AN: As a treat, have a chapter from Hawkeye's point of view. Thank you so much to everyone who is enjoying my fic! So glad you like it. Hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter, too~

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Chapter 5:

Hawkeye watched as Duran stalked away in a huff, his face a bright red. Likely ranting about him in his head to Faerie and the Elementals.

He had to admit that he felt a little bad about teasing him, but he honestly couldn't help it. Duran had the best reactions of anyone he had met so far. Oblivious, yet catches onto things quickly. The way he would scowl, appearing annoyed, only for an expression of realisation to fall across his face. And then a light flush that would darken in a matter of seconds would follow.

For such a staunch swordsman, Duran was surprisingly adorable. In his own way.

Hawkeye understood why the Elementals liked to tease him every once in a while.

Placing his hands atop of the table in preparation to push himself to his feet, Hawkeye paused when he noticed a beastman several feet away. Tall, blue hair pulled into a high ponytail. And staring in the direction that Duran stomped off in.

Hawkeye felt his eyes narrow slightly in suspicion as he took to his feet. After everything that had occurred, what Duran claimed to experienced and what Hawkeye himself had noticed, he couldn't just brush off the staring stranger. True, he felt nothing like the cold, hard stares of whoever had been watching them from a far.

But they were staring in Duran's direction. And Hawkeye didn't like that.

Plastering a charming, suave smile upon his lips, Hawkeye saddled up toward the beastman. "Hey there," he greeted, gaining his attention.

Instead of returning the greeting, the beastman tilted his head in the direction he had been so firmly staring in. "That swordsman. He is your companion?"

Hawkeye wasn't entirely surprised by the question. They were the only two humans in the entire village, after all. He was still suspicious and defensive. So, what he said next was from pure protectiveness; "That's right. He's not on the market, you could say."

Unexpectedly, the beastman nodded his head slowly, dismissively. "Unsurprising. But that is not why I ask."

That was a curious response. "Oh?"

"You best keep him close," the beastman strongly suggested, subtly catching Hawkeye off guard once more. "And do not let him enter Duskmoon Forest alone."

Hawkeye arched an eyebrow. "Any particular reason why?"

The beastman finally turned to face him completely, his expression passive, though the motion of his hands indicated that he was actually worried about something. "For many years now, swordsmen who enter our town and visit Duskmoon Forest alone fail to return."

That was something Hawkeye hadn't anticipated, either. And he felt his own concern grow. "Fail to return? What happened?"

"We do not know," the beastman replied, though his expression remined the same, the sharp shake of his head indicated frustration. "Capable, they are. Able to handle the volatile beasts found within. Yet, they disappear. Without trace."

Hawkeye felt himself tense. The volatile beastmen that roam Duskmoon Forest were formable, true. But he had seen what swordsmen were capable of. If they were anything like Duran, they would not go down easily. Not without a fight. Not without leaving a sign of their presence.

Unless it wasn't the forest inhabitants that were responsible.

"...Let me ask you something; have these swordsmen mention anything...strange to you? Like nightmares?"

A flicker of surprise finally broke the expression of passiveness on the beastman's face. His gaze shifted down toward the ground as a hand reached up to grasp his own chin, indicating a contemplative posture.

"Hm..." he murmured for a few moments before realisation spread across his features, and he turned rapidly in Hawkeye's direction. "Yes, in fact. Strange dreams. Of a place with hands."

Hawkeye frowned, not entirely pleased. "I see," he murmured.

The nightmares, the fleeting shadows, the feelings of being watched; there was no denying it. Something was targeting Duran.

"I'll need to keep a close eye on him," he murmured.

"Yes." The beastman nodded, seemingly pleased. "He is a good person."

Hawkeye briefly wondered how the stranger came to such a conclusion, though told himself he had likely witnessed his gentle care of baby Ludgar. And he couldn't exactly deny such a statement.

He was a good person. A bit single-minded, easily riled, a bit naïve, but noble and protective. Hot, too. He couldn't deny that.

"Well, thanks for the warning," Hawkeye said, sending the beastman a charming wink. "I'll take care of him."

He then turned and headed down the path Duran had taken not too long ago. He felt a light sense of guilt for his previous playful teasing, pushing him to the point of stalking off. But he didn't know about the previous missing swordsmen. If he had, he wouldn't have let him go off on his own.

