A/N No joke, the chicken shaman made my day!!

Melanie's POV

"So, you've never gone hunting before?" Asked a questioning Jack. It was early the next morning, and Amber had no more food.

"I've killed over 20 O'kasis and Scaleswind guards. What's the difference?" Asked Melanie, smirking. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, let's go." He said, holding his bow tightly while his arrows were in a pack that swung around his shoulders.

We walked around for a while, when out of the blue, a deer strode into view. Jack pulled me down next to him, shushing me.

"Ok, so I'll kill it, and you-"

"I want to kill it. I haven't had guard practice in a while, though so I won't be able to throw my sword at it." I whispered. Jack huffed, handing me his bow.

"Here's what you're going to do. Load an arrow. Then, pull the string back." He whispered. I quietly loaded the bow, but sadly, I couldn't get the form of pulling the string back.

"I can't pull the string!" I whispered. Jack came from behind and wrapped his hand around mine, helping me pull the string back.

"Let go." He whispered into my ear. Without thinking, I opened my hand, and the arrow went flying into the deer. The animal fell to the ground, dead.

"Did I do it?" I asked, standing up. Jack nodded.

"You did great." He said, walking to the dead deer. Then, he got to his knees, and prayed.

"Lady Irene, we thank you for letting us take a soul from your world so that we may live." Jack mumbled under his breath. I put my head down so that I didn't seem disrespectful.

"Now... We have to skin it." Said Jack, pulling out a blade. I gasped when I saw the blade come out of the deer, covered to the hilt in red.

Covered to the hilt in red... I screamed when I saw it, walking backwards.

"Melanie?! You ok?" Asked Jack. A vision of Garroth lying on the floor dead kept reappearing in my mind, and a tree hit my back.

"Melanie!" He yelled. I kept shaking, hyperventilating.

"Melanie, what happened back there? I know people who don't like to see that stuff but I figured since you and Garroth probably killed guards before, this couldn't be as bad." He said confused.

I explained my dream, and his hand went to his hair, raking inside it.

"I'm sorry Melanie... I didn't know." He said. I nodded, believing him as I stood up.

"I-it's fine, l-let's just get back to the deer." I said, shaking slightly. Jack saw me trembling, and lifted an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you still want to-"

"I'm sure, Jack. If I wasn't, then I would've gone back to the hut instead of running to a tree twenty feet away." I said, standing up. We walked back to the deer, and Jack finished doing what he had to do.

"Let's go to the hut now." He said, getting up. We took the trek to the hut, and I walked inside, handing Amber and Jadyn the rations.

"Well, guess we're going to have a feast tonight." Said Amber, grinning as she and Jadyn started cooking. Then, I made my way towards my room, but not before Jack grabbed my arm and pulled me outside.

"Jack? What are you-" He put a finger to my lips and explained.

"We're going to look for my sister, and possibly, Garroth." I bit my lip, remembering what happened to Aphmau, and what Dante had told me.

"Let's focus on your sister first. Lily, right?" I asked. Jack nodded.

"Where have you not looked yet?" I asked, using my magicks to craft up a bow and some arrows.

"U-uh, I haven't looked in N-New Meteli yet..." Said Jack. I nodded, taking my bow and arrows from the ground.

"It's not far from here, maybe a two day's trek by foot. Let's go." Jack said, walking towards New Meteli's direction.

And maybe, I'll be able to see Castor, unless he... No, he didn't, Melanie. You're being irrational.

-------------

Jack and I made small talk on our way to New Meteli.

"So, where do we search first? This does seem like the perfect place to hide out, after all." I said, scanning the torn down village.

"I heard there's a chicken shaman here... Maybe he knows?" Asked Jack.

"If I were you, I wouldn't talk to Castor right now... Times been hard on him." I turned around, and saw Cadenza, smirking and crossing her arms.

"Cadenza! What are you doing here?" I asked, hugging her. Cadenza face palmed.

"Oh Lady Irene... I forgot to contact you on the amulet, but we're on our way to New Meteli. Aphmau, Laurence and-"

"Wait, Laurence is here!? I gotta go-"

"Melanie! Laurence wants to talk to you... He was out all night yesterday looking for you." Said Cadenza. I rolled my eyes.

"So, I'll go make camp." Said Jack, walking backwards and away awkwardly.

"Why, so he can break my heart personally? No thanks. I'm focusing on Garroth, and Garroth only. I can't have any distractions right now." I said.

"But Melanie, you should give Laurence another chance, he's just misunderstood." Said Cadenza. I bit my lip.

"Cadenza, you're my best friend. So I trust you not to tell Laurence that I'm here." I said, my fate resting in her hands. She could either take care of it, or squish it like a bug.

"... Of course, Melanie. I won't tell Laurence. But if he sees you, it was your fault, not mine." Said Cadenza. I gave her another hug.

"Thanks Cadenza. By the way, you haven't seen a girl about twenty years old with a fox wandering around, have you?" I asked, remembering my promise to Jack.

"Um, I think so, but I don't remember, so keep looking anyways, ok?" She asked. I nodded.

"Thanks again, Cadenza." I said. Before I turned away though, she grabbed my arm.

"So, whose the cutie with the black sweatshirt?" Asked Cadenza, waggling her eyebrows. I rolled my eyes.

"He's Jack. I met him at Amber's place. He and this sweet girl named Jadyn live with her." I said. Cadenza nodded, giving me one last smile before walking away.

Laurence is looking for me...? I thought, shaking my head as I walked to Jack.

"So, crazy boy drama?" Asked Jack as I got to the small camp. Two tents, a campfire, and a couple of backpacks were arranged next to a lake with a couple of trees. I nodded, biting my lip.

"That guy, Laurence, he's looking for me." I explained. Jack nodded, grabbing his own communication amulet.

"I'm going to contact Jadyn, tell her that we're going to stay a while." Explained Jack. 

A/N I loved writing the next chapter!