186 : 45

"Well that's just fantastic"

Naya scoffs as Ronan clutches his crystal in his hands, closing his eyes and chanting a tune, and yet, nothing happens- they're still just as lost as they were almost an hour ago.

After a rather frustrating conversation with Arlen when Naya and Ronan came home from the Southern Sea, the older guardian refused to tell the two hunters anymore of his past- admitting that he was sworn to secrecy, bound by a high power to not utter a word of his actions to anyone... which was absolutely no help at all to their questions.

After such a disappointing exchange, going back and forth and back and forth, raised voices, shed tears and substantial cursing, they decided to ease up on Arlen and take a step back, not wanting to upset or push the elder if he was set on not telling them anything- yet.

Despite not being able to explain himself, he had promised over and over again that he would never hurt anyone else- that he was bent on helping them, that he'd never repeat past mistakes.

With a hushed voice and his own eyes wet, he whispers that he wishes for the full truth to come to light, however, with everyone being so emotionally exhausted, it's never revisited.

Naya hopes that in the near future, Arlen will open up to them as something about what they saw didn't sit right with her at all. Maybe she should tell him about Leah's warnings? Maybe then it'll spur him on to tell them what he knows?

She didn't trust their supposed 'Lord'- she never had, but now she had to figure out how she felt about her own protector.

The person that had helped her so much already, she didn't know what to think, where to go...

However, since they decided to give Arlen some space, they took to their map and instead turned their energy into determination to capture some spirits. With Naya's leg healing steadily, she was desperate to take on another quest, and with Ronan by her side, she felt confident enough to embark on it now.

Arlen had no objections, thinking it best that the two leave him for some time.

They were set to head to Apricus, a canyon that lies across from the Westward Rocks and the barren land- which weirdly enough goes by a different name to the mortals that visit it. Even living and fighting in the modern day, those from Iuana still refer to certain places by their ancient names, as oppose to what the modern world has renamed them as.

Certain hunting grounds, like the Ferus forest where Naya and Ronan captured their first spirit together, are protected from the human eye. If they are blessed as being sacred to Iuana then no mortal shall be able to step foot there, nor shall they be able to look upon it...

But sometimes spirits don't stick to where they're first bound to when they pass on from mortals to become a temporary creature of the mystic realm. Sometimes they venture just that little bit too far, and end up in public places.

Despite being rather aggressive creatures in front of mortals, they stay shy, submissive... they hide, and only when they deem it safe, that's when they come out to play, claws sharpened and mischief in their eyes- or at least, that's what Naya thinks, she's never actually seen a spirits eye, it tends to be shielded by their cloak.

Luckily there haven't been many instances where spirits have gotten caught up with mortals- if that were to happen, the Balletor who had come across the mortal would have to signal the council to deal with the 'clean up'... but Naya's not sure what happens after that...

Anyway, Naya turns her attention back to her own predicament. Before even reaching the canyon, the two hunters had already faced quite a substantial obstacle... Ronan's crystal, for some reason, wasn't transporting them to their desired destination.

"Do you have any idea where we are?"

Ronan turns to Naya who is clutching their map in her hands, her eyes scanning the material for any indication of where they possibly could be.

She shakes her head, "Why didn't it work? How did we end up here?"

Ronan cradles his gemstone in his hand, looking down at the object before them. His gem was powerful, it was still feeding off of the energy from Iuana, so why didn't it work?

"Maybe it just takes too much power to transport two Balletors long distance?" He questions, figuring that it was probably the most reasonable explanation.

Since neither of them were in a partnership before, they decided to leave it at that- knowing that right now, it would be more beneficial to look towards a solution, what they're now going to do, instead of mull over what had happened.

Naya sucks in a breath as she scans her surroundings- nothing remotely unique about where they had ended up.

"There's a lot of places this could be on the map" She murmurs, casting her eyes to the road before them.

