John ran until he couldn’t feel his legs and then some. Hours later, he finally found a stream with some cover where he lay the woman down under shelter. He worried over her, as she hadn’t stirred at all since she’d cast that attack against the bestiary’s door.

He had to resist the urge to pace back and forth. Instead, he drank from the stream until he felt like he would burst and then curled up beside her under an overhanging ledge. Like that, he decided to rest until morning.

His sleep left him restless by the time the light of morning peaked over the horizon, but he knew they couldn’t stay there. He didn’t know how things worked, but he was sure someone would be mad that he hurt that dragon and broke the dome.

They’d come eventually. He wanted to be as far as possible before that happened. He was surprised that he wasn’t the first to wake up.

The woman bathed in the stream. Her clothes dried on a tree branch not too far from the stream. John looked away and started scouting their area, making sure that he was aware of the woman’s presence at all times.

The connection he shared with her felt weird to him. He could feel her emotions, and when she spoke to him, he didn’t quite understand the words she said but instead felt the intent behind them. Not only that, he could feel her presence at all times when she was within a certain range. He didn’t know the extent of the range yet, though he looked back to make sure she was still there when he started to climb a hill.

It looked like the small forest they’d entered contained a small mountain, and the stream they hid near marked the beginning of the uphill slope.

John looked around, seeing the small critters and markings of larger beasts in the area and thanked whatever gods may be watching over him that none of them had found them while they slept.

When he took a step forward, he quickly turned and looked back at the woman. He no longer felt the connection. He couldn’t have been more than a hundred meters from her.

‘That’s convenient.’ She stared back at him from the lake, a feeling of discomfort on her face. He walked a few steps back towards her and the discomfort faded. Her scrunched brows gave way to a soft smile.

Within moments, she was clothed and approached John at the top of the small hill. “Anything out there?”

‘Not as far as I can see. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything there, though.’

“I know a dungeon not too far from here. I need to get my Essence back, so we can start there and then figure out a way to get whatever’s inside of you out.”

He dipped his head in agreement, allowing her to jump on top of his back. He knew he’d need a harness eventually, but for now, they had to work with what they had.

Which was not much at all.

“Before we go, I’m going to need some supplies. I’ll have to go into one of the villages close to the dungeon first which might be an issue. The Tribunal will be looking for us before too long.”

He looked back at her and waited for a direction. They made eye contact and it felt as though he could almost read her mind.

It was weird and he looked away to stop the feeling. John wondered about the specifics of the Contract, but he couldn’t communicate.

‘I really hope there’s a way to shapeshift in this monster. Then again, I doubt I’ll understand the language any better even if I could shapeshift.’

His goal hadn’t changed and would never change.

With determination and a heavy heart, he let the woman lead them away from the stream.

‘Elaine… Lily… I love you both so much. I’m coming!’

-

Amelia gripped the side of her gryphon’s torso with her thighs and held the fur on the back of its neck to keep her stead.

“It’s just over that hill there. You’re too noticeable, so you’ll have to stay outside the village while I resupply. Be careful not to be seen, okay?” She felt strange speaking to the gryphon as though it were a real person, but it truly seemed as though it understood what she tried to convey.

It preened the feathers in its wings and gave her a dirty look like she had said something stupid. She glared back at it and huffed, “I have to go alone. I’m sure you’re getting a little hungry, right? We need supplies so that we can go into the dungeon and get you to Rank-Two as fast as possible.”

It continued staring at her like she was dumb while it preened its feathers.

“Wow, I didn’t know I’d be getting scolded by my Contracted monster,” she said to herself, though it huffed as though it chuckled at a joke. “Right, you can understand. Well, guess what. You’re not going and that’s fin-”

It tapped its head against her forehead and stared her in the eyes. She could almost feel the palpable denial from the creature. Her shoulders drooped forward in resignation that she just got bullied by her Contracted monster.

“Stubborn and foolish, I see,” she said to it. “It’s not like I can stop you from coming. I suppose it might be better to keep you closer, but you’re so easy to identify.”

It raised a brow at her, “You did not just…”

It raised its other brow at her. “You did.”

It then glared at her, brows furrowed in annoyance. “Okay, okay. This is just weird. I’ve never heard of something like this before. Most Contracted monsters take a lot of coercing into being obedient, and none of them ever get to this level of… human emotion.”

The gryphon turned around and started walking over the hill. The village came into view, and Amelia let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Nobody scouting, nobody on guard at the gates, and, most of all, there were none of the UBA’s (United Breeder’s Association) people around.

“They haven’t made it this far yet, it appears. That doesn’t mean we should take our time. Let’s get in, get out, and get to the dungeon as fast as possible. They won’t follow us in there,” she looked around anxiously, “I hope.”