"You are not a monster," Kali said slowly, staring deeply into the girl's eyes, "and neither am I for that matter, we are Elves, Lexy."

"Elves?" Lexy tilted her head, "Really?"

"Yes," Kali reassured her, she still didn't have the faintest idea what the hell was going on but her heart broke into bits when she looked into Lexy's innocent eyes.

"Kalitra," Kali jumped at the deep voice calling her name, "these two come from a village not too far from here and they have agreed for us to escort them."

"Okay?" Kali said, her gaze jumping between the tree people now looking at her, "and?"

"Are you ready to go?" Selene interrupted, "We'd really like to get out of this place."

"Oh," that's understandable, "Sure, though I don't know if Lexy can walk."

She would have offered to carry her but one stark difference between the Autumn and winter Elves was their physique, while Kali was lithe and as light as a feather the three other Elves were closer to what humans considered normal weight according to their body sizes.

That is to say, the young child that was half as tall as her weighed more than Kali and that made carrying her challenging. She had the muscles necessary but it'd be hard to even walk like that, that was why her kin used light swords. They could lift heavy great swords but the swords would swing around the elves instead of being the other way.

"I can carry her," Selene chirped like an excited child, "if you'll let me?" she asked, looking at Lexy.

The girl grabbed Kali's sleeve and looked up at her pitifully.

"I'm sorry but I can't carry you and you are too weak to walk by yourself," she said gently, "why don't you let Selene over there to carry you, hmm?"

"...okay," said Lexy, "is she an 'elves' too?"

"Elf," Kali corrected, "and yes, she is."

Selene and Virendel observed the conversation with contrasting expressions. Kali didn't doubt that the two overheard what the girl murmured while crying, — they were Elves too after all — and while Selene seemed just as confused as her Virendel was different.

He stared at the traumatized child with a complicated gaze, Kali saw sympathy but what surprised her was how the elf seemed livid even if he hid it well. Maybe he knows something I don't, I'll have to ask later.

"Hi~, I'm Selene," said the ginger, kneeling down in front of the girl.

"...Lexy,"

"What a cute name," the woman smiled, "It fits you."

The pink-haired elf just turned her head away as some redness tinted her cheeks.

"Are the two of you in a state to travel?" Kali asked the siblings, "To fight?"

"I could, I'm a Ranger after all," said Selene, raising to her full height which was annoyingly almost a head taller than Kali with her fists on her hips, "though, I'd appreciate avoiding the fighting if we can."

"So would I," said her brother, "I never was much of a fighter, I'm an Alchemist, but I know how to avoid dangerous beasts around here."

"That should be enough," Kali said, glancing at Vorgnar who nodded. Supposedly agreeing.

They made their way out of the building, Alexis clutching onto Selene for support as the two men morosely but alertly kept their eyes out on their surroundings. Kali strode at the tip of their makeshift formation, walking ten or more meters in front of the rest as her ears twitched every so often.

She was to be the scout of their group as Vorgnar intended, behind her walked the other three elves and at last came the presumed daemon, this way the man could protect them from anything springing on them from behind or hopefully get in front of them if Kali had to run away from something in the front.

Kali heard the man sniff at the air like a hound so she curiously mimicked the action. As the air filled her lungs she disregarded the smells of the forest she'd gotten familiar with already which left her with the prevailing scent of the devastated camp. The air was predominantly flavored with blood, human waste and a distinct smell she associated with wood shavings.

She glanced around, noticing the handfuls of nearly pulverized wooden walls that were unfortunate enough to stand in the way of Vorgnar's fight. With a thought she pushed these smells away too, leaving her with a mixture of sweat, mud and a soft scent that felt almost ethereal. She knew what it was so in her curiosity she delved deeper into it and felt a scene play out in her mind, a large lake surrounded by a dense forest which had a crow of falling leaves colored by the myriad shades of red, yellow and orange. It was the smell of Autumn.

Kali felt herself blush a little as she realized how perverse it was to dwell on the body odor of another elf, she shook her head, hopefully, they didn't hear her and if they did she could just say she was searching for any scents that could give away their position to a predator or something.

She navigated through the haphazard camp without much effort, her hearing and memory working in tandem to give her a mental map of the place. She glanced at every corpse along the way, feeling a slight drop in her stomach every time one of the mutilated remains turned out to be her handiwork.

She'd effortlessly turned a living, breathing and most importantly, feeling human being into that thing smashed against a wall. Her mind replayed the event with crystal clarity, a single Kinetic Strike smashed into the man, sending him flying backward with a scream as his torso ruptured, ribs broke and fragmented and his organs turned into a uniform sludge in the newly made cavity that was once his chest.

Then came a sickening crunch as the back of his head made first contact with the stone pillar holding up the edge of the building, she still saw the drying splatter of blood and brain matter on the protruding blocks of stone even as the body long since crumbled down onto the dirt below.