They had been portalled to the side of a road, a rather simple and worn road, that was surrounded by tall trees on either of its sides. Unlike the trees in Foederis, or any other lush space that Naya was familiar with, these trees didn't seem alive, they seemed dormant, like they had been sleeping for many years, oblivious to the changing tide that had swept the world.

They were old and some were frail, perhaps because in order to construct a road, the mortals had stripped this place of its natural wonder. It was beginning to resemble that of the barren lands.

Walking over to one of the trees, Naya placed her palm to its trunk where she could feel the failing natural energy... it was fading. Too caught up with herself, Naya fails to notice Ronan wander off, searching the land for any substantial landmarks to help them locate where they are.

She was completely oblivious to where he had ended up, if it not for him calling for name only a moment later, causing the young hunter to separate from the tree.

"Hey, Naya" He pants lightly, saddling up to her side, "Is there a rather substantial river on the map?"

"A river?" She repeats, raising her eyebrow as Ronan enthusiastically takes her by the hand, dragging her through the trees before he's pointing straight ahead, something faint on the horizon.

Overflowing its banks with what looked like rather murky water, Naya could make out the outline of a stream, carved deep into the impoverish land of which soaked up what limited nutrients the water offered.

It made her skin crawl as her mind took her back to what happened the last time her and Ronan were faced with a body of water.

That damn water spirit.

Pulling her out of her thoughts, Ronan gently touches her arm once again, repeating himself to which Naya shakes her head, and with a somewhat shaky hand, brings the map up to her line of vision.

"Yeah..." There was a rather large stream that ran parallel to the shore of the Southern sea, from the looks of the map, it seemed to run through the top of the barren lands, a smaller outlet steering off into Foederis, before it continues, running towards Apricus.

"But I'm not sure..."

"I am" Ronan interrupts, placing his hand on the map, blocking Naya's view as he gently applies pressure, easing her to put the object down.

Once she complies, Ronan lift his arm, his fingers reaching out into the distance in front of them, pointing at their destination.

"This seems too easy.." She muses to herself, unable to feel joyous in the moment as she knows that quests like this are never that straightforward. Okay, they've found the canyon... now where were the enchantments, the spirits, the traps?

"Easy?" Ronan parrots, looking towards the girl with a scrutinising gaze, "It's easily a qazilion feet and we can't use our crystals"

Right.

There was that.

"Well... do we just follow the river?" She asks, rather clueless for the first time in her career, "I mean, if we get started now it won't take us that long, right?

"I guess" Ronan mumbles as he shrugs his shoulders.

Catching onto the boy's sudden mood change, Naya curiously inquires, "What is it?"

Ronan bites his lip as they exchange a look, something uneasy in the way that he was so hesitant, "I'm just thinking-"

"That's dangerous-"

"I'm just thinking..." He responds, shooting a look towards Naya before he continues, "That if my crystal couldn't transport us... that's just a bloody long way on foot, right?"

In Ronan's head, that sort of distance will have to take up an incredible amount of time, and with their limit, it's a lot to sacrifice for one mission, "I mean, we only have just under one hundred and ninety days"

"Do you think we should turn back?" Naya asks, genuinely seeking his council to which Ronan feels like he's been caught off guard for a mere moment. They had gotten closer of the weeks that they had been training together and in terms of their personal relationship, Naya may have accidently vocalised that she no longer felt the urge to strangle Ronan every time he spoke... but for her to confide in him, to ask for his opinion and truly listen to it... for someone so independent, it truly meant the world to Ronan. The two of them had come on leaps and bounds already with one another, things were looking up for them.

"Should we find somewhere closer?" She asks, "Somewhere quicker, to build up our body count?"

"I just don't want us to come all this way for a singular spirit" He whispers, thinking over what Naya had just proposed.

"We're going to have to come here eventually, right?" Naya sighs, turning her gaze to look at the bare hills of land stretched out before her, worn to their grey bones, "Let's just hope that we come across more than one spirit?"

Ronan follows her gaze, trying so hard to be hopeful, "Yeah... yeah, lets hope"