Travelling companions.

Selena stared up at the wagon cover, pouting and frowning, angrily muttering to herself in Quenderin. Moon and Zeke stood outside, having finally loaded the last piece of valuable item aboard. "You think this is a good idea?" "She can't move, you heard those pops. She's not dangerous." Zeke said. "What? No, I meant you should be sitting next to the hot white haired girl. I know she's your type." Moon said, nudging him in the ribs. Zeke blushed. "She's not my type." He snapped. "What? Because she's black? That's just racist." Zeke shook his head confused. "What?" He asked confused. "Or is it because she's too tall? I know you're insecure about your height." "I-" But, she's really beautiful and I bet she's got a rocking body under that armour. Probably got those subtle defined abs you like." "Moon, I'm not interested in her." "What why? She's so your type." He cupped his chin. "Hmm, let's see what reasons, could be stopping me from liking her....oh! I know. Did you forget she was trying, and still trying to kill us?" "I feel like you're being picky. You could move past that." "She also calls us Cursed ones. Don't think that hatred is going anywhere." "Now you're just arguing semantics." He raised his hand threatening to hit her. "Get on the damn wagon." He growled. She scurried off, taking the wagon with Selena in side.

"You comfortable back there?" Moon asked. Selena was silent. "I said put you in the slave trading wagon, but Zeke, he's way too much of a gentleman to do that." There was no response. "Sooo, Selena. That's a really beautiful name. Do you have a family name? Like a last name to go with it?" Selena sucked on her teeth, trying to ignore her. "Selena the Death Knight. That's a cool name. Me, personally. I would go with, Super Moon, mega, ultra, amazing, talented-" "I am very comfortable doing this journey in silence." Selena snapped. "Well, I'm not. So, you can talk to me. Or you can have Zeke, ride with you." "I'll take boy." "Oh? Eager to have him, are we?" Selena blushed. "Not like-AH!" She screamed turning her head to fast. Zeke stopped his wagon, rushing over. "What happened!? I heard a scream." "Oh, Selena, was showing me her mating call." Selena was bright red, flustered and growling at Moon. "The Drow are a fascinating-Ah!"

Zeke struck the back of her head. She rubbed the back of head, frowning at him. "Stop being an idiot, and don't bother her. Don't forget we, need her for directions." "How can we trust her? She was just trying to kill us a few minutes ago." "Because, I doubt she wants to be cooked alive in her armour." "Good idea! We should take her out of that stuffy armour." Moon leapt into the wagon. "Hey wait! Stop!" Selena cried out. "Moon-" Zeke turned around seeing Moon mount Selena. Moon unclasped her armour. "Woah! What a hottie!" She said tucking her armour away. Selena was slender, with smooth skin, and wore simple shirt and pants underneath. The cool air touching her sweaty skin was refreshing and calming. "There, doesn't that feel better?" "No. I want my armour back on." She sulked. "Really Moon?" "Don't act like you didn't enjoy the show." He rolled his eyes. "Sorry about her. She's..." "I want to swap. Surely, you can't be this annoying." She said looking the other way. "Oh, no. She doesn't want me driving her. Oh, oh. I'm so cut. Alright bye." Moon scampered off to the other wagon. "Damn it Moon." Zeke muttered.

Selena watched as Zeke entered the wagon, diligently choosing each step, careful to not rock of move the wagon. He rolled folded a soft and thick coat, into a pillow. He knelt by her side. She could see him blushing, holding his breath, and trembling. 'Why is he nervous? Why is he being so nice?' "It's embarrassing, when you stare at me like that." He said. "I think closing my eyes, would make it more awkward." "Sorry about this." He said gently grabbing her head, tucking the makeshift pillow under. "There that should help, for any rocks we go over. If you need anything, just call out." He took his seat and they set off. Zeke checked the rear, seeing Moon waving at him with a seedy smile. He glared at her, turning around. "Stupid Moon." He muttered. "Your power is strange. Stranger than any other Cursed One." "Really? What was the strangest one, before you met me?" "He could re-grow his teeth, no matter how destroyed they were." "Where they at least...sharp?" "No." Zeke chuckled. Selena smiled. "Geez, I thought my power was bad, but regeneration is up there."

