The bronze-skinned girl, already squarely planted on her behind, crawled back a few more steps with her breath catching in her throat. Her hand lifted to her mouth, trembling. The sound of Kaiden's fists meeting flesh echoed in her head, each dull thud feeling heavier than the last. She had thought the strange catwoman with tanned skin was the only monster among them.

But now…

Her eyes darted to Kaiden. His arms looked carved from iron, his veins dark with that living red glow of the Gauntlet. The stench of monster blood clung to him. He looked like something born from the same nightmare as the beasts they were fighting.

'Another monster…!!'

Were they all monsters?

Her chest tightened. The edges of her vision blurred. She didn't know if she wanted to scream or cry or simply wake up somewhere else. Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her throat.

Then another roar split through the battlefield. Kaiden and the others turned as one, moving toward the last Ravager.

The girl could only watch as they finished the job.

By the time the last Ravager hit the dirt, her face had gone ghostly pale. She didn't dare move.

…

Kaiden turned toward the sound of movement. The bronze-skinned girl yelped all of a sudden, releasing a small, startled sound that broke through the now quiet battlefield.

Her wide eyes darted up at him before she tried to crawl backward again, only to bump into a broken root and fall flat.

The glow in Kaiden's arm began to fade. The dark veins receded, and his exterior returned to its usual tone. The monstrous sharpness in his expression softened until nothing about him looked demonic anymore. He was just a tired, blood-covered man trying not to scare the survivor in front of him.

He moved toward the girl slowly, trying not to appear threatening, before kneeling down. "Hey. It's okay now. You're safe. You speak English, right? Do you understand me?"

That only made her panic more.

The girl's hands slammed onto the ground as she dropped to all fours, pressing her forehead into the dirt. "Please don't eat me!" she shouted with her voice breaking into a squeak by the end. "I'll be quiet! I'll do anything, just don't eat me!"

Kaiden blinked. "What?"

Behind him, Luna groaned. "Great. You made an innocent girl cry."

Nyx laughed softly at the sight of a Native American teenage girl breaking into tears at the mere sight of her awesome boyfriend.

Though the Space Valkyrie had to admit, he was one scary sight right now.

When she spoke, her tone was light and warm. "You really do have that wild-man effect, Kai," she teased while stepping beside Kaiden. Her knees touched the dirt as she crouched next to him. "Hey, little one," she said gently, "no one's going to hurt you."

Hearing the beyond-tender tone with which she spoke, the girl risked a peek upward on instinct and instantly froze.

Her breath hitched when she saw Nyx's face. The elders had told her what the Pale Ones were supposed to be like: cruel, hungry eyes; mouths that smiled only when taking. They were said to be the kind of people who stole land and blood both.

But Nyx didn't look hungry. Her pink hair caught the sunlight, and her expression carried none of that fabled cruelty. Her eyes held warmth, a softness that didn't fit the stories at all.

The girl's trembling slowed. She blinked once, unsure, then again, this time longer.

"Sit up, sweetheart. It's alright."

The girl hesitated, then pushed herself upright.

Now, she sat with her knees pressed together to her chest, very defensive in her posture. She looked between all of the women standing behind him. All of them were watching her, but there was no threat in their eyes. Only curiosity.

She swallowed hard and whispered, "You… really aren't going to eat me?"

Aria huffed out a small laugh. "No, we're not cannibals."

Luna then added, "And even if we were, why would we eat you in particular? There's no meat on your bones at all."

"Kya!" This instantly earned a new yelp from the girl.

Luna received many wry glances from those around her, so much so that she decided to withdraw from the scene while whistling.

Kaiden, after shaking his head amusedly for a few seconds, opened his mouth carefully, lowering his tone. "What's your name?"

The girl jolted as if struck by his fist itself. Even his gentle voice seemed to ripple through her nerves like thunder. She shuddered, clutching her knees tighter, before scrambling behind Nyx in a frightened blur.

Nyx blinked in surprise as the trembling body pressed against her back. However, the girl was not a small child; she was a teenager, looking about age 16, so her height was that of an adult woman. This, in turn, made hiding behind Nyx difficult, though her generous curves and medium armor definitely helped.

Half-hidden, the girl peeked out from behind the Space Valkyrie. Her wide eyes moved toward Kaiden as though expecting him to suddenly bare fangs and lunge for her.

Bastet's purring voice carried through the air as if it were a lazy melody. "Mmm… curious. More and more women seem terrified of you lately, Master~" she teased, tilting her head with a playful grin. "Shouldn't it be the other way around, with how popular our videos are?"

Aria crossed her arms with a cute huff. "It's for the best," she decreed while her eyes narrowed just a little too much, becoming slits. "He doesn't need more women getting comfortable with him. Hmph."

"Are you seriously getting jealous of a teenager?" Bastet giggled, earning herself a second scoff. More and more, Aria reminded the felinid of a territorial hound as she seemed to growl at anyone who dared to approach what was hers.

Nyx just smiled softly at the exchange, then turned her full attention to the frightened girl behind her. She lifted an arm and brushed her hand through the girl's tangled dark hair with a soothing, rhythmic motion. "Hey now… It's okay. What's your name?"

The girl hesitated with a shaky spine and limbs, but the warmth in Nyx's tone and the gentle pressure of her hand seemed to melt some of the fear away. Slowly, she tilted her face upward. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"N–Naira…"

"Such a pretty name!" Nyx said warmly. "I'm Nyx! Both of our names start with the letter n, maybe that's a sign we should be best friends! By the way, that man over there is my boyfriend. He might look a little scary right now, but trust me, he's got the tenderest heart you'll ever meet."

Naira peeked once more from behind Nyx's side. Her gaze landed on Kaiden, on the man who moments ago looked like a walking nightmare, and though she didn't shrink this time, her eyes still flickered with unease.

She didn't seem to trust him yet.

But she didn't run, either.

"Best friends…?" she mused over the words as if they were alien to her.

"Do you not have friends, Naira?" Nyx asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I do… Or I did… Years ago."

"Hmm? What happened? Can you tell me? A young lady such as yourself shouldn't be out here. Were you not aware of the monster outbreak? Do you have a tribe?"

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