“You regret agreeing to your sister’s ultimatum yet?”

The knight exhaled, giving a long, hard stare at the cleric. “The other night I slept on the floor, tonight Sarah agreed that we share the bed. I still ended up on the floor at some point; not sure when, I just woke up there.”

“That’s rough buddy, but just know this is almost over.” The dragoon’s reminder sent out a wave of relief.

“If Lucy is to be believed, we’ll be bringing the princess back, whether we’re in perfect condition or we’re all limping and crawling.”

“I’ll crawl back to Lumina if it means getting this over! But so help me, if your turd of a sister so much as cracks a joke about me, I will wring her neck.”

“Someone say my name?”

Everyone had jumped hearing the voice, only to see Lucy popping out of the ground in human form, though with a new surprise.

“Is that a devil tail?”

“Yes Mr. Dragoon, it is. Anyways,” the girl cleared her throat, preparing for a speech, “I will be taking you to the tower of Zanki. No I don’t why it’s called that, don’t ask. It takes two days to get there, so we’ll arrive tomorrow, early in the afternoon if we get up early. When I get within sight of the tower, I will run ahead. I’m just doing this to let the others know that my brother is good to go on in. You guys will fight outside.”

Having no objections, the group went on their way, only stopping to eat.

Looking overhead, the sky was cloudy, as if were about to rain. Summoning up a metal bench, with Sarah bringing out paper plates, the group began chowing down, hoping to beat the rain. To Matt’s horror, he watched as a wiry tail wrapped around Jessica’s eyes. The mage simply swatted the tail away, returning to her sandwich, only for the tail to come back. The knight locked eyes with his sister, the girl retreating in defeat.

Or at least, that is what he wished happened. After some time had passed, the group mostly finished with their food, the young girl returned to her mischievous trick, this time getting a less patient reaction.

“Alright you little twerp, I’m going to rip that tail off!” Shooting ice at the girl, the knight got up off the table immediately to stop her, getting his legs and waist frozen in the process.

“Jess, stop! If you send her away, we might never get to the princess.”

Pretending not to hear him, she continued to look for signs of the girl, her target popping right in front of her face. “Sorry, it was just a jo-“ she disappeared into the ground before finishing that sentence, narrowly avoiding the ice sent her way. “I won’t do it again, I pro-“ Again disappearing, she tried to apologize a couple more times, but all attempts were met with more and more frozen plains.

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The mage turned around when she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. “Matt, I’m not dealing with this crap. Either she leaves, or I leave!”

“Then leave.”

Distance explosions could be heard in the cloudy fields, harsh winds blowing grass every which way. Taking a step back and looking at her companions, the mage could see they all held a solemn expression. Even turning to her aggravator, she saw remorse.

“Matt, I…” the mage couldn’t keep eye contact with her leader, instead facing the ground.

“If you change your mind, then you can come back. But no one is forcing you to do this. Whether you come with us or head back now, that’s up to you.”

With those words, the group marched onward, leaving the mage to ponder. As she stood there, her only company was the ambience. She could feel the cool wind grow cold, the harsh wind turn cruel. “Fine, I guess I’ll go and put up with her. Might as well not be a complete screw up.”

Trailing far behind, the mage’s mind and sight wandered across the plain. Through her eyes, she could see herself, younger, happier, laughing and smiling with Matthew, Brian, Eric, and Adriana. As a single stream of water made its way down her eye, the mage turned her head to the sky. “I better get going.”

The mage walked, a single droplet landing on her head, then another, and then more after that. Picking up the pace, her vision fixed on the path ahead, an arc of ground rising above the rest, withered in various places, but still kempt. As the dam of clouds gave way, the girl began running as best she could. Trudging through the mud, the weight of her backpack and the uneven earth pulling her down with every step, her knees quickly grew weak. Just as she could catch a glimpse of her friends, her foot gave in, hitting the ground and causing her to fall into the mud.

Wiping the mud off her face, she cursed herself. “Can’t I do anything right?” When she was sure her eyes were safe, she opened them, the first thing in her vision was the arm of her leader. Grabbing it, she felt herself being lifted up by him, the archer joining the knight in supporting the mud riddled girl.

“You decided to stick with us. I’d say that’s a pretty good decision.”

Jessica, Brian, Eric, and Sarah huddled around the fire in the lobby of a hotel, the other three having a discussion in private.

“Alright you two, let’s set this straight: Matt, you should know better than to berate Jess like that. She could be seriously ill because of you.”

The knight closed his eyes, sulking. “Yes, I know. I should have tried to say something.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know. I just got tired of Jessica being so confrontational. I know it’s not what a leader should do, but I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her. I’ll remember to be more patient from now on.”

“And you!” The rogue snapped toward the girl taking her hoodie off. “No more causing trouble!”

“Yes ma’am.” The girl begrudgingly put her coat away. “Can I have some privacy, I need to change.”

“You can join Matt and the rest at the fireplace.”

“No, you join him. I can just change clothes and be fine.”

The rogue wanted to remain steadfast, but the air away from the fire was growing nippy, her obstinance falling away. “Suite yourself.”

Joining the others, the group remained silent, letting the crackling fire talk for them. As the minutes ticked on, their numbers dwindled, one by one heading off to their individual rooms. Soon, Matthew and Eric were the only ones remaining.

“Adriana probably told you, but that was kind of a bone-headed move earlier.”

“Yes she did, you don’t have to remind me.” The sighed forcefully, once again losing his cool. “What’s next, is Brian going to tell me I screwed up?”

“You know he’d never tell you that. He might think it, but he’ll always follow you. Sarah too.”

“Look, let’s try not to lose it until we get home, okay? You can yell and scream at me, hit me, whatever I deserve. When this is over, I’ll do whatever I can to fix whatever is going on.”

Eric laid back in his seat, rubbing his eyes.

‘I don’t know Matt, I don’t think resting or hurting you will make everything better.’