"How does your power work? Are you stopping my attack with something?" Zeke shrugged. "No idea honestly. I can feel everything touching me, but once it becomes painful it just stops, and all I feel is the pressure. Although speaking of weird, I think we should talk about that sword of yours?" "What about it?" "You cut through those Tanks, like they were made out of butter. Steel and all." She scoffed. "You consider them to be Tanks?" "I mean...they were pretty beefy, and had thick armour..." "You're more of a Tank than them." "I'm not bonded with the Taunt spell." "You know that spell only works on monsters right?" "Really!?" He cleared his throat, composing himself. "I knew that. Was just testing you." Selena smiled. "You are new to Verdancia, aren't you?" "Second time here, but our first time here, was short lived." "What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" "Some Elf elder, grabbed Moon's ass. So she punched him in the face, and then I punched him in the face." Selena spat out laughing, instantly regretting her decision to laugh. "Hey, don't hurt yourself." "I'm sorry, but I never thought, I would meet two of your kind that would do that." She snickered.

"You are different from the others." She said, staring at his back. "How so?" "You're kind. Anyone else, would have sold me off or-" "For the last time. I'm not gonna sell you as a slave, or do...that...to you. Especially won't let anyone else do that to you." "Why not? I tried to kill you." "Moon won't admit it, because she's too stubborn, but we'd both be dead if you didn't come." "How are you not mad at me, for trying to kill you?" "At age five, my body showed signs of Mana alteration. At age ten, I developed this power. Do you know when Moon developed her powers?" "I don't know." "Eleven. That's considered late, for us Hunters. She was desperate to catch up in training, I needed to know the extent of my powers." "How many times, has she tried to kill you?" Selena asked concerned. "Lost count." He turned back and smiled at her. "So don't worry. I don't take it personally." "You two are very strange." "Get use to it. This trip might take a while."

Night fell and the three stopped to make camp. Moon sat with Selena, as Zeke set up the fire and cooking station. "Did you have fun with Zeke?" Selena turned her head away. "You really gonna give me attitude, after I carried you out to pee?" "It was fine." "Soooo...Is he your type?" "WHA-AH!" She froze in pain. She took a deep breath composing herself. "I am not interested in men, especially boys of your kind. What you consider a life time, I consider a blink." "It would be one hell of a blink." Selena blushed. "I am not interested." She growled. "Tell me your answer, after you eat his cooking." She scoffed. "Your food is vile and disgusting." "We'll see. Hey! Zeke, how long till the food is ready?" "It's done! Just trying to find bowls for the steak...." "Meat?" She perked up. "Are you a vegetarian?" Moon asked. "No...we just..." "Riiiight! I totally forgot you were a Drow. Meat must be scarce for you." "Non-existent." She gulped catching a whiff of the intoxicating aromas. "Well, consider yourself lucky. What do you normally eat?" She shied away. "Come on, nothing to be embarrassed about." "Nuts, berries, fruits, vegetables...insects..." Moon cackled. "Oh boy, I had centipede one time. Very gross, but crunchy. Don't worry Zeke's cooking is always amazing."

"Alright, Jesus Christ. Who puts the bowls in the slave trading wagon. That's just unhygienic." He said handing them both a bowl of stew. "Oooh, what are we eating?" "Well, not sure who packed our wagon, but they had a taste for finer things. Beef stew, with some pretty top quality rib eye cubes." Moon took a deep sniff, exhaling with delight. Selena licked her lips, and swallowed her pooling saliva. "Feed her, and don't be a dick about it." Moon gasped reeling back. "I would never." "Moon. I mean it. No here comes the airplane, or any other weird baby thing. I want to be back on the move, by sunrise." "Geez, why are you in such a rush? Look at how beautiful this night sky is. How amazing the weather is." "Did you forget, Weaver paired us up with those assholes?" "Maybe he didn't know." "I doubt that. Now feed her, I'll get us some drinks." "What are we drinking?" "They brought some juices, but no idea what flavour."

