Tracks to Track

The group all turn to their left, and that's when they see none other than Virra Tarron.

"Thank the gods I caught up to you guys! I saw the tracks turning in-between the mills and wasn't sure if I was seeing correctly!"

"What are you doing here anyway?!" Amilia asks with a loud yet flat tone.

"I'm here to help save my sister! Why else would I be here?!"

Amilia then grumbles, but it remains hidden through the rain. John then says, "I'm assuming Sydna and Naura told you that we were here! Doesn't matter though, we're glad you showed up! Now, you said you're a master tracker?!"

"That I did! I've tracked dozens of beasts through my adventures! These eyes aren't just sharp for my bow after all! There was this one time-"

Kyuala then quickly interrupts the story time, "Listen, Virra! I'll be happy to listen to that story another time, but these are the only tracks we've got, and they're beginning to become mud! We need to get moving now!"

"Alright!" Virra says before getting closer to the group. "I might not be the best mage, but let me work my magic!"

The elf then leans down toward the footprints, scanning the print in question. She quickly takes in a few details, mainly the size, depth and even the shape of the boot itself.

Virra then grabs a few nearby leaves and plants, crushing them up into her hand before dropping them into the print.

She then digs into her small satchel before pulling out a bag. Virra puts her hand into the bag, grabbing what looks to be a handful of sand. She then drops said sand into the footprint, coating the crushed leaves and plants.

The footprint then begins to gently glow and a few of the prints ahead do the same. Virra then gets onto her autocart with the group embarking on said cart as well just as Virra starts to follow the tracks.

---

THIRTY MINUTES LATER:

The group have stopped under a large tree, hiding under the large leaves that make up a natural canopy.

A fire begins to crackle even as the rain pours down all around even stronger than before. At the moment, the group are sitting around said fire as Lani creates a ward for their temporary stop.

"Why are we stopping?! We need to find Terra!" Amilia says to the group.

"You don't need to shout anymore. The ward is muffling the rain," Lani says.

"I'm not shouting cause of the rain! I'm shouting cause we need to keep going!"

"We aren't going to be of much use to Terra if we are freezing to death out in that hellstorm," Kyuala says. "Plus, Virra made sure that we can see the prints. Once we dry off a little and get some food in us, we'll keep going."

Amilia grumbles with obvious annoyance. She looks at Virra who is happily cooking away, waiting for her chunk of meat to finish up.

John notices Amilia's frustrated expression, and so he leans over, "Hey, we're going to find her. You know that, right?"

Amilia doesn't look at John as she remains silent whilst staring at Virra. A few seconds later, she turns towards John and says, "I know. I'll make sure of it."

Amilia then turns back, now staring at the fire. John on the other hand, continues to somewhat look at Amilia, worried about what her words might mean.

On the other side of the fire, Lani, Kyuala and Virra are waiting for their food to cook. As they are, Kyuala asks, "Hey, Virra. How did you make the footprints glow like that? I always wanted to learn tracking magic like that."

"Oh, it's quite simple, but expensive. The powder is crushed bone from a mraelex. They have an innate tracking ability so the powder acts as a way for us to use said ability. Unfortunately, the powder only allows for a small radius of tracking since it's technically an artificial version of the ability. The furthest I've ever seen it work was about fifty feet, and that was from a kill less than a day before the tracking."

"But you didn't cast any spells. How does that work?" Lani asks.

"That's because of the leaves and plants," Virra explains. "The nature around the print act as a sort of set point for the powder. To quickly explain, the mraelex has receptors in its paws that act similar to a dogs sense of smell. So, when that receptor picks up any sort of trail like the print, that's when the hunting ability kicks in. Now, since we don't have those receptors, some of the other ingredients in the powder need that set point to differentiate between nature and print. That's why I grabbed the plants, so that the other parts of the powder can get essentially a taste of the nature from my hands and tell apart the plants and myself from the print."

"Wow," is all Kyuala and Lani can say in unison which makes Virra laugh.

