It was already past midday as the group leaves the edge of Little Creek. Markus has once again loaded the backpack onto his shoulders, walking with his rifle gripped in gloved hands. Aurora and Eclair flutter beside him as he takes the time to appreciate the surrounding land. A comforting feeling washes over him as the woods can now be clearly seen with daylight. It's almost as if he never left home.

The group was following a trail leading back to the main path Markus walked the night before. Aurora has already taken charge of guiding the way, keeping fairly quiet since leaving town. In the meantime, Eclair was already fighting to keep her large bag from slipping off her shoulder.

Markus could see her struggle, and without a word, swings his own backpack onto his arm. He says “Eclair, come here. Put your bag with my stuff.” He starts pointing to the top pocket of his backpack.

Eclair's eyes brighten at the idea, and right away she flies over to the backpack. “So I just pull this?” She says, grabbing the zipper. Markus nods his head, and watches her pull and open the pocket herself. The red bag is quickly taken off her shoulder and placed inside the opening. Instant relief is seen on Eclair's face, knowing the heavy bag wouldn't be bothering her anymore.

“Hey Aurora! Put your satchel here. There's plenty of room.” Eclair calls out to Aurora who's ahead of the group. Flying back to see what Eclair was talking about, Aurora soon sees the advantage of Markus' backpack. There's a moment of hesitation as she lands next to her guard, but Eclair's big smile convinces her it's okay to also put her own satchel inside. When the items are all secured within the pocket, the zipper is closed again by Eclair.

“Thanks.” Eclair happily says to Markus. The girls then lift off from the backpack, seemingly more agile in flight. There's a tiny smile on the face of Markus as he swings the backpack onto his shoulders again. Everyone feels a little more comfortable now.

“Hey... there's something I want to see before we get too far. I want to go back to the clearing from last night.” Markus says to the fairies. There's a curiosity about the beast Markus wanted to satisfy. It should be a quick detour for the group before continuing west to Montillo.

“Fine with me.” Aurora says back. She simply nods her head and turns her flying in the correct direction.

After walking a short distance through the woods, the group reaches the small clearing once again. Markus is still confused, yet comforted, by how much the forest resembles everything back home. The clearing reminds him of pastel paintings of green and brown grasses, with beautiful flowers mixed into the landscape. Trees of all sizes add a contrast of leaves and branches against the colorful ground surrounding him. Small patches of white snow blend into the shadows of trees and boulders.

Walking over to the area where the beast was killed, a foul stench is soon detected in the air. The fairies are already starting to pinch their noses in an attempt to cover the terrible smell. Daylight allows Markus to find the corpse easily, but he sees nature has already begun reclaiming the beast. Flies and insects are starting to swarm, and scavengers have taken their meals. Even in it's condition, the animal had differences in how it looked now compared with the previous night.

Markus starts slowly walking around the corpse, observing how big of a hog-like creature it really was. The most obvious change is the hide hair was not what he originally thought. The beast's hair is actually colored shades of green, red, black, and brown. It would be easy to mistake the creature for a rock or boulder from even a few yards away.

After a full walk around the body, Markus begins to dig out his camera from the front pocket of his pants. Aurora and Eclair are immediately curious about the strange gadget they've just seen. Hovering closer to Markus, Eclair begins peering over his shoulder with great interest. Aurora keeps her distance, but is looking intently at what the pair are doing.

With the camera set, Markus begins to capture images of the animal body as he walks around it again. Moving quickly, he only briefly glances toward the pictures as they appear on the digital screen. Eclair meanwhile continues to watch Markus work his camera while trying to sneak peeks behind his back.

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When the last picture is taken, Markus stops himself to quickly review everything just captured. Eclair once more takes a spot behind his back to look at the images on the camera. As Eclair watches the small pictures appear and disappear, she has a sudden realization of what he's doing. Flying past Markus' head, the surprise appearance of Eclair makes him duck to the side out of reflex. She stops herself in front of him with a big smile and hands clamped together.

“Hey! Are you taking photographs!?” Eclair asks Markus excitedly.

“Jeez, I didn't notice you. Ya, I'm taking pictures.” Markus responds back as he straightens his stance, but a certain thought then reaches his mind. “You... know what a camera is?”

“Sure! Lots of traders and travelers visiting Little Creek have photographs with them. They show off kids and families and other things.” Eclair says nonchalantly, with a smug look on her face for knowing that information.

“Oh! So that's what you were doing.” Aurora says as she suddenly appears from above. She flies next to Eclair and continues “I've never seen such a small camera like that, but photographs aren't a big deal once we reach Montillo. There's plenty all over the town Eclair.”

“Yes, I know.” Replies Eclair. “Photographs are a human thing, we Fae can't have cameras because no one can make them our size.”

As both fairies hover near Markus talking, he realizes an opportunity has appeared. Quickly raising the camera to fit both girls into frame, he snaps a photo when they're distracted. A noise from the digital camera ends their conversation when they notice what Markus did.

“Hey!” Both fairies yell out.

“Sorry, it was a good picture to take. I'll show you.” Markus says back. Pressing some buttons, he brings up the photo onto the digital screen. He turns the camera around to show off the picture, and they move closer to see.

“Oh, that's nice. You can actually see colors instead of just black or white. Kinda wish I was wearing something different.” Eclair says as she criticizes her own outfit's dullness.

Meanwhile, Aurora is looking closely at her self. She then turns side to side while comparing herself to the picture. She speaks softly saying “I knew it... This armor is a mess. I need a new set again.”

When Markus sees the girls have finished looking, he flips the camera around and turns it off before sticking it back into his pocket. He's a bit glad the ladies didn't mind him taking the picture. However, the conversation has set off numerous questions in his head.

“So... since you know what cameras are, do you know about cars?” Markus asks the two fairies, throwing a random question just to see what answer he would get.

“I do.” Both fairies reply together.

Aurora then says “I saw them all the time when I went to Montillo as a scout. There's a big road that goes through the town too.”

“What!?” Markus is genuinely surprised. “What about trains?”

“Sure, Montillo has a train station. We can look at it once we arrive.” Aurora responds again.

“Planes?” Markus says, his face becoming more stunned as he hears every answer.

Both ladies nod yes. Eclair then says “Never seen one, but I know they're flying machines. Carrying humans and stuff all over. I definitely want to see one of those.”

“What the hell is going on? Where am I then?” Markus says to himself, baffled at the information he just heard. The answers the fairies provided make it seem like they live just outside his own town. This can't be another world he thinks to himself. A parallel universe? A time slip? A magic illusion? Countless theories are crowding his mind.

Markus begins to pace back and forth, with the fairies watching out of curiosity. He suddenly stops, his eyes gazing to the East. Snow-capped mountains are towering opposite of him, with pointed peaks reaching into the clouds. There's no end to them, continuing for miles North and South beyond his view. It's a beautiful sight from the clearing, but it was something he's never seen.

“Shit... those are not the Rockies.” Markus says softly. Turning back to the fairies, he says “Aurora, I need to find some landmarks. Do you know of anywhere close by where we can get a good view of the surrounding area?”

Aurora closes her eyes as she thinks, finally saying “Actually, there is a place. A nearby cliff that gives you a great view west. You can even see Montillo from it.”

“Great. Let's head over there now.” Markus says to the fairies. “I need to find out where I am.”