"Eres." Arsene stopped short. She ducked under the trees and balanced herself on a thick branch before jumping to another. It was a long way down as the trees turned out to be quite gigantic.

Valeriana cried in surprise, grabbing onto the sides of the saddle, avoiding a branch whipping past her face.

Eventually, they landed on a clearing.

"What is it, Arsene?"

"Something is wrong with the package thou hast brought." The beast leaned to look at the sack tied to her side discerningly and true to her concerns, it was squirming.

"What in the name of . . ." Keelan pushed himself to the edge of the saddle, staring at the squirming sack. He exchanged looks with Eres and Brindon before he jumped over and untied it. It fell on the tough dirt that a voice exclaimed in pain.

"What is it?" Eres asked as he untied the top, letting some fruits roll out as well as a head to pop out. His brows shot up in surprise before he frowned. "You boy. What are you doing?"

"Aren't you that kid from yesterday?" Keelan pulled on the sack to help him out, gathering the spilled fruits. "Why are you in there?"

He crawled out of the sack with his defiant frown and dusted himself before he met the eyes of the two brothers.

"You're lords, right?" he queued in. "Make me a Celeste!"

Eres scoffed and Keelan chuckled. The eleventh-ranker continued with his task while Eres motioned for the two other members of their group sitting on Arsene's back to come down. Arsene, seeing this, sank on the ground for the ease of the other two.

"Valeriana, Brindon, come. We'll have lunch for the time being. Arsene needs to rest as well."

"It's not funny!" The boy followed. "I'm serious!"

"And becoming a Celeste is a grave path and the matter itself is grave. Being serious will not do," Eres told him as he unloaded the other packs which contained some fresh meat. "Brindon, do you mind if you get the fire going?"

Brindon shook his head, alighting to gather some wood.

"Valeriana, you can cook, right?"

"Yeah," Valeriana replied, sliding down Arsene's side. "Come on, Tiger, we'll be having lunch," she told the cat, looking at the boy who was staring up at Eres with clenched fist. The fire in his eyes reminded her so much of the time she first entered the academy—her first duel. It was a trial by fire where she needed to be hotter than flame to survive. "Why don't you stay and eat with us?" she suggested to the boy.

Eres and Keelan looked at Valeriana.

"We picked up a stray, we don't need another," Eres said sternly.

"It's fine. I'll share my food with him. It's just lunch. We can't leave the boy out here by himself. It's too dangerous." She set Tiger down and he circled her leg possessively. "You can't be thinking of sending him away, right? At least until we get to the next city or something . . ."

"Rian," he said.

"What?"

"The name's Rian, lady!"

Eres sighed. "Until the next city." He looked at his brother. "Livouda, gather some herbs if you can find any. Mushrooms. You can do that much, right?"

"Of course." He nodded. "Off I go, then."

"Any chance you know where to get some fresh water here?" Valeriana asked, tapping on the empty lightweight glass bottle she was carrying.

'I'll take thee,' said Arsene.

The beast stood, towering past the branches of the trees that Rian, the boy, nearly fell over staring at her size. Good thing the trees were actually very tall. Arsene gave the boy a brief glance before the semblance of a smile pulled on the corners of her mouth.

"Come now, Valeriana," she said. "Go easy on the boy, Eres."

There was no reply that came from Eres. The lord kept silent as the boy, Rian, continued staring at him as though he would lose the moment he took his eyes off him. Arsene guided Valeriana away from the clearing. The trees were tall but the forest wasn't very thick so some sunlight managed to reach the floor. It wasn't much trouble for Arsene traveling and slipping between trees, no matter how tight it seemed. She almost seemed like a cat, snaking through thin spaces like it was nothing.

It took only a short minute before they reached the edge. To her right was a mountain of limestone whose sides trickled with a short stream of clear water, pooling on a small basin before trailing to another. She opened her bottle and took what she needed before her eyes strayed on the open wild. Beside it was a large river; a clear light blue, snaking ahead like a majestic dragon.

She stared moments longer than necessary. It was only when her bottle started overflowing did she snap out of her reverie. She capped it, closed it firmly, and took a deep breath as she admired the view.

"It's such a large river," she said, and with her eyes she traced the huge body of water.

"Be careful not to fall," Arsene said smilingly. "This river divides Denovegasia into East and West. It's the longest river in the entirety of Valemnia and it passes into the heart of the continent, Dirinia. Where it goes is where we're headed."

"Oh, wow."

"Now let us return. We cannot stay out for too long."

"Tiger, come on," she said, looking around for the cat. "Tiger?"

She saw him sniffing the base of the tree against a plant, purring. He sniffed a couple of times before laying and rolling around, the noise vibrating deep from his chest.

"Tiger, what in the world?"

"Catnip," Arsene said.

