"Where is he? He should be here an hour before us!" Trisha snapped, pacing for the tenth time across the mossy forest floor. Her boots squelched against the damp earth, but she didn't seem to care. Her brows were furrowed, arms crossed, and eyes scanning every tree and twisted vine.
"You think he could be lost or something?" Callum offered casually, leaning against a gnarled tree root. "Or maybe he got ambushed by forest gnomes."
Trisha glared at him with such intensity that even the tree bark seemed to recoil. "Go ahead, make fun of me, but let's see who panics more if that bastard really is in trouble."
Callum opened his mouth for another quip when suddenly the air shifted.
A soft gust of wind swept over them—first cold, then hot, then neutral again.
They straightened at once, weapons drawn, instincts on full alert. Trisha rolled into a crouch, blades in hand. Callum pulled out his bow and backed toward her, scanning the shadows.
Then, like a man stepping out for a morning stroll, Alex appeared… from a tree.
He casually walked out of the tree bark like it was a curtain. His shirt was slightly rumpled, and his hair tousled, but otherwise, he looked annoyingly unbothered.
"Oh, look. He's alive and stylishly late," Callum muttered.
Behind Alex emerged a striking young woman. Her steps were quiet, her posture graceful, but her gaze—intense. Something about her moved like a leaf floating above a storm, calm but hiding deep power.
"Alex, look out!" Trisha cried, already charging.
She sprang toward the woman with her daggers drawn, blades aimed to kill.
Alex's katana appeared in a flash, intercepting her mid-attack with a clash of steel. "Easy there!" he barked. "She's with me!"
The woman didn't flinch. One of her hands glowed faintly, aimed at Trisha's chest.
Trisha skidded to a halt, eyes narrowing. "She's what?"
"And you," Alex said, turning toward the woman. "You know who they are, right?"
Leyla, ever calm, nodded. "Of course. The ranger and the melodramatic assassin."
"…The what?" Trisha blinked.
"Who?" Callum added, tilting his head.
"Who is she?" Trisha demanded.
Callum crossed his arms with a smirk. "Another fiancée? What is this, a Korean drama with a love triangle twist?"
Three heads turned toward him like synchronized cannons.
"You watch that stuff?" Alex asked, horrified.
"Yeah, mate. You need variety," Callum said matter-of-factly. "You don't?"
"…No." Alex looked personally insulted.
"I do!" Trisha chimed in, suddenly grinning. "I'm a K-drama fan. K-pop too."
Leyla's eyes lit up. "Me too! I love Song Hye-kyo and Park Shin-hye."
"Oh my god, have you seen Full House?" Trisha asked.
"Yes! That's a classic," Leyla said.
"Have you watched Descendants of the Sun?" Trisha asked, now visibly emotional.
Leyla touched her heart. "It made me cry."
"Same!" Callum added, suddenly nostalgic. "Brings back memories."
Alex stared at them all, his eye twitching like a man on the edge. "Can everybody please calm down?!"
The trio turned to him with matching expressions of pity.
"Don't worry, mate," Callum said gently, patting his shoulder. "We get it. You're… unhip."
Alex looked like he wanted the forest to swallow him whole.
"Okay, let's settle down," he grumbled, rubbing his temples. "We need to talk. You two—" he pointed at Trisha and Callum, "—and you—" he pointed at Leyla, "—I know you have some secret internet connection, but I thought your people hated humans?"
"What? I never said I hate humans," Leyla said, crossing her arms. "My father did. I wouldn't be here with you if I hated humans."
"Huh? What do you mean hate humans? Why? Isn't she one?" Trisha asked, confused.
Leyla reached up and brushed her long hair back to reveal her pointed ears.
"Hi," she said sweetly. "My name is Leyla."
Trisha's jaw dropped. "You're an elf?! And you called me melodramatic?!"
"Oh my god, mate." Callum spun around like a kid on Christmas morning. "You have an elf girlfriend! That's so cool. You're such a player."
"What girlfriend? She's too innocent to be in a relationship," Trisha shot back, glaring at Alex.
Leyla's eyebrows shot up. "What? You're the one who looks too young to know anything about mating."
"What?! I'm nineteen! And I know everything about mating, thank you very much," Trisha retorted. "What do you know, little elf girl? You look like you're fifteen."
"Excuse me! I'm 230 years old," Leyla huffed. "And in elf standard, I'm more than old enough to mate with whoever I want."
There was an awkward silence.
Then Callum, grinning ear to ear: "Oh shite, mate. You are in deep trouble."
"EVERYBODY STAND DOWN!" Alex roared, waving his arms like a deranged traffic enforcer. "No one is mating with anyone! And no more talk about K-dramas!"
