A God's pack

Day 5

Relis had been leading the group on the way back, for the most part, Aika would have but he didn't know the way back... he hadn't walked to the sphere so the area in between was unknown to him. Time was lagging in the far back of the group, weither he was giving him space or if he didn't feel like bothering with the teen at the moment was difficult to tell but Aika was going out of his way to ignore the God. Beside him was Kai, who seemed mighty pleased, swapping between whistling, humming, and occasionally mocking Relis. Loud for a mouse. 

"I don't see why you wanted to come with us, I saw how you were looking at Sar'ene." Aika commented dryly to the Prophet, who gave him an attempt at a confused look in response. Acting, poorly. The teen already knew that Relis was far enough away to not quite catch the conversation and a glance over his shoulder at the gloomy God told him the same. 

"I'm not an idiot, you thought I hadn't noticed your little crush on him?" he returned, rolling his eyes at the shocked, pulled, face that he got from the grey-haired being. 

"I... have no idea-" "You weren't being slick about it, mouse, anyone with eyes could see it from miles away." Kai pursed his lips, slowing just a few paces to put a bit more distance between them and Relis... the shapeshifter was too busy trying to pretend that the prophet didn't exist to notice any difference in anything. 

"Okay, so maybe I had a little, baby, crush on him. Can you blame me? But I'm not more delusional than you are dumb, that man is almost as repressed as Time is and even if he wasn't it still wouldn't happen. I can appreciate someone's appearance and want them without deluding myself into thinking that it'll happen." the mouse was almost defensive in tone, but Aika honestly couldn't care less about his little crush, it didn't affect him none. 

"That still doesn't explain why you wanted to come with us, though?" Aika repeated, giving the other a look for answering a question he hadn't asked. 

"Oh, yeah, right. Well, here's the thing.... the court doesn't really like me that much. They think I'm a liar... but mystic sorts don't really have any more power to defend themselves than mortals... not traditionally, anyway. So, I wanted out and you lot were leaving anyway so it was a safer choice." 

 "So, what you are saying is you are actually a mouse. A little rodent hoping that we'll protect you." he responded in a slightly malicious tone, Kai frowned at him in response. 

"I might be but at least I'm an immortal one. You may be a dog to my mouse but my lifespan will likely more than double yours... worthy trade for a less offensive skill set, isn't it?" now Aika was frowning, crossing his arms as he scowled at the grey-haired man who was now giving him a smug look. Deep blue eyes dancing in the light with mirth. 

"Don't pout, Wolfy, I still think you're fun even if you are just a shield" the prophet winked, but his tone was dismissive like talking to a lesser. It took everything in him not to growl and try to bite the man... but that would likely feed into the thought-process of him being a simple dog. 

"Speaking of lying, you said you could teach me that God writing." Aika mentioned, focusing on his desire to learn over his spite for the moment, which had the immortal skipping a few steps ahead of him to turn and walk backwards while addressing him... what a little prick. 

"Who said I was lying? I can teach you the Golden words... in exchange.. you take me with you when you leave that stuffy pack and we go visit a friend of mine. Does that sound like a good deal with you, little dog?" the teen sneered at the term, something he had jokingly called himself a few times but that had been before he knew he was just a werewolf... and for some reason being reminded of that made him want to act like an actual bad dog. 

"If you call me 'little dog' again we're going to figure out whose the rodent real quick." he warned with a grin, causing Kai to give him an expectant look in response. 

"Vaguely noted, Wolfy will do then, about that deal though?"

"I don't see how that's equal. Golden writing isn't even a useful thing to know for a mortal, while I'd be protecting you which is something actually valuable." he challenged the exchange, causing the grey-haired man to tsk before making a big show of thinking while he slowed to fall back into step beside the teen. 

"I'm sure I could think of a few other things to teach you along the way." Kai said vaguely, causing Aika to frown at the shorter youth. 

"If its not in the terms than I can't trust you'll hold up your side of the deal." he pressed, causing the prophet to sigh in a theatrical way.

"What, you don't trust me?" he whined, using that annoyingly fake hurt voice he had used earlier in Sar'ene's temple.

"You have a reputation as a liar for a reason." a returned quip that made the other snort.

"Very well.... besides just Golden Writing, I could offer to teach you anything I know about. You want to know something? Ask me and if I know it I'll tell you about it. Seem fair now, Wolfy?" he still would prefer more specification but this vagueness actually worked in his favour this way. Anything that Kai knew about was now fair game for questioning. Smiling like a shark, the teen nodded. That could have been much more difficult but the Prophet was likely more desperate to find a capable guard than he was letting on, hence the easy terms. 

"Sounds fair to me. Anything else I should know?" 

"About the deal specifically? I left an old friend in a tight spot last time I was out and about the mortal world so I need to check in on her. Willow is her name, she's both my destination and also a possible source of danger." 

"If she's going to attack you why do you want to visit her?"

"You gotta check in on your allies, Wolf, you don't know where you stand with someone until you check. She might just be a little mad, she might be over it, she might want to kill me. I won't know how it went until I check in on her." that just sounded dumb but okay. Sure, whatever. Not a big deal-

"Oh, and Willow's a demi-Goddess so... I hope you are a good fighter." 

shit. Okay, the terms of the deal felt a bit more in Kai's favor now... cause she could legitimately overpower him. Power rankings in general for different groups being; Gods first, obviously, Demi-gods, shapeshifters, werewolves, etc. etc... so she.. could very well snap him like a twig. Oh, this was going to be fuunnnn. 

"Don't worry, I'm very charming I'm sure it won't come down to that." Kai bragged, causing Aika to scoff and roll his green eyes. 

"I hope the pack will give us bandages for the road." 

Day 6

More walking, he had realized it took so long to get to the pack again from the sphere. He supposed that was why it had taken so long for Time and Relis to show up rather than them just not realizing he had been missing. So... it would be almost a week of him missing by the time he got back and his mother would have no way of knowing what kind of condition he was in... honestly that made him feel a little bad for not deciding to return home as soon as he could but he still didn't really want to be there. Kai was doing his best impression of a nat, bothering Relis like an annoying fly, and the blond looked like he was about ready to snap the mystic like a twig. He.. probably could too. 

Time was walking only a few paces behind him now, the man had tried to start a conversation with him a few times but Aika had been snapped at him, or completely ignored him, with each attempt. He didn't care what the God had to say he should have been told that they weren't actually related. He shouldn't have had to learn that from his Uncle. The teen had his arms crossed, gaze of green pointedly kept on the forest surrounding them, scowling as he realized that the ember-eyed man was walking next to him again. Seriously, couldn't he take a hint? Aika didn't want to talk to him right now. 