---

ANOTHER HOUR LATER:

The group are trudging forward on the autocart even though the storm has ramped up tenfold. As the rain still bounces down through the tall trees, hail follows swiftly behind it. You can barely even see a hundred feet ahead since the hail looks like heavy snowfall.

This is no normal hail however, as some of said hail is not your regular size, some chunks are almost as big as a child's fist. Some chunks of hail also hit the trees so hard, the bark is slightly stripped with each hit. Virra's cart hasn't gone unscathed either as some of the panels have taken a few dents and even some chunks of the wood have been completely taken off.

The group are quickly becoming bruised and cut along with being frozen already. They push forward, but realize that their efforts are futile.

"We have to pull over and get into shelter!" Kyuala says to Virra.

"Agreed! But where can we go?!"

"No! We are not stopping!" Amilia calls out. "We've got to keep going! Terra is still out there!"

"I can barely see the tracks on the ground! And if we stay out here any longer, we're gonna be in no condition to save her! We have to pull over!" Virra says.

Amilia is incredibly frustrated by this, wanting to lash out at their new elven companion. However, she looks over at John who is covering Lani, taking hail to the back and arms to make sure that his guide is safe.

Amilia then realizes that Terra wouldn't want them to be ripped to shreds out here, so she holds her tongue as Kyuala and Virra scout for places to wait out the storm.

---

A LITTLE BIT LATER:

The group finally managed to find a spot to hunker down for the night in a nearby grotto that they would've passed by if it wasn't for Virra's keen eye, even through the hellish conditions.

A fire rages on inside the new camp as John lies on his stomach, wincing in pain as Kyuala examines his wounds, "Ahh, that hail did quite a number on you."

"Just a number? I feel like my back was being lashed at by a damn frost dragon."

"You have frost dragons on your world?" Kyuala asks.

"No. It was just a figure of speech," John explains before seething once again as Kyuala runs her finger over his wounds.

"Well, your healing should kick in soon. Hopefully, this hail disappears just as quick."

The two then share a kiss before Kyuala heads to the edge of the grotto where Lani and Virra currently are, making sure the ward is properly protecting their camp

Just then, as John puts on his recently dried shirt, Amilia walks over to him before sitting down, "Hey, you alright?"

"Ahh, I'll live. If a horde of undead doesn't kill me, hail doesn't stand much of a chance. I think..."

Amilia lets out a little chuff, but John can see that she is still not happy about having to stop for the night at the very least.

"Are you alright?" John asks, knowing full well what the answer will be.

Amilia sighs, "No. Of course, I'm not. I'm pissed that every time we get a little closer, we end up getting bitch-slapped back five fucking steps. Now, we're stuck in this fucking place, waiting for the fucking weather to fuck off, and I just-"

Amilia lets out an annoyed grunt, kicking a stone a few paces away as she looks down at the ground. John then takes a second before saying, "Listen, there's nothing we can do right now. Even if we weren't risking the chance of having chunks of us ripped into by hail, we can't see a damn thing out there, and it's not like we can control the weather. Hold on... is weather magic a thing here?"

"How the hell should I know? I just fucked people before you and wings came along."

John is now the one who sighs, "Suppose that would be too easy. In any case, Terra knows that we're looking as hard as we can for her. I have faith in her ability to buy us enough time to get her back."

Amilia just looks at John, believing his words as he looks at the fire ahead. She then takes a breath before beginning, "I believe in her too. It's just... I don't want to lose anymore friends. I lost Kyuala because of what I did to her, and I paid for that mistake every day. Hell, even you almost died after that freaky beam thing you did. I haven't even known you, wings or pointy for all that long. Shit, before you and wings came along and reunited me with Ky, I didn't even care about anyone. But since the whole cave thing, Terra's started growing on me. She became a friend during the whole undead thing, but since the boat, I've just been thinking about some things."

"Like what?" John asks.

