The group of adventurers plus Jun and Shiori camped in a clearing beside a pond that evening on the way to the city. Sara scouted the way back through the forest to find a camp site for the night as the city was too far of a journey to make with what remained of the day's light.
Preparing the camp hadn't taken very long especially as Jun stayed out of the way of the efficient adventurers while Shiori napped. Dry wood from the forest was quickly gathered for a fire that the cloaked man quickly set ablaze with a spell and began preparing food, while the rest of the party set up the camp.
Sara and the gruff warrior woman hung a large tarp under the trees to catch any potential rain, which the party rolled out their sleeping rolls under, while the knight dug a small hole and the priest disappeared into the forest to gather more wood. The man soon came back carrying a dead rabbit, which Sara quickly skinned and prepared before handing it off to the cloaked man to cook. The party was fast and efficient, and soon transformed the clearing into a well laid out camp. Jun hadn't been asked to help and simply did her best to stay out of the way, petting Shiori as they watched.
Not long after the camp was set up, the cloaked man called everyone over to the fire and handed out metal plates filled with a rabbit stew poured over several large doughy balls the size of Jun's palm, and a small dish of just meat for Shiori. Taking a bit of the offered food, Jun couldn't help but moan with pleasure to discover the balls were something like the mochi she grew up eating. The doughy, slightly sweet balls had soaked up the sauce of the stew, and made for a delicious and filling meal, especially since it was the first meal Jun had had in over a month that had something starchy and was seasoned with salt!
Jun rapidly cleaned her plate and looked up, only to see the five adventurers looking at her with amusement over their half eaten plates. Jun felt her face warm again as they looked at her. Was she ever going to stop blushing and embarrassing herself?!
"Now that we're settling in for the night, it's time for some proper introductions," the gruff knight said, pulling everyone's attention to himself. "I am Gareth Brightmane, a knight of the realm," Gareth motioned to himself, then pointed towards the man in the cloak.
Gareth and the man shared a look for a moment before he looked at Jun. "Lane Firewalker, wizard."
"I guess I'm next," the priestly man said, setting his plate down on his lap. "My name is Corin. I am an acolyte in service to Solace." Corin smiled kindly, making eye contact with Jun as he spoke, before nodding to the warrior woman across the fire from him. "Cecilia, would you like to go next?"
Cecilia, the warrior woman, grunted and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before speaking. "Cecilia of Clan Broadtooth." The woman was blunt as she introduced herself before continuing to eat.
"I guess I'm last!" Sara said from next to Jun with a smile on her face. "Oinarisan no Sara is my full name, though everyone just calls me Sara because that traditional name is a bit much. I'm a an archer, and an excellent lover." Groans and a thrown spoon erupted at the elf's introduction and she laughed as she leaned to the side, catching the hurled spoon and flinging it back at Lane with a smile. Jun couldn't help but blush even deeper. She was not prepared for the rampant flirting from a pretty elf!
The party quickly settled back into eating and talking. The conversation quickly turned to Jun, and the not so subtle interrogation began.
"So Jun, you said you grew up in the forest. How old are you?" Gareth asked, looking at her across from the fire.
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It was an awkward question to answer. She had been 23 years old on Earth, but had only been on Merinthia for a month and a half by her counting, and technically she had been born here, not transported. But she also had the body and mind of an adult. In a lot of ways, it felt like she was newly 18 again. responsible for herself and learning about the real world, but young and naive. That age made the most sense to her, and she thought it wouldn't raise any weird questions to give that as an answer. "18, I think." She finally said, mentally wincing at her unconscious add-on. That was not keeping it simple!
"You think?" Gareth's eyes narrowed in on her like a hawk, and she suppressed a shudder. In the firelight he could look downright menacing.
"W-Well... I'm not really sure how long exactly it was. We didn't really have much of a way to track the time except the passing of days..." Jun trailed off as Gareth continued to stare her down with a suspicious look on his face.
"What does it matter Gar? She can just register at the Academy when we get back. They'll be able to figure out her age," Sara said brightly. Jun started to panic, remembering this was a world of magic with weird rules! What if they said she was only a couple months old?! Would that make her weird? Would it cause problems?!
"Hah, maybe!" Cecilia said with a laugh. "That little machine of theirs doesn't do well with longer-lived races. Remember when you registered Sara? That orb said you were only 19, not 32!"
"You know elves age slower!"
"And mature slower!"
The elf and the warrior woman quickly devolved into lighthearted bickering across the fire while Jun and the rest looked on laughing at the show.
"Horny elf!"
"Sword size queen!"
As the two of them continued to hurl insults at each other, Gareth turned to address Jun with an inscrutable look on his face. "What about your parents? Where are they?"
At the mention of her parents, Jun grimaced. She didn't really have parents here. Not anymore. The thought had crossed her mind a few times, but the only thing she could think was that her parents on Earth probably wouldn't accept her as their daughter. Her mother had always been far too submissive and subservient to her father, and he had always been overbearing, aggressive, and violent. Never quite abusive, but she'd grown up on tip toes around him and had always felt better when he wasn't home. She didn't really miss them. The closest thing to a family relationship she had was probably Shiori, who often times felt less like a teacher and more like the elder sister she'd never had.
It took a few moments for Jun to realize that no one had said a word since Gareth asked his questions and every member of the party was watching her, waiting for her answer. Shiori pressed up against her arm, silently encouraging her as she finally spoke. "My parents... I don't have any... Not anymore. It's just been me and Shiori for a while."
Admitting it hurt. She had a feeling her parents on Earth wouldn't miss her. Especially after they found out her secret. She hadn't been that careful about hiding things, sure she would be taking the evidence with her when she left, and anything she missed wouldn't matter. In a way, none of it did matter, not anymore. But it still hurt to admit that she knew her parents would never accept her as their daughter.
A cloth gently dabbing at her cheeks made her realize she'd been crying. Looking up, she saw that Sara had moved closer to her right and Cecilia on her left. The elf just smiled and pulled Jun in for a hug that she didn't resist, while she felt a large hand patting and rubbing her back. The hug was warm, and the pats were rough, but they helped. She wasn't sure how long she cried for, but eventually her tears stopped and she was overcome with exhaustion. She hadn't expected crying into a stranger's arms was what she needed, but she felt lighter like an invisible weight had been taken off of her shoulders.
Jun didn't remember going to sleep, but she woke in the morning wrapped up in a sleeping roll to the smell of frying bacon. The conversation that morning was light, with the adventurers telling Jun more about the city of Forest's Edge where they were headed. No one brought up her behavior the night before which Jun couldn't help being thankful for. She was already embarrassed that she'd broken down into tears like that, but them not bringing it up helped.
After a hurried breakfast, the group broke camp, with Cecilia and Sara showing Jun how to pack and roll the bedrolls and douse the fire, then they were on the move again,
It was about midday when they finally broke free from the forest to reveal grassy plains marred by dirt paths and hemmed in by the foothills of a mountain range. In the distance was a city in the foothills.
Forest's Edge.