(Brendan POV)

I stirred, finding myself suddenly awake in the middle of the night for reasons unknown.

For some reason, it felt a little colder tonight as compared to yesterday. Was it because of the Wendigo incident yesterday?

I looked to my right at the empty bed where Tekiteh should have been.

The twins had tied him to the bed last night with a strip of cloth stuck in his mouth in an attempt to make him learn his lesson in humility. Unfortunately all we got was him thrashing around all throughout the night.

It was so bad that I had to sleep with earplugs on that night, not that I regretted having him tied up though.

I still can't believe that he was actually a Wendigo.

I wonder... If we hadn't had him restrained last night, would we have woken up to him feasting on us?

Pushing that morbid thought away, I turned to the other side in order to make myself more comfortable in an attempt to fall back asleep.

But the empty bed that I saw and the slightly ajar window behind it quickly snuffed out any thoughts I had of doing just that.

I remember we had closed and locked the window on purpose in case the Elder Wendigo came back, so why is it opened?

And the fact that Mark is missing from his bed and is the closest to the window…

"Mark's been taken!" I yelled, leaping out of bed in a hurry.

My shout immediately woke up the rest of the people in the room, the twins falling out of their beds while Sylphy immediately rushed towards Mark's empty bed.

As expected of a retainer, she is quick on the response of her lord being in danger.

"Where?! What happened?! Who?!" Sylphy began her barrage of questions.

I pointed towards the window behind her just as quickly.

She swivelled around, frowning as soon as she saw the slightly open window.

She ran towards it to throw it open, looking all around for any traces of him. I didn't even have time to stop her when she vaulted over the window, kneeling down on the ground as though to inspect something.

I followed after her, peering over the ledge to see her dusting the ground for something.

Since our building was located in the corner of the Sect, our window was overlooking a dirt track that led towards a garden nearby. It was rather isolated as well, the next closest dormitory being a good hundred metres away.

"Tracks…" She muttered. "Rather fresh too… But they look human."

"You're quite knowledgeable about this, huh?" I pointed out.

She dusted her hands as she stood back up, "When one is attuned to nature, such things come naturally."

Attuned to nature? Did she come from a family of hunters?

"This is strange though," She muttered. "The tracks indicate a single person of unladen weight moving away from our room… Did sire leave the room voluntarily?"

Before I could give a response to her claim, the twins stumbled up to me, still groggy from having been woken up.

"Wha… Wha 'appened?" Chris yawned.

"Mark is missing and the window was opened, we're not sure why he left the room though," I explained, gesturing to Sylphy.

Kris waved his hand, "Ah, he probably went to the toilet or something. Maybe he went through the window 'cause it's closer to his bed. He'll probably come back in a minute or two."

Saying his piece, Kris proceeded back to collapse onto his bed, already starting to snore into his pillow.

Chris moved to join his brother in his own bed, "Yeah man, my bro's right. You guys worry too much. The Elders and Masters probably have that monster under control already."

I frowned at their actions, "Aren't you guys worried that he might be taken by that Elder Wendigo?"

"He'll be fine…" Chris muttered before falling back to sleep.

Damn it, I know they were scared of the Wendigo but… I have a bad feeling about this.

"Forget them," Sylphy waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Are you coming with me to find him or not?"

Well, I suppose I don't want to have his death on my conscience so I'll just have to follow. Besides, it's not like I could sleep well knowing I let Sylphy go on alone.

I nodded to show that I was coming, climbing over the window after Sylphy.

She beckoned for me to follow and we treaded down the dirt path towards the garden, Sylphy looking at the ground the entire time while I just followed behind her.

"You said he went alone?" I asked, hoping to at least strike up a conversation instead of just following awkwardly.

"Yes, the tracks look human and the depth of prints do not indicate it was carrying something heavy. That's what led me to believe he had left our room voluntarily, though the reason for such an action eludes me."

"Maybe… What the twins said was true?" I suggested, though I don't even believe my own suggestion for a second.

She snorted, "I highly doubt sire would do something as uncouth as that."

My curiosity got the better of me, "You keep calling him 'sire'. What exactly is your relationship? You didn't seem to know him before he er… Made those plants sprout from the ground."

She shook her head, "You wouldn't understand. He is much more… Profound… Than you can comprehend. Even I did not know the extent of it myself until he confirmed it."

I raised my eyebrow at her cryptic words but decided not to comment on that.

"Who is his family, really?" I asked.

She stopped and turned around to face me, "Why are you suddenly so interested in him? I remembered you rushing to his side yesterday as well and I don't recall him mentioning anything about you either. Who are you, really?"

"I am just a regular merchant's son. Truth be told, I've come to see him as a close friend after he came to talk to me during my confinement. I realised he is a really interesting and reliable person. At least better than the other guys I've met so far."

She nodded, "Yes, that he is. At least you're not blind like a certain pair of twins. I suppose I can understand why you would try and get closer to him in that case. I don't suppose you know his background?"

I was just about to answer a negative when a soft cry of help whispered through the air.

"You hear that?" I asked, a little unsure if I had been imagining it.

Both of us stopped and listened, the cry came back a little later. It was Mark groaning out for help.

"Sire!" Sylphy immediately rushed towards the source of the voice with me hot on her heels.

The groaning got louder as we got deeper into the garden, both of us searching for our friend who must be in trouble.

Just as we got to where we thought the source of the voice was supposed to be, I noticed something moving in the corner of my eye.

Trusting my instincts, I dove forward and pushed the two of us to the ground, just in time as something huge flew over my head.

I made sure my hands were on her shoulders so that we did not land in any kind of awkward position of course.

She furrowed her brows at me, probably intending to murder me for pushing her down but the sound of a low growl caught her attention instead.

The two of us turned to see the unmistakable form of the Elder Wendigo crawling out of the shrubbery, its glowing red eyes locked onto us.

Sylphy and I alone in a garden with no help whatsoever. The only people who know that we are here had chosen to fall back asleep and not give a damn about our other missing person.

And of course, the unkillable, mythical monster just had to show up in front of us...

Well, shit.

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