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Emu hefts her giant hammer with a huff, staring down at the remnants of the wolf-like monster that had approached her earlier. Its head had been bashed in right as it bared its teeth at her, because she really didn’t want to get eaten barely a month into her quest. That would be no way to go.
She doesn't like breaking promises, especially to her Grandfather.
Black blood pools on the grass, staining her new leather boots even more. She frowns, stepping away. They’re already dull and muddy through a month of travelling, but the black blots out the dark brown more than dirt does. With a sigh, Emu continues on, resolving to wipe them down the next time she sets up camp. Hopefully by then the monster’s blood wouldn’t be too hard to remove. She’d hate to ruin one of the last gifts her grandpa gave her so quickly.
A scream startles her out of her absent-minded thinking. It comes from the forest she’d exited a few minutes earlier, full of hungry wolf monsters that probably wouldn’t hesitate to get their jaws around the first human they see.
Emu’s very lucky, making it through without seeing a monster at all until she was just a few steps from the exit. It seems that whoever’s screaming right now wasn’t so lucky.
“Woah! Don’t worry stranger!” She yells into the forest, “I’ll save you!”
She isn’t sure if they hear her, but the screams definitely get louder in response.
Rushing back into danger, Emu’s keen ears lead her to the person hounded by wolves. None of their yells get any more coherent, but somehow they get even louder. To a point where she’s sure that they rival her own shouts when she gets a little too excited.
Navigating through the forest, Emu makes sure to avoid whatever wolves she sees. Lead mostly by the sound of screaming, there’s a few times when she takes the wrong direction. Still, though, she eventually begins to near the origin of the screams.
The clearing she finds herself in is a mess. Ice and charred patches of grass litter the ground, which is already mess of claw marks from the wolves. Despite the screaming, the person before her—a boy around her age with blonde hair that darkens to a pink at the tips—is relatively unharmed. There are a few scratches and bite wounds visible, but from what Emu can see they’re nearly all healed for some odd reason.
One weird thing she notices is that despite the fact that the shouty boy is unarmed, all three wolves seem to be injured. Patches of their fur and skin seem to be burnt, even though she spots no sign of what might be the origin of the fire.
Is it magic? Not many people have magic, but it isn’t rare at all! That would explain the weird ice and the smoke smell that permeates the air without any sight of where the fire came from. It could’ve just come from the wolves—Emu isn’t sure if these monsters could have magic, they seem almost exactly like the normal animal to her.
Three hounds surround him, growling and teeth bared, but none of them approach. She doesn’t know what to make of it, but it’s probably for the better that he hasn’t been ripped apart yet.
“ARGH—” the boy’s shouts stop abruptly as their eyes meet. “Stop standing there and help me!”
Emu blinks, glancing from the wolves to her hammer. “Oh! Right! Sorry!”
The wolves haven’t noticed her yet, so Emu has plenty of time to execute her special move—one where she leaps up high to bring her hammer crashing down on monsters of all kinds. Two wolves are taken out in one fell swoop—her hammer is really big, okay?—but the last one turns, growling and ready to pounce.
Emu dashes to the side as the last monster launches itself towards her. Timing it just right, she swings her hammer up with enough force that it sends the thing shooting up into the air.
Once she’s done dispatching all the monsters, Emu turns back to the boy. “Hello!”
“... You’re a lot stronger than you look,” he mutters, looking up at the spot where the wolf was sent flying.
“Thanks! It’d be impossible to lift this thing if I wasn’t.” Emu says, pointing to her hammer, “what’s your name?”
The boy gives her an apprehensive stare. “My name?”
“Yeah! So we can get to know each other. I’m Emu!”
There’s a small moment of silence before he says, “You… can call me Tsukasa.”
“Nice to meet you, Tsukasa! What are you doing out here? I’ve never really seen anyone outside the towns! Are you a trader? Or are you one of those monster hunters?”
Tsukasa blinks, stares at her once more before seemingly composing himself. “Haha! No! I’m Tsukasa Tenma, world future star!”
He strikes an exaggerated pose. Small sparks of magic accentuate his reintroduction. Sounding almost like firecrackers. That’s new, but it’s safe to assume that he has some sort of magic now with proper evidence before her eyes.
“Woah! Future star?” Emu’s eyes widen. “That’s really super-duper cool! But… why aren’t you in town performing?”
The sparks stop.
“Well.” Tsukasa says, “I’m. Just out of town to spread the good word of my shows!”
