Joan

Chapter XV

I blink.

"This- this is Pyranaleath'tai?"

"Yeah. You sound amazed."

Glancing back, Chasan and I both exchange a look before my bewilderment is expressed at the two strangers.

"So it does exist?" I ask, not sure if I want to celebrate prematurely.

"See," Ahri 2.0 points out to Lan. "They really don't believe this place exists."

Chasan interjects at this, his eyes wider than a pubescent boy seeing bare titties for the first time.

"How? No one ever returns from this place and there's never been any communication from this side. What else are we supposed to believe?"

"There's a barrier," She explains.

"A barrier?"

I'm not liking the sound of that.

"Yes," She sighs. "It's meant to keep strangers out and people in, it's dangerous if you try to cross it carelessly."

"Doesn't stop your people from traveling over here, though," Lan adds. "Not that most of them make it very far. You two should consider yourselves lucky to be spared."

I shake my head. "Oh, not without our battle scars."

Those waves on the open sea were unforgettable, I shudder just thinking about them.

"Which begs the question, why did you try to travel here?" She asks critically, her tail flickering.

"My brother, I need to save him. God, I should just take a recording of this at this point but whatever. So there's this emperor guy here that kidnapped my brother and challenged me or something- long story short, I'm here to kick ass and bring my brother home."

Her tail stops twitching. "Tymos? You're talking about Tymos?"

"Yeah. I'm not a fan of him right now."

Now it's the two of them exchange a look briefly before she speaks up again.

"Well, we hope your journey goes well, but we must be going, the posts have been abandoned for too long."

While she tries to usher Lan away, he remains.

"Is there anywhere you can stay tonight?"

"Lan!"

I shrug. "New to an undiscovered land, I didn't have much planned in the way of where I'd be staying, but if you're offering..."

"We're not," Ahri 2.0 cuts me off curtly.

"Where's your gentle, giving spirit gone, Nimu?" Lan reasons. "These poor souls are out here at the mercy of this brutal, foreign place and you're denying them shelter?"

Nimu, as she's called, gives Lan a sour face which he returns with a cheeky grin, trying to look all angelic and stuff.

Seeing her contemplate, I chime in cheerfully, nudging her like a buddy. "Come on, Nimu, make this your good deed of the day. In fact, make this the best deed of your life."

Though she gives me the same sourpuss look, she mutters disgruntled, "Fine, but only for a night."

I knew I could wear her down.

This Nimu chick and Lan guy are such a stark contrast to the Verith clan- they were a happy, hospitable bunch, these two are something else entirely. We follow the duo as they skillfully make their way through the jungle without a path or map. I actually don't mind being in the back since I get to see Nimu's tail move on its own- it's so freaky how she's like a hybrid cat person or something. Chasan drags his feet the whole way, too busy staring in disbelief at his surroundings.