True, he had Elementals chittering at him constantly. That, however, only slightly alleviated his concern.

The village wasn't very large, thankfully, so out of the need to be thorough and practical, he did a quick lap. Keeping an eye out for Duran and for Kevin, while remaining alert for anyone shadowy or suspicious.

Thankfully, he didn't see anything that alerted his protective senses, but he didn't see hide nor hair of Duran or Kevin. If they weren't at the inn, the place he purposely chose to visit last, then they weren't anywhere within the village boundaries. He didn't have an Elemental visit him in a panic, so the two were safe.

Still, better to see with his own eyes.

"There you are," Faerie greeted him as he stepped into their rented room.

Hawkeye nodded his head idly in greeting as he cast his eyes around the room. "Where's Duran?"

"He's sleeping," Faerie replied and pointed over to the furthest bed in the room, where Duran could be seen lying on his back on top of the covers. "I told him to get some rest. Although, I hope it doesn't lead to more nightmares..."

Yeah.

A few hours of restful sleep was something that Duran needed. The stubborn swordsman might claim otherwise, but the guy was a little too...lenient with his own health, one could say. And the fact that he had pretty much fallen asleep where he fell on the bed was testament to that.

Hawkeye was actually curious to see if he did experience another nightmare. If so, then it was further proof that he was being specifically targeted.

Faerie uttered a small sigh and she wrung her hands nervously in front of her. "He had another encounter, you know?"

"Shadows?" Hawkeye frowned.

"More like a feeling of being watched," Faerie explained as she rested her hand against her cheek in a clearly worried manner. "But this time, Ludgar responded, too. Crying so loudly. The poor thing was scared of something."

That revelation didn't make Hawkeye too happy. "I see. Where is the kid?"

"Oh, the family that Kevin knew agreed to watch over him for us."

"Ah, good." One less thing to worry about. "Pity, though. Duran is a very doting mother."

Faerie giggled in response but that soon faded into a quite sigh of concern. She turned back toward Duran, her hands folded gently against her chest. "Shade says that he felt the presence of a spirit nearby. Something is going on. And it involves Duran."

Hawkeye also turned his attention over toward the swordsman, noting that he appeared to be sleeping peacefully for now. At least, he didn't appear physically disturbed. "No doubt about that. I had a little chat with one of the locals. Something strange is going on in this town."

"At least he's resting now," Faerie added.

However, not a moment after she said those words Duran uttered a pained groan and he hastily rolled over onto his side. His arms pressed themselves against his stomach and he pulled his knees up toward his chest. Essentially pulling himself into a foetal position.

It was...unnerving seeing him in such a pitiful, vulnerable state. He should be tough, friendly, and hot-headed. Not...whimpering in his sleep.

"Oh no," Faerie gasped as she immediately fluttered toward Duran, stopping just by his bed. "Already?"

Hawkeye moved to follow in order to wake Duran up from the nightmares like he had done the night (or was it day?) before. Only to stop half-way when Duran suddenly rolled over onto his back again. And then, he sat up straight.

"Duran? Are you ok?" Faerie immediately asked.

Duran didn't answer. Didn't even glance in her direction as he turned and slipped his legs off the bed.

Something was definitely wrong. Even at his distance, Hawkeye saw that Duran's eyes were half-lidded, his usually vivid purple eyes hazy and distant. His movements were also sluggish and unsteady as he stood to his feet. His shoulders hunched and drooping forward, arms limp by his sides. And he appeared to find it extremely difficult to keep his head upright.

And Hawkeye surmised it wasn't from the weight of his hair.

"Duran?" Faerie tried again to call out to him, but like before, she received no response or acknowledgement.

Forgoing his armour and footwear, Duran simply bent down to pick up the handle of his sword. And then proceeded to hold it limply in his hand as he took a stumbling step forward, allowing for the sharpen tip to scrape across the floor as he dragged it along behind him.

He was...still asleep?

"Sleepwalking?" Hawkeye murmured as Duran continued to move forward, passing him without pause. "Wait, where could he be headed?"

"We need to follow him!" Faerie ordered as she fluttered hastily after him.