These humans were so frail, so weak, just because they didn't know magic and were lower leveled than her. To an elf even fifty levels above her, she would be the same, a weak insect they could crush as they wished with but a thought. It was both terrifying and humiliating, the idea of her still being so weak, so defenseless should anyone more powerful than her once again strive to control her fate she could do nothing but accept it.

Her soft footfalls became a touch more frequent, she was getting all the more eager the be out of her and leave the place of her captivity behind her. For all that she acted like it didn't affect her, now that the initial scorching fury at her capture settled down the feeling of inadequacy started setting in. She hated it, yet not enough for her hate to overshadow it yet again.

She restrained herself from sighing as her muscles loosened a bit with her last step taking her over the palisade, she was outside finally. She didn't look back, only keeping her hawkish eyes trained on the dense forest, she had people to protect now, if she didn't notice a threat in time she might be able to bolt and escape but she doubted the siblings could and if they couldn't neither could Alexis.

She felt the sour emotions dampen as she steeled her heart, the three were her responsibility. The first responsibility she chose for herself instead of having it forced onto her and her feelings were a touch conflicting. For one, it felt great to be relied upon for something other than being a trophy wife, she was relied on for her strength and not her womb. Still, the metaphorical chains that came with a responsibility still unsettled her a bit, she'd spent her whole life fighting against such chains and now she took one upon herself.

"I'm going to go further ahead," said Kali once the rest stood just behind her on the edge of the camp, "just call out to me if you need anything, I'll hear even a whisper if I'm less than five hundred meters away."

She glanced at Vorgnar, seeing him give an affirmative nod which was soon followed by the uncertain nods from the rest. Selene looked at her weirdly and her brother was looking at her with narrowed eyes but he too, nodded.

"Be careful," Alexis whispered, her voice getting lost in the soft wind but Kali heard the girl.

"I will," she smiled and leapt into the forest, leaving the other four stumped for a moment before they too fell into step.

Virendel turned out to be the slowest, his running barely touching the lower limits of a jog by Kali's standards. The other two slowed themselves to not tire out the man but Kali was starting to wonder how many days it'll take to reach that 'close' village they lived in if this was the maximum speed they'd be going with.

She couldn't quite tell exactly how large the range of the others' spatial hearing was but she was sure it was well below her own, Alexis' gaze followed her only for a dozen meters after she lost sight of her, Virendel's for another twenty and finally Selene's when she was fifty meters away from the group.

She had the distinct feeling that Vorgnar could tell where she was still, not with the clarity an elf could tell but the man had superhuman hearing and the nose of a hunting hound. Her curiosity drove her to test her stealth in front of the hunter, she quieted her heartbeats and cleaned her whole body with a rush of mana. She sniffed, smelling her own, ethereal scent, reminiscent of a frozen lake and freshly fallen snow with a touch of pine trees.

She smirked as she picked up on the man sniffing the air alertly as his head snapped around for a bit before he shrugged with a huff. The victory was hers.

The sun was just setting and it dyed the verdant green flora tint of fiery red and orange as the shadows extended with its descent. Animals quietened and crawled back into their burrows while the nocturnal ones were just stirring from their slumber, ready for the coming darkness.

Life didn't stop with sundown, in ways it only became more active as the most effective hunters evolved to utilize the dark cloak of the night to their advantage. Were it not for Kali, the group would have stumbled upon several ferocious panther-like predators, some of which seemed to meld with the shadows and use some sort of rudimentary Shadow Cloak.

It was a bit tiring to silently rush back to the others whenever she noticed something dangerous, before she could just hide, her stealth overshadowed these primitive monsters but her companions weren't so adept at it. Virendel snatched up plants as he went and mushed them into a bit of mud which he proceeded to paint his cheeks and hands with.

Kali looked at him weirdly when she first saw him but he swore the smell of the concoction would scare away the 'shadow stalkers'. Selene was holding a two-meter-tall spear she requisitioned from the bandit's storage at the ready, even with Alexis secured on her back with a rope the woman seemed intent on fighting if she needed to.

Vorgnar seemed to be taking a casual stroll through the forest but Kali could tell that the man was alert, maybe he was paying even more attention to their surroundings than herself and his fingers were always covered in his metallic claws so he had no problem slaughtering any offending animal.

The night stretched on and the group carefully traversed the forest which became denser with every passing hour.

They were already traveling for more than a few hours when heavy footsteps still outside of her range alerted Kali, she heard the direction, calculated how heavy the animal would have to be to make its footfalls sound like mini-explosions even from kilometres away and then she ran back to the others.

"Let's change course," she suggested, "Something huge is stomping around that way," she said as she pointed in said direction, her finger trembling a bit as she imagined some colossal being towering over mountains just beyond the horizon.

Virendel looked thoughtful while Selene strained her ears, she was frowning all the way and Kali suspected she wasn't hearing anything. The woman carefully let Alexis down then she proceeded to lie on the ground as she pressed her delicate ear against the dirt.

The woman sprang upright as a shiver ran through Kali's spine from an especially loud thunderous footstep.

"Yep, totally agree, let's go anywhere but there," the woman said, almost forgetting to keep silent.

