Amara animatedly recounts her numerous war experiences to Dearen and Lana by the campfire, sipping on lemon-flavored wine.

"He sliced right through my stomach," she casually lifts her shirt to reveal an old bruise. "But in that moment," She points with her bottle, using Dearen as an example: I grabbed that guy's blade with my bare hands and..." She playfully hits Dearen a little too hard, "Hit him with his own spear."

Lana is amazed, while Dearen coughs in pain.

"Wow, when will you teach me that?"

"W-Why me?"

Amara, cheeks flushed, lies down on the bed and accidentally spills her wine on the floor. "All about determination," she remarks, ignoring their questions. "You need a strong mindset and believe you'll never be defeated." She trails off as she closes her eyes.

She's fast asleep.

"Finally, I thought she'd never stop." Kemuri joins the group with food on a plate. "Some of those stories seem exaggerated," she comments while eating. "Loke de one whae she pached... a bear." "Who even thinks of buying those cute things?" She finishes chewing.

"It does sound... plausible," Dearen says, pointing at Amara's bruise. "Maybe got tackled by a Chihuahua." The group laughs. Kemuri finishes her food and feels too full to drink her wine. "Hey Lana, mind putting this back to the kitchen?"

Lana picks up the wine glass but stumbles, spilling the wine over the fire and plunging the area into darkness. Leaving only the sound of owls hooting and glass breaking.

"Sorry guys, Amara made me do a lot of drills today."

"Nah. It's cool." Kemuri walks up to the pit in the dark. Suddenly, a tattoo appears on the front of her hands; they glow a bright red. The black symbols twist and move like fish in an aquarium, then settle on her knuckles. The symbols resemble an ember enclosed in a circle. She touches the log with a finger. One symbol vanishes from her knuckles and appears on the log she touched.

"Ignite"

As she chants, the tattoo on the log glows red, and then a tiny ember dances around it. "Wait for it," Kemuri says eagerly. Then, like a volcano, the entire pile of wood bursts into flames. The inferno roars uncontrollably, spitting sparks at Lana and the glass on the floor.

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Wow, Lana thinks, hastily brushing off the debris from her clothes.

"When can I learn to do that?" Kemuri ponders for a moment, then scratches the back of her head; her tattoos vanish with her hand.

"Gosh, I honestly don't know. Do you, DeDe?" With Amara's lifeless body draped over his shoulders, Dearan replies, "Link and Amara might know. But that knowledge comes from those who venture beyond the Death Fog.". "But I thought you'd die if you went there," Lana protests. "Yeah, what she said," Kemuri agrees. A troubled expression crosses Dearan's face, and for someone who appears to be 6'7, he suddenly seems small.

"I-I don't know, okay," he mumbles, and quietly walks away with Amara. "Why so reserved around them? I mean, you've been with Kemuri for 20 years now," Amara whispers sleepily to Dearan. Dearan remains silent, pondering the same question.

"Guess I will hit the hay too"

"Don't you have patrolling to do?"

Kemuri curses under his breath, glancing at her bandaged body. She then looks at Lana with a mischievous grin on his face. "I have a better idea," she says, causing Lana to gulp nervously, feeling a chill run down her spine.

Every night, one of us has to patrol the area around the tent to ensure the sensors are functioning properly. These sensors help keep our location hidden from tech-savvy individuals, monitor the number of people entering and leaving, and provide other important information that Kemuri finds boring to explain to Lana when she asked.

Only Link and Amara have access to the sensor data, so it's crucial to make sure everything is in order. Lana checks the first three sensors, all seemed well, and then proceeds to the last one.

It was attached to a tree and covered by artificial leaves. It looked like a calculator, but

a lot of chuckier and adorned with strange symbols on its buttons. Lana inspects it. All seems well.

Suddenly, a rustling sound breaks the silence of the forest night. Lana's instincts kick in, and she scans the area with widened eyes. The hair on the back of her neck stands on end. "Who's there?" she calls out, spotting a bush moving rapidly in the darkness.

Lana cautiously approaches it, careful not to step on the crunching yellow leaves beneath her feet. Her heart races like a hummingbird's wings as her hand inches closer to the cluster of leaves. With a swift motion, Lana pushes the leaves aside, revealing a small green-scaled snake.

It stares at her with its large, slit pupils before slithering away. Relieved, Lana lets out a sigh, realizing she had been holding her breath the entire time. Although she loves Kemuri, she can't help but feel a bit annoyed by how he takes advantage of her.

After double-checking the sensor, Lana turns back towards the camp. She can't help but lament, "If only I had Kemuri's firepower, I wouldn't have to get so close to that bush."

"It's fine..."

"It's okay..."

"I'll get my own..."

"Then she will see me..."

"Then she will see me too"

"Yea... what—"

Before she could turn around, a huge, meaty hand grabs hold of her mouth and pins her to the ground. In the dead of night, far from anyone who could help. Lana will soon find why she wasn't allowed ventured out before.