“Oh! So, did you get lost? This is the big scary wolf forest after all! I mean, I talked with all the people in the last town I was in, and they said to avoid it, but it’s way faster if I just go through.”
“Hey wait! You keep asking me why I’m here, but I don’t even know why you’re here!”
She’s about to reply when a loud howl sounds in the distance. Emu frowns and picks her hammer back up. “I’ll tell you later! After we leave this gloomy forest first.”
It takes no time for Emu to start running, following her own instincts to lead her out of the woods. Behind her, Tsukasa manages to keep up, despite his own protests. He seems to be pretty athletic on his own.
“So!” Emu says, coming to a stop and no less tired than she was before. “Have you heard of the phoenix feather?”
Tsukasa leans over, catching his breath. “How are you so—Ugh, never mind. Of course, I’ve heard of the phoenix feather.”
“Great! That saves me from explaining.” Emu grins, “I’m looking for it.”
“What?” Tsukasa shoots back up, eyes wide. “You?”
“Yeah! You know, I promised my grandpa I’d find it.”
“Do you even know where you’re going?” Tsukasa asks, “Nobody even knows if it’s real!”
Emu nods enthusiastically. “Mhm! My heart tells me where to go. Plus, my grandpa wouldn’t ever lie to me. So the feather is definitely real!”
Tsukasa raises a hand to his face, looking like he wants to say a whole lot to her. He doesn’t though, seemingly unsure of what to make of it all.
“Ooh,” Emu says, leaning forwards. “Are you looking for the feather too? Is that why you were also going through the forest?”
“No!” He starts to protest. “I told you earlier that I’m travelling around the world to promote my shows! I just got lost!”
“I never said you couldn’t do both! Hey, hey, since you’re also looking for the feather, why don’t we travel together?”
There's a pause in the conversation as Tsukasa takes the time to think her offer through.
“I saved you from the wolves,“ she points out. Emu wouldn't mind a travel companion herself—it's been pretty lonely going around the world without anyone else to talk to. “If you want, you can just accompany me to the next town over, we can separate then.“
“I can get there just fine by myself!”
Emu struggles to hold back a pout, but at least manages to give him her best puppy eyes. ”Come on, a favour? What if you get ambushed by monsters again?“
Tsukasa closes his eyes and lets out an exhausted sigh. “Okay. I'll come with you. but only until the next town over.”
“Yay! Yay!” Overjoyed, she leaps forward, engulfing him in a hug.
He lets out a shout of surprise but doesn't bother to push her away
Usually, Emu tries her best to keep any urges to hug or tackle others to herself—she's found out over the month that most people who don't know her well dislike such things happening out of nowhere. So she channels all her energy into talking instead. That doesn't stop people from getting annoyed but it does stop people from shoving her away in shock. Still, though, Tsukasa looks harmless enough for her to risk it.
---
In the end, Tsukasa decides to keep on adventuring with Emu. It's hard to describe how happy she was to hear it—so ready to leave another friend behind for the long road ahead of her.
By now, she knows quite a bit about him, and he knows quite a bit about her.
Like the fact that he has a younger sister called Saki, or his dream is to perform in one of the newest theatres built by the kingdom Emu lived by, or even the fact that he only recently gained the ability to cast magic. Sometimes, he shows off his acting to her, encouraging her to join in. Emu channels the energy of the shows her grandpa took her to when she was younger during those moments.
She tells him about her family, her older sister and two brothers. Gives him the information she understands when it comes to the things her family makes and sells. Like, for example, Emu’s almost bottomless backpack, made by her sister right before she made her decision to find the feather. What she doesn't tell him about is her grandpa. Tsukasa knows she has one and knows that he was the one to send her looking for the feather, but that's just about it.
Sometimes he asks about it, more when they were just starting to get to know each other, but Emu can't find it within herself to tell him. Not yet.
Right now, the two of them have been camping outside a small town, consulting the locals on the best way to continue heading west. Tsukasa’s been combing through the tiny library, trying to find any information on the phoenix feather. It’s unlikely for there to be anything new, but he’s insistent on not missing any possible information.
Emu spends her free time talking to the locals, hashing out the shortest path forward, and stocking up on supplies now that one more person is coming along with her.
In the distance, the sun sets over the horizon once more, marking the end of another day.
A fire crackles steadily beside her, providing heat and a source of light for Emu to annotate and mark off areas of the map she’d gotten from the shops the other day. Two differently coloured tents are already set up around the camp-fire.
