The sound of running feet and the painting was a constant reminder of what was happening. Iquella made a game of jumping over falling applicants as they went.
They had been running for about two hours now and already covered a distance of around thirty miles if her estimates were correct, and it didn't look to be stopping any time soon.
The problems arrived when the stairs appeared, Killua and Gon had taken past the two of them and Iquella perked up at the sight of the two of them but didn't do or say anything.
It was obvious that he wanted to join them in their race, "You can go join them." Carlene's voice shocked her but she meant every word. Iquella was still a kid, despite the circumstances that surrounded them.
"Are you sure…? I don't mind staying with you." He said a bit hesitant and she huffed at that.
"Unless you want to hear me rant about the wonderful and fascinating habit that is the Milsy Wetlands-" Iquella sped up and shouted as he left.
"I don't want to hear about this again!" Nameless examinees looked at him weirdly as he rushed past them and she just smiled knowing he would find the information handy.
Catching up to the two kids his age that had run past had been easy, the two of them hadn't noticed his presence yet, being too distracted to win their race.
"I thought the Hunters Exam would be more of a challenge, this is boring!" The white haired boy said, looking down.
The green haired boy looked over to Iquella and he smiled, "Hi I'm Gon! What's your name?" The now named Gon asked and Iquella perked up at being acknowledged.
"Ah- I'm Iquella!" He said with a grin.
"How old are you?" The unnamed white haired boy asked.
"I'm twelve."
"Same as us! Why do you want to be a Hunter Iquella?" Gon had asked with a tilt of his head.
"I'm trying to prove to my older sister that I can do things on my own without her help! I kinda ran away from home and everything…" Iquella said with a guilty smile.
"What about you?" He asked Gon.
"Well, the thing is, my dad's a Hunter. And I've decided I was going to be a Hunter just like him, no matter what!"
"So what kind of Hunter is he?"
"No idea!" He said with a carefree grin as Iquella and the white haired boy shared a look and sweat dropped before laughing.
"It's the weirdest thing I've ever heard! You said you want to be a Hunter like him, yet you don't even know anything about him, that's nuts!"
Gon nods and looks ahead, "Mito's the one who raised me and she's told me stories, but I've only ever seen him in pictures."
"Wait- whose Mito?"
"She's aunt! She said my dad took the Hunters Exam when he was only twelve years old too! He passed on his first try and became a Hunter. That's when he decided to leave the island, so I've decided to come here and find out why he chose being a Hunter over staying home with me!"
A light shined up a head, numerous voices cheered about the exit finally being in sight. The three boys shared a grin and sped up, wishing to be the first to make it to the otherside.
Satotz stood at the exit and was surprised when the three ran past him and shouted in excitement.
"Yeah I did it! I finished first!" Gon cheers and the two others look at him.
"No you didn't, I totally won!" The white haired one said only for Iquella to shoot him a look.
"No you didn't, I did!" The three of them continued to argue back and forth before looking over to the Examiner.
"Hey, which one of us was the fastest?"
"You crossed the finish line simultaneously."
They whined at that, Gon turned back to the examiner, "Mr. Satotz, is this the beginning of the second phase?"
"No it isn't, we still have quite a bit to go."
People crowded around at the top of the tunnel, panting and coughing. Carlene took a deep breath and grinned at the sounds of the wildlife surrounding them.
The sound of laughter brought her attention to where Iquella was sitting with Gon and Killua, she made her way over to them but kept a steady distance between them.
As the fog started to lift, Satotz started to speak.
"The Milsy Wetlands, also known as 'Swindlers Swamp', We must cross these wetlands to reach phase two of the exam. This place is home to many bizarre animals, many of them are crafty and voracious creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them. Please, be very careful as you follow me." He turned to look into the sea of participants behind him with a still stare.
She briefly heard Iquella shouting in horror as the very words he had heard Carlene say come out of the examiner's mouth, she smiled to herself.
"If you are deceived, you'll surely die." The crowd started to murmur out and turned in shock as the doors leading to the tunnel shut.
"These Wetlands creatures are not to be underestimated, they will use every trick in the book to lead you astray," he continued, "An ecosystem in which creatures use the art of deception, hence the nickname 'Swindlers Swamp.' Now then, please follow me closely so you won't be tricked."
"Don't let them fool you! D-Don't fall for it!" a voice suddenly yelled. Causing uneasiness to rumbling through the group of people as they all looked around for the origin of the warning.