Amilia looks away from John, trying to find her words before eventually replying, "I guess, I've been thinking about how I-"

"Love that girl!" Virra says, interrupting Amilia by accident. "I mean, she can make wards around entire camps with just her magic! Do you know how horrible it is to carry around a bottle of braulin urine to ward away predators?! It sucks! Especially if you're drunk and can't see if you've picked up your water or the urine!"

Virra then sits down beside John and Amilia, "So, what were you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Amilia says bluntly, clearly not happy about the sudden intrusion.

"We were just hoping that this weather clears up soon," John adds.

"Oh, tell me about it. I don't even know the last time I was in a hailstorm in the woods. It definitely brings me back to simpler times," Virra says, reminiscing about events of her youth.

"Why did you come out here anyway?" Amilia asks.

"What do you mean?" Virra responds.

"Well, your sisters seemed more than keen to let us handle this. I just wondered why you thought we wouldn't be enough."

"Amilia..." John starts.

Virra then lightly chuckles, "Now, I might not have the smarts of some of my sisters, but I know well enough when someone doesn't like me. I think it's safe to say that person is you, Amilia, correct?"

Amilia just grunts in response.

"Well, I can't quite say that I blame you. I know that I can be quite... exuberant to say the least. However, I never once doubted your abilities to find Terra. In fact, I believed that if anyone would find her, it would be you four. I know how the guards and folk work around here, and I know that your fresh eyes would see things that us city dwellers couldn't. The reason why I'm here though, is because even though it may just seem an egotistical boast, I am master tracker. I have been taught to track through this area since I can remember."

Virra then takes a deep breath, "I will also admit, that I have some selfish reasons for my involvement in this as well."

Amilia and John look at each other for a brief moment before Virra begins again, "To explain, my Mother treated Terra and I, a little differently than the rest of our sisters. Terra and I took to our training like ducks to water. I will admit that I could not do what Terra managed to, but I still had vigorous training with my bow. I always felt angry at myself that I wasn't strong enough to have the same training at Terra, but I eventually moved past it as I began hunting monsters. Now, I feel like I have a chance to finally get that final notch. If I can save Terra, with all of you of course, I can finally feel like I was good enough in my own way."

Virra looks away from the two, her own words hitting deep within her.

After a few moments however, Virra seemingly reverts back into her usual self by saying, "So, if you ever have any doubt about me, just remember this: I know all the little tricks and tracks like a butcher knows his axe, and I know every hidden route and piece of land like the back of my hands."

Amilia is then quick to say to John, "Did this bitch seriously just rhyme?"

Virra then responds, "That I did! Plus, you'll need my help getting my sister back, and you'll also need my autocart. Without it, you could possibly be walking for weeks, and I don't wish to think what could potentially happen in that time."

The alcove goes silent for a few awkward moments, but Virra then stands up, "Anyhoo, I am pooped, so, I'm gonna get some sleep, nighty-night!"

Virra then walks over to the other side of the alcove where her sleeping bag resides. Meanwhile, Amilia and John just look at each other in shock as they don't quite know what the hell just happened.

Just a few moments after their shared confused looks began, Kyuala walks back into the grotto whilst holding an obviously tired Lani, "Hey, can you two stand outside for a little bit? Just to make sure that the ward properly works. I don't want to exhaust Lani any more."

"Yeah, we got it," Amilia responds. She then grabs John before pulling him to just outside of the grotto.

As the duo get to just outside of said grotto, the ward seems to be working as the rain, hail and freezing wind are no longer an issue. It's almost as if time stood still before the grotto.

Along with the stoppage of any rain, wind or hail, there's almost no sound from outside of the ward either. The only noise they hear is the crackling of the fire and the shuffling of Kyuala who is getting into her and John's sleeping bag.

As John stares at the drops of rain that land on the translucent barrier above his head, he hears Amilia ask, "What in the hell are we doing?"

John then looks at Amilia, "What'd you mean?"

Amilia turns her head, meeting John's gaze, "Terra's only been gone what? Barely a day? And we've already replaced her with her dopey fucking sister!"

