A girl was standing there. She held a sharpened spear, the point aimed right at his face. Behind her, another girl held a crude bow with an arrow already knocked, aimed at his chest.
"Give me all you have," the girl with the spear said. Her voice was cold and steady.
Ivan barely looked at her. His eyes were fixed on the girl behind her, the one with the bow.
'Damn,' he thought, his mind going completely blank. 'Lyraena is beautiful.'
It was her. Of all the people in this entire forest, it had to be her.
'Shit. This is why I didn't want to see her in this life. Especially not now, when I'm at my lowest.' He felt a familiar ache in his chest. 'Lyraena was always my crush. From my childhood in the first life, all the way up until now.'
The other girl brought her spear even closer, the sharp point almost touching his nose. "Aren't you listening?" she demanded.
Ivan finally tore his eyes away from Lyraena and looked at the spear-girl. Then he looked back at Lyraena.
"Can you tell her to lower her spear?" he asked, his voice sounding weaker than he wanted.
Lyraena stuck her tongue out at him, a familiar gesture that made his heart beat faster. "Sorry, Rabbit," she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "We caught you. Now give us what you have."
'Rabbit.' She still called him that.
He looked at her, at her confident smile and the easy way she held her bow. 'If you asked for my eyes, I'd give them to you,' he thought, a completely useless and embarrassing thought.
"As you can see, Lyraena," he said out loud, trying to sound normal. "I have nothing. I got lost."
Lyraena looked him over, taking in his dirty clothes and tired expression. She sighed. "Jomana, it's okay. Lower the spear."
Jomana hesitated for a second, then lowered her weapon.
Lyraena walked closer, a grin on her face. "You surprise me, Ivan. You always find new and creative ways to get yourself into trouble. From our childhood up until now."
"Y-yeah, that's..." Ivan started, but he couldn't finish the sentence. He felt like an idiot.
Suddenly, Jomana tensed up. "Someone is coming," she whispered.
Lyraena immediately raised her bow again, her playful expression gone, replaced by a look of sharp focus. She aimed her arrow into the bushes.
"No, wait," Ivan said quickly. "That's Leo..."
Just then, Leonardo appeared from behind the bushes. When he saw the situation—two girls aiming weapons at his new partner—he froze, not understanding what was going on.
Jomana didn't waste a second. "Sit down on the ground," she commanded, her spear now pointed at Leonardo. "And keep your hands where I can see them."
Leonardo, seeing the sharp spear, immediately did as he was told.
Ivan looked at how Jomana was handling the situation, her movements efficient and professional. Then he looked at Lyraena. "She's... like a well-trained knight," he said, impressed.
"Yes," Lyraena said, not taking her eyes off Leonardo. "She's the daughter of a knight." She finally looked back at Ivan. "So, what am I supposed to do with you two now? Take you to my camp?"
The idea of camping with his crush made Ivan's heart beat a little faster. He tried to act casual.
"Yes," he said, maybe a little too quickly. "I think that's a valid idea. I mean, it's going to rain soon, and we can't stay out here in the forest."
Lyraena sighed dramatically, but her eyes were still smiling. "Alright, Rabbit. Let's go. As long as I can remember the way back."
Ivan was the first one to get up. He almost started leading the way before he remembered he was the one who was lost.
"By the way," he asked, trying to sound knowledgeable. "Did you encounter any beasts?"
"Yes," Lyraena said casually. "We killed two dog-beasts this morning."
Ivan stopped. "You killed them? The two of you?"
"It's no big deal," she said with a shrug. "Dog-beasts are just bigger dogs. You strike their nose, and they're all open."
Ivan's jaw dropped. She talked about killing monsters like they were just annoying animals.
"Do you... do you know how to beat a grizzly bear?" he asked, thinking of the monster in the cave.
Lyraena looked at him, her head tilted. "A bear? Why are you asking?"
"No, no, it's nothing," he said quickly. "Don't worry about it."
---
They started walking, with Jomana keeping a close eye on Leonardo. The sky grew darker, and soon, a light drizzle began to fall.
They were walking through a thick part of the woods when Lyraena suddenly put her hand on Ivan's shoulder, stopping him. At the same time, Jomana put her hand on Leonardo's shoulder, stopping him too.
"Huh? What's going on?" Ivan asked.
Lyraena smiled, but her eyes were serious. "I'm just remembering the way," she said quietly. "That's all."
She changed their direction, leading them slightly to the left. They walked for another five minutes, the rain starting to fall harder.
Then, they suddenly stopped again.
"It's that again," Jomana whispered, her hand on the hilt of her knife.
"Yeah," Lyraena agreed, her voice low. "An extra set of footsteps. Someone is following us." She turned and looked at Ivan, her playful expression completely gone. Her eyes were blank and cold. "Ivan, are you working with anyone?"
"No," he said immediately. "We had an argument with Jared's group."
"I really hope you aren't working with them," she said, her voice dangerously quiet. "Because I'd have to beat you up, just like in the childhood days."
They started walking again. The rain was heavy now, making the forest dark and hard to see through. Lyraena led them to a small, open space between the tall trees. It was a natural clearing.
She stopped in the middle of it and turned around.
"Come on now," she called out into the rain, her voice surprisingly loud. "Are you going to keep hiding somewhere, Jared?"
There was silence for three long seconds. The only sound was the drumming of the rain on the leaves.
Then, they heard movement in the bushes.
Jared stepped out into the clearing, his friends Victor and Seth right behind him. They were soaked from the rain, and their faces were full of anger.
Jared ignored everyone else. He looked straight at Ivan.
"You can't run from me forever, fucker," he growled.