"Elysia! Idris! Wait for me. I said I was coming!"

Idris groaned as Elysia paused, but didn't argue as they both turned to face Salia's voice. She darted through the tower gates, before skidding to a stop beside them and dropping her hands to her knees. Ke circled overhead, before landing atop Salia's head as she panted.

"If you slow us down, we'll leave you behind, Sal," Idris informed her.

Without waiting for a response, he started walking again. Elysia started after him as Salia huffed, before scrambling to draw even with the group.

"I'm faster than you," she complained. "Stop talking to me like I'm a burden."

Idris rolled his eyes, a familiar cocky grin twisting his lips. "You might be faster, but that doesn't won't do you any good like this. Besides, once we make it to the forest the only thing that matters is fighting--which you suck at."

"I don't suck at fighting!"

"You do. I've beat you every time we've spared," Idris taunted.

"That's because you're..."

"Amazing?"

"Anything but!" Salia snapped. "You're a jerk."

"Ooooh, a jerk. So that's how older kids talk."

"Shut up!"

"That's a bit better," Idris mused as they drew closer to the village gates. Large, wooden barriers stretched between towering trees, marking the change from Whisteria to the forest beyond. "Still, you'd probably faint if you had to actually curse."

"Mother says ladies don't use bad language or similar actions," Salia retorted. "And if they do, all witnesses must be disposed of to maintain the...the...image of cents."

Idris blanched, shooting Salia a disbelieving look. "One, I think you meant something something innocence. Hard to tell when you use phrases you don't really know. And two, no wonder your mom is scary."

"Lord Idris?" a guard called, stalling the conversation. "And...Applicants Salia and Elysia? Where are you three heading?"

Pulling his attention from Salia, Idris gave the man a bright smile missing all his usual sarcasm. "Mom and Dad wanted me to go gather a few herbs for the store," he told them. "They said they ran out when making something for Gramps. El and Sal wanted to come with me."

Since when was I El?

Salia shot him a dirty look, which Idris clearly ignored as the guard's brow furrowed. He studied them a moment, before leaning back into the stand behind him to mutter with another man. Soon, however, the guard sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Just be careful to avoid any trouble. There's a rumor there's some--" The man behind him jabbed the guard with the hilt of his blade. He grimaced. "--some dangerous animals. Don't wander off the path and stick to the places you usually go when sent out and you should be fine."

Elysia studied them hesitantly as Idris practically bounced on his heels.

"We'll be careful! We know better than to go searching for trouble, right Sal?"

Salia flushed--obviously still at odds with the nickname--but nodded her head enthusiastically. "R-right!"

Once they were out of earshot of the exit, Idris started snickering. Salia swatted the back of his head, before shifting so that Elysia stood between them. Ignoring the continued bickering, Elysia drew mana from her core, letting it sink from her feet and into the ground around them.

Sensing others wasn't a skill she was proficient at, but it was one she had. It had always been useful for monitoring where the Others were back in the Circle.

"What was that for?" Idris demanded, hands flying to his hair.

"You were laughing at me."

"Your face was hilarious," Idris agreed, indignation seeming to dissipate with the reminder. Well, for the most part. "But, just because you made a stupid face doesn't mean there's a reason to hit me."

The barest hint of something brushed the back of her mind. It felt wrong--like sludge amongst the green of nature. Uneasiness sent a shiver down her spine--something Idris seemed to notice as he ducked away from Salia, given the way he froze and let himself get hit again.

"Something wrong?"

Elysia hesitated.

How did she explain that yes, something felt wrong, but she had no idea why? It wasn't as if she'd been taught the mechanics of the spell. She knew how to do it--how to recognize familiar signatures--but that was it. And while this was familiar...it also wasn't.

Was the target of their hunt a monster?

That would explain it. Instead of a beast, it could be a creature similar to something she knew--meaning, it registered as the wrongness of a monster, alongside the familiar edge of the mana of an animal.

While she pondered the issue, she felt the familiar blue edge of Idris' mana as he sent it out, much like she had. And, similarly, he furrowed his brow, fingers posing against his chin.

"You never did tell me what we're doing," Salia pointed out.

"Hunting a beast," Idris murmured.

"Monster."

His eyes shot to Elysia, before his entire face lit up. "A monster! You're right. It does feel gross like those. A monster...that's perfect. If we kill it, we'll instantly get recognized for sure."

"Wait, what?" Salia squeaked. Color drained from her face as she glanced between them. "You can't be serious."

"Of course we are," he retorted, crossing his arms. "Unless you're scared."

"I'm not--"

Salia cut off as Elysia drew her blade. Even Idris appeared to turn tense as he--too--picked up on what she had.

The signature was drawing closer.

"We should get off the road," Idris suggested. "I know a clearing nearby. It'll be easier to fight there than in all this."

He wasn't wrong. The narrow path would be too easy to set on fire if she had to use her magic. So, when Idris took off behind them, Elysia followed with only a bit of hesitation. Salia hissed quiet protests, but didn't linger either.

Just as they reached the clearing, the signature dissipated.

Elysia spun about, reaching out with wave and wave of mana, but it didn't reappear. Idris cursed, seeming to experience a similar issue, until he suddenly stilled. A second later, Elysia--too-caught the faintest, wisp of wrongness hanging in the air. She twisted to face it. Fear stole the breath from her lungs, leaving her faint with panic.

They shouldn't have left the village.

The wrongness returned in force, only, it wasn't just a sensation in her mind. It was a nightmare in flesh, hanging off a towering tree with a familiar glimmer in his violet eyes. That ugly magic rolled off him in waves.

Gods, she should have known.

Her heart threatened to escape her chest--each beat more of a struggle than the last.

"There you are, little mouse," the man drawled.

How many times had she felt the oil-slick mana sliding down the steps? It waxed and waned as often as the moon--coming and going from his mana, but...always there. Always present and unsettling. It was as if his magic itself had no ability to make sense of the man it inhabited.

She should have recognized it.

She should have turned and ran.

His fingers hung lazily over the edge of his branch, but Elysia knew without a doubt that there was nothing but magic filling his veins. The moment he wanted to be near them, he could.

"Who are you?" Idris demanded.

The man ignored him. Which was lucky, if he hadn't...

In her mind, she saw her friends' heads rolling against the earth. Memories crashed, animals, Others--each cleanly executed by his hands.

"You know, He was awfully upset when you never showed up. Sent me out searching for you immediately. Imagine my surprise when your trail disappears for two years--until I catch it on the wind of a soldier."

The Watcher smiled.

"I wonder...Did you miss me as much as I missed you, Mouse?"