"Now let's all be professional and talk about what is actually at hand," Alex said, rubbing his temples like a stressed-out schoolteacher.
Trisha raised her hand with mock seriousness. "Hold up. Before we talk about any hand, I have a couple of burning questions."
Alex sighed. "Of course you do."
She turned to Leyla, eyes narrowed. "First, when and where did you two meet? Second—why did you call me melodramatic?"
Leyla answered without missing a beat, folding her arms. "Well, first question—your boy here wandered into our forest, and my father, who isn't exactly a fan of humans, decided to interrogate him, offer him a task, and possibly dismember him. I'm here to hear his answer."
Leyla continued. "As for the second question—well, we've seen you here before. You were crying all over the place until you passed out, hugging one of our sacred trees."
Trisha gasped. "You saw that?!"
"Yep," Leyla replied casually. "You were blubbering like a drama queen."
Trisha's face turned crimson. "Okay, first of all, I was emotional and distressed. Second, I was a little high. One of my friends slipped me a party pill during the hike, and I didn't know it until I was already halfway up the trail."
Leyla blinked. "That explains the weird singing. I thought you were summoning a storm spirit."
"Oh, and thirdly," Leyla added with a sly grin, "no, Alex and I haven't done it yet."
"What?" Trisha snapped her head up. "I didn't even ask that!"
"You didn't have to," Leyla said with a wink. "I read your mind."
Alex groaned loudly. "Can we please get back on topic before this turns into a court hearing?"
Leyla tilted her head at him. "You're right. I'll give you an hour. Explain things to them. But don't make me come hunting you down the mountain if you run."
Then, without fanfare, she stepped toward a large tree—and walked right through it like a phantom vanishing into mist.
Callum immediately rushed after her and smacked full force into the trunk. Thud.
He staggered back, holding his forehead. "I think she… closed the door too fast."
Alex smirked. "No, mate. You're just not worthy."
Trisha snorted. "Harsh."
Alex clapped his hands together. "Alright, you two. Let's get serious. We need to talk. Big things are moving."
Callum rubbed his head. "Yeah, well, this better be more than another 'Hey guys, I found a cool shiny object in a monster cave' meeting."
Alex shook his head. "Nope. This one's about an ancient elven village."
"So you're saying… you actually found their village?" Trisha asked, one eyebrow raised, arms crossed suspiciously.
Alex grinned, stretching his back as if this were all part of his afternoon jog. "Nope. They found me, all thanks to your spontaneous forest field trip."
Trisha blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I was here early, remember? Scouting the area like a responsible adult while waiting for you two turtles to catch up," Alex said with a smirk. "Then, boom—an elven chief pops out of nowhere, hauls me to their secret village, gives me a speech about humans being untrustworthy parasites, and then politely threatens to dismember me unless I take out some mysterious beast."
"Ah," Trisha said, her tone flat. "So you said yes… out of fear for your member?"
"Good one," Callum chuckled, fist-bumping her.
Alex rolled his eyes. "Funny. But no, I didn't agree because I was afraid for Little Alex. I negotiated like a civilized man. I told them I'd do it for a price."
Callum looked skeptical. "Let me guess, Treasure!"
Alex pointed at him. "Bingo. They offered a map, some spells, and a promise of information."
"That's it?" Trisha asked, incredulous. "A treasure map we probably won't find anything with? Spells we can eventually learn ourselves? And information about what?"
Alex looked around deliberately, then said louder than necessary, "First of all, I know they're listening to us right now. But to hell with that. Let's talk openly."
He stepped forward, his voice serious now. "Look. Just a few days ago, you two were saying the monsters we've been fighting were too easy. Even that boss fight—yeah, it was tough, but we handled it. You both said it yourselves—we need stronger opponents if we want to get stronger."
They both fell silent.
"This beast?" Alex continued. "It's not something they can deal with. That should tell you something. And I saw it in the chief's eyes—it's not just about fear. It's something deeper. Maybe older. We're not just helping them; we're training ourselves for whatever comes next. The rewards? Just a bonus."
A gust of wind blew past them, and Alex was almost sure he heard someone mutter a curse in Elvish.
Callum rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, when you put it like that… I guess I don't have a reason to object."
Trisha shrugged. "Fine. I'm in too, but I have one condition."
Alex raised a brow. "Here we go…"
"I get first pick of the reward."
Alex looked genuinely betrayed. "And here I thought you were concerned about my virtue."
Trisha rolled her eyes. "I gave up on that the moment you walked out of a tree with a glowing forest girl at your back."
Callum laughed. "Yeah, mate. That was suspiciously fairy tale."
Alex groaned. "You guys are exhausting."