As Larisa sat on the unimaginably soft pillow, dressed again, she has never wished more for a sound to be heard. Silence was fine in the jungle, but in this strange and silly world it seemed almost oppressing to Larisa. It weighed heavy on her shoulders and made her scared to draw in breath. As if one moment of weakness, of unfocus would bring calamity on her.

Ever since the revelation that Ha’na seemed to come to, Farre and her sat quietly on the opposing ends of the tent. On one side, there was Ha’na muttering what appeared to be pure nonsense, at least to Larisa’s ears. And then there was Farre in one corner staring at some fixed point in space. It was very uncharacteristic of her. Farre was never unfocused or distracted by things. She was vigilant and Larisa sometimes thought a bit paranoid.

As the silence stretched, Larisa could not take it any more.

“Can we talk?” She said to the room. Her voice seemed to have magical qualities, as both Ha’na and Farre jumped from their seats at the same time.

The conversation seemed to resume like it haven’t paused.

“This is ridiculous. You can’t be telling me, this bestian, is some kind of dragon spawn! Her dad could be a- a- a red lizard for all you know!” Farre then smiled to herself. She seemed satisfied with her retort.

“You are an uneducated, lower tier army goon. It’s you who will not be telling me what I know or not! I am the academy’s finest! I studied bestian and dragons while you were still kicking in your nappies, child!” Ha’na exploded, is what Larisa would describe what she witnessed.

There was a lot of indignation visible in the creases of Ha’na’s forehead, but the most curious things seemed to be her uncontrolled smile. Larisa thought she looked overjoyed. What could it mean?”

“Child?! Child?! You can’t be much older than me. And why are you smiling so much? It’s getting a bit weird.” Retorted Farre.

“What? Oh, that! I’m smiling because this is the best day of my life! How could I not?!” Ha’na exclaimed quite loudly and then her focus shifted from Farre to Larisa. There was intensity in Ha’na’s eyes that made Larisa a bit scared. But again, she wasn’t quite sure it was a bad kind of fear.

“You! You are my ticket! The call that I have been waiting for! The call for adventure!” Ha’na kneeled in front of Larisa and grabbed her by the shoulders. Larisa thought there was no danger. Yet, at least.

She wondered what Ha’na meant. Larisa was a ticket? What was that?

“A ticket? What is that?” Larisa asked. The question seemed to make Ha’na swoon. She looked as if Larisa has given her some gift or something. She had a feeling this was not a normal human reaction.

“It means that you and I will travel through the world, far and wide! Carried by the mischievous winds of adventure and passion! Grand battles, dark secrets and great loves are at our fingertips, Larisa! You are the mystery that we are going to solve. You and I will fly on the wings of danger as we uncover long-lost secrets and mysteries!” Ha’na breathed out. “Doesn’t that sound wonderful?!”

“Oh my Hal, she’s a nutter…” A whisper came from where Farre was sitting in. That word Larisa understood. ‘A nutter’ was a crazy person. Someone who detached themselves from reality.

Larisa wondered if Farre’s assessment was true. She thought herself to be quite smart and reasonable, and she detected no lies from Ha’na. She truly believed what she was saying and Larisa thought, one does not become as ‘powerful’ as Ha’na if they were not smart enough.

Plus, Larisa kind of liked how Ha’na looked at her. And she liked to look at her back unabashed.

All this excitement seemed to make Ha’na sweat a bit and her hair glued itself to her forehead which gave her a charming quality. Her grip on Larisa’s shoulders was surprisingly strong for someone so much smaller than her. Which told Larisa, that Ha’na could become a capable hunter if she wished.

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Her blue eyes sparkled with a wondrous images of future. At least that’s what Larisa thought to herself.

Maybe just doing what Ha’na wanted could be fun? Larisa had nowhere to go. She could always go back to the jungle, but what would she do there that was better than being the focus of Ha’na’s attention?

“Sounds wonderful.” Echoed Larisa. It seemed to fuel Ha’na into another one of those bounds of passions as she leaped from place to place and started to squeak with joy. It grated on Larisa’s ears a bit but not as much to be truly bothersome.