When Tsukasa first joined her, Emu didn’t have the materials to build another tent—to which he insisted on sleeping outside. She managed to convince him to sleep in shifts, but the one time they tried resulted in a day with a grumpy Tsukasa and a very bored Emu. When that didn’t work, she suggested that they switch who sleeps in the tent every other day. It worked fine, so that was the arrangement until they arrived at the next town.
“Emu!”
She looked up from her map scribbling to see Tsukasa waving from afar in the darkness, his sword now resting at his hip with a brand-new baldric.
To help protect him, Emu had tried to give Tsukasa a spare hammer, but it was—and still is—far too heavy for him to pick up, so Emu rummaged around in her nearly bottomless bag and managed to produce a silver sword still in its scabbard. Tsukasa still has no idea how to use it, but it’s far better than being empty-handed.
In the midst of waving back, Emu pauses, squinting. It’s a bit hard to see in the darkness, but she swears there’s someone else beside him.
“Tsukasa! Hey!”
And yes, when Tsukasa comes close enough to be lit by the firelight—he is with someone else. The stranger looks to be around their age, but much taller than Emu and even Tsukasa. His hair is purple with a simple cyan streak. Despite the fact that Emu’s sure she’s talked with just about everyone in the town, this new person is entirely unfamiliar to her.
Placing the map down, Emu leaps up, walking over to the pair with shining eyes.
“Emu,” Tsukasa says, “this is Rui! He knows a lot about the phoenix feather.”
“Ooh! Nice to meet you, Rui!”
“It's very nice to meet you too,” Rui smiles, taking the hand Emu holds out to shake—of which she does very enthusiastically.
“How much do you know about the feather?” Emu asks. “Are you looking for it as well? Can it really make any wish come true if you ask?”
“How much I know depends on the amount you know,” Rui says, taking her questions in stride. ”I'm finding it for my friend, but it's also a passing interest of mine. And it's debatable on whether or not it can make any wish come true, there's no documented cases of magic granting wishes but who knows? Maybe there is a force much more powerful than we know that can do so.“
She nods enthusiastically, taking in the information. There's a chance Rui might not know more than the two of them, but he's certainly got a different viewpoint on it!
“That's soo cool! What about its origin? Do you think it might come from a phoenix, or is it just called that because it looks like one?”
Rui takes a moment to think through his response. “There's been no correlation between actual phoenix feathers and the one mentioned in the myth. Actual feathers from a phoenix do have a lot of magical power, but none of it is related to granting wishes. Depictions of the phoenix feather don't really look anything like the real thing. I assume it's because the people back then simply associated a magical feather as coming from a phoenix.”
“Wow! I thought the feather came from a big giant phoenix that was so powerful it had to disappear, but your idea makes a lot of sense too! Has anyone else found it before? Or! Or! Has anyone tried to find it recently? A lot of people I’ve talked to just think it’s a silly myth.”
“Well, the first instance of the feather appearing was significant enough that the story was passed down orally. Nobody has found it in any recent years, but that’s because there’s no concrete proof that it actually exists—the only reason anyone would be looking now is that they’re desperate enough to believe in the story.” Rui’s smile turns sadder at that, but Emu isn’t sure why. “I don’t know if anyone has found the feather after the first time. It’s possible that someone has, but their wish was so inconsequential that nobody believed they did.”
Tsukasa spares a bewildered look at the both of them, struggling to keep up with both Emu’s barrage of questions and Rui’s explanations. “Alright,” he says. “You don’t need to ask all your questions at once. I managed to convince him to join our search!”
“What?! Really? That’s awesome!” Emu rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet before immediately launching herself at Tsukasa.
By now, he’s gotten used to her antics and manages to catch her instead of stumbling into the ground like he would sometimes do. A couple grumbles slip out, but he hugs her back, so Emu’s very quite sure that he doesn’t mind it despite his protests.
“Hahaha! I’m fantastic like that, aren’t I?” Tsukasa says, sounding very proud of himself.
“Quite,” Rui says. “Which is why I hope you follow through with your promise.”
Emu whips her head over to look at him. “Eh? Promise?”
Deflating slightly, which he only does regarding a few things, Tsukasa extracts himself from her hug. “He asked me to help him with his research on curses. So I won’t be able to spend as much time looking for clues on the feather anymore.”
“Oh, because of your magic, right?” Emu grins, “well, I’m sure you’ll be a great help to Rui! We already know where we’re going anyway, but Rui can do some looking too. Cheer up Tsukasa!”
Rui nods, an almost catlike grin on his face. “Don’t worry, it’ll just be a few spells I want to try out. I can also help with researching as well if you’re worried about it—the three of us are a team now.”
For reasons mostly unknown to Emu, Tsukasa’s always been a bit touchy about his own magic. She knows he hasn’t always had it, and his own control over it is haphazard. For the month they’ve known each other, he’s gotten better at talking about it, at least. To her, offering to test out some spells for Rui is a step in the right direction!
“I still don’t get why you can’t test those spells out yourself,” Tsukasa grumbles. “You also have magic.”
“It’s perfectly safe, and I already tried it out myself, I just needed a bigger sample size then one. Plus, other people’s magic interact differently with curses.”
Emu swings her arms, “now I wish I had magic, so I could help.”
“Oh? You don’t have magic, Emu?”
“Nope!”
“And you know instinctively where the phoenix feather is?”
“Well yes! I don’t know where it is specifically, but I do know that we should go west. Wait, hey! Hey! Rui, Tsukasa! Do you want to see the route I’ve planned out?”
Not waiting for an answer, Emu leans down to pick up her map. Slowly she begins to unfold it, drawing closer to the fire, so they all can see her notes.
“Why are we going through the clearly marked do not enter forest again?!” Tsukasa protests, pointing to the line drawn through the aforementioned area.
Emu traces the path that avoids the do not enter forest, “It’s sooo much slower though! We want to go west as quick as we can!”
“She’s right,” Rui says. “What if someone else arrives before we do? Who knows what malicious actors are out there trying to find it.”
Tsukasa leans back, hands on his hips. “You both are out to get me! But fine," he concedes. "I’ll go through the forest. As long as I don’t have to do all the work!”
“But, but! How else are you going to get better at sword fighting? You can't always rely on me and my wham bam hammer!"
“I never said I wasn’t going to fight at all!”
Rui laughs, “I’m interested in seeing how our fighting styles will work together.”
---
There’s a lot less time for Emu to get to know Rui before another person joins their group to find the feather. That doesn’t mean he’s still a stranger to her or anything! But you just learn more about someone in a month than two weeks.
Well, Emu knows a few things about Rui—both from observation and his own words.
He has a couple of little robots, powered mostly by what seems to be magic. She hasn’t actually seen them up close because Rui hasn’t actually told either her or Tsukasa about them. Emu only notices because her senses are really very sharp. It’s not like she’ll acknowledge that they exist, if Rui hasn’t told them about it then there must be a reason.
Rui also hates eating vegetables. Emu doesn’t mind because he’s taken to offloading the plants into both her and Tsukasa’s plates, but Tsukasa himself goes on and on about the health benefits of vegetables in an attempt to get him to eat them. He doesn’t, but Emu finds it sweet that Tsukasa tries.
In fact! Recently, Emu’s been seeing Rui teaching Tsukasa how to better control his magic. When she first heard of it, she also offered to help teach him how to sword fight. To which he’d asked whether or not she knew how to fight with a sword—and she does! Hammers are her favourite weapon, but her family got her to learn how to fight with just about any type, including her fists.
The one downside to having a third member to their group is that Emu’s been steadily running out of money the longer they go on. Her brothers had tried their best to give her enough money to last the entire journey, but it simply wasn’t enough for three people. So they eventually had to start picking up a variety of different requests from every town they went to.
Their latest request has them chasing a giant monster that looks like a centipede. Tsukasa had freaked out the first time they’d caught up to the centipede monster and accidentally alerted it of their presence. It would’ve been fine if it weren’t for his magic going haywire, causing Emu and Rui to scatter as big sparks of fire began to pop into existence.
Currently, Rui's leading the way with a purposeful tracking spell he'd managed to cast in the chaos of everything. Emu's walking beside him, keeping her eyes and ears out for any sounds of scuttling feet. Behind them, Tsukasa follows, an apprehensive look on his face. Held tightly in his hands is the silver sword Emu had given him, finally out of its sheath once more.
“Emu,” Rui says, eyes fixated on the trail in front of him. “How much did you say the bounty was?”
She swings her arms—hammer held in the hand farthest away from Rui, in case she actually hit him. Emu doubts he would survive, Tsukasa however, is surprisingly resilient, which meant big swinging objects coming his way were a-okay! “I think it was like twenty gold and 5 silvers? Or maybe that was the bonus for finishing it today… Um! It was a lot, though.”
“It certainly should be a lot for having us run after that terrifying monster!”
“Well, I can’t deny that it isn’t intimidating,” Rui says. “Giant bugs are quite unsettling. Did you find out why they want us to go after that monster for such a high price?”
Emu thinks back to the conversation she had with the blue haired girl back at town. “Oh, well, apparently the monster’s been eating alll the plants and trampling all over everyone’s hard work in the community garden back in town. It’s very important, so that’s why there’s so much gold. I took it because I think we can do it!”
“Has anyone else also taken the request?”
“She said only one other person. They took it the other day, but she hasn’t heard back from them.”
Rui has his thinking face on, he doesn’t say anything before his attention is drawn back to what Emu assumes is his tracking spell.
“Wait a minute,” Tsukasa says, “If someone’s already hunting after the thing, and they haven’t been seen since… shouldn’t we be more worried about this?!”
“I can understand your worries, Tsukasa,” Rui says, voice taking on a more serious tone. “But its size seems to be the most dangerous aspect. It shouldn’t have any magical weapons that’ll harm us.”
“Yeah! Yeah!” Emu says, nodding her head. “We fight together well too! Plus, it’s not like we can’t dash away if it gets too dangerous.”
“We aren’t straying too far from town, either, so we can get medical help easily if you are worried about that.”
See, another thing Emu’s noticed about Rui—she’s very good at that, noticing things—is that he’s very attentive to their worries. Tsukasa’s a natural worrier, concentrated on making sure everything goes perfect on their journey. Which is why Emu’s pretty sure he grew up without any adventures at all, too focused on his plans for stardom. But yes, Tsukasa isn’t used to the chaos of adventuring, and that comes with a lot of uncertainty. So Rui takes up the opportunity to teach him how to use his magic better, he keeps an eye out for Emu whenever she’s in the midst of battle and answers any questions someone might have as easily as breathing.
She’s been noticing it more often now, as Rui seems to acclimate himself into the dynamic. He’s much more comfortable with the two of them. It makes her feel giddy inside. For a moment, Emu wants to tackle the two into the biggest hug she can muster, but right now isn’t the time. Rui has to be super-duper focused on his spell, and she doesn’t want to interrupt! So Emu will do it later!
“Don’t worry, Tsukasa!” Emu says, pumping one hand up and down. “We can do this!”
He laughs, looking at least a little bit better. “Alright. But if it all goes wrong, I’m blaming the—”
Tsukasa doesn’t get to finish his sentence before he bursts into a scream, eyes set on something in front of them.
Coming out from the forest, scuttling on it’s many many feet, is the centipede monster. For a moment, Emu can understand Tsukasa’s fear, even with it’s body on the ground the monster still towers over her and barely Tsukasa—Rui’s an exception because he’s just that tall. That’s not even mentioning how fast the monster is running towards them right now and—Emu’s eyes widen.
“AAA!! Tsukasa, Rui! Look!” She shouts, “There’s someone riding the monster!”
Just barely visible on the back of the centipede is a hooded figure. There’s a small dagger lodged in between the protective plates, and the person on the centipede seems to be holding onto dear life. It’s hard to see with how quickly the monster is moving, but Emu swears she sees the smallest hint of green hair flutter out from beneath the hood.
She can’t inspect the monster anymore, however, as Tsukasa pulls her to the side—along with her super heavy hammer—before she can be trampled underneath the centipede’s many feet.
Beside her, Rui stares at the retreating figure, a confused look on his face.
“Jeez!” Tsukasa says, heaving a breath. “be more careful next time!”
“Hehe… Sorry. But I was looking at someone really important!”
“I saw it too, but get out of the way first, alright?”
Rui mutters something under his breath before turning towards them. “I think that was the other person who took the bounty.”
“Should we go after them, then?” Tsukasa asks.
“Considering the monster we’re after is also in the same direction, I don’t see why not.”
“Ooh! Ooh!” Emu says, “then we can ask if the four of us can all work together, because I think they might be stuck on that monster and if we save them then they’ll have to agree!”
“Hahaha! You’re right, Emu! Once they’ve seen our fighting prowess, then they won’t be able to decline.”
Rui laughs, “Well, then shouldn’t we hurry up after that monster before it gets too far away? If you want, Tsukasa, you can try out that speed spell I was teaching you the other day.”
