still am," she protested.

"I spent months in a death game and still had fun while saving lives."

"I didn't mean…."

"I know." We fell into a semi comfortable silence, thinking about life in our separate realities. Thinking of how our lives are so similar yet so different.

"Let's go hunting," she said suddenly smiling at me. I raised an eyebrow at her as a question. "Let's go hunting. You, me, Fang, and Amelia."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." She laughed. "I'm serious." I really am.

"Look, people are always saying I should give her a chance. She has some good to her, according to you guys. So I want to give her a shot. Besides, I've never seen her in action before. Whenever we're in battle, she's on the other side of the scene." I looked at her closely for a minute.

"You're serious?" She nodded. "You won't try to kill her?" She nodded. "Ok, then. Let's go hunting." I stood up and walked to my room. I knocked on the door.

"If it's Max or a messenger from Max, I'm going wolf on you!" came Amelia's voice. I chuckled at the frustration in her voice.

"Max has a peace offering." The door opened slightly; both ravens stuck their head out the door with a 'Do Tell' expression. "She wants the four of us to go hunting. You can lead, Amelia."

"Gives us a minute to get decent," Fang said. The door closed again. Max came to stand beside me to wait for the two.

"She doesn't trust me."

"I wouldn't either if I were her." Fang and Amelia stepped out of the room. "So where to?"

"Town Central for equipment, food, and weapons. We need to be better equipped for where we're going."

~Amelia POV~

"You don't want to buy a cape or hood. Any animal other than wolves can grab a hold on it in this game. Amy and I saw it when we went hunting," I told Kirito and Fang. Both ravens were looking at the same black hooded cape. 'They're so alike.'

"Are you trying to put me out of business, girl?" the man behind the counter asked harshly. I flipped my hair at him. His financial problems have nothing to do with me.

"Max, go for the boots. They have more strength, they're cheaper, and they'll look really good on you."

"That wasn't snide, was it?" she asked, setting down the running shoes.

"You'll know if it was. Trust me."

The four of us are in a clothing equipment store for protection stuff. We already bought potions and crystals and went food shopping. Next we will be getting our weapons.

"Do you just hate me? Did I do something unknown to you? Seriously, you keep veering them away from the more expensive stuff."

The lion growl escaped from my lips before I shifted. 'Time to teach this guy how to shut up.' I jumped into the air, shifted to a lion, and landed on the man. He fell back and I pinned him down.

"Whoa! Chill out, girl!" another customer yelled as Fang and Max laughed and Kirito shook his head. I snarled in the guy's face before shifting to a kitten and delicately strolling to Fang. He picked me up and set me on his shoulder.

"S…so w…will that be all?" I purred in my boyfriend's ear before jumping to the counter to pay for everything. We walked out of the store.

"So where to next?" asked Max. I shifted back to human and walked next to her.

"Weapons for you guys."

"Do you just not like equipment? All you've bought for yourself was potions and crystals. And Fang and I practically had to force you to buy those."

"No, Kirito. I just don't see the use of them." We walked into the weapons store. "You would've understood if you had grown up able to shift into animals."

We went through the whole process of buying weapons meant for speed and strength. I guess the counter girl was smart because she remained silent the entire time. We were out in no time.

"You shouldn't have paid for everything. I would've helped you," Fang muttered in my ear. I turned my head and kissed him softly.

"I know, but I had coins to spare. I still have over five thousand coins left you know."

"Can we go hunting now? All this shopping is making me twitchy," Max complained. I laughed.

"Yes, we can go hunting now."