Traveling in different wagons, Zephyr's group and that of the hero traveled as far as possible in the southwest direction of Uzmiya's Holt. Only as the night grew more vibrant did the trees begin to clear, leading them down a cobble road that seemed to stretch on forever. An hour passed following the cobble, and the regular horses came to a sudden halt. Refusing to budge, not even move a little, they blinked their eyes and leaned on each other.

Overloading the wagon had crippled their strength. Even combined, they couldn't lug the weight for more than a few hours. A gentle caress by their nape, and they quickly eased into Aura's touch. The clicking of their reins being set free breathed some life into their eyes, and that life glowed brighter as the devil led them to the side of the road for them to finally rest for the night.

Bringing the carriage off-road, Zephyr unhooked the clips of the bicorns and made his way back to the hero's wagon. Strapping them again, he lessened Aura's load while she was still caring for the animals. Rudy and the others decided to contribute by setting up the numerous makeshift tents that they'd brought along.

As the flames were burning and the tents were set, the group huddled together around a pot set on a grill stand above the open flame. Their eyes blankly stared ahead as each was plagued by their own worries trapped inside their heads. What awaits them at the capital? What kind of place was it exactly? Is my home the same as it used to be? Will anyone recognize me since I was only a little kid when I lost everything? Like the written word recited, those words flew right by with little to no room to contemplate them.

Questions upon questions were piling up into mountains, but no tool emerged to reduce that weight on their shoulders. Even silence stilled to the quiet that had befallen the group, that is, until a sudden howling of the wolf snapped them back to the world outside their heads. Glancing around each other, the girls and Rudy wondered if they had to worry about wolves.

"They should stay away," Zephyr broke the silence, and all eyes turned to him. "Still, if you guys are worried, we can mark the place with our scent–give them a reason to assume the presence of another predator in this place."

No strangers to such tactics, the girls looked at each other and blinked. The wolves marked their territory and warned rivals by peeing, and that meant that they too had to deal with their business in a medium-sized parameter. But the thought of using something so weird as a tactic was far too weird for them. However, the moment they turned to look at Custer, he was already up and tugging on his waistband.

A large outline of his dick could be seen through his clothes. The cold had him semi-hard with his length reaching to his knees already. Both surprised and confused by the now familiar sight of his cock, they were all reminded of what they had seen happening between him and Freya. Only Rudy, who also wanted to take a leak, did not notice, and since his mind had been distracted recently, he was clueless about his mother's misadventure, even though the lewd stat screen was staring right at him nearly always.

Heading off with Zephyr, Rudy left the girls by themselves. And while they did feel vulnerable, there was one amongst them who felt more vulnerable than the rest. Keeping to herself, Freya had wrapped her hands around herself and tried staring into the flame again. The quiet was one thing, but the voice in her head, reminding her of the fact that Charlotte possibly knew of her mistake with Zephyr, was eating her away from the inside like a disease.

The howling wolves didn't help her efforts either; their howls broke her attention every time she felt like she was slipping. Alas, giving up, she lifted her head and glanced around at the others sitting around the bright orange flame. Drowning in their worries, they too seemed a bit distracted. Haunted by demons of their own mind and making. The worry about the future, the outcome of this trip, nothing was conclusive, and that uncertainty was digging a deep hole in their heart and their mind filled with anxiety.

"This is stupid," speaking up, Freya lowered her head and leaned towards the flame. "This whole trip is stupid. It reeks of manipulation–this summon–but just because I don't know exactly what it is, none of you would listen."

"Okio's asleep in the carriage. I can wake her up if you wanna ask her directly," Aura responded, her eyes staying on the flame.

"You know what I mean!" Squinting her brows, Freya glared at the devil. But then her eyes shifted to the vampire sitting beside her. Having changed her face slightly, Valentine looked human but still donned her fine jacket, her leather jeans, and boots. "Marquis, was it? You seem level headed, tell me, given all that we know, how is this not going to blow up in our faces when we get there?"

Grunting and shifting a little in her seat, Valentine took a deep breath. Unfolding her hands, she placed them on her legs and spoke, following a sigh.

"We go there, they do what they want to do with you guys. We don't go there; they come for you in Lumenos and possibly kill you all for treason or some made-up crap. Tell me which one of those choices sounds good to you?" Clasping her hand, Valentine reached out and lifted the lid off the cookpot. "Because if it's neither, then let's just eat and keep going."

Looking up at Freya again, Valentine flashed her a brief smile.

"How about that miss level-headed lady and the only one freaking the fuck out?" Stunned by what she'd heard from someone who was essentially a stranger, Freya's expression froze, and the look in her eyes grew dull.

Everyone else was just confused and even a little angry at Marquis for talking to Freya so rudely. However, with nothing to retort with, the girls sat and ate, all the while the boys marked their scent around their camp to ward off any sneaky predators.

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