A man limped out from around the corner of the entrance. His entire body was covered in dirt and wounds, and he was staring at them in horror. "He's lying to you! He's an impostor! He isn't an examiner…I'm the real examiner!" This declaration caused even more murmurs to break out.
"Look at this." He held out a limp creature by the arm, "It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Misly Wetlands!"
Carlene tuned the rest of the conversation out, making her way behind Iquella. Killua noticed her presence and looked up at her but shrugged it off after deciding that she wasn't a threat.
Only when there were loud gasps, did she focus on what was happening again. The body of the imposter hit the floor and the sound of cards being shuffled drew everyone's attention to Hisoka.
Hisoka chuckled. "I see, that settles it. You're the real one." He smirked at Satotz, who threw down the card held between his fingers.
While everyone was preoccupied, the ape chose that moment to scream and run back into the safety of the swamp.
"Examiners are Hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any Hunter bearing the title we seek would have been able to block that attack," Hisoka reasoned, the corners of his eyes crinkling cheerfully.
Satotz nodded. "I shall take that as a compliment. However, should you attack me again, for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner and you will be immediately disqualified. Are we clear?" The stoic expression that had been on Satotz's face since the beginning melted away into a glare.
"Sure." Hisoka's voice was carefree, like he honestly didn't care about the threat.
That seemed to be all the instructions that Satotz felt they needed because he called for them to follow him once more and off they went, this time into the swampy land that made every step squelching and made running even more difficult. The air also had the horrible scent of sulfur and wet earth, which made even breathing both harder and unpleasant.
"Iquella." She called softly from behind her cousin, a shiver went down his spine and he shivered.
"Ah ha ha… I think something is trying to trick me already… I just thought I heard my sister…" Gon and Killua looked behind them at her with confused glances.
She placed a hand on Iquella's shoulder and smiled at the two other boys, "I will be taking my brother with me, please be safe during this part of the phase. There are things more dangerous than the animals out here…" she motioned to where Hisoka was slowly being surrounded. Killua looked over to where she was glancing and nodded.
"Now then Iquella~ you have a few specimen jars of mine and a perfectly good net here with you… it would be a shame if they don't get put to good work." Iquella just gulped.
"I should have stayed home…!" He cried.
"You call that jumping!? I've seen pigs with more spring in their step!" Carlene shouted from where she watched. Iquella, with a net in hand, was jumping up to catch the Hypnosis Butterflies without looking directly at them.
"You already have three, is a fourth one really necessary!?" Iquella cried as he jumped up again and finally got another butterfly.
Carlene took the net from him and carefully extracted the butterfly and put it in the jar that held three others.
"Having multiple live specimens is important for scientific research." She closed the lid and placed the jar into her bag.
"Come along now, we better get going-" the sound of a snapping branch put her on high alert, standing in front of Iquella protectively waiting for whatever was about to happen.
What she wasn't expecting to rush through the underbrush was Kurapika and Gon, both groups of two looking at each other in shock.
"Iquella!" Gon cheers and Iquella rushes out from behind her to greet him.
"Gon!" Iquella greeted him excitedly. They chattered and started to run together.
"This is my sister, Carlene. Carlene, this is Gon, we met earlier." Iquella introduced them and Carlene held back the urge to say 'I know'.
"Ah! Who's your friend Gon…!?-" Iquella's face rounded in shock at the sight of Kurapika. But he wasn't looking at his face, only at the familiar tunic he wore. The other two boys didn't notice, but Carlene did and reached out for Iquella. The touch drew his eyes away from their fellow Kurta, black eyes met the black of Carlene's contact covered eyes.
They made a silent argument to talk about it later. "Oh this is Kurapika! We came to the exam together!" Kurapika gave them a sharp nod at them and that was the last of the conversation between the four of them.
When they finally made it to the site of the second phase, Kurapika and Gon separated from the other two to check up on Leorio.
"Congratulations to those of you who have managed to get out of the marshes alive and well!" The examiner, Satotz, calls. "You are now in the Biska Woods, the place where the second phase will take place."
"On that note, I wish you luck for the next phase." And with that Satotz marched back into the fog of the wetlands.
The giant gate started to open up slowly revealing cooking stations and a woman sitting on a chair with a titan of a man sitting behind her.
"Will all the applicants who passed the first phase please enter. Welcome all, I'm your examiner Menchi." The girl said.
"Likewise, I'm Buhara." The man said and not too long after words a loud rumble rang out.
"Sounds to me like you're getting hungry." Menchi said to her fellow examiner.
"I'm not hungry, I'm famished!"
"Well there you have it, the second phase will be cooking!"