“So, you have any place in mind that you were heading to?” Oda asked me once he was settled up in the tree. He sat on a branch that was close to mine and he snatched an apple from my sack of stolen goods. 

I unfurled the world map I procured and studied the world. We were somewhere in the forest by two small villages that traded a lot with each other. From what Oda (the chatterbox) told me, he just came from that village. He was trying to scavenge food and resources like me but was caught in the act. 

From what I could tell, he accidentally slipped while pocketing some loot and that drew the attention of the night watchers. That led to our meeting.

“Well, I’m not really going anywhere in particular now. But I do need to be at a certain location at the turn of the new year,” I replied while tapping my fingers on the map. From where we were right now, we’re going to have to travel to the other side of the kingdom to reach our destination.

Oda seemed confused at my vague noncommittal answer and pressed me for information, “So, care to enlighten me on our plan of action, or are you going to leave me in the dark?”

With a raised eyebrow I asked him, “Our? Who said we’d travel together?”

“Well, I thought since you helped me out and all, that we’d stick together,” Oda whined with a sad puppy dog look. “We’re both half-demons and wouldn’t it be safer for both of us to travel together? We can take turns keeping watch and stuff!”

He continued to blather on about how we should stick together and form a half-demon party like this was all some sort of game. I honestly got tired of hearing his voice so I begrudgingly agreed to travel with him.

“Fine, we’ll travel together. But don’t expect this to be a permanent thing. If you annoy me or get us into unnecessary trouble, I’m ditching you on the spot,” I glared at him, “Understand?”

Oda’s face immediately brightened and he started to babble on about how this journey was going to be so much fun and how we’d become such good friends.

I wanted to sew his mouth shut.

“So, since we’re a party now . . . how about you get some rest and I’ll take the first watch”. I wasn’t suggesting this out of kindness, mind you. 

I’m doing it so I can have a few hours of beautiful silence.

Oda accepted that and settled himself on the tree branch. Soon enough, he was lightly snoring while his arms were crossed against his chest. Sometimes as he slept, his head would tilt too far to the side and he’d unconsciously readjust himself.

I stared out into the forest and lightly meditated. The silence was refreshing. The wind rushed in my hair and the sound of the insects and nocturnal creatures was a natural melody to my ears. The stars above shone their brilliance allowing some light to be cast down upon the earth. 

The hours crept by and after some time, I prodded Oda awake and we switched shifts. Double checking that the bag of goods was secured, I crossed my legs over the branch and laid my hands in my lap. My eyes drifted shut, I eventually fell asleep to the sound of Oda talking to himself about some random things.

When I woke up in the early morning, I saw that Oda had fallen asleep sometime during his shift. I sighed.

If this guy was so useless, what’s the point in dragging him along?

As quietly as I could, I gathered my things and carefully landed on the ground. With a glance at the map one more time, I started to head northeast towards another small village where I could restock my supplies once they got low. 

After walking a few feet away from the tree, Oda abruptly woke up and fell out of the tree. Turning around to watch, I was amused as he frantically looked for me. Once Oda spotted me, he dashed towards me all the while complaining about how I was going to just abandon him in the middle of the “dangerous forest”. 

“When I woke up, I saw that you were gone! I was so worried! I thought that you’d been captured or something! But I was able to find you, thank the Mother!” Oda kept chattering.

I rolled my eyes in response, “Why thank the Mother? Her presence alone would kill us instantly”.

Besides, I’m sure if I was captured, they’d be quieter than you Oda. Probably better company too.

Without a word, I turned around and continued walking as Oda followed behind me like a puppy. Excited, chatty, energetic, and an annoyance.

After a couple of minutes of him talking about nonsense, I snapped at him, “Can you please be quiet?! I’m sure that anyone in a couple of miles can hear you blathering about. I for one do not want to draw any unwanted attention to us. I know that you’re more than fine with people finding you, but I am not”.

With that, I started to pick up my pace as a flabbergasted Oda tried to keep up with my quick strides. Since he was taller than me, hence longer legs, he was able to easily walk side by side with me all the while apologizing for talking so much.

Giving him a seething glare, he finally shut up.

A few moments of silence passed us and I let myself relax a bit. Quietly I answered Oda’s unspoken question, “In a few days, we’ll be reaching a village. There we’ll observe the village and then take what we need. Then leave to go to the next place. Understood?”

Oda seemed surprised and pleased that I was the one to start up a conversation for once and he wasn’t going to let me go with just that.

“Is that what you always do? Stalk a place for a few days and then steal their food? Don’t you like, get attached to the people who live there?” Oda asked as we walked.

“No, not really. Why should I care about them? They’d kill me in a heartbeat if they saw me. And I like making sure that I have the highest chance of getting the materials I need with the lowest amount of risk.” With a condescending glance at Oda, I added, “I can tell you’re the kind of person who does things on the fly, damn the consequences”.

Oda rubbed the back of his head, “Awww, you got me pegged already, huh?”

It’s not that hard with how much you talk, I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. 

I’m going to have a long trip ahead of me.