"Aika, please, I know you are upset but I-"

"Can you quit? I only agreed to come back with you so I could talk to my mom not so I could make you feel less shitty about yourself." the teen snapped, glowering at the God with as much fire as he could manage. 

"I know, I know. But I don't want this to ruin our relationship." the Time God responded, to which Aika scoffed in irritation.

"Ruin our relationship? What relationship?" he threw the words back into Time's face, causing the man to wince and a hurt expression to cross his face. Good, maybe he would back off now. Picking up his pace didn't dissuade the God though... but he did have to put in a bit more effort since he was a bit shorter than Aika was. 

"I might not be your father by blood, but I've helped raise you since day one. Doesn't that mean something?" 

"Does it?" Aika responded in challenge, pausing to stare down the other. Time didn't say anything now, just looking at him. "If you felt that way then why not be honest about it? Why hide something from me if you thought it wouldn't make a difference?" 

"I... thought things would be easier for Robin if she didn't have to explain what happened... I didn't think... I never considered how it might hurt you." a careful response, one that Aika snorted at in response. The teen turned to start walking again but Time grabbed his arm, his touch uncommonly forceful so Aika couldn't pull away. The youth scowled at the God to show his displeasure with the situation. 

"Aika, this changes nothing for me. I've always loved you like you were mine, I always will." this time when Aika attempted to pull away he was allowed to do so and the youth sped walk towards the front of the group to get away from the nagging feeling in his brain. He was still mad, upset, that he had been kept in the dark about this and those words hadn't made it better... just made him feel more conflicted. 

"Are you okay, little one?" Relis asked him carefully, the tall man slowing his pace to walk slightly behind the teen... as he seemed to prefer. 

"I'm fine, Relis." he responded in a sharp tone, ignoring the look the blond gave him in response. As much as he wanted to just be mad right now it was hard to direct that anger at the blond when he didn't have a hand in the problem. Honestly, the shapeshifter's presence was a calming one and made him feel a little more normal. 

"Are you sure you want to leave the pack, Aika? The outside world is a dangerous place for a werewolf." looking at the half-blood it really wasn't any surprise he was asking, obvious concern on his face. He was scared that Aika would be hunted, or killed, without the pack's protection.

"I'm an adult now, I think I'll be just fine." 

"...maybe take Soaphoet with you when you go?" voice gentle, and light, as the tall being looked down at him with worried eyes. It would be easy to get upset for being treated like a child if he had been talking to anyone else, but Relis was nothing if not completely genuine. 

"Not Rem?" Aika responded with a sigh, raising an eyebrow at the taller being.

"Rem will likely feel compelled to stay near the Healer.. would not hurt to ask her, though." Relis was right, of course, Rem spent most of her free-time chasing the Healer like a moth does a torch in a storm. Aika stayed quiet for a long moment before offering the shapeshifter a conspiratorial smile.

"Why don't you come with me if you're so worried?"

"This is your first outing into the real world, I do not want to stifle it."

"Anyone else I should bring then? Any stops that I should make on the way?" 

"No, none that I can-" the shapeshifter paused like he was remembering something, before giving Aika a thoughtful look. He seemed to be weighing something in his mind.

"Well, what is it?"

"There is a town of werewolf hunters neighboring the closest village by foot from the pack, at their core is a young shapeshifter... a true-blood at that. Their name is Teril. If you could come in contact with them they could be very helpful." 

"Wouldn't they be dangerous? True-bloods have the chance of losing control of themselves due to low ether don't they?" he vaguely remembered Robin saying something about that, and Relis turned his eyes to Kai now who frowned at suddenly being looked at. The blond then returned his view to Aika.

"They would not be dangerous to you in any form, you have no ether they could possibly take. I just mentioned them because a shapeshifter could defend you from.... mostly anything that decided to target you." there was Relis's worry again, Aika sighed and shook his head. 

"I'll see about, maybe, meeting them, then." the half-blood offered him a gentle, sweet, smile and placed a hand onto his head before picking up the pace once more so as to lead the group again. Back to just being him and Kai again.

"Would it matter if I said that I'm against the idea of inviting a shapeshifter to travel with me?" the prophet asked with a slight attitude to his voice. Aika turned to give the other teen a look, ready to return to tone. 

"Would it matter? No, but I guess you can say it if you want to fill the silence so bad." Kai frowned at his words, crossing his arms and turning to look into the forest to pout. The rest of the walk was spent, mostly, in silence as the mouse attempted to do the silent treatment.... wasn't much of a punishment if you had been wanting silence for a day now. The only downside was that all of the empty space in his mind now left him with the ability to think on the situation he had found himself in.... and the worth of the relationship he had with his mother and Time.... this was going to be a long walk. 

Day 9

The closer they got to their destination the more Aika started to recognize where they were. He had always seen that the ancient woods stretched beyond the horizon but actually walking it was different. Being the only mortal in the group meant he was the one setting the pace... because Kai and Time didn't need to sleep and Relis could go days without. Crossing over into the meadow that he had spent a lot of his childhood in should feel relieving... but instead it was just stressful. He didn't want to have to face the pack right now, he still didn't know how he felt and he didn't want to be pressed on it. Time took the lead now, seemed he was eager to be home which was a sentiment that Aika couldn't relate to at that moment. He lifted his eyes curiously as Relis carefully moved to walk beside the God.

"I think I saw evidence of someone walking the woods. I am going to investigate that now that we are back." The God gave the blond a short look before nodding, dismissing the half-blood who parted from the group to see if he could find anything. It wasn't but a few seconds later when a short red-head sprinted up to him and pulled him down into a hug. Robin, his mother, in tears from relief that he was back... made him feel guilty for intending on leaving so soon after but he didn't want to be here. He had expected to be scolded for running off, or worrying her, but she just remained quiet as she crushed him into a hug.

"I'm fine, Ma, see? No need to worry." he said cautiously when the werewolf didn't say anything, she took the hint and released him. Stepping back and rubbing the tears from her face with a shaken smile.

"We should head to the camp there is... a lot to clear up." Time spoke up now, causing Robin to give him a long, confused, look before nodding. Aika would have preferred not to but how else was he going to let everyone know he was leaving the proper way? Sar'ene had been right about him leaving on proper terms with his mother though, he was glad that he had come back if only to say proper goodbyes this time. 

Walking up the mountain's path was basically second nature at this point, his mother walking beside him and occasionally grabbing his hand like she was making sure he was real. He didn't mind it so much, she had always thrived on physical closeness and it was something he expected when interacting with her. 

"Where were you, exactly?" she asked lightly, voice still slightly hoarse... most likely from stress.

"What, Time didn't tell you where he was going when he left?" Aika scoffed, a disrespectful tone to his voice that made his mother give him a light bop on the head like he was being a poorly behaved dog.

"He told me where he thought he'd find you, but we had no guarantee. Even if he was right that didn't mean you would still be there by the time he arrived."

"I stayed with Uncl-... with Sar'ene. In the sphere." Robin noticed the change in terms used for the man immediately, a blank look on her face now, but Aika hadn't been trying to hide what he knew. 

"And... no one noticed that you weren't...?"

"That I wasn't an immortal?" the teen gave his mother a long look, her reaction being to frown slightly and look at the ground. 

"Besides Ott'ou, and Kai here, no. Sar'ene said something about 'using his ether to hide me' or something." 

"You met Ott'ou?" his mother asked with a certain amount of surprise that had him giving her a confused look. What, did she know him?

"Yes...? Is that someone you know?" 

"Yes. He was the one that sent me to help Time create the pack." Robin responded lightly, that... yeah that explained some things, actually. The question now being... why? Wouldn't that be working against his own son. Whatever he wasn't a god so it wasn't any of his business. 

"Do you know why the Healer sent you there?" his mother continued in her usual tone, Aika wasn't sure how much they knew of his trickery with the healer or the situation.

"They were mad at me, so they sent me to a place they knew would likely show me how naive I've been." he didn't even have to try for his voice to come out bitter right now, Robin frowning and looking away again at his voice. 

"But, I guess that's going to be a conversation we have when we get back to camp." Aika lifted his head to look at Time as he said this, the man was several yards ahead of the rest of the group and he seemed to be minding his own business. 

"Most likely, and can I just say that I can't wait to see how it goes?" Kai spoke up from his other side, Aika turned to glare at the other teen, lifting his head slightly to underline how much taller he was than the other.

"Be quiet or you don't get to come, Mouse." he warned, to which the grey-haired prophet just smiled sharply at him before gesturing his silence with a smug look. Ugh, why he had agreed to take this guy with him when he left? This was going to be sooo annoying. 

"Go where? Are you going someplace?" his mother spoke up again from his other side, Aika caught Kai's smile widening out of the corner of his eye at her words. Aika turned to look at her, before nodding with as much certainty as he could manage. 

"I've always been told I could do whatever I wanted with my life. Go where I wanted. I want to go and see the world outside of the pack, so I'll be leaving." he said this strongly, trying to make it so his voice left no room for arguments, and Robin looked like she had been struck in response as she grabbed his hands with both of hers and stopped dead in her tracks... dragging Aika to a stand-still as well. 

"You're leaving?" she squawked, the loudness to her broken voice causing Time to stop as well. He could feel the God's eyes on him... some part of him had always felt like Time loved Robin more than he did Aika and considering what he now knew he was pretty sure that was the case... that if Time was forced to choose between them he would pick Robin without breaking a sweat. Was that normal? Why did he feel so hurt by that knowledge? He tried to ignore the amber eyes.

"I am, I love you but I'm old enough to be on my own and I want to see what the world holds outside of the pack."

"Danger! Violence! Hate! The mortal world holds only hurt for people like us, you can't leave. They'll kill you if they find out what you are." his mother's voice was desperate, but Aika shook his head as she spoke and looked down at her with unwavering eyes. He'd miss her, but he needed to leave. He felt like this was... his destiny. Like he was supposed to leave the pack now... and he wasn't sure if he'd be coming back. 

"I know its dangerous, Ma, I know that. But I'm not going to hide in our little corner of the world because of the ignorance of others... I want to see what there is to see. I'll come back." gently, he removed her hands from his, and the resolute determination in his eyes seemed to make her realize that there was no arguing this with him. Robin looked on the verge of tears, her eyes flickering to Time's like she expected him to help but he just gave her a sad smile. The werewolf blinked the mist from her eyes. 

"You'll... you'll stay with us for a few days, won't you? So everyone can say goodbye?" she asked with cracked voice, and as much as he wanted to leave his heart told him he shouldn't say no. That this might be the last time he saw her. 

"Of course I will, Ma. How could I say no to that?" 

Day 10

To say the reaction to the news was... bad would be something one could say. Rem had practically thrown a fit when she heard, teary-eyed and beyond upset that Aika was leaving so suddenly. Soaphoet was much in the same boat but he knew how to deal with his emotions a bit better, he had even offered to go with him the second he stated his intentions... but Drifter had snapped to like the human's parent and had quickly denied that being an option. A painful to watch conversation of Drifter reminding Soaphoet of them both being unclaimed and personless outside of the pack followed to completely remove that being an option from the table. Aika would have liked for the accented-man to come with, they got along quite well, but Drifter had become something of Soaphoet's new guardian after Heet-..-something-or-other had died and the two were rather inseparable now. Relis and Time had been the most supportive within the pack of his choice, Relis being the type to support those he cared about unconditionally... like a dog, and Time well... who knew what Gods think? The drama of the previous night was over but he could see the wistful eyed look that a lot of the pack was regarding him with now... like they were trying to memorize his features. Like he wasn't coming back.

"'Ya know I woul' go wit' ya' if I could." Soaphoet spoke up from his side, the teen spared the human a look with a small smile in response. 

"I know it, just don't let Drifter hear you say that or he'll throw a fit." Aika responded, lightly, tone only slightly bitting. Soaps was still a young adult, he should be allowed to leave the pack and not worry about Drifter's feelings on the matter. 

"he's prot'ctive, ya' know that." he responded lightly, it was his understanding that Soaphoet had once been very withdrawn from the group after, his adopted dad was killed, and that Drifter was the one who started drawing him back in... Aika had been a toddler at the time and the only thing he remembered from that point in his life was being cared for by Rem.. and also Sar'ene a bit. 

"Yeah, so is my mom but you don't see me letting her talk me into being trapped here." a quip in return that had Soaphoet giving him a long, almost searching, look before sighing deeply. 

"I'm not-... I am not trapped here, Aika. I coul' leave if I want'd ta'. I just'n don' want ta' leave bad enough ta' put my family at risk." 

"What family? Drifter? You two aren't even related." Aika pointed out casually, rolling his eyes, but the words had obviously rubbed the human the wrong way. Could humans bristle like werewolves can? Cause if so, Soaphoet was bristling. 

"He doesn' have ta' be my fuckin' blood ta' be my family! What' about t'at don' ya' get? He's mah' brother, blood be damned." his accent became stronger, like it had been when Aika was a child, when he was mad. The clay-haired young-adult shoving him roughly in a way that gave Aika the distinct impression that the only thing that had kept him from getting his lights kicked out was the fact that Soaphoet considered him family too. The teen knew when to stop poking the bear, so he held up his hands submissively... though he wasn't going to apologize. As much as Soaphoet might love Drifter, they weren't actually family, just like how Time wasn't his father. It was simple. 

"You're an ass, ya'know that?" the human scoffed, shoulders tensed into an aggressive square, the werewolf made no move to stop the other as he stalked off. Seem he would need to give Soaps some space. All well, he supposed it was just as well. He wouldn't miss the human so much if they ended on such a sour note. 

"Are you alright, little one?" the soothing voice of Relis was like the auditory equivalent of having your bristling hair smoothed back down. Aika let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, turning to look at the blond and giving him a cocky grin.

"I'm fine, dad." he said in a humorous tone, to which Relis gave him a strange look in response. 

"I know you say that in jest but it would break Time's heart to hear you say it." the scout said softly, Aika had never understood why the shapeshifter was so loyal to his fathe-... to the Time God. Time didn't even respect him most days, much less like him. There were better people to waste your energy on. 

"Why? He's not my father." Aika responded shortly, crossing his arms defensively... but Relis's eyes held no judgement or ill will, always supportive no matter what. 

"I know you feel that way now, but he did help to raise you. He might not be related to you but he cares about you deeply."

"Why didn't he tell me I wasn't actually his son, then?" he responded instantly to the blond's words, causing the shapeshifter to blink at him. The man waited patiently a few moments, like letting the rush that Aika had introduced to the conversation die down, before responding. 

"Maybe because he did not see it that way? Time is a God, he has always been such, he was raised to be one. He does not understand mortals, or the concept of aging... not really. You may be on the cusp of adulthood for us, but to him you are still a child. He probably did not realize this was a conversation you were capable of having with him, yet." Relis's voice spoke of reason, and logic, but it did not do anything to make Aika feel better about the situation.

"So, what, he just sees me as a toddling child still? That's supposed to make me feel better?" he threw the words into the blond's face, the last few causing the icy eyes to flinch and look at the ground as if failing to properly comfort someone was something to be ashamed of. Aika almost felt bad about it, almost. 

"I... just wanted to help you see things like he does.. or at least the way I think he sees them. Time will likely always see you as a child, just like he does Drifter, just like he does with your Mother, because time as a concept works differently for him. It is not because it is you, it is because you are mortal." the shapeshifter continued to explain, and it made Aika feel a little less frustrated but.... still not right. So, even when he was an old man would Time still treat him as a child? Incapable of truly grasping his words? Was that the folly of the Gods? 

"Shouldn't you be looking for that person you thought you saw near the border?" Aika said with a deep sigh, looking away from the blond. He could feel the other's hurt on the air, but he didn't turn to address it. 

"I just wanted to check in on you, little one." the teen didn't relax until he was sure that Relis had left him to his own devices. A poor note for two interactions in a day... he wondered if he would be leaving everyone with a bad taste in their mouth when it was family time for him to leave... and if he did would that be for the best? 

((I'm back! Still very tired though!))

Day 12

Aika was getting ready to leave, the pack had been helping him prepare and the two hunting parties had stayed to see him and his new companion off. Relis and Soaphoet were still missing, as to be expected for scouts, but he wasn't sure if it was because they were doing their jobs or if it had to do with the poor conversations he had last had with the both of them. The teen ignored the look that Rem was giving him, she still wasn't thrilled about him leaving and he was pretty sure that if she could she would come along. They had always been very close, after all, it would certainly be weird to be getting into trouble without her at his back as his stalwart defender. He supposed there were certain things that even Rem wouldn't ignore for him, he shouldn't be surprised, it wasn't like they were actually blood family anyway. 

Aika rolled the fabric tightly, tying the cloth to his bag before tying his cloak around his throat. A deep green color, on that almost matched his eyes if it was a tad lighter, that was a thick woven material. It would keep some of the rain off, probably. That was probably the intention of it, he was pretty sure it had been Time's at one point but he didn't dwell on it. 

"Are you sure you want to leave? You could just... stay." Drifter piped up from his left, causing the dark-haired teen to give him a short look before he put his bag on. 

"Yes, Drifter, I'm sure. I've had days to think about it." he responded tiredly, everyone in the pack had tried to talk him into changing his mind at least once... except for Surie with her being constantly ill and all. He couldn't remember a time when she was well but Time spoke of her like she was a skilled huntress once. 

"I just... don't like the idea of you going so soon... and alone." the dusty hunter continued, causing Aika to give him a pointed look that made the adult begin to wring his hands. He was always more emotional than all the other adults, a few years back he had thought it was because Drifter was young but now he was pretty sure that was just his personality. 

"He's not alone, I'm going too. Lest I remind you." Kai spoke up, indignantly, crossing his arms in a moody manner from his spot on the ground. The pack had been pretty clear, as a whole, of their distaste for Kai and the prophet's attitude had been awfully sharp for a mouse. Drifter gave the mystic a look before returning his gaze to Aika looking no more assured, if anything he was pulling a more worried face than before. 

"When do you propose I travel, then, Drifter? In 10 years?" his tone was both biting and light, a teasing tone that barely masked how much he didn't like to be babied by the hunter. He didn't seem offended, his expression still the same. 

"No, I suppose you are right. There would never be a right time to do this for the rest of us, would there?" Drifter conceded with a half-grin, honestly it was kind of surprising. "Just, be careful. I've known you since you were the brattiest little tot and I would hate for something to happen to you." 

"I'm not going to go out of my way to cause any trouble." he affirmed, turning to look at Kai to see if he was ready. Honestly, he hadn't even had to the prophet had been packed and ready to go for two days. Grey cloak and his own bag already equipped and an impatient light in his eyes. He was about to say they should leave when a commotion on the edge of camp drew his attention. He quickly noted Relis helping a tall, strange, woman to walk. She was very tall, malnourished, with dark skin covered in more scars than he could count. The older members of the pack seemed to collectively rush to the two, Astaira rounded to the woman's other side to help Relis assist the woman with entering the camp and sitting down by the fire. Aika's interest was peaked, he didn't remember this lady one bit but the pack obviously knew her. The brown-eyed woman was pregnant, heavily, and a look of shame was on her face as she looked away from the blond that had basically carried her there. 

"Felis, you return to us." Time's voice, the majority of the pack parted to let him stand near the woman but Relis remained kneeling at her side with the loyalty one would expect from him. A dog indeed. 

"I... would like to if you would allow me." she responded, her tone slightly begrudging like it hurt to say but also underlined with desperation. Relis looked at her before turning his icy blue gaze to the God with the closest approximation of puppy-dog eyes that such a tall man could muster. Time didn't seemed swayed by it, but it didn't seem he needed the push to begin with.

"Is there any doubt? You will always be one of us, Felis, it was you who left. You have always had a place among us." he responded evenly, causing the brown-eyed woman to look down at her feet in a mix of shame and regret. Relis seemed delighted by this, smiling brightly at the woman who gave him a wary smile in response. There was a history there, one that seemed older or stronger than that of whatever one she shared with the rest of the group, Aika wondered if Relis would have left if Time denied this woman staying. With a wave of his hand, the God called for someone to 'fetch the poor woman some food' which Vaitelin quickly turned to accomplish. Time, himself, went to the stock room to.. gather something. Medicine, maybe? While Aika had seen the God use.. 'ether' to heal wounds he was left under the impression that it didn't work on illnesses or blights. Could close cuts, couldn't stop an infection, hence why Surie had been sick for so long. No Godly might could help her. The group began to settle again, Aika sitting down next to Kai on the ground seeing as he was the only other person here out of the loop... and Dulce. She was smiling in a friendly manner but there didn't seemed to be any understanding of the situation in those eyes. 

"I am so glad you are okay, Felis." the blond said with a genuine smile, the creases around his eyes being the only change that Aika could see since his youth. 

"I'm... alive, anyway. Thank you for helping me get here." she responded, but there was an undertone to her gratitude to made him feel like she didn't actually want to thank the shapeshifter. 

"If you were struggling why did you stay away? You know we were always here for you." Astaira piped up now, eyes full of muddled emotions and poorly restrained tears. 

"Have you ever known me to be anything but endlessly proud, Astaira?" Felis responded with a laugh, wincing slightly as she put a hand to her chest but the genuine smile remained. Seemed the two had been very familiar once. 

"You're one of my best friends, you don't need to be proud with me." the demi-god responded with a smile but there was a hurt there too. Felis at least had the good-will to look guilty about the pain she had obviously caused.... somehow. 

"So... uh... how long have we had duplicate Robin's and Time's for?" she asked lightly, her gaze glossing over Dulce before shifting to himself. Huh, strange. In his opinion the only thing that Dulce and Robin shared was pale skin and red-hair. They held themselves differently, a weasel and a rabbit, and Dulce's build was very different from Robin's. 

"Excuse me?" Dulce obviously took offense at this, Robin frowning in the background in agreement. 

"I would be kind to her if I was you, Felis, she's one of them Godly types." Vaitelin warned, Aika hadn't even noticed him rejoining the group but he did now watch as the sandy-colored hunter placed a plate of honeyed meats and dried fruits on her lap. Felis's eyes sparkled like she hadn't eaten in weeks, and based on how thin she was he would say she probably hadn't. She hesitated for a moment before picking up one of the dried fruits and beginning to eat it. 

"And, surely, you remember Aika? He was about 4 years old when you left." Robin added lightly, his mother giving the hunteress a look as she narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Ya'know... I hadn't even realized it had been long enough for him to be an adult yet." she responded, any maliciousness on the air due to her relation between the two red-heads was gone now. Whatever she had been up to for the last decade must have been difficult on her. 

"Can I ask... where Surie is?" there was a deep emotion, and meaning, to her careful tone and when no one would look her in the eye she shifted her gaze to Relis's. The blond bit his lip, glancing at the ground as he tried to figure out how to break the news. 

"Surie is.... very unwell, Felis, she's been ill for years now. We don't know what's wrong with her." The woman made to get up suddenly, the scout removing the plate from her as to not topple it and balancing her with a firm hand when her balance proved awful.

"I have to see her." the brown-eyed woman's voice was intense, firm, but underlined in desperation. 

"I know how important she is to you, but it would be unwise to see her in your current state." Relis advised, carefully, trying to help the malnourished woman sit back down. 

"Oh, of course you would say that you heartless hunter prick." she snapped back, heat in her voice that made Aika frown. If she hadn't been so obviously unwell he would have returned that kind of attitude right back at her for being so rude to the blond... and, honestly, he was still considering it. Relis winced but didn't seemed to take the comment too to heart, seeing as he continued to force her to sit back down and replaced the plate on her lap. She was glaring daggers at him. 

"Felis, I know you miss her, I know you are worried, but you are already unwell. There would be nothing we could do for you if you got sick." he said reasonably.

"So what? Let me see her."

"This isn't just about you, Felis, you're pregnant. What if your child was born sick?" the blond reminded her, his words causing the woman to still and her eyes to drop to look away from him. "She's unwell, but she is not dying. She's not going anywhere. You can go see her whenever you like once you are better, but it would do neither of you any good for you to get sick visiting her when you are already in so frail a state." 

"I.... you are right." she conceded, flatly. Relis waited until the woman went back to eating her food before he left her side, carefully crossing the clearing as Aika stretched and got back to his feet. More questions now than before but he was eager to be on the road... or they would end up spending another night here. 

"You are leaving now, little one?" the scout asked, he was honestly a little surprised that the blond had approached him after how poorly their last conversation had gone. Unconditional love. 

"I'm afraid so, Relis. Gotta get going while there is still daylight to be had." he agreed, to which the shapeshifter gave him a sad, teary-eyed, smile before carefully pulling him into a hug. Aika returned the gesture, if there was anyone here he would miss besides Soaphoet, Rem, his mother, and Drifter it would be Relis. His third parental figure, basically, he had been a big part of his life up till now. When the blond finally pulled away he turned his icy eyes to stare daggers at Kai, a protective expression on his face.

"If something bad happens to him out there it would be wise for you to hide." he threatened, causing the prophet to grin brightly at him.

"Yes, Sir', mister.monster." he wasn't intimidated, but Aika was pretty sure there was no exaggeration in the shapeshifter's words. Robin rounded the fire too, hugging Aika as well with tears dripping down her face. He felt bad for leaving her but he couldn't stay here forever... the last was Time. The God returning to the group now with many healing mixtures for Felis. He paused, setting the medicines down before carefully approaching. Kai called him Wolfy but if anyone was a wolf it was Time... a little ironic considering the werewolf company he kept. 

"Be careful, and well, Aika. We will always be here for you no matter what happens." the God said, an expression in his eyes that Aika couldn't read. The teen crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at the man, the Time God looked like he wanted to pull the teen into yet another hug but he stepped back instead and shifted his eyes away. The rest of the pack approached saying varying amounts of heart-felt goodbyes, Rem leaving after her's.... most likely to meltdown in peace, and Vaitelin nearly crushing him into a massive hug while saying something about 'good luck' that he didn't catch over the sound of his back cracking. 

Farewells said, it was time to leave home and see what the world had to offer. He felt freer with every step he took away from that old camp, he couldn't wait to see what lay ahead.

The further away from the camp they got the more pleased that Kai seemed, the prophet was now whistling a jaunty little tune as he walked somewhere a few paces behind Aika. It was fair, he supposed, for the mystic to feel that way considering how unwelcoming they had been to him but that really just left him with the impression that Kai had had an unfortunate run-in with the group in the past that he didn't know about. He was thinking about this to himself when the other teen picked up his pace to walk backward in front of Aika, he couldn't help but give his traveling companion a semi-withering look.  

"You're obviously dying to say something, Mouse, so out with it." he pressed, causing the annoying being to smile in a self-satisfied way. The caped figure twirled around on his heal, the extra fabric of his cloak swirling with him before he slowed to fall into step almost next to Aika. 

"Well, great and powerful Wolf, do you know where we are going?" the prophet asked smugly, eyes alight with mischief that made the dark-teen once again regret agreeing to let him travel with him. 

"Leaving the territory, obviously." he remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, right, of course, but you were wanting to go to the nearest town weren't you? To meet that.... monster that the annoying blond-man mentioned?" oh, yes. The shapeshifter that Relis had said would be nearby... it would be wise to see if they could find another traveling companion. The two of them wouldn't be able to fend off a persistent coyote much less a bear or raiders. 

"I do want to atleast see them, yes." he agreed, to which Kai faltered slightly, looking away and muttering something to himself before bouncing back to his smug-sassy mood like nothing happened.

"Wellll, do you know where that town is?" the prophet asked, causing Aika to groan. He knew what the mystic was fishing for.

"Oh my, how silly of me, seems I don't know where the town is. Whatever will I do?" the teen responded flatly, rolling his eyes when the Mystic gave him a sharp-toothed grin. "Kai, you're a traveler aren't you?" 

"I might be, perhaps." he was all too pleased with himself, he almost wanted to just walk in the opposite direction and go into the rain forest just to spite Kai.... he knew there were no towns for several weeks travel in that direction.

"Do you, oh traveling mystic, happen to have knowledge of where such a town would be?" Aika continued, playing along with the wording but continuing to use a neutral tone... Kai didn't seem to mind that, though. 

"I might." the coyness of that response actually had Aika raising an eyebrow at the other and stopping to give him a look. Was he expecting something? Kai stopped with him, turning to return the expression before the sharp smile returned to his face. He looked smug, self-satisfied, and highly amused. 

"Are you wanting something in return for getting us to a town, Kai?" Aika asked shortly, the mystic didn't respond but his blue eyes narrowed like a cat. "Need I remind you that our deal for traveling together was that you would tell me about 'anything you knew?'" he continued, no longer willing to play along. He had expected the other to frown and get upset at the reminder but instead, he just hummed and looked around.

"For now, but later? We'll see." the sharp look that the prophet gave him made the werewolf bristle slightly, but he didn't have the chance to snap anything before the other teen turned and began to head in a different direction, much more west. Aika groaned, this wasn't the first time he had wished he was traveling solo in this interaction and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Was it too late to drop him like a lump of hot coal? The teen crossed his arms, irritably, huffing quietly but following the prophet with little complaint. Not like he knew the way to the nearest town so, what choice did he really have?

As the cold began to set in and the sun's light began to dim Aika had to make the call to set up camp. Once again, he was the one setting the pace as his mortal body made it necessary to eat, drink, sleep, and also not die of hypothermia. Kai didn't seem to mind helping with setting up camp too much, surprisingly considering that he didn't need to stop, continuing to hum the same tune he must have stuck in his head as he threw a bunch of dry twigs in a pile and dropped to light it. The camp was very simple, obviously, just some clearing with a newly-burning fire and some rolled up travel-rolls on the ground. While Kai, technically, had a blanket of his own Aika had drafted it to put an extra layer between himself and the soon-to-be freezing ground... once more the prophet didn't complain. He wouldn't die of cold anyway.... could he even feel it? Setting a small pan onto the fire and putting some salted meats into it, Aika was happy enough to just sit in silence and enjoy the warmth of the growing fire as the world began to darken and cool... but Kai seemed to have other plans. 

The prophet dropped down to sit next to him, while Aika didn't mind physical contact most of the time due to his mother's own way of showing fondness he didn't know nor like Kai so, he couldn't help but bristle at the other in confusion. Giving the other a sharp look as he began to go through his bag to look for something. 

"What in the worlds are you doing?" he asked tersely, shifting away so Kai's crossed legs weren't touching him anymore. It was rude to just get so close to someone you don't know without permission. The mystic didn't seem to care about his personal space concerns, however, scooting back closer to Aika as he pulled out a quill and a loooong rolled scroll. 

"Part of the agreement was that I would teach you our writing, wasn't it? How are you going to learn it if you can't see what I'm even writing." Kai responded, sticking his tongue out. Aika was pretty sure they hadn't brought any ink, but he rolled his eyes as he returned to watch his food cooking over the fire. To his surprise, Kai found some way to write anyway... magic, maybe?

"What does this symbol look like to you?" the prophet asked, showing him an elegantly scripted... letter? Maybe? It was pretty complex, were all their characters like that?

"I... I don't know a tree I guess? A dead one." it had a lot of little off-shooting lines, it must take forever to write in this language with how intricate this letter was. 

"That's not too far off, actually." Kai responded shortly, making the symbol again now that Akia was watching his hands. Somehow, despite the amount of work it looked like it took, the prophet managed to make it look pretty simple. "It means autumn, seasonal specific, if you were writing to a friend named Autumn it'd be a little different but that'd not important for now." the prophet hummed before making another short mark on the edge of the scroll, most of it still rolled tightly as he wasn't using it. This mark was simple, just a long mark with two line's through its middle and one at the base. 

"This is 'tree'." a few more marks, almost like slashes. "This is 'dead tree.' The more specific of a concept you are going for the more complex a character will become." 

"Is there a rhyme or reason to it?"

"Yes, you just don't know the context." Kai re-did the three-slashes by themself. "Because this just means dead. If you put Tree and dead separately it reads 'a dead tree' if you combine them it reads 'dead tree'. Does that make sense?" the prophet looked up at him now to make sure he was following.

"A bit... so if I wanted to say, there is a dead tree I would have to keep the... words, I guess, separate?" 

"Yes, that's right." hm, okay. Looking at the character 'autumn' it still looked needlessly ornamental and complex, when compared to the word tree is looked like an almost separate class of writing.

"The reason autumn is more detailed is because it is a more powerful concept. A tree is a tree, the character is simple, Autumn is an entire season which affects the things within it so the words is more nuanced hence the word being written like this." no, that didn't really make any sense at all, he didn't even try to hide his frown as he removed his cooking pan from the fire. Kai sighed, but began to scribble a few more simpler characters onto the paper. 

"This will take time to learn, of course, but don't worry too much about the why's of why they made it that way. The old Gods were very... self-interested. They made a complex language to show off how smart and advanced they were, it won't be easy to figure out the specifics for a mortal." Aika frowned at the implication of immortals being superior in intelligence, not waiting for his food to cool down before deciding to eat it. Yes, he was burning his tongue and the inside of his mouth on the still slightly boiling oils on the salted deer but he didn't want to wait. Kai gave him a weird look, but said nothing deciding to just focus on the task-at-hand. Kai showed him a few more simple characters, some of the more similar in concept ones looking similar in writing too, before the darkness set in and Aika put an end to the lesson. It was very cold now that the sun was gone, even near the fire, it was a good thing Kai didn't need to stay warm or he would probably be freezing without the added blanket. It took some time, actually a lot because it is hard to sleep in the cold, but, eventually, the teen fell asleep under the stars. Not the most pleasant, but he didn't regret it... not yet atleast. 

Day 13

"Alright, sleeping beauty, I think you've been out for long enough." Aika groaned batting the offending hand away that had prodded him. The perpetrator didn't seem interested in letting him get any more rest though, and resorted to stealing one of his blankets. The cold of the fall morning immediately set in, waking the teen who sat up and ran a defeated hand over his face. 

"That-" he yawned mid-sentence as he blinked the bleary-eyed fog from his eyes. "-was uncalled for." Kai just smiled sharply in response, the fire was long-since out and by the looks of it everything except for the blankets he had been actively using were already packed up. Huh, Kai must have been bored.

"If you slept any longer we wouldn't have reached the nearest town before dark and I don't think you want to walk around hunters after nightfall." the prophet responded shortly, a smug look crossing his features when Aika frowned at the thought and got to his feet with a stretch. Another yawn, World's he was still exhausted... sleeping on the cold ground was not very restful. Kai seemed ready to get back on the road, rolling up the blanket he had snatched and tying it to Aika's currently discarded pack. 

"Geez, you're impatient for a mouse." the teen whined, picking up the other blanket and beginning to put it away as well despite his complaining. 

"We need to be careful about this, Aika, so pay attention." Kai was strangely serious, batting at Aika with a frustrated hand causing the werewolf to fumble his blanket and have to start over on folding it. "Even in broad daylight there will be a faint glow in your eyes, we're walking into a den of hunters, how are we going to keep them from firing a bolt through your face on sight?" the prophet's voice was sharp and Aika shrugged as he tired down the freshly rolled blanket.

"My eyes are green, they don't glow that much. We just stay out of the shadows and they won't notice." 

"And if they do? What then?"

"If they notice... well they aren't going to wait around for an explanation. We'd have to run, I guess." Kai didn't seem pleased at this, frowning dramatically, but he wasn't sure what the other had expected. There wasn't much one could do to hide the luminosity of their eyes, even blindfolded the glow would remain unless one was using a very thick piece of fabric. "Plus, if we do anything strange to hide it that's just going to draw attention. Most people don't go around willingly blinded." 

"Fine, let's get going then. The higher the sun is when we get there the better." the prophet seemed in a sour mood, but Aika didn't care to do anything about it. He just adjusted his cloak, brushing himself off and checking his hair for twigs or leaf-litter, before shrugging on his pack. Kai followed his lead, getting to his feet and tilting his head in gesture before beginning to lead the way toward their current destination once more. 

The coolness of the early morning was beginning to wear off, replaced by the stifling heat of the over-head sun, when he started to hear the sound of civilization nearby. He hadn't realized that the hunter's village was so close... when he had heard his parents-... Time and his mother explain that time period in the pack's history he had been told that it had been about a month before the hunters showed up... why had it taken them so long to respond to a threat on their doorstep? His eyes focused down on the smaller being, his shoulders tensed up to his ears. 

"Act natural, you're going to draw attention to us looking that suspicious." Aika chastised the traveler, who threw him a glare before forcing himself to relax..... his arms were now defensively crossed though. Stepping out of the woods onto a well-worn, stone-lined path, it didn't take long before the pair were walking past the occasional human. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, he was walking right into the den of people would killed people like him for sport... this was an otherwordly bad idea.

The city looked not too different from the pack's home did, thatched roofs and wooden homes with fences. The main differences would be the paths were worn stones instead of dirt-turned-sand, and the streetlamps to help accommodate human eyes. It was rather busy, also much larger, when compared to the pack and most people had a bow, knife, or crossbow on their back. Why? Carefully, walking past a group exiting a tavern, Aika was beginning to think that they would be fine until an arrow was leveled in his face by a slightly-tipsy human with brown-hair. 

"Well, well, well, would ya' lookie' what we gots' strollin' inta' our little town." the man said, and Aika frowned at the drawn bow. Too far away to attack properly before he fired and... the man wasn't alone. His drinking buddied all, also, reaching for their weapons. How was he going to get himself out of this one? Aika opened his mouth, not sure what it was he thought he could say to change their minds, when someone spoke up first.

"Hey, you lot aren't causing trouble for our guest are ya'?" the teen turned his eyes to the new voice, a slightly greying red-haired man with a crossbow on his back, arms crossed and a charismatic air about him. 

"Guest? This is a cursed-blood, boss." the bowman responded with a strange look on his face.

"Is that what you thought I was?" Aika responded, lifting an eyebrow at the drunk man and trying to sneer a little down at him. The red-haired man took several steps closer to them, a swagger in his step despite his aging, giving the teen a once-over as he gave him a smirk.

"You're that God's boy aren't ya'? Yer' his spittin' image." that God... he knew Time... was he one of the hunters that had attacked them when he was a child? 

"Time, you mean? How'd you guess?" Aika couldn't help the bitterness welling in his throat at having to pretend he was Time's son again, crossing his arms and leaning back. A glance at the tipsy hunters had them lowering their weapons with uncertainty... looks like he had, ironically, been saved by a hunter. 

"Like I said, spittin' image. I could almost mistake you for him." 

"God's boy, boss?" the bowman piped up again, causing the red-head to give him a look. 

"He's a demi-god, not a werewolf, idiot. They both have eyes that glow but, geez, we work with enough demi-gods that you should know the difference by now." the leader hunter shooed away the drunken party with little trouble, being called a dumbass by your boss would do that to you. 

 "Thanks for stepping in, I don't prefer causing trouble on sight." Aika also hated thanking a hunter, but the greying man seemed pleased enough with his response. 

"No worries, I'll see to it that everyone's set straight..." the man's eyes flicker over him, like he was sizing him up as he sucked in on his teeth before his gaze turned to look at Kai.

"Who's that little creature, your priest?" the prophet stood up taller at this and moved to respond.

"His mystic, actually. Healer. Would be stupid to go looking for legendary battles without one." that was, generally, what demi-gods seemed to do outside of the sphere so it wasn't an unbelievable story. 

"Ah, a healer. Yer' dad had one of those too, a strange thing with no name that. Any reason you two are here?" the leader turned his gaze back to Aika again.

"I'm looking for someone that's supposed to live here, Terell?" a small laugh in response.

"Teril not TerEl. But, yeah, I can help you with that." the greying man stretched lazily, before giving them a short gesture and beginning to lead them through the village. It took a surprisingly long amount of time to make it to the other side, where the hunter gestured down the road out of the town with a grin.

"They're out hunting, you'll probably find them near the lake." there was a moment of silence before Kai cleared his throat.

"If it is all the same to you, I think I'd like to look around. See if there is anything going on we should know about." the hunter nodded in agreement, Aika watched the prophet skitter away like a rat. He supposed he'd be meeting the shapeshifter alone. He dipped his head respectfully to the hunter before starting down the road. Passing by the occasional traveler, Aika was beginning to wonder how far he should be going when the shine of water caught his eye. A lake... a massive lake that was so big that he couldn't see the other shore from here... maybe if he got closer. Leaving the path, Aika approached the lake cautiously. Now, how would he go about finding that shapeshifter....normally when he tracked things he would use his wolf form to do it but that was a death sentence so close to the hunters. Rubbing a hand over his face, the teen nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned to be eye-to-eye with another person. Jumping back and slipping into the water like a fool, Aika wined as he looked up at the person. A tan man, the same height as him, with brown hair that was sun-bleached around the crown.. he looked a bit like a much younger version of Vaitelin... with strange eyes. Tattoos marked the obvious hunter's skin, faded black from light exposure, the thick sweeping lines cut across the man's face and made him difficult to look at.. like an illusion. His eyes were the worst part, though, grey but pressure built in his skull the longer he maintained eye-contact.

Reluctantly, Aika backed down first, dropping his eyes to the water and rubbing them in an attempt to relieve the stress behind them.

"You may have fooled the town into thinking you a demi-god but you cannot fool me, wolf." the voice was deep, rough, and undertoned with an almost fuzzy quality that made him feel simultaneously on-edge and safe. 

"What makes you think I'm a wolf?" he responded, continuing to press on his eyes. "That's a little insulting to compare the two." he could feel the being shift on the sand, kneeling in front of him. Aika suddenly got the mind-image of an adult kneeling before an upset child who had scrapped their knees... normally he would growl at such a thought but the memory of how eye-contact with this man made him feel had him keeping his now-opened eyes on the ground. 

"I know that Demi-gods and Werewolves glow the same, unlike the rest of the hunters, but you..." the sandy being leaned forward, suddenly too close causing Aika to attempt to lean away... but he was still calf-deep in water and doing so made him almost slip further into the sandy bank. He had no choice but to allow the hunter to invade his space with a scowl. It was a mental exercise to not attempt to assert dominance, eyes submissively turned away from the invader. 

"You are a mortal, etherless. Nothing to tear into for me. So you can not be a Demi-god, that means you are a werewolf." 

"You... are the shapeshift, then? Ter... Terel?" how could Relis be related to this thing? He had never felt anything but security around that blond, but this one made him feel like he was a child being hunted by a rabid coyote.

"Yes, that is correct. How do you know if me?" it was dumb to look up when he was talking, insanely so since he already knew what that felt like, but oddly enough this time it didn't hurt... just made the things around him blur a bit. Strange?

"I don't know if you remember him, Relis told me you would be here." 

"Oh, the half-blood. Yes, I recall them I told them I was not interested in joining that pack, why would they think you would be any more capable of persuading me?" it was... strange to hear someone refer to Relis as 'they' when he went by 'he' for the entire time Aika had known him.

"They?" Aika repeated back dumbly, 

"Ah, yes, I suppose a half-blood would not use our terms, would they?" oh... was that why everyone had been calling this guy 'they'? Did all shapeshifters get called 'they'? Maybe... a cultural thing? "That is, however, not important. I do not wish to join your pack. Return home, pup." the hunter got up, and Aika scrambled to grab hold of their cape to stop them from leaving. The hunter, thankfully, paused and look down at him in confusion at the move.

"Wait, I'm not asking you to join the pack.... Relis mentioned you when I told him I was going out to explore the world. That is my intention, not to drag you back into the mountains." he explained, causing the grey-eyed being to blink slowly at him before kneeling once more. Aika, instinctually, flinched down towards the ground when the being tried to initiate eye-contact, body stiffening as they grabbed his chin and forced him to look up at them.  

"I... see no lies in you. Where do you intend on going?" 

"Nowhere particularly, not really. I just want to see what the world looks like outside of our little bubble."

"Dangerous for kinds like you."

"Which is why Relis told me of you." the being blinked at him a few times, before nodding in understanding. 

"It is the job of shapeshifters to defend mortals, I believe the hunter village can defend themselves well enough. I will help you... for now." 

"I have a mystic traveling companion, is that-?"

"An issue? No. As long as they keep their ether to themselves." Aika let out a breath he had been holding, watching the shapeshifter get back to their feet before doing the same and clumsily stepping out of the lake he had tripped into. 

"What will the hunters think?"

"What have you told them?"

"That I'm a demi-god looking for legendary monsters and Kai is my healer." 

"...that will work. They will think I wish to drain such beasts. It will do. Come, we should collect your.... friend and leave the hunters behind before night-fall. I do not wish to fight them."