Chapter 1

"Mou, Marvelous. Can't we just take a break for a second? My legs can't take all of this walking any longer." the blonde, Don 'Doc' Dogoier whined in hopes that their leader would finally let them settle down for camp.

The only female in the entourage rolled her eyes at his whining. It's classic Doc after all. Out of the four of them, he is the one with the lowest stamina, the lowest tolerance to pain and honestly a simple deadweight to the whole team.

"Honestly Doc, if it is up to me, I'll ditch you here in a heartbeat."

"Luka!" dissatisfied, Doc resulted to sulking to which the young woman that was cladded in yellow ignored.

The second in command that had been silent the whole time just shook his head at his fellow teammates' antics. Luka may sound harsh but it is commonly known that both her, and Marvelous considers Doc as an important member for their group.

After all, out of the 4 of them, Doc is the only one who can actually cook food that is actually edible and he is also the only one who is well-versed enough in recognizing and knowing the properties of the herbs and plants in the forest.

"Say something, Joe. Luka is bullying me and Marvelous would only listen if the suggestion comes from you." Realizing that Joe is his only saving grace, Doc instantly turned to him for help.

Joe turned towards the leader of the pack. As they exchanged looks, Marvelous sighed as he nodded. "Fine. We'll stop here for the day. Honestly Doc, you really need to build up your stamina. You're even losing to Luka."

"Hah? What's that supposed to mean Marvelous?" the one being mentioned spared no time to direct her sharpest glare to the captain.

Normal people usually would not notice the slight shiver of fear that was reflected in the captain's eye which he tried to brush away by saying, "Me and Joe will go ahead to collect some firewood and fresh-"

But before he could even finish his sentence, Luka cut him off. "Doc and Joe will go on ahead to collect some firewood and water. You, on the other hand is going to set up camp. Is. That. Clear?"

While Marvelous struggles to say something to retort, he looked over to Joe and Doc, pleading for some sort of assistance only to see that both of them were already gone. "Those traitors." Marvelous cursed under his breath.

"What was that?" Luka called.

"I said I'm on it woman." he said as he proceed to work. Grumbling all through the process whilst Luka tried to hide her smile as she watched from a distance.

"Princess-" Ahim glared at Gai which caused the male to grin sheepishly. "I mean, Ahim." He started again which gained an approved nod from the princess.

"Are you sure that you know what you are doing right now, prin- Ahim?" Gai asked as he watched the young woman curiously.

Ahim was picking up the small dark blue berries from the small shrubs. Plucking them one by one. "From what I have read, they are edible."

"Are you sure?" Gai asked with uncertainty.

"Yes. Maybe. I don't know."

"Ahim!"

"Well, if I got this wrong, and then they are indeed poisonous…. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there." her nonchalant answer made Gai face-palmed himself.

"I wouldn't recommend that if I were you." the pair was startled at the sudden quip of voice. Before Gai had the chance to unsheathe his sword, Ahim managed to stop him.

"But prin-"

"Stand down Gai." She whispered and reluctantly the male abide. Though his hand still rested on the hilt as he eyes the blonde stranger suspiciously.

Doc who was apparently oblivious to the whole scenario between the pair was all smiles as he came closer to Ahim's side. Though Gai was on high alert, Ahim relaxed as she felt zero malicious intent from the male. Especially seeing that he was busy analysing the shrub that Ahim had picked the poisonous berries from. If he meant to do them harm, he wouldn't have even dare to turn his back at them.

The pair stayed silent as Doc reached over to the smaller shrub and proceed to pick berries that were a lighter shade of blue that the first one that Ahim had picked and they were also smaller in size. "I believe this is the one that you were looking for?"

"I think so. The two of them look rather similar."

"That's because they are. They're basically the same species. It's just this one-" he motioned to the one in his hands "-is slightly riper than that one."

Ahim snapped her fingers as she finally remembered the exact passage about the berries. "Whilst the ripe ones are a natural source of vitamins, the unripe ones are deadly poisonous."

Doc nodded in acknowledgement. "Precisely."

"Thank you." Ahim said as she flashed a genuine smile which Doc nodded to. His eyes darted off between the young woman and the man beside her.

"Alright then, I better be off. I was supposed to be collecting firewood." he said and as he and Ahim exchanged smiles, Doc walked off to the opposite direction whilst Ahim and Gai were left to their own devices.

It wasn't long before they heard a very familiar scream. When they found Doc, the man was groaning in pain as he tries to cradle his right calf. Blood was oozing out of the two punctured points. A snake bite.

"Go." was all that she said as Gai instantly went to pursue the snake that was slithering away into the bushes. She didn't say anything else as she poured out the cold water from her water bottle onto the bite wound. After doing so, she began to ransack her rucksack looking for a small vial that was filled with bombax ceiba paste.

Quietly she covered the bite wound with the said paste before pulling out a small cut of white cloth to wrap around the wound as well as keeping the paste in place. Just as she was finished, Gai was back with a dead snake in his hands. Ahim motioned for the creature to be placed next to her before she turned her attention to Doc whose lips was already pale.

"Gai, I need you to try to make him drink some water whilst I extract some venom."

While Ahim was concentrated with her task, Gai too was struggling as he tried to cradle a very attractive young blonde male on his chest to help him to drink some water. "I still need to get back to my friends." Doc managed weakly. At that Ahim and Gai exchanged glances.

There was no way out of this one for them is it?

"What is taking him so long? He was supposed to collect firewood for god's sake. How in the world can that task even take him hours?" Luka grumbled.

Though Marvelous and Joe kept their silence, Luka's sentiments of worry resonated amongst the trio all the same.

He couldn't have gotten lost has he?

That is rather unlikely. Doc has always has a better sense of direction over the other three. The thought of him in harm due to the attacks from the creature of the forest make the trio pale.

Finally having enough of waiting, Luka quipped. "That's it-" but before she could even finish, the sound of the nearby bushes rustling signalling there was something or someone making their way to camp. Maybe a bear or Doc- but the rustlings also indicated there were more than one person.

The trio shared a look before each of them reached for their respective weapons.

"Hey guys!" Doc's voice brought both relief and apprehension especially seeing that he was not alone.

No.

Their friend was being piggy-backed by a sturdy looking man that looked like he was completely at ease with having Doc on his back. What was more alarming was to see that he too had his own companion. A young woman who was probably Luka's age that was pulling a thin smile in an effort to ease some sort of tension that was brewing into the air.

Doc who was half-sleepy and half-delirious was the only one who was oblivious to the whole ordeal.

"Is dinner ready?"

A/N: So, here's the first chapter. What do you guys think? Is it good? Is it bad? Do leave some comments. Until next time.Love, Nana.