The darkness of the night served as a cloak for the figure of a young adult. Adriel, who had left the camp at night, was returning; after the experience with the flower, he decided to come back.
His lost gaze didn't seem to know what was happening; his legs felt like someone else's to him, his hands hung limp due to his inability to move them. His mind generated no thoughts, only managing to organize itself enough to give the order to move forward, and with some effort, he could orient himself.
His slow and unsteady pace made him more cautious; thanks to this, he avoided confrontations, since at that moment he was very easy prey. 'The opposite of a hunter.' That tiny, infinitesimal thought struck him like a bucket of cold water, yet he was still incapable of recovering.
Everything felt so unreal to him, and yet he walked, he kept going until he saw the incomplete logs surrounding the camp, he walked a little more, until he entered, then collapsed near the entrance, with no strength left, he fell asleep.
...
The sunlight was beginning to enter the camp. Small rays of sunlight filtered through the wood, not enough to wake many people, but Liora was an exception, as she had been sleeping in the perfect position for several of these rays to hit her eyes, forcing her awake.
The girl got up lazily, her hands stretching toward the sky while her mouth opened wide, yawning heavily.
She began to walk among the sleeping bodies of the people; she wasn't really looking for anything, she just wanted to clear her mind. 'I can only be at peace when everyone is asleep.' The girl thought as she looked at all the people on the ground. Everyone's thoughts were nonexistent.
Suddenly a voice echoed in her mind. 'You look so cute. Someone like you in this state...' When she heard the voice, she was confused; she couldn't tell who it belonged to, but then she realized. It was Elena's!
Liora looked all around, searching for the woman. After a short search, she could see the silhouette of a woman with a pronounced bust. She quickly headed to the spot, where she saw Adriel sleeping in the woman's lap.
The young girl crossed her arms in front of the woman. "What are you doing?" She said with an inquisitive look.
"I'm just taking care of him. I was asked to do it." Said Elena while stroking the boy's hair. 'This is very, very bad; I think if he realizes, it will hurt me.' She thought instead.
"You have an impressive ability to lie, but it doesn't work against me." The girl told her.
Elena was silent for a few seconds, then nodded to herself. "The first part is true; after all, I'm giving him little caresses. What man wouldn't want that?"
"Hmm, who knows, probably a man like..." Liora went blank for a few seconds; she remembered everything Adriel used to say and do in his original world. Although he wasn't a lost cause, he was a total pervert. "It's bad to do it without his consent."
'As soon as I start thinking about it, it's surprising that he resisted the charms of a succubus with his personality. His survival instinct is surprisingly stronger than his libido.' The girl thought as she watched the young man sleeping in Elena's lap.
Both of them stood in place silently for several seconds, until Liora remembered what she was supposed to be doing. "Put him on the ground now." She ordered.
"That's very cruel. Don't you think? Right now I'm like his pillow; would you take away your savior's pillow on several occasions?" Elena continued stroking Adriel's hair as she spoke.
The girl stared at her for too long a time. "You know what? I'll let him scold you when he wakes up." After saying this, she turned around and walked to the opposite side.
'Reading thoughts. This ability is good when you don't have the restriction of having it activated 24/7. My nights are full of strange voices, and when something happens to someone and they start overthinking, it fills me with information. Adriel, the reason he's as cool as he can be is simply because I read his thoughts. After something good happens, he thinks about it a lot; the amount of sexual fantasies he has is impressive, but he stops when he stops dissociating for a second.'
She tilted her head as she began to endure hearing the mental voices of more and more people. 'I've heard many people think about killing others; I think I might have even been able to prevent someone from being kidnapped, but the number of voices I hear is abysmal. It's impossible to distinguish voice A from voice B most of the time.'
'What the hell is wrong with these idiots? It's way too early!'
'I'll have to take inventory of the store today; I think I'll open a little later.'
'She's squeezing like crazy; you can tell she likes it.'
'Life will get better, that's what Mom wants.'
'I think... killing myself, would it be the right choice?'
'Oh~ It's so big and thick; I can't stop.'
'How beautiful it is to see this landscape.'
After just a few minutes trying to concentrate on keeping her mind blank, the girl failed. Her legs gave way, making her squat down; then she gripped her head tightly with both hands. The pain of her nails digging into her skin was less than the mental pain of hearing dozens of voices.
...
The morning was lovely for Azucena; thanks to her splendid luck, she found the perfect spot where the light wouldn't reach until 12:00 p.m., so she woke up at the perfect time, allowing her to sleep as much as she wanted.
When she woke up, Amara was beside her, sleeping very close to her. The woman stared at her for a while, unsure whether to wake her. After a few seconds, she saw her make a face of disgust.
That woman kept looking at the little girl's face; she was thinking about whether it was a good idea to touch her. 'She doesn't seem to like me very much.' The woman thought; after a few seconds, she decided to stroke her head a little.
That small gesture made the face of disgust disappear; a small, pleased smile appeared on Amara.
The woman continued stroking her. 'She is very curious... Adriel's friends are very good. That succubus still makes me a bit uncomfortable, but she doesn't seem to see her as a woman...'
Azucena fell silent and stopped her hand, now staring into nothing. "Is this okay?" She whispered, her gaze fixed on an ant crossing the grass.
'Adriel is someone very young; I'm twice his age... He's too young. I shouldn't be doing this. Although I haven't done anything yet, it's obvious where this is heading; our relationship won't remain like that of a mother and son.'
After losing herself in her thoughts and coming back, the woman realized that the girl she had been stroking had disappeared. Amara had gotten up. At first, she had been fine with the contact since she didn't know the identity of the person causing it, but when she realized it was Azucena, she moved away.
One and a half meters, as if they were right back in the pandemic. The woman looked into Amara's eyes. The girl had beautiful blue eyes; when you looked at them, they seemed to absorb you; you could even see stars inside them.
"Come on, you were fine with this until a moment ago." The woman said as she tried to get closer, her hand extended toward the girl.
"No." Amara slapped her hand away in response, looking like a frightened cat.
Right then, that image appeared in the woman's mind: a black cat with blue eyes trapped against a wall in an alley, its tail and fur bristling, showing it was ready for a fight.
The woman sighed and laughed softly at the same time. She stood up and looked around. "If you don't want me close, then I'll leave."
She began to walk, her eyes fixed on the ground, watching and avoiding the sleeping people on it, while also looking for Adriel.
"Hey." The voice of a boy resonated in Azucena's eardrums. Turning around, she saw Kael, that protector standing in front of her with a small smile. "Azucena, I'd like you to give me some advice later... Do you think you can?" He said, glancing behind him; the cat girl with black ears and yellow eyes was standing beside him.
"Sure, just look for me when I'm done. Today I'll ask Adriel to come with me to look for some flowers, fruits, and creatures to hunt and get some money. I think we'll finish around 2 or 3."
The protector looked at the sky for a few seconds, then lowered his gaze. He didn't know how to tell the time by the sun's position; like his whole group, he only knew when it was 12 p.m.
After finishing the chat, she parted from the young people and continued walking, until she finally found Adriel, though she didn't see him in the situation she wanted.
That hunter was lying in another's lap, and Azucena was not happy about it.