'He's sleeping'

Ellis noted seeing his eyes close slowly

For the entirety of the journey she had seen him awake and was certain that when she slept he kept watch and never slept, the reason behind that she was very sure was his unwillingness to sleep as every time he was about to wake up she would feel that heartwrenching emptiness coming through their bond, whatever he experienced in his sