The Hunting Trip (2)

Demian stood in the large open field with the rest of the first years. There were tents and a stage built on the field for the teachers, medics, and knights.

Ronni made his way over, his long black hair swaying from where it was tied with a red ribbon. Beside him was Brendon, who stood at a shorter height with wild, untamable curly brown hair.

The only one missing from their group was Remi.

Demian's lips, which were pierced in a straight line, suddenly turned down at the corners. His heart beat with elation when he had found out the two were on the same team. His happiness only lasted for a second until it turned into a dull ache when he remembered the scene he had walked in on nearly two weeks ago.

The frown he wore only deepened.

"Everything alright, Prince Demian?" Ronni asked once he reached Demian's side.

"Everything is just fine," he bit out in an even tone. His navy blue eyes scanned the crowd.

In the far corner stood a fidgeting Remi as he handed something to Dane. Demian's hands clenched into fists at his side.

Remi then turned around and jogged to where the three of them were. Brendon and Ronni greeted the beta with smiles.

"It's nice that we're all on the same team," Brendon was saying.

"Yes," Ronni nodded along in agreement.

Remi's eyes flicked towards Demian before turning back to take the others in. "Yes. It certainly was a pleasant surprise."

Demian felt his hackles rise with Remi's words. Did the beta somehow have a hand in this? 

It was no secret that Remi had been following Demian around all week. Demian may have been acting petty but he refused to talk to him and went so far as to avoid him. His heart was still hurting over the fact that Remi and Dane were in a physical relationship.

That thought should have struck Demian as weird but it didn't. He had long since come to terms with his feelings towards the beta. The one thing that still confused him was the fact that he was drawn to Ophelia as well as Remi. But what was it about Ophelia that attracted him to her?

After the groups gathered, the Headmaster took the stage and explained the rules of the hunt. Each party was to stay in their assigned groups without teaming up with the other groups. Their goal was to survive two days and one night in the woods while hunting magical beasts. Each beast was worth a certain amount of points. Whichever team scored the most points will be rewarded with a free day from classes the following Friday. 

Demian was looking forward to having a three-day weekend. He believed that he and Ronni might be enough to give them an edge over the other teams. The only ones he was worried about were Laxel and Dane. It was a good thing those two were on different teams. It would have been an assured loss if Laxel and Dane were in the same group.

After the Headmaster was done, one student from each group went to pick up the group's rucksack from Mr. Ortish. Along with the rucksack came four daggers, each engraved with a rune to enhance mana flow and magic usage. The daggers were the standardized weapon all first-year students were forced to fight with.

Ronni handed the rucksack to Remi and told him to keep a hold of it while the three others did the fighting.

Demian silently agreed with Ronni's decision since Remi was one of the students with the lowest physical strength and stamina in their physical training class. That wasn't saying that Remi couldn't keep up or fight, just that it was more ideal to leave it to the others, in Demian's opinion.

A mage visited each group to give them a sack filled with ribbons that had their group number on it, and a warping orb. The Warping Orb was to be used to send their defeated prey back and possibly themselves if they found the trip too difficult or just wanted to quit. The mage then used a spell to transport the group to a separate location.

Demian looked around their surroundings once the red light faded and he could see again. The four of them were standing in the middle of a dense forest. Large, curling ferns littered the ground, hiding stones and large rocks behind their green foliage. The babbling of a stream could be heard in the distance.

"What should we do first?" Brendon was the first to speak up.

"Maybe we should follow the sound of the water. We might be able to find a good location to set up camp while finding a good water supply and an escape route," Remi suggested, moving his shoulder to readjust the strap on the bag.

Ronni nodded in agreement. "It could also be a good hunting spot, especially if it's a local watering hole."

Once all four of them agreed, they set off towards the sound of water. Ronni and Brendon took the front with their daggers ready while Demian guarded the rear.

* * * *

The red light faded from behind his closed lids. Dane opened his eyes to find him and his group standing on top of a hill, overlooking a small cliff. 

"Where are we?"

Dane turned toward the voice, a scowl already on his face. Standing before him was the ire of his liege's life, at least at this moment in time.

Ophelia was holding the rucksack in front of her like it was a dirty animal. Her long blonde hair hung loose, whipping around her in the not-so-gentle breeze.

"Give me that." Shana took the rucksack from Ophelia and threw it over her own shoulders, ignoring her previous question.

Dane found himself in a situation that he wasn't all that thrilled with. Ophelia was someone that stood in Remington's way so Dane automatically marked her as an enemy. Shana was someone Remington had warned him to be wary of, and so too was marked as an enemy. The only one he did not have an opinion of was Markus, their fourth member.

One female beta, one female omega, and two male betas. One completely useless member. However, it wasn't as if Dane had plans to win this competition. His main goal was to make sure everyone survived while keeping his eye on the two women.

Dane turned towards the direction of the woods behind them. "I'll take the front. Markus, take the rear."

"Where are we going?"

Dane didn't even spare a glance back at Ophelia as he answered her. "We need to find a place to set up camp."

"Wouldn't it be better to stay here?"

He suppressed the urge to snort, a sentiment that Shana and Markus did not share. "Why? So we can be trapped? And what if one of you decided to walk right off the edge in the middle of the night?" His sarcastic words hit the others, but none harder than Ophelia.

Dane used his dagger to mark the trees as they passed by. He was focused on finding a safe place to set up camp while trying to figure out how to body-check Shana. According to Remington, the girl had something on her that could put them in a dangerous situation. And Dane always took his liege's words seriously even if the guy had poor taste in men.

He cast a glance out of the side of his eyes. Ophelia's hair had leaves tangled up in it and the clothes she wore were too thick for this heat. What in the world did Demian Maxwell see in this girl? 

His gaze then flicked towards Shana. The girl who proudly wore dresses was now dressed in men's casual clothes and her hair was tied up in a bun. She even had her standardized dagger pulled out and held at the ready in front of her as she carried their rucksack on her back. At least this girl knew how to adapt. Too bad she was considered an enemy at the moment.

* * * *