March 3, 10:00 AM – Outskirts of Khura'in – Mountains

It's been about two weeks since we had made it to the mountains. There was already a small house there, so moving in and setting things up was pretty easy. Myself and Datz had our own separate rooms, while Dhurke and the children shared theirs. Most of the time, I wasn't doing much besides relaxing. I mean, while my main goal was still to find the whereabouts of Queen Amara, I could still take this time as a vacation of sorts. Dhurke, on the other hand, treated this as his home. Which I can understand, since in his original home he's a wanted man.

"Hey, you okay Rei'vol?" Datz, who was lying down on a hammock, said, snapping me from my thoughts. I nodded dismissively.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Datz." I replied, before putting my hands over my head. "Though to be honest, I'm kinda bored."

"Ah, that's good." Datz smiled. I was confused.

"Huh? Do you want me to suffer in silence or something?" I asked. Datz left the hammock to face me.

"Well, we're sorta running out of food. So, Dhurke asked me to go hunting for food in the forest over there." He said pointing to the south where the forest was. "And you just so happened to be bored. So you'll be coming with me!" Datz explained, giving me a thumbs up.

"Umm, WHAT!?" I yelled, approaching him and grabbing his shoulders, before shaking his shoulders wildly. "What do you mean go hunting!?" Datz moved away from me.

"Well, yeah, hunting! Should be fun!" Datz exclaimed. I sighed.

"You know what? We're are running out of food, and I am bored. What the heck, I'll do it." I said, shrugging my shoulders. Datz grinned.

"Alright, we leave right now!" Datz said, already running towards the forest. However, I gripped his hood, keeping him in place.

"Why are we leaving right now?" I inquired.

"Cuz I'm starving!" Datz explained simply. Somehow he managed to break free from my grasp, and when he did, he continued on his path to the forest at a pretty frightening speed. As in I could barely see him. I just stood there, baffled at how fast Datz was moving. After a couple of moments, I decided to just follow him.

March 3, 10:15 AM – Outskirts of Khura'in – Genne'ric Forest


"Ah, nothing like a nice warm-up before eatin'!" Datz yelled, his voice echoing in the empty forest. He was in top physical condition. I, on the other hand, was on my knees and gasping for air.

"Huff... Datz... What... puff... the heck..." I said, struggling to breathe properly. In order to even somewhat see Datz while he was running, I had to sprint as fast as I could. For ten minutes.

"Sorry, Rei'vol, but time's a wastin'! Let's hurry up and get those animals!" Datz exclaimed, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Just... just give me a moment or two..." I told him. 'Or twenty...' After doing nothing but breathing for a while, I was able to stand up.

"Alright... let's get this over with..." I walked over to Datz. "So, how and where exactly are we going to hunt?" Datz pulled out his knife.

"Well, I'm using my kukri. You, on the other hand..." Suddenly, Datz bolted deep into the forest. "… will have to make something up! Har har har har har!" His laughed was just as loud despite the distance he had made.

"Hey, wait! Datz, come back!" I yelled after him. However, he didn't listen, and he continued onto the forest. In that same moment, Datz was out of my sight. At first, I was going to chase after him. But then I remembered what I went through a few minutes ago...

'Yeah, no. '

I sighed. What was I supposed to do now? I'm not exactly a expert hunter. I was expecting Datz to accompany me. It was a perfect opportunity to leave, since no one was with me, but we were running out of food, and I had no intention of starving.

"I'll go into the forest... but I'll leave as soon as possible." I told myself. Slowly, I walked into the forest.

Soon after...

It was dim-lighted, but still hard to see in. Not only that, but the branches of trees blocked my way at nearly every turn. I had yet to find an animal, even after ten minutes. However, that was probably the least of my concerns. While I was still currently on a straight path, if I strayed from it, I could easily get lost. Not only that, but I had no idea where Datz was. But, I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind as I continued to search. Suddenly, something jumped out, grabbed me and pinned me to the ground on my stomach.

"AHH!" I yelled in surprise. I couldn't see whatever or whoever was pinning me to the ground, but I just assumed it was a bear or something similar. I struggled to break free from its grasp, but it was too strong. When I realized that I couldn't get out, I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable. But instead...

"Har har har har har! I got ya good, Rei'vol!" When I heard the voice, my eyes twitched.

"...Datz, can you explain what you're doing before I lose my mind?" I practically demanded, despite my polite tone. Datz stopped pinning me so that I could get up.

"Just a practical joke is all! Just having some fun!" Datz exclaimed.

"I swear to the Holy Mother you will give me a heart attack soon..." I deadpanned.

"Anyways," Datz pulled out a bag. "I got the food! We can go now!" I sighed in relief.

"Finally, I can leave..." I said, before realizing something. But wait, if you could hunt the animals by yourself, why did you bring me along?" I asked, a bit confused. Datz just gave me a thumbs up.

"For fun! You said you were bored, right?" Datz explained. I shrugged.

"I was bored, but I also didn't want to die. I only came in here since I thought you might have trouble hunting. But because you so obviously don't, we'll be leaving now." I said, before pointing in front of me. "Lead the way."

Even more time later...

Me and Datz have been walking in the forest for quite a bit. In fact, more time than it took to find him. Datz didn't ask me for directions or instructions, so I assumed he knew he was suppose to follow the path. He didn't.

"Hey, Datz? Do even know where the exit is?" I asked.

"Nope, not at all." He simply replied.

"Oh okay..." I said, before actually registering what he said. "Wait, what!?" I ran over to Datz and shook his shoulders back in forth. "Are you telling me we've been doing nothing but walking in circles this whole time! You're suppose to follow the dirt path!"

"Oops, sorry." Datz apologized, despite the fact his tone of voice said otherwise. But then, out of nowhere, he pointed to a faint light in distance. "Hey, look, over there!"

"Huh, what's that?" I asked him.

"Oh, ya know, just a lizard nest!" Datz explained happily.

"Okay, is that why you brought me here? To see lizards?" I asked in somewhat annoyance.

"Not just any lizards, but Genne'ric lizards! They're poisonous, but I heard they taste amazing!" He exclaimed before pulling me in with his arm. "And you, Rei'vol, are gonna help me kill'em!" Datz beamed. Unfortunately for him, I had no intention on dying.

"No. And you aren't either." I answered, before grabbing Datz by his hood and dragging him onto the dirt path. "We're leaving."

"Aw, come on, Rei'vol, it'll be easy! Just because they're poisonous doesn't mean they'll kill ya! They just put ya in a coma for a bit! Please, just one lizard! Please!"

Datz complained until we made it back to the mountains. In retrospect, I really shouldn't have gone hunting with him. I literally did nothing and I nearly died. But it was pretty fun, at least. And I did get food. So it wasn't all bad.

March 9, 4:00 AM – Outskirts of Khura'in – Mountains

"Hey, Rei'vol! We're outta food again! We need to go back to the forest!"

"… No. And Datz, please don't wake me up in the middle of the night." I'm pretty sure I was going to die in these mountains...