Mrekulli P.O.V

I keep an ear out for my surroundings, being alert at every moment. The horse is running as if we were both in danger. But I don't mind. I volunteered because I simply have nothing to live for. The town likes me, no doubt and I prefer to live, but my love was announced dead years ago. When a young man named Látinn disappeared, I was destroyed. Soldiers were put on the case but came up empty-handed each time. Eventually, they gave up. I don't know why he left, but I just want to see him one more time. To listen as he says his stupid flirty lines. To sit inside the tree, looking at the stars through the opening. For him to tell me everything would be alright as I cry into his shoulder. To tell him how I've truly felt. But I need to face the facts, he's dead. I can never hear his smooth voice again or feel his black cloak draped around us like a blanket. I could never watch as he seems to float instead of walk, moving with a type of grace that no one else has. I will never be able to do any of that again. I land at the general area of the directions. The horse slows down as I look around, trying to find the house. This will be a long night.

Azure P.O.V

I sit up abruptly. I look around, having no clue where I am. Okay, think. The last thing you remember is Rufous knocking Kirsti out. I don't recognize the room, as I begin to get up. A sharp pain shoots through me and I fall back down. The noise attracts the attention of a figure at the door. He looks vaguely familiar, but I don't recognize him in the darkness.

"Hello, may I ask who you are?" I ask sweetly. The figure begins to move in a fluid movement to me. I close my eyes, ready to get killed. I feel something heavy hit me as I fall back onto the bed. Though the hit wasn't mean or hurtful, but rather soft and loving and the warmth doesn't leave. I open my eyes to see someone hugging me, the redshirt telling me exactly who it is. I hug my love back.

"Azure, I thought you died." Rufous chokes out. It sounds as if he is crying. I hug him tighter, not wanting him sad.

"Don't cry sir Rufous, I'm okay now, at that's all that matters." I pull away to look him in the eye. He chuckles slightly.

"You're stilling calling me 'sir'?" I smile. He moves his hand to my cheek, caressing it slightly. I lean into it, happy to have him okay. He leans into me as I do the same, meeting with a small clank. After a while, we pull away for air. I smile as he pulls me into his lap. I snuggle into his chest.

"Where are we by the way?"

"The mystery woman's shack. She was able to heal you and save your life." I nod and my stomach growls. Rufous chuckles.

"Are you hungry love?" I nod my head. We stand up, him lacing fingers with me. I blush and lean into his shirt. He chuckles and we walk out to the main living area. The place is not that big, with only three rooms, a kitchen, a place to sit, and a bathroom. I immediately smell something amazing, my stomach growling for food. We walk to the kitchen and I see a woman with a goat-like appearance and a white dress, flowers climbing up the side. She turns her head, smiling.

"You're awake. How do you feel?" I smile.

"Alive, thanks to you. How can I ever repay you?"

"No need to repay me, I do what I do because I love helping people, not because of money." My smile grows bigger.

"Thank you so much. That smells great." I say, almost drooling at the food.

"Oh, you must be starving, would you like some food? It just finished."

"Yes please!" I say eagerly. Rufous chuckles. I and him get some food, going to sit down. I see a black figure move silently across the room, his black cloak flowing behind him. He leaves to go to the kitchen. I turn to Rufous.

"He's Látinn," I say. Rufous nods.

"I know." I shake my head.

"You don't understand. Before you came he went missing." Rufous looks at me.

"I know. He told me his story."

"Well, let me tell you mine. After he went missing, I officially became a royal guard in training. I was thirteen at the time. I and the person I was studying under was put on the case, even after the others abandoned it. We checked the forest for hours, never finding any sign of him. We did find the mass murderers of the area. We were able to send them back to the town in which they were wanted, so that was something. Every day the town rancher would come in to see if we made progress. Eventually, everyone gave up and announced him dead. He was devastated. I went to him after training one day and promised him that I would find Látinn. Since then, I would go out into the forest once a week to see if there are any signs. That's when I found this cottage. I didn't approach it, but I did ask Fallacy. He says it was probably abandoned, but I didn't look too much into it. A stack of decomposing bodies took my attention. I searched through, trying to find any trace of identity. The rancher started to isolate himself from the entire town, grieving with the fact that one of them was most likely Látinn. He would talk to people if they talked to him first. He would smile and say hi, but the smile was fake. He did his job and did it well, but he sorta stopped caring after that." I stop the story and take another bite of my food. I look up to see Rufous staring at something behind me. I look over my shoulder to see Látinn with tears in the corner of his eyes.

"He didn't really do that because of me?" I sigh.

"I wish I could say no, but when you disappeared he would stay in his house for days at a time, only leaving to go to the forest." Látinn stands there for a moment. He then walks in the direction of one of the room.

"Excuse me, but I need to go. It's nice to see you're okay." He leaves the room. I hear the door close and sigh, eating the last of the food. I take the dishes to the sink and place them in, washing them off. I go back and sit by Rufous, almost falling asleep. I hear a knock on the door. The woman walks to the door and goes to open it.

"Wait, Vida. Be careful." Rufous says. Vida nods and opens the door carefully.

"Is Rufous the blacksmith here?" Vida looks warily.

"Why do you ask?"

"I have a message from Fallacy for him." Rufous gets up and takes it. The look on Rufous' face gives me a hint that something is wrong. He takes it and smiles.

"Thank you Mrekulli." He says, loud enough for me to hear. My face lights up. The rancher!

"How do you know my name?" Mrekulli asks.

"I've heard of you. How come you're here so late? It seems dangerous to be here at this time."

"It took a while to actually find this," Vida spoke up.

"Well it is dangerous to go out now, you can stay the night here if you wish." Mrekulli shakes his head.

"I could not accept your offer. I do not wish to be a burden to anyone."

"He will stay the night, thank you." We all turn our head to the voice. Standing in the doorway is Látinn. We all look from him back to Mrekulli, seeing his reaction. He has tears streaming down his face, a genuine smile finding its way to his face. He runs up and hugs Látinn, them spinning in a circle. They hug, tears still falling from Mrekulli's face. Látinn pulls them apart, leaning their foreheads together. He then leans in and kisses Mrekulli. He was stunned at first but soon melted into the kiss. They pulled apart, smiling. We here a knock on the door, all of us jumping a little. Látinn looks at us, opening the door wearily. Standing on the other side is a shorter male, very athletic from the look of it. He has a golden cloak with an emblem of a star keeping it on him. He wears a light blue shirt, having a dark blue armor underneath. The armor continues to the rest of his body, meeting up with a pair of golden boots and gloves. He has a quiver of arrows underneath his cape and a bow in hand. But by far the most interesting thing about him is a golden apple on his left cheek.

"I know you are wondering who I am, but I came here to help."

"You already said that we are wondering who you are, but you didn't tell us," Látinn says. We all look back at the stranger.

"My name is Aisling and I followed the man on the horse here. I have come to aid in capturing the general of the werewolf army, Naktis. I saw that he escaped after the battle." Me and Rufous look at each other, confused.

"Is that the sole reason you came?" Rufous asks.

"Yes, but there is one condition. If he is captured you do not kill him." I look at Rufous and he shrugs.

"We must talk with Fallacy before agreeing to this. We were planning on leaving out in the morning." I mention.

"Then I shall come with you."

"Wait, how do you have information on him that we don't?" Rufous asks.

"I have been tracking him for a while now."

"Then why don't you want him dead?" I speak up.

"The answer is simple. He is my brother."