"Our luck seems to be abysmal," said Vorgnar with narrowed eyes, "let's set up camp somewhere safe, but keep ready to leave should that thing head in our direction, Kalitra keep me updated on its proximity."

"Okay," she nodded easily.

"Finally something I can be helpful in," Virendel puffed his chest out slightly, being effectively useless might have scraped the pride of the older elf.

Kali decided that her task of keeping an ear out for anything was more important than helping the others set up camp, it was entirely not because the best camp she'd ever made was a hole in a trunk covered by an illusion. Even without her, Virendel and Vorgnar worked together and a small camp was set up in less than half an hour, sitting under the protection of a larger tree.

Kali was up on said tree, swinging her legs back and forth as she stared into the darkness of the forest, she didn't feel the slightest need to sleep but maybe a bit of rest wouldn't hurt. That didn't change the fact that she felt twitchy while staying in the same place, she was imagining all sorts of both realistic and mythical enemies jumping out of the shadows to either murder her and her new companions or kidnap her to submit her to a fate even worse.

Her ears twitched occasionally but her eyes were strained, staring into a singular direction from where loud thumps still expanded to resonate through the forest. Kali was tempted to think it was an Earth Dragon, long thought extinct like the rest of its kind but the legends talked of them like walking mountains that bore through the crust of the planet itself to travel.

Another trail of wild imagination envisioned a huge turtle, carrying a veritable island on its back as it traveled through the land like a mobile ecosystem unto itself. Mythical Turtles were just as legendary if a bit less known as dragons, the two having fought for dominion over the land and the sea in ages long past as mortals fled for their lives.

Her grip tightened on the branch beneath her, making the poor plant let out whiny creaks as its bark cracked under her displeasure. What could her Spells do against beings like that? Would even an Arch-Mage like her Master stand a chance against them? Would her father?

She didn't know, Dragons and their other mythical contemporaries disappeared before the advent of Magic and cores, never having been challenged by any mortal throughout their millennia-long reign of terror.

She didn't move her gaze as she noticed a set of soft footsteps coming towards them, soon Selene's ginger head poked out from behind a bush as she waddled through it and back into the camp.

"I got us some food," said Selene as she laid down a makeshift bag made of simple cloth, revealing a gaggle of berries, fruits and nuts along with a single bunny-like creature she dropped next to it from her other hand.

Kali kept out half an ear to the hushed conversation going on under her as the group got to processing and cooking the animal while they munched on some berries. She didn't feel especially hungry and she still had her task so she didn't move an inch, her eyes trained on the expansive darkness and her ears alert as they could be.

As the scent of cooking meat started to overtake the smell left over from the butchering of the unfortunate bunny Kali distracted herself with counting the number of predatory animals trying to remain unseen in the darkness. Soft footfalls caused by pawed feet covered in fur were a telltale sign of feline predators, she counted four of those with one eying their camp before she scared it away with a tiny flame spell thrown at its nose.

She had moved on to count smaller reptiles hunting for rodents and insects when she jumped a little on her perf from feeling another person land on the branch. She glanced to her left with eyes wide in alarm but all she saw was Selene with a sheepish smile on her face.

"Thought you'd like some food," said the woman as her extended hand drew Kali's gaze, "The big man said you will stay awake to guard so I thought it was the least I could do."

"Thanks," Kali nodded a bit uncertainly, she wasn't so senile as to forget the woman's earlier disparaging words just yet.

She took the large leaf that held the grilled leg of the bunny along with an assortment of the gathered berries, fruits and nuts as a side dish. Far from a luxurious food, especially with their rather limited supply of spices.

"It should be me saying that," the woman shook her head softly and Kali caught a glimpse at her sunken cheeks in the blue moonlight, "Thank you for saving us, I don't know what would have happened to us...I don't want to know."

Kali just nodded, who would have thought social things could be this complicated? What does one say to that? She decided to smile, even if the result came out a bit awkward.

"Alrighty," the woman pushed herself off and landed on the ground five meters below with a slight bend of her knees, "I'm beat, good night."

She watched Selene slump down on a makeshift sleeping bag, the woman was out cold even before her head touched her bundled-up clothes that she used as her pillow.

Virendel covered his sister with a blanket as he sighed tiredly, falling asleep in his own place not long after.

Kali's gaze landed on Alexis, the poor girl was dead tired just from being carried around and fell asleep during their travel hours back and was now out cold just like the other two.

She glanced at Vorgnar, the man sat with his back laid against a trunk as he rested with closed eyes, eyes which snapped open to stare at Kali the moment she glanced at him. She tilted her head questioningly, asking with her gaze why he wasn't going to sleep like the rest.

The man shrugged once, glancing out into the darkness before looking at her meaningfully. He then returned to his half-sleeping half-meditation and deprived Kali of any chance at a conversation partner to help with her boring task.

A single thump reverberated again, shaking the leaves around her perch a bit as Kali swallowed. She doubted she'd have any rest that night.