Time passed quickly by the lake. Everyone was talking and laughing; their short-term goals were accomplished, but everyone knew one thing: they would have to leave soon.
Six days after meeting Azucena, she approached Adriel. They were both sitting at the edge of the great lake, dipping the tips of their feet in the water.
"We leave tomorrow, remember?" she said in her tender, soft voice.
"Of course I do," Adriel gave her a small smile, trying to ease any worries she might have.
Azucena moved her feet a little. "Remember that my ex-husband doesn't deserve your hostility. 'Forgetting is a form of revenge and forgiveness.' So you should be assertive with him."
The boy felt a chill down his spine; they had discovered what he was going to do even before he acted. "Fine," he said like a scolded teenager, even turning his head away from Azucena.
She looked at the back of the boy's neck, then had an idea. "Awww. The baby is angry~"
The boy turned instantly, wearing an indignant expression. "I'm almost an adult; don't call me a baby."
A teasing little smile appeared on the woman's lips. She moved a little closer to him. "You're not even half my age; you're a baby to me."
The boy's mouth fell open, then he closed his eyes and mouth. He reflected for a few seconds and opened everything to speak. "Better change the subject. What do you think of my friends?" he said with a nervous smile.
Azucena covered her mouth, stifling a laugh. "Okay. Liora is a fun person, but it's a little annoying not being able to tell her jokes and gossip without her reading your mind first. Amara is a sweet girl and nice to be around, she's just a little weird sometimes."
She took a moment to think about the next part. She lay down on the grass to relax. "Kael is quite unique; it's clear he's a teenager. It's funny to see the risqué jokes that slip out when I'm around. Selene is very complicated; she only talks to Amara and Liora, so I really can't get close to her. And Elena is... weird? I really don't like her."
Adriel shrugged. "Well, if you think about it a bit, Elena is more my slave than a friend."
The woman looked directly into the boy's eyes for a few seconds. "Saying 'she's my slave' sounds really bad..."
He sighed and stood up. "I really don't have another way to describe her; she's useful in a fight, according to what Kael told me."
Adriel walked away from where they were, little by little. "Where are you going?" the woman asked curiously.
The boy turned his head slightly to look at her. "I'm going to sleep." The calmness in his voice was relaxing for Azucena.
Adriel leaned against the foot of a large tree far from the others. When the woman saw him, she knew he wanted to be alone, so she went to sleep near the others.
...
The sun's rays had not yet touched the campsite, yet everyone was awake. Adriel was so nervous that he got up at six in the morning and ended up waking the others with the excuse that they should prepare for the journey.
Although the promise between Azucena and Adriel was that they would each go to the other's team, they knew they couldn't abandon the rest of the group, so now everyone would go to the husband's encampment.
No matter how worried Adriel was about them forgetting something, almost everything they owned was a drop, so everyone was ready.
The walk to the camp full of people was easy. During their journey, the absence of monsters was notable, which they thought was due to the people from the other camp hunting them.
When they arrived at the place where Kael, Liora, and Selene had killed the slime, everyone stopped. Adriel, Elena, Amara, and Azucena stared at the goblin camp below them.
Their reactions were not slow. Amara was on the verge of vomiting from disgust, which Azucena had already done. Elena saw it as something normal, quite common to her, while Adriel had a hard expression.
Even though they had already seen it, Selene and Liora had a reaction somewhat similar to the girls', but Kael managed to maintain a bit more composure.
'Why are they vomiting? They've seen this before,' thought Adriel while turning away, his fist clenching. 'They owe me, and now I have a goal.'
"Let's go; staying here won't help us," said Kael, stepping ahead of the hunter, who was seconds away from saying something similar.
"Alright," said Azucena while gathering saliva to spit, trying to get rid of the taste of vomit.
She straightened up, closed her eyes, and then continued on the path to the camp.
The colorful leaves swayed to the rhythm of the cold, slow wind. The small but constant hissing of the place generated a feeling of unease in the team.
Azucena kept walking, her feet stepping on the countless leaves scattered on the ground, while her hands parted some tall pieces of grass that had grown enough to be bothersome.
Everyone followed her steps like ducklings following their mother.
As time passed, they arrived at the place. A wall of unfinished, unpolished wood stood before them. Still, Azucena approached the entrance and then knocked forcefully several times.
Silence took over the group as they waited.
An old man peeked over the top of the wall, then left and returned to open the gate, but stepped aside to reveal he had brought more people.
A man with a perfect smile and an impeccable face presented himself before them. His hair was grayish, and his eyes shone a brown color.
"Hello, Azucena. It seems you finally decided to stop your tantrum and cooperate," said the stranger while reaching his hand out to the woman, but it was intercepted by Kael.
"Touching her is not a good idea," said the protector while twisting the stranger's hand backward.
The man's smile darkened; his tone became sharp and heavy. "Touching me isn't a good idea either."
Before the protector could react, a figure was seen leaping over the wooden wall; a fist cut through the air until it hit Kael's face with a direct impact.
Thanks to his enhanced senses, the hunter was able to react by grabbing the neck of the person who attacked the protector.
The stranger was surprised and took a step forward but then calmed down.
Under Adriel's grip was a woman who appeared mature; her hair was orange, and a pair of small ears protruded from her head; they were very similar to a bear's.
'This situation escalated very quickly,' thought the hunter while holding his hostage firmly, though he wasn't paying much attention to her.
The stranger acted as well. He tried to grab Azucena's hand, but Selene was faster, pulling the woman to her side. With this, the team had control.
"We hold all the cards, yet I want to make a deal. First condition: You are forbidden from touching Azucena unless she verbally expresses that she allows it. Second condition: You cannot approach us when we are alone; there must always be at least two people present. Third condition: You cannot harm us by any known or unknown method. In exchange, we will let this girl go, and we will also be forbidden from harming you all." The hunter said this with a serious face, his forearm tightening around the throat of the girl he held hostage.
The man's smile had disappeared by that point. "Fine..." he said while staring intently at the hunter.
"Make the deal with Kael." Adriel turned to look at the protector, who was walking toward the enemy.
Both extended their hands and shook in greeting. During the handshake, they made the contract; the two were verifying that all the clauses were correct. And when they finished reviewing, they sealed the peace deal, causing Adriel to feel an impressive pain for having choked her.
"Hey, who is the leader of this place? We just wanted to enter," said Liora with a strange expression. Thanks to her ability to read minds but inability to control when, how many, or which minds to read, she was hearing the voices of everyone in the place.
"Hmmm. In that case, I'm not sure I'd let you in. After all, you showed rather violent behavior," said the man while placing his hand on his heart.
'So you're the bastard,' thought the hunter while staring at him fixedly—a new prey, a new dinner.