"Holy shiznits. Come on, Ti. Stop that, you silly cat." Valeriana picked up Tiger warily, bringing him away from the plant as he mewled and tried to reach out for it once more. "Shush, shush. You look like you're on drugs, come on." She stopped and stared at the plant for a few moments. "Maybe I should take some with me."

She plucked off some of its leaves along with some flowers and stored it into a pouch despite Tiger's insistence on going after it. After the little white cat calmed down, they made their way to the camping site.

Valeriana brought back the water and while Brindon got the fire going, she started preparing the meat for a good, old-fashioned roast. Keelan brought some mushrooms and a couple of herbs, temporarily storing them in a bag which he brought back.

He took them out of the bag one by one. "I found some basil . . . rosemary . . . and fresh dill! For mushrooms, button mushrooms," he said. "There was more, but I took only what I thought was enough."

"That's fine," Valeriana said, as she dressed the meat with salt and the spices Keelan brought. After she was done prepping the meat, Eres pierced it with a thick piece of wood before they mounted it over the fire to roast. Rian was watching them quietly the entire time.

The utensils they brought were retractable, meaning they could increase in size easily to accommodate what they needed. Pulling on the sides of the pot would cause it to expand.

There were two, big meat pieces. One whole would be given to Arsene and the rest would go to the group. There was another fire going where she prepared some sauce to go along with the meat, taking the excess juice in which she soaked it in while Brindon had the fire burning. She took some potatoes, chopped them to big cubes, and dropped them to boil with the sauce along with the diced mushrooms.

"That smells good." Keelan salivated at the sight of food but Valeriana was closely guarding it so he could not dip a finger to taste.

"Later."

When it was done, Eres brought out the bowls and handed them to each one. Rian didn't have any, so Valeriana decided on lending her own bowl to share.

"You guys are prepared. I didn't expect the pot and everything." She laughed.

"What did you expect from us?" Keelan joked. "We come ready for everything food-related."

Brindon nodded. "No doubt."

Valeriana chuckled as they got to eating. It was surprisingly tasty and the meat was nice and tender.

"Valeriana, this is delicious." Eres nodded approvingly at the food as he, along with his brother, ate.

"Thanks. I try to be good at it, but Charles taught me a lot."

She gave all the bowl to Rian after she finished one whole and watched him eat her part like there was no tomorrow. Keelan and Eres were very competitive eaters as well. Brindon had two full bowls for himself after which he gave up and gave way to the three to finish the entire thing.

"So, kid," Eres began. "Why did you come?"

"I told you I wanted to be a Celeste."

"That's not an answer."

"How old are you?" Keelan followed.

"I've seen twenty summers," he answered.

"Ten years old," Valeriana automatically converted.

"You aren't old enough, but judging from your background, you'll have to attend the preparatory levels which you can enter." Eres scooped another spoonful and shoved it into his mouth. "Not everyone can survive being a Celeste and almost all those aspiring fall out halfway before they even can. Most of them quit. The training is harsh, after all, and is never easy."

"I'm ready for it," he determinedly replied.

"It's nothing you can be ready for," Valeriana told him. "Everything about it will be spontaneous. Nothing you can get used to. Not the fights, not the duels, not the techniques or things you can learn. There's always something around the corner," she said.

"You're a knight?" Rian looked at her in disbelief.

"In training."

"Don't underestimate Val," Keelan warned him. "She may look really kind but she's ranking fifth among the Celestial Twelve. She didn't need to use any element to defeat Courtney and, Denovega, she didn't even have proper training before she was sent down the arena."

"Hearing you say that feels like it happened yesterday. Not to mention you make me sound awesome." She shook her head.

"Well, you are, so stop thinking you aren't."

"Kid, if you are bent on becoming a Celeste, you'll have to attend the academy. However, classes don't resume until next month. We can't bring you with us the entire way in this journey because we cannot afford you getting in the way. We'll have to drop you off at the next city," Eres told him, spooning the last bit of his food.

"No!" Rian stood. "You're going to be like all those other people then you'll disappear for good."

"Yes, we will not meet after this," Eres said and Rian came forward to protest when the lord cut him short. "But that depends on your initiative. Since you are so bold as to come as a stowaway, I'll help you get into the academy. Signing up and learning is generally free if you manage to enter, but the materials you need will be costly. If you get in, I will be accountable for all the expenses, provided, that is, that you get in."

Rian's eyes were suddenly flooded with tears of relief. Hearing Eres say 'depending on your initiative' had pushed him to the edge. He reached out to wipe them away. Keelan smiled as he watched.

"Thank you."

"Train well," Eres told him as he stood.

"Wait," the boy said. "I still need one more favor."

"Get into the academy first, then we'll talk." He started putting out the fire and fixing the pots and wares they used. "Get ready. There's been enough break. We move now. Keelan, map out the nearest and most convenient city and we'll pass by to drop off this kid."