*Ahhhh* The group shrieked and yelled, some even ran away as fast as they could not even daring to look back, not even considering the threats of the night in the barrenlands.
During the commotion Uriel fell on his back with Sam still clinging to him, the cowardly student's nails dug deep into his flesh causing him great pain. Luna was the only one left in place being more curious than scared.
"Uh, are you a cryptid ma'am?" She managed to ask, but all she got in reply was a merry laughter from the lieutenant who was having a hard time not falling over. She was clasping her belly and tears appeared on her strange eyes that now possessed a vertical pupil.
"Of course not you silly, this is just part of my trait." The lieutenant replied.
"I knew it, why would a cryptid announce its presence like that, it just didn't make any sense to me." If she had been startled, it was impossible to know. Or it would have been impossible, if not for the fact that in her shock she grasped Uriel's hand and held on to it tightly. When she realized this, she quickly took her hand back, her cheeks blushing in bright red shyness.
"Come back now kids! I was just messing with you, you guys are so gullible. For the love of the flag, just come back!" She shouted, still, it took several minutes for the ones who had ran out to come back.
They were still scared and the only reason they came back was because far from the campfire the darkness was almost absolute and the fear of the unknown was greater than what lied in plain sight.
"Is it safe?" The geeky student asked before coming back.
"Of course it is! It was just my trait, my trait! I'm lieutenant Dragonfang, it has little to do with actual dragons, but I like the sound of it.
That should be enough explanation as to why my eyes are like that, but in case you dont't know it, some traits modify people's body" Lieutenant Dragonfang, who had been delaying introducing herself only to be able to make that joke and scare the students, said with her usual tone of voice.
"You are so mean! What would you do if one of us has a stroke or something?" Sam shouted and the lieutenant simply shrugged.
Everyone gathered back near the campfire in the midst of awkward laughter. Some of them were still trembling and they couldn't stop themselves from staring at the lieutenant with a hint of distrust.
"I've heard that reptiles blink that way, they have a third eyelid." Luna spoke to the air. "Haha! And you called my trait weak!? I can control the earth, while all you can do is blink in a creepy way! You should be called lizard! No, Lizzy would suit you best!" Jackson laughed.
"That is my name! I am actually called Lizzy." She blinked in disbelief thinking on how could she miss a coincidence like that. "But don't be fooled, my trait is not nearly as crappy as yours is." She winked.
"Hang on a second, where's the pretty girl? the that was sitting next to Luna, I mean." Sam asked.
"She must still be scared of coming back." Luna replied a bit unsure herself.
"I don't know... she didn't strike me as a coward..." Lieutenant Dragonfang said nibbling on her thumb nail worriedly. But before she could even stand up and call for the soldiers to seek for the girl who had to be lost somewhere in the dark, a dark figure appeared from behind the group and, when it came close to the campfire a cute girl wearing heavy make up was revealed.
"Ah! there you are!" Lieutenant Dragonfang said and everyone heaved a sigh of relief. "What happened to you? what took you so long?"
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"I ran too far and lost sight of the campfire, fortunately I heard your laughter and was able to come back following the sound." She said as she sat down next to Sam.
Uriel was much relieved by this, because he was already tired of being in between the two of them whenever they exchanged words.
'Now they'll be able to talk properly' he thought, trying to distract himself from all the chaos.
Just like Uriel guessed, Sam and the cute girl started chatting happily. Sam was still a bit shaken by the joke lieutenant Dragonfang pulled on them, but the girl made a great job calming him down, especially after a short while when she started kissing him out of the blue.
Startled, the young student resisted a little at first, but soon let himself go guessing that it was her way of dealing with stress and he was just lucky.
Awkward as it was, they didn't mind showing their affection in public, the girl because she was too daring and Sam because something like that had never happened to him before and it was highly unlikely that such an opportunity would repeat itself.
Uriel turned to the side trying to avoid the awkwardness of having a couple kiss right beside him. Up until a week ago he had a girlfriend, but they never did something like that. They've held hands but that was mostly it, he did get a peek on the cheek every so often, but Tina came from a renowned family and she couldn't afford to have her reputation stained.
Of course the cute student that was going at it with Sam didn't have that sort of issue, he judged.
'She must wear all that make up to attract that kind of attention, like a peacock.' He thought inwardly and snorted.
Now that he was gazing at the vastness of the barren lands, Uriel noticed some lights at the distance and he guessed, correctly, that they were the campfires made by other groups.
He couldn't judge the distance as he was only able to see the closer ones, because the light emitted from a small campfire doesn't travel that far even at night.
Had Sam not been distracted, he might have noticed something strange going on, but his mind was on cloud nine at the moment.
"Shouldn't we go to sleep?" The geeky student that had been mostly quiet asked the lieutenant, who promptly shook her head.
"The first day is always the toughest, it's a long walk and a long night but you can't sleep until sunrise is near. While it's true that this place is mostly safe in daytime and cryptids are difficult to find, at night it's them who seek for us and we must be on the wary. But don't worry, the last flare signal should come soon and then you'll be able to sleep in turns."
"Hey, don't you want to go somewhere more private?" The cute girl whispered in Sam's ear as she took him by the hand and he nodded silently as he stood up ready to follow her. Different scenarios crossed his mind and none of them were innocent.
"Hang on! where do you think you're going?" Lieutenant Dragonfang asked in a stern voice that almost snapped Sam out of his reverie, almost.
"It's just going to be a short walk, it'll be fine." She giggled.
"No one is allowed to move without permission." The lieutenant replied in a cold tone of voice, but the young girl wasn't willing to give up just yet.
"Can we? pretty please" She winked coquettishly.
Lieutenant Dragonfang was torn in between letting them have their fun as youth commanded or play it safe. So far it had been the safest and easiest incursion she had participated on, she had been checking the device the whole day and most of the night but there hadn't been any strong signals.
Just when she was pondering the situation, the alarm started beeping on her pocket. It was only a mechanical clock, hence immune to the cryptid's strange powers, and it was set to mark the time where she was supposed to send a flare.
The problem was that both of the corporals were now standing watch about a hundred meters from the campfire and they were supposed to ask for permission before shooting the flares.
"Geez! of all times why did it have to be now!? hang in there a second I'll go fetch one of the corporals and then you may do as you wish." Lieutenant Dragonfang said as she walked into the night disappearing from sight after just a few steps.
Sam couldn't believe his luck and a wide idiotic smile crossed his face. The smile on the girl beside him, instead, was one of mischief.
"Come on, lets go now." She said in an alluring tone of voice.
"Let's do as miss Dragonfang commanded, it'll be just a minute." Sam replied.
"Should I go with someone else then?" She muttered as if she was talking to herself, but looking towards Uriel. Her new target,though, didn't hold her gaze and pretended not to hear her.
Then, from out of the shadows the creepy sound of footsteps accompanied by a panting sound came out as someone came running.
Everyone turned their heads to see who it was. They might have thought it was Lieutenant Dragonfang if not for one single detail: The sound came from the other way.