"Hey! We haven't replaced anyone, and I don't plan to," John quickly responds. "As for Virra, whether you like it or not, we need her help. We'll get Terra back, make no mistake about that, but you snapping at everyone for shit we can't control isn't helping!"

Amilia is shocked by John's quiet outburst, not expecting him to snap at her like that. His words do somewhat shake Amilia out of her current state of mind, making her realize that he's right.

Amilia then sighs, deciding to relent, "Uhh... listen, I'm sorry. I just-"

"You don't have to apologize, I get it. We're in a shitty situation, and it's tough keeping emotions in check during times like these. But listen to me when I say that no matter what we do, we are getting our friend back, Amilia. We will find her."

Amilia looks in John's eyes as he says this, and she sees the truth-filled fire within. A small smile then graces Amilia's face before she says, "Thanks... again, I mean."

John just smiles back before looking back at the rain drops above. A few quiet moments later, John says, "You can go get some sleep if you want. I'll watch the ward a little longer."

"Nah, you better go be the little spoon. Pretty sure that if you aren't in that bag in the next five minutes, Kyuala might slap the taste out of my mouth for keeping you here."

The two share a laugh, realizing that Amilia's words are the truth. John then turns around before putting his hand on Amilia's shoulder, "Make sure you get some rest. We can't have you passing out from exhaustion when we celebrate getting Terra back."

"Don't worry. I won't miss that party."

John gives one last nod before beginning to walk away. However, as he gets just a few steps away, Amilia stops him by saying, "Hey..."

John then turns around, "Yeah?"

"You're a good friend, John."

John is stunned, not expecting to hear Amilia say anything close to that. He then smiles once again, "You too, Amilia."

John then heads to the sleeping bag where his furnace of an orc waits with open warms. He slides into the bag, feeling Kyuala's arms wrapping around him almost like muscle memory even as she sleeps.

Amilia, on the other hand, remains standing at the ward, looking up at the hail as it falls like snow.

As she continues looks up at the weather, it now seems much more peaceful, yet... it's still as wild as it was before they found the grotto.

The wild yet calming weather helps clear Amilia's mind, and she can finally take a break for just the briefest of moments.

Ever since Terra was taken, all Amilia can think about is getting her back. The thing is... She doesn't know quite why she is acting so strongly.

Actually, that's a lie.

Amilia knows exactly why she's acting this way, and it's not just cause Terra's a good friend.

She even knows exactly when this feeling began. It was on that fateful day on the boat during the pirate attack. They were exhausted, but couldn't stop fighting for a moment. Amilia had no problem slitting the throats of some scummy pirates since they were no better than the bastards of the Darkcross in her eyes.

Terra however... she always had this look of reluctance.
Obviously, in that life or death situation, Terra didn't hesitate, but Amilia saw that she hated every moment of it.

Amilia never understood it herself, or at least she didn't... until the pirate captain.

The two fought side-by-side tirelessly, but it just felt like a losing effort. For every punch they threw, the captain would just laugh and hit them five times as hard.
When they finally had their opening however... Terra took it.

Amilia remembers the moment clearly. She saw as Terra battered the man relentlessly, no, she brutalized him. In the short period that Amilia had known Terra, she never would have expected her to do something like that to a monster, let alone a person, but she did.

Amilia can still hear the echoes of Terra's fists landing against the mans skull, a sickening meaty thud with his skull crunching more and more with each impact.

By the time Amilia put her hand on Terra's shoulder to stop her, she was practically covered head to toe in the captains blood.

Later that day, when the two began to talk and Terra began to cry, Amilia didn't really know what to do, so she did what she wished someone did for her, and wrapped her arms around Terra.

As Amilia recalled how she and Kyuala had met to the emotional elf, she felt like a weight was coming off of her own shoulders.

During that quiet period between the two, Amilia begin to feel something deep within. Usually she would equate that to one of three H's, hunger, horny or hatred.

However, this time, it was different.

This feeling was one she had long thought was gone, the one feeling that she had often thought about, but never truly experienced.

That feeling of...