When it comes to travel, routine is key to being content. However, while we may have dropped a bunch of money on upgrades, that doesn't make it feel less cramped when there are two new people, and they don't seem to enjoy sitting still for stretches of time. I was resting in my normal spot by the Ballista, taking the time to warm myself in the sun as the days were beginning to become colder and colder while my winter coat seemed to be coming in slowly. Beatrice and Selene had taken off to grab some fuel as it seems that while yes we were faster now, the extra weight caused an increased fuel drain Aiden hadn't expected. As such we were stuck with just around 10 miles in the tank in the middle of nowhere, funny how that keeps happening. Jax said that it's apparently a trope that emerges in stories about adventurers, but even he seemed surprised by its frequency.
You would think that this would allow for things like running around and burning that access energy for the two children who are joining us, but they seem preoccupied doing different things. Canna seemed to be the older of the two at 9 years old, and apparently she has set her sights on becoming a spellcaster of some kind. It is for this reason that she insisted on following Liora who was practicing her magic and asking questions one after the other while taking what I can only assume are notes in her journal. It seems that she and Aiden inherited that trait from someone. If you compared the two side by side they would practically mirror each other.
Abel on the other hand seemed to be more of a meathead. He was only 8, but seemed fascinated by melee weapons, As such he was watching Jax and Aiden sparring. His mouth was agape as the two seemed to be going harder in sparring than normal. Aiden was even using his Revolution core, though it was staying in idle to low gear.
The two of them had been increasingly aggressive in their sparring, for Jax I sadly knew the reason. Insanity that descends from sin has branches in sin, one of those being obsession. At night we go over practices like meditation and focusing oneself, but there are times when I can feel it flaring up and simmering down, almost like a fire being only held back by occasional sprays of water.
What had me confused was Aiden's odd insistence to keep pace, almost like he can't bear for Jax to make the power gap any larger than it already is. Though a part of me worried it was for a different reason. Like it or not, we all knew Aiden knew something he couldn't reveal. While he had been pursuing strength before this, the knowledge he had learned seemed to have been the spark to ignite something in Aiden to grow.
"They are at the treeline again"
Sera said from over my shoulder. I didn't turn, letting Sera and Mal be my eyes as they watched the pair who had been following us. They matched the descriptions that Selene and Liora had given. One was a lightblood white rabbit woman, a set of gloves on her hand held metal studs and plates that gave her a nasty edge to her punches. She wore a large, flower petal ornament in her hair, a simple dress draped down to just above the ground in a length on the front and back that left the sides open for freedom of motion.
The other wore a simple shirt and pants, a leather open jacket sat on their shoulders as a bandileer of bullets sat strapped across their chest. They wore a set of spurred boots with their hand resting on their side, but able to go for their revolver at a twitch of movement.
I stood from where I had been laying as Mal looked bewildered as I jumped down and began to head for the woods. The pair vanished before I dropped down, but knowing where they had been I could guess where they were hiding.
"Uh, Bea, what are you doing, they are over there!?"
Mal hissed as if they would understand him, much less hear him. I ignored him as I continued towards the woods, and past the treeline. I walked for a minute before coming to a stop as I turned and said.
"Ok, we're far enough away, come out, and don't pretend like you can't hear me, you have been following us for days, and it's getting annoying."
There was a moment of silence before the pair stepped out. I waited for the system screen I knew would appear as they approached, it's apparently something that happens when they are nearby. However it didn't seem to appear. The pair stepped out from behind a tree as they looked me over with an inquisitive look.
"So you're the one they brought in to replace Kaelen. You certainly have a good head on your shoulders, I'll give you that."
The lightblood said as she turned to her partner. She seemed less talkative, and just crossed her arms and glowered at me with a look that seemed to border between what is the point of you existing, and why can't you just die.
"Well I would thank you for the compliment, but considering the last interaction you all had with a member of my group, I feel like that would be cold comfort"
The gunslinger raised an eyebrow as they asked
"You both knew we were here, and decided that instead of using strength in numbers, you would waltz over to us?"
I rolled my eyes at this shallow attempt at intimidation as I said.
"Please, you have been following us for days. If you didn't attack anyone when they went off for firewood, or even to take a dump that means you're not here for that. Plus we both know that we have our other watchers who seem to stop by from time to time."
Those watchers I was talking about, the woman with the scars, and the younger boy have actually been missing for a few days, but I didn't plan to reveal that information hoping it would provide a bit of a deterrent for anything rash. After all, I was literally in the palm of their hand here. We stared each other down from time to time as my eyes drifted down to where the screen should have showed up by now.
"Waiting for that "your soul stirs" message? It's not coming, right now the players are out so we have control of ourselves. They did what they call a "Time skip" so we have control of ourselves until the actual day of the games."
Control of themselves, what are they talking about? What's a player? Questions like this ran through my mind, but I forced myself to stare ahead as I asked.
"Ok, but why should I care?"
The lightblood rabbit woman looked at me and with a small polite smile said.
"Because we are here to investigate why so many beings seem interested in what your group does."