Moon sat beside Selena holding out a piece of steak for her. She watched as it oozed with soup, the rich aroma hypnotising her. She felt like, she would drown in her own saliva. "Open up." Selena threw away her pride, opening her mouth. Moon lowered the fork stopping right above her mouth. "What are you doing?" "Desperate?" "He said not to do this." She frowned. Moon grinned. "The best way to thank Zeke, is to kiss him." "WH-" She shoved the steak into her mouth. Selena's eyes bulged with pure shock, and ecstasy. This was meat? How tender, how delicious , how absolutely succulent and rich. Moon pulled the fork out, watching Selena happily chew and savour it, nodding in her own world. Zeke returned holding three wooden mugs. "Hey I got the drin-" "MORE MEAT!" Selena cried out erotically, making the both of them reel back and freeze. Selena stared at ceiling with wide unblinking eyes. 'Did I just moan? Was it in my head? It had to have of been in my head. I'll look at their faces and check.' She turned to Zeke, seeing his stunned expression. 'NOOOO! I DID THAT OUT LOUD!' Selena shied the other way. "You know, I forgot something on the stove." Zeke hurried away. Moon broke out laughing, clutching her side. Selena felt her skin go white hot, and if it wasn't for her complexion, she'd be redder than a ripe tomato. Moon ducked her head out of the wagon. "Hey Zeke! You finally made a girl moan, by putting your meat in her!" "SHUT UP!" Zeke snapped from afar.

Giggling still, Moon sat down beside Selena, placing a straw near her mouth. "What is it?" She asked looking away. She took a sip. "Orange juice." Selena took a sip, being stuck by the intense sweetness and flavour. Her eyes bulged, slurping the whole drink down. "Liked that one huh?" "You two eat like this every day!?" "Well not every day. Sometimes we're too poor to afford food like this." "That's why you want money." "Yeeeah... that's why." She said shifting her eyes. "Will you help us return the Grimoire, if we continue to feed you this kind of food?" Selena stuck her head up high. "I am not that easy to buy." "Well, guess I'll have your bowl th-" "NO!" She cleared her throat. "I mean...Zeke, said you should be feeding me." She said calmly. Moon gave her another piece of steak. She watched her munch of the steak piece, do another happy head dance.

"If I was to help...how much food would I get?" She asked shyly. "Equal share. Zeke is nice like that." "I'm not helping...but...I happen to be going to that village. I can let you two join me." "Gonna need you to rephrase that, with less of the pride." She pursed her lips to a line. "This is steak. You ever have chicken before? Tender and juicier, with crunchy skin, that crackles and pops in your mouth." "It's unsafe to travel without a proper guide. I will join you." "Almost there." Selena pouted, frowning as Moon dangled another piece of steak in front of her. She let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine, I will help you two. You have my word. Now give me the meat." She said sticking her tongue out. Moon happily fed her the rest of the bowl. Zeke sat outside near the flickering flame, deep in thought.

'He had to of have known about them. Why else would he send us with them? A test maybe?'He looked at his arm. 'Or maybe a way to activate this?' Zeke sighed, staring up at the starry night sky. He felt Moon slap his forehead. "Ow." He said emotionlessly. She sat beside him. "You're over thinking again." "I'm not...Alright, I'm thinking." "Still thinking about those idiots?" "It's all too fishy. There's no way he didn't know about them being slave traders. Or that they would do that." "Think he was testing us?" "Not sure. We'll have to ask him, when we get back." She slapped him on the back. "Well in the mean time. We should enjoy ourselves here." "What do you mean?" She took Zeke under her arm, pulling him in close. "Come on. Selena is so your type, and you heard her request." Zeke pulled away blushing and flustered. "I'm sure you gave her that Chen charm." "One, I have no charm. Secondly you're driving her tomorrow." "Nuh-uh. You're driving her." "You have got to stop, trying to set me up with every woman we meet." "I only do that, with the ones you like." "And that time with Edelgard?" "In my defence, I did not know, she fancied fish tacos." "Well that was a gross way to say, she's a lesbian."

"Seriously, go and talk to her. I'll sleep in the gross slave trader wagon." She whispered, rocking Zeke. "I'm not gonna do that." "Why not? She likes you." "No, I meant. I'm not gonna do that, because one of us has to keep watch. Unless you want to stay up all nigh-" "Well, good night. I'm beat." She faked a yawn and stretched, jogging off. He nodded with pursed lips. "That's what I thought." Moon snuggled beside Selena against her will. She growled at her. "Come on, you have to be cold as well." "I am fine. Just put me in my armour." "Yeeeahh...I'm not gonna do that. Good night." "Wait. Are you really going to leave him out there alone?" "Why? You worried about him?" "Are you not? Do you not know what's lurking out there?" She shrugged. "Eh, they'll probably hurt themselves, trying to kill him. But I don't know anything or anyone that would be that dumb." Selena let out a low growl. "At least, don't hog the cover." "Just pull what you want." Moon offered the blanket to Selena. "Hmm, okay. That's all you want?" "I-" She rolled over completely taking the blanket to herself. Selena let out an exasperated sigh. Moon kept her back to Selena, with a smug smile. 'Come on Zeke. Be the chivalrous knight, I know that you are.'

Zeke inspected the wagon, seeing Moon curled up with the blanket, and Selena frowning at the ceiling as she shivered. He let out a sigh, grabbing her a blanket and gently draped it over. "If she snores, call out. I'll take her to the other wagon." "Thank you." 'ATTABOY!' "Don't worry, I'm use to her being a lazy slob." Moon clenched her jaw. "Why do you put up with her?" "Oh, I'm planning to sell her. I heard fat-" She shot up pointing at him. "I AM NOT FAaaaaat..." She trailed off seeing Zeke glare at her. "You always snore, when you sleep. Now both of you go to sleep." "You should be careful outside. There are dangers-" "Word of advice. Best to fall asleep before she does. Or you'll never get any sleep." "My snoring is not that bad..." Zeke panned slowly to her, giving a look of utter disbelief. "Yeah, you should probably get some sleep before me." Zeke waved them off, pacing around the wagons. He gazed into the night sky. 'I can see why people stay here.'

At the beginning of dusk, Edelgard wielded a mighty and golden halberd in her right hand, a tablet in her left. Her down and flowing over her suit. She kicked Weaver's office door open. "YOU!" Pointing her halberd at him. He and Red stared at her confused. The two of them still slowly playing paddy cake with each other. Her anger disappeared at the confusing sight. "Are....are you playing paddy cake with Red?" "I was." "Red, get over here!" She cocked her head to the side, raising her paw to ask why. "Because, he sent Moon and Zeke through a Rift with criminals." Red hopped onto all fours, hissing with her fur coiling up. "Edelgard, the Saints served time for their crimes, and Aurelio was released on good behaviour. There was nothing wrong with sending them on that mission." "You said they would be protected." She growled. Weaver stood up. "It is the nature of our existence to face evil. Tell me Edelgard, how many Hunters have you seen, choose to bite their tongue and throw away their pride?" She lowered her weapon. "More than I can count, but!" She raised her weapon, walking towards him.

"I assure you those two are safe." "How!?" "Zeke would never allow anything to happen to Moon." "That's not a guarantee." She growled. Weaver swiped the air, turning the TV in his room on. It displayed a picture of the dead Saints and Aurelio being picked apart by carrion feeders. "They killed them?" Edelgard said completely shocked. "They are okay, last reports indicate they are alive, and continuing their mission." "They need to have a proper convoy." "The first Hunters to cross, were less prepared than them. Have faith in their abilities Edelgard. You cannot protect and coddle them forever." "Was this some kind of sick test for them?" "An initiation." She looked at him perturbed. "To what?" "With the new reforms and reassessment of almost all Hunters. The World Agency is currently in the works, for an impromptu, Hunter Games. If those two complete their mission and return, they'll earn a spot on the Australian team." She lowered her weapon, letting out a sigh. "Next time. You tell me. I won't let anything bad happen to those two, or anyone in my agency again." "Noted. Now, do you want to play paddy cake with Red? I for the life of me cannot beat her." "No one can."