“You can try it on me too! I want to zoom-zoom after the monster!” Emu says, an excited sparkle in her eyes.
“I couldn’t even get it working that time, what makes you think I can do it now?!”
“Perhaps all you need is a change in scenery?”
Tsukasa is given no time to protest before Emu takes off, too excited at the prospect of running with a speed spell on her. Rui follows after her, although at a much slower speed.
Eventually, Tsukasa manages to catch up to them, a half botched spell allowing him to move ever so slightly quicker for a moment in time.
At the current, following the monster is much easier, even without Rui at the leading the way. The ground beneath them is littered with the tracks of the centipede—so much so that Emu’s sure she can follow it with her eyes closed.
There’s a loud crash in the distance, close, but still far enough away that Emu can’t see any sign of the monster. As they draw closer, a curious sight appears.
First off, the centipede monster seems to have upturned itself by crashing into a tree. The monster is nowhere in sight, but the tree tilts dangerously to the side, half of its roots dragged out from the dirt. Beside it, is the mysterious figure, slowly dragging themselves upright—and yes! Emu did see right, the figure does have green hair! Although most of their face is concealed by the hood, they look around Emu’s age.
“Oh, hi!” Emu says, approaching the new person. “Are you alright?”
Startled, the hooded figure yelps, stumbling backwards, dragging their hood lower down.
“Just fine!” They stutter.
“Are you sure? I heard a big crash! You must’ve taken a giant fall…”
“No—No! I’m okay, it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
“Emu, don’t worry.” Rui says, coming up next to her. “If it’s who I think it is, then she’ll be fine.”
For a second, Emu’s sure that if she could see the mystery person’s face, her eyes would’ve widened.
“Do you know each other?” The hooded figure asks.
Emu nods, “Yes! We met each other two weeks ago. Um, but do you know Rui?”
There’s a moment of deliberation, before the mystery person groans. “I do know him.”
Rui’s faint smile turns into a grin, holding out a hand for them to take. “I didn’t think I’d see you out here, Nene.”
“I felt like I had to do something at least,” Nene says.
Emu swings her arms, stepping backwards towards Tsukasa to allow the two a little bit of privacy—whatever secrets they have together is none of her business at the moment! Maybe later, though, if they both decide to follow along with her.
“Who knew it’d be Rui’s friend was the other person after the bounty!”
Tsukasa watches the two talk, “the hood makes her look like some sort of assassin.”
“She could be! But I wonder why she’s out here too. It doesn’t sound like the town nearby is where she lives.”
“I don’t know.” Tsukasa says with a concentrated thinking face on. “Maybe she’s one of those actual adventurers who spend the whole of their lives travelling around.”
“What?!! That would be super cool!”
“Emu, Tsukasa.” Rui says, walking over to the two of them. “Are you alright if Nene joins us on our quest?”
There’s no reason for her to decline, but either way, Emu has a feeling that if she were to do so, Rui would be fine with that. However, it would also lead to the group splitting up. It wasn’t like travelling across the country with just Tsukasa wouldn’t be fun, but doing so with two other people would be so much better!
“Yeah! Of course!! You trust her, Rui, so I don't mind.”
Tsukasa looks a little less sure, “you can join us… As long as you help kill the centipede monster!”
Nene huffs, staring at Tsukasa with a frown. “I was after that monster in the first place.” She says, like it’s obvious.
He seems to realise this belatedly, and scratches at his head. “Right. Well, do you know where it went off to?”
Nene shoots a look at Rui, one which Emu doesn’t quite catch before their newest member points off in the distance. Thankfully, the monster doesn’t seem to have changed direction, so it’s going to be very—
“Um.” Emu says, “isn’t it going back towards the town?”
“It seems so.” Rui says, looking a little concerned.
“AH! Then we should get going!”
Before anyone can protest, Emu takes off running back to town.
“Emu!” Tsukasa yells, “wait!”
Luckily, Emu manages to catch the monster before it gets anywhere near the town. She's still very very far ahead of the others, although maybe not too far if one of them had cast a speed spell, but she's on her own for a little while at most!
Jumping as far as she can up into the sky—and it’s really quite far—Emu brings her heavy hammer down onto the centipede. For a moment, she's a little scared that she might just bounce off, (even monstrous centipedes have exoskeletons, you know!) but it simply can't withstand that sheer amount of force.
