The campfire slowly dimmed as the night died down — or maybe it just gave up trying to keep up with these people.
Bug and Spirit were still circling Nyxar and Vespera like curious raccoons, throwing question after question at them.
Bug leaned in, squinting. "So… you're not his clone?"
Vespera blinked. "No."
Spirit followed up immediately. "Then why do you talk the same?"
Vespera: "We don't."
Nyxar: "We don't."
Bug and Spirit looked at each other. "You totally do," they said in unison.
The narrator sighed, "Okay, no, seriously — they have to be related. Or manufactured. Or both. I'm putting five gold coins on 'experimental siblings accidentally cloned from the same awkward energy.'"
The questioning continued until Nyxar, without warning, looked over at Ember.
"Can she come with us?"
Ember froze mid-sentence. "…What?"
"Vespera," he said, as if the answer was obvious.
For the first time in… well, ever, Ember saw something close to an expression cross Nyxar's face — mild interest, which for him was like shouting from a rooftop.
"You—uh—want her to come with us?" she asked carefully.
Nyxar nodded once. "Yes."
Ember blinked again. She wasn't sure what part was more shocking — that Nyxar wanted something, or that it involved another person.
This was the same man who once spent an entire conversation staring at a wall instead of answering a question.
Ember turned to Vespera. "Do you… want to come?"
Still petting the tiny Umbrajaguar curled up in her lap, Vespera said simply, "Sure."
"Um… okay?" Ember said. "If you're sure."
Then Vespera asked, "Can Sylas come?"
Ember sighed, rubbing her temple. "If he says yes?"
Vespera nodded like that settled it. "He will."
The narrator, sounding tired already, "Ah yes. Kidnapping, but politely."
Next Morning — On the Carriage
The carriage rattled along the dirt road, sun barely creeping over the horizon.
Inside, the party sat in varying degrees of confusion and disbelief.
Vespera was sitting cross-legged, still petting her mini jaguar, who purred happily.
Nyxar was beside her, calmly stroking Bella's tiny shell head like it was completely normal.
Belos was giggling in the corner, playing with the two mini bears.
Meanwhile, Bug and Spirit were across from them, whispering furiously.
"Okay," Bug hissed. "Since when does he do that?"
"Never!" Spirit whispered back. "He doesn't even pet people when they're dying!"
"Are we sure she's not a clone?"
"I'm not sure of anything anymore!"
Sebastian, sitting in the back, leaned toward Ember. "So… why is she here again?"
Ember whispered back, "Because Nyxar asked."
Sebastian blinked. "Nyxar… asked?"
"Yeah."
He frowned, whispering lower. "And why does she look exactly like him?"
Ember whispered, "I have no idea."
The narrator chimed in helpfully: "Nobody does, Sebastian. Nobody does."
Across the carriage, something moved. Sylas, previously unconscious and drooling against the window, suddenly gasped awake.
He sat bolt upright. "WHERE AM I?!"
Ember, without missing a beat, said, "In a carriage."
Sylas blinked wildly. "WHY?"
Ember pointed toward Vespera. "Ask her."
Sylas turned his head slowly, still disoriented. "...Why are we here?"
Vespera didn't even look up from petting the mini jaguar. "I wanted to go."
Sylas stared at her blankly. "Then why am I here?"
"Because I didn't want to go alone."
Sylas stared into the void for a long second. His brain visibly tried to reboot.
"I—I—what—"
The narrator snorted, "He's about five seconds away from a full existential collapse. Don't worry, Sylas. That's just the standard side effect of traveling with them."
Nyxar, ignoring the chaos, calmly de-summoned both Bella and the mini jaguar. He turned to look out the window.
Vespera blinked once… and did the same.
Now both of them were staring outside, perfectly still, eerily synchronized.
Bug leaned forward slowly. "Okay, why are they doing that?"
Before anyone could answer, both Nyxar and Vespera silently climbed out the moving carriage window.
"WHAT THE—" Ember screamed. "STOP THE CARRIAGE!"
The driver yanked the reins, and the horses screeched to a halt a few meters down the road.
The group piled out, staring into the woods where the two had just vanished.
Minutes passed. Then the underbrush rustled.
Out walked Nyxar, Vespera, and the Umbrajaguar — calm, composed… and all three of them covered in blood.
The jaguar's claws dripped crimson. Nyxar's hands were stained. Vespera's sleeve was splattered.
They walked like it was the most casual thing in the world.
The narrator sighed deeply. "Of course. Murder. Why do I even bother acting surprised anymore?"
Bug looked horrified. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Nyxar: "Hunting."
Vespera: "Breakfast."
The narrator added dryly, "Team bonding, apparently."
Ember just groaned, rubbing her temples. "This trip's gonna kill me before anything else does."