That honestly went without saying. Either his meanderings would lead them to the one responsible for the shadows and nightmares. Or he was being led into trouble. And in Duran's current state, neither was good.

Duran's sword continued to scrape against the floor, leaving a thin line against the wood and making a somewhat unnerving sound as he walked otherwise silently toward the entrance. The doors were closed, however, and Hawkeye wondered whether that barrier would be enough to stop him. Or if Duran would just slash his way through.

Fortunately, he didn't receive answers to either question as the doors were suddenly opened before Duran could reach them. And the one on the other side was none other than Kevin. Who, rightly so, looked puzzled.

"Hah? Duran?" he questioned with a tilt of his head.

"Don't get in front of him," Hawkeye instructed. "He might react on instinct."

Kevin looked absolutely bewildered. More so than usual. "What-?" he uttered as he subconsciously took a step to the side, allowing the swordsman to pass him by. And like before, he didn't acknowledge his presence.

"He's sleepwalking," Hawkeye explained simply as he hurried after Duran outside. "We need to follow him."

It was clear that Kevin didn't truly understand the situation, but he dutifully nodded his head and move to also follow. Trailing after Duran, defensive but puzzled.

Thankfully, it wasn't hard to keep up with Duran's slow, methodical steps. Despite either being asleep or semi-conscious, he still had a sense of purpose with his strides. He had the intent to head somewhere.

The question was; should they let him keep walking? Or wake him up?

"He's heading for Duskmoon Forest!" Kevin exclaimed.

He was.

Well, that answered his question. So, wait, did that mean the other lost swordsmen didn't enter the forest willingly? If so, whoever was responsible was trying to get to Duran.

They had to find a way to wake him up without startling him.

"Kevin, I need you to grab his right wrist so he doesn't react," Hawkeye instructed. "I need to get in front of him to wake him."

"Yes!" Kevin replied without hesitation.

He lunged forward, quickly snaring Duran's wrist in one hand while the other attempted to remove the sword from his grasp entirely. Thankfully, the suddenly restriction didn't prompt Duran to retaliate. Instead, he barely reacted at all. He attempted to continue to move forward, allowing for his arm to be pulled behind him. However, Kevin remained firm, literally digging his heel into the ground.

And his attempts finally brought Duran to a stop.

Hawkeye didn't hesitate to step in front of Duran and grab him by the shoulders. "Duran, wake up!" he shouted, giving him a short, abrupt shake.

He half expected that Duran would need more encouragement. Instead, Duran snapped his head up and looked directly at him, his eyes wide but vivid.

"Hawkeye?"

"Yeah." Hawkeye uttered a small sigh of relief and dropped his hands from Duran's shoulders.

In a dazed manner, Duran looked around, his head swivelling sharply, seemingly unable to comprehend where he was. He then glanced down at his right hand, where he gripped his sword tightly. Where Kevin was also holding his wrist.

And suddenly looked horrified. "Did I-?"

"No no, you didn't do anything," Hawkeye quickly reassured him. "You were sleepwalking."

"Sleepwalking?" Duran furrowed his brow, looking as confused as he sounded. "I've never sleepwalked in my life."

"Are you ok now?" Kevin asked him, slowly relinquishing his hold on his wrist.

"Ah, yeah," Duran murmured.

"Do you remember anything?" Faerie asked him gently.

Duran continued to look absolutely bewildered. "I...don't know," he murmured and clutched his forehead with his left hand. "I had a dream. I was...in that place again. Trying to get out. There were those hands again. I kept trying to cut them down, but my sword...it didn't do anything."

Ah, that would explain why he looked horrified when he realised that he had actually been physically stalking through the village with his sword. If anyone had startled them, it was possible that he could have reacted instinctively, but in a manner that he wouldn't have normally.

Things were starting to get a little too real. They needed to figure out what to do next before Duran was taken from them completely. If whoever was responsible had to ability to induce nightmares and sleepwalking in a person at a distance, who knows what else they were capable of.

"Let's get you back to the inn," Hawkeye suggested as he furled an arm around Duran's waist and tugged him toward him. And the swordsman allowed him to do so, without so much as a token struggle.

In fact, it almost seemed that he found comfort being close to him.

Hawkeye shook his head. Not exactly the best time to muse about that. "I'll explain a few things I found out there."