There's a loud crack as the chitin breaks under her hammer. Bug guts splatter everywhere, as the monster lets out a loud screech. It's not dead yet, but she did do a substantial amount of damage. Beneath her, the centipede begins to thrash, so Emu has to retreat.
“Emu!!” Tsukasa's voice comes from behind her.
She turns, greeting him and Rui and Nene, who both look very, very tired, with a big wave. “I found it!”
“Slow... down... next time...” Nene mutters, and Emu's worried she might collapse.
Rui walks over, observing the half-dead monster. Leaning down, he hovers a hand over its body, muttering a spell under his breath. His hand glows a faint purple before the centipede stops moving—not dead, but asleep.
“Woah!” Emu says, wiping a bit of splattered guts off her face. “I didn't know you could do that, Rui!”
He smiles, “I only managed to because you subdued it.” Rui looks over to Nene, “you can kill it now. It was your bounty first.”
Though she looks a little grumpy, Nene walks over, dagger in hand. “Isn't he going to do it?” She asks, gesturing towards Tsukasa, who hasn't made any move to get closer.
“I don't think Tsukasa likes bugs very much.” Emu points out.
Nene lets out an aggrieved sigh—and Emu’s a little sad to see that she and Tsukasa have gotten off to a bad start. It’s fine though! If they’re travelling together for the near future, then they’re bound to get along—and crouches by the monster. Her dagger catches the sunlight, it’s sharp tip somehow seeming even sharper in the light. There’s a smaller crack as the knife breaches the chitin. She closes her eyes, whispering what must be a spell, although Emu’s never seen one so long before. Power surges around them, before disappearing in a blink of an eye. As if it was never there.
The monster lies dead. Nene stands, and sways a little before she steadies herself. Rui reaches out towards her, worry clear on his face, but he withdraws, unsure of himself. Emu wonders why, they know each other, didn't they?
“Is it dead?” Tsukasa asks, finally stepping towards them. He eyes the dead centipede.
Nene stares at Rui, before she says. “Yes, yes it is.”
---
Time passes quickly with Nene joining their group. They spend more time in town now, since buying the supplies for yet another person means taking up more requests and bounties. It’s fun though, so nobody can find it within themselves to complain.
The sun shines brightly overhead, as Emu watches the clouds above them. Beneath her, the grass grows high enough that it tickles her face, and she can't help but laugh. They're all exhausted after a long day of travelling--even Emu--but the nice weather is something they've all decided to enjoy.
Currently, Emu's cloud watching with a very sleepy Nene, the heat of the sun against her skin dousing everything in a fuzzy warmness. Beside Nene is a sleeping Rui, who had actually been cloud watching with them too. Before he fell asleep, of course.
She points to a passing cloud. “I think that one looks a bit like Tsukasa,” Emu whispers, so not to wake anyone up.
Nene snorts, “I can see it. It looks very loud.”
Tsukasa's also napping. He'd declined to join the three of them cloud watching earlier simply because he'd been scared of whatever bugs are lurking in the long grass, which Nene found very amusing. Though, he seemed to have forgotten that fact when he sat down to talk and promptly fell asleep.
It's been around a month since Nene joined, and Emu finds that she couldn't be happier.
“I think that one’s a dog.” Nene says, gesturing towards another passing cloud. This one’s smaller than the last and—yes, it really does look like a dog.
“It reminds me of those wolf monsters from when I saved Tsukasa!”
“? When did you save Tsukasa?”
Emu gasps, “what?! Did we never tell you?”
Nene shakes her head, beside them Rui shifts in his sleep.
“Okay, okay well…” Lowering her voice once again, she launches into an explanation.
Whenever Emu looks back at that first month of adventure, she can’t help but compare it to the brighter days ahead. Sure, they've fought and disagreed with each other, and one time she was almost sure that one particularly big fight was the end of their days together, but they persevered.
Of course, that doesn’t mean everything is completely happy, Tsukasa, Rui, Nene, and even Emu herself still have secrets they haven't told each other about yet. But she's sure it'll come with time.
That’s something they have in abundance. The four of them have a lot more of it before they even near the Phoenix Feather, Emu's sure of it. It wouldn’t be a magical wish granting feather if it wasn’t hard to find!
Beside her, Nene says, “are you alright?”
“Hm?”
“You’re just… vibrating a lot.”
“Oh! No, I’m fine.” Emu smiles, “I’m just really, really, happy.”