"Aura?" Dax said, astonished at the woman standing in front of him. She had told him that she was staying in the valley of the Lost, yet here she is fully dressed in light armor and shoes. It's only been a week and a half since he saw her, and she looked vastly different from the wild woman he rescued from a wolf. "Is that you?"

"Dax, I didn't expect to find you so quickly." Aura responded. Her heart rate increased as she got closer to him. A smile emerged on her face as she watched Dax quickly finish with the volunteers beside him. Aura took the moment to look around the building. The room that they were in was like a giant dining hall. Half the room had people trying to eat and the other half had people trying to walk about with the help of volunteers. Aura guessed the plague in the village must affect people's mobility in some way, which is a question she will ask about later. She could mostly see humans and dwarves around her, and a few elves volunteering to help people walk, which is pretty typical for villages between kingdom boundaries.

"Aura," Dax called her attention back to him. He had a smile though his blue eyes conveyed his confusion. "How did you... Why are you here?"

Aura paused for a minute just to make Dax sweat. "Relax, Dax. I am here for two reasons, finding you was just a bonus."

"I don't know whether I should be happy to see you or sad that I wasn't the reason for your sudden decision to leave your hiding spot," Dax said, crossing his arms. He was already feeling a pull toward Aura, and they had only been together a few minutes. Dax took a minute to commit Aura's appearance to memory. She had her black hair braided to the side, and her hair seemed to have some silver highlights he had previously missed. Aura wore a green shirt with light black armor that seemed to have artistic feathers on the corners. Her black pants curved around her behind like art, and boots that gave her some extra height. She had a few knives attached to her waist. She was beautiful and combat-ready. "Are you going on a hunt or something?"

"No, but a girl has to protect herself." Aura showed off her muscles to Dax. Dax played along and felt Aura's toned muscles on her arms. He realized Aura must have been telling Dax the truth about being trained in combat. She was more fit and toned than his knights.

"I see you have found a friend, Captain Dax." Roland, one of Dax's knights and new friends, commented.

Dax's cheeks reddened at Roland's words as he pulled his hands away from Aura's warm body. "Roland, don't you recognize our friend we rescued a few days ago?"

Roland's eyebrow raised. "You mean the woman you won't shut up about?"

Dax quickly pushed Roland away while Aura chuckled at their exchange. "Thanks for stopping by Roland," Dax said, sending Roland away. He turned back to a giggling Aura. "So what were we talking about?"

"You were asking if I was going for a hunt, and then you felt my muscles." Aura said, unapologetically. If Dax's face could get redder then it would have from her comments. "Though, I am more curious why you think I would be going for a hunt."

Dax's face returned to its rugged, serious expression. "Unfortunately, the plague has left the villages in the area weak to attack. Bandits, wolves, and bears have been taking advantage of the situation. There has been speculation the wolves and bears might be those remaining beast shifters, which has villagers scared."

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A painful chill ran through Aura's body, hearing Dax speak that way of her kind. Although she suspected Dax might have been a hunter of her kind when they met because he's a knight. She wished Dax didn't affect her as much as he already did. Aura worked up the courage to ask him if he had hunted her kind before. "Dax, have you ever hunted a beast shifter before?"

Dax watched Aura expressionless as she asked her question with a serious tone. He wondered from her intensity if she was a victim of a beast shifter. "I have," Dax admitted and instantly regretted it when Aura's expression changed to sadness for just a moment. He thought maybe she had a tragic story with a beast shifter or something.

"I see." Her voice faltered. She hated herself for being attracted to a man who slaughtered her kin, but now was not the time for this. She shook it off and plastered a fake smile on her face. "So Captain Dax, why don't you tell me about this plague? There might be something I can do to help."

Dax could see that Aura was faking her smile at him, and that hurt him. "Why do you want to know about plague?" He asked, unsure of this woman next to him.

"Well, I am an amateur herbalist. I thought I could at least help the sick be comfortable since I am sure you are reserving the medicine for advanced cases, right?"

Again, Dax was stunned at this woman and her knowledge. "You are too smart, you know that?"

"It's a part of my charm, Dax." Aura replied, knowing she had Dax right where she wanted him. "Tell me everything you can about this plague and your set up, so I can see what I can do to help you and the villages."

"Are you always this pushy?" Dax gave her a half-smile. He didn't know whether to be impressed or concerned by Aura's attitude.

"Dax, no games. There are sick people that I could be helping." Aura let the charm fade from her voice. She needed information about this plague, the people here, and how the other villages fit in with all of it. Yes, she would try to help these villagers, but she was more concerned about the wolf and bear sightings. "Do you have an office or someplace we can talk, and I can register to help these people as a volunteer herbalist?"

Dax hesitantly agreed to Aura's help. Yes, Aura seemed like a miracle for these people suffering from the plague, but things seemed a bit too convenient from how they met to her being here now. He decided to share basic information that any villager had a right to know, but that would be all. Dax grabbed her hand and pulled her toward his office a few halls away from the dining hall. Her hand was gentle and warm in his, bringing him comfort. He was fighting the urge to pull him in for an embrace as his mind traveled back to the moment that he had kissed her. Dax looked back at her to see a slight blush on her cheeks, which made him smile. "Have a seat." He gestured toward the chair in his office, which had big windows and a simple meeting table with bookshelves on either wall.

Aura sat across from Dax, keeping a table in between the two of them. Dax handed Aura volunteer paperwork, so she could help out in an official capacity. Dax was determined to keep an eye on her the entire time. Aura was quick with a pen filling out her paperwork, so Dax just started explaining the shelter that they were in. "This building is their community center that we turned into a shelter. What you saw before was the dining hall for those on the road to recovery, but only a third of the village is either healed or in recovery. Two-thirds are bedridden in the rest of the rooms of this place. The village only has about two hundred twenty people left after the plague killed about a hundred people from this village alone. The other villages in the area are suffering in the same way."

Aura blinked a few times processing his words. A hundred dead from this village alone… How could a plague have done so much damage without her village knowing? She needed to find Jalen and Karis quickly. "Do they know what caused this plague? Or how it spread so quickly?"

"No one knows what caused it, but the first victims were students from a school in the area," Dax said grimacing. "Only a few survived, but that's how it spread."

"What does the plague do? What symptoms do you see?" Aura questioned as her heart ached for those who have died.

"It starts with not being able to sleep, then victims experience trouble breathing, coughing up blood, body aches that leave victims disabled and finally a fever causing a coma-like sleep. Some wake up and others don't, which results in death."

"Okay," Aura got quiet thinking of what she could do for the victims. She needed to investigate those students and their schools, but first, she would need to help those suffering. She could remedy most of those symptoms, but she would need more information from the victims and workspace. "All right, Dax, I need a list of local herbs and plants, a workspace, and to meet some victims and some who have recovered. I think I could have a working potion to minimize symptoms by the end of the week."

"Aren't you confident?" Dax smiled at her optimism.

"Dax, it's not confidence when you know what you are doing." Aura stood up and headed for the door. "Come on, Captain Dax. The villagers are waiting." Dax just shook his head and followed after the wild woman that was slowly capturing his heart.