“Are you fucking with me?” Asked Farre as she looked at where Larisa was still sitting. She then scooted over to her and whispered aggressively.

“What are you doing? Don’t you see we need to get out of here?”

“Do we need to? Are you supposed to be somewhere?” Asked Larisa.

“Don’t tell me you’re a nutter too? I mean I know I haven’t heard you talk that much but isn’t this-“ She pointed at jumping Ha’na. “-a bit too much?” Finished Farre.

“No.”

“Alright. I see there’s no reasoning with either of you… I am getting out of here.” Farre said as she started to get up.

“Halt!” Screamed Ha’na. Farre paused. “Where do you think you’re going, sergeant? You are an integral part of this adventuring party! I must insist you stay here as I work on our plan!”

“Hal… What plan, uhm, my lady?” The last part seemed to be barely able to come out of Farre’s mouth.

“Our plan to get out of here, of course! We can’t let people know of Larisa. Definitely, not any of my fellow academics. But in all seriousness here-“ Ha’na started to speak. She seemed to calm herself down. “This is an opportunity for all of us. Aren’t you curious about Larisa’s origin? I don’t believe such existence could happen organically. You-” She pointed to Larisa. “-are an enigma. Someone’s plan. As the noble of this wondrous kingdom it is my duty to find out the reason for your existence. And you, sergeant, as the only other person who knows Larisa’s secret must come with us.” Ha’na seemed to go back to normal. Though, Larisa could hardly forget the way she acted before. Such change in behaviour gave Larisa a whiplash.

“Come where?” Farre seemed to whine the question out.

“To the jungle! We must investigate the point of impact! Larisa’s impact.” Clarified Ha’na.

“My impact?” Larisa asked.

“Yes, the place from which you began. It’s the jungle, isn’t it?” Prompted Ha’na.

“Yes, I think. I don’t remember everything.”

“Oh! This is getting even more interesting! Tell me more!” Said Ha’na as she came to sit beside Larisa. Her hand rested on Larisa’s thigh as she was sitting cross-legged. Ha’na’s touch seemed to warm Larisa’s skin to a considerable level.

“What do you want to know?” Asked Larisa as she leaned a bit over Ha’na. From such a close distance she could smell the flowery notes in her scent. It was subtle, yet unique.

“This is disgusting. If this-” Farre drew a circle in the air around Larisa and Ha’na. “-is going to continue, then at least let me go talk to my friends, huh? I wasn’t going to speak about Larisa being a bestian anyway.” Said Farre.

“Is that true?” Ha’na asked Larisa.

“Yes.”

“Then, I suppose you might go. But be here before the sunset. My guards will bring your things inside. We have much to plan after all.” After that Farre let Larisa alone with Ha’na.

Larisa could feel the atmosphere change as the air heated itself up. It seemed that way to Larisa as her hands started to sweat and she suddenly felt a bit parched. It had to do with how close Ha’na sat next to Larisa, because she couldn’t find any other explanation. The Essence felt undisturbed and quiet. Both to Farre’s absence and Ha’na’s blocking abilities.

“So, could you show me your scales, again?” Asked Ha’na. Larisa wasn’t sure why but for Ha’na she could do it. She started to take off her vest. The bear skin was laying here somewhere so she needn’t take that off.

“Oh, no. This is fine.” Ha’na hands stopped Larisa from taking off her vest. Instead, she started to unclasp the bracer on her left arm.

There, in the bright light of candles from every direction, Larisa’s scales looked different to her than ever before. The light made their colour more vibrant and the reflections of the flames in them seemed clear as a picture. She’s never seen herself like this before.

“Beautiful.” Ha’na said as she reached out to touch Larisa’s arm. Before her hand touched the skin of Larisa’s arm she stopped herself and asked. “May I?”

Larisa nodded and let the hand settle upon her scales. She wasn’t sure if it was simply Ha’na or something in her touch that made Larisa’s arm hair stand on attention. She wasn’t actually certain when was the last time she got goose bumps.

“Tell me, Larisa. Do you need to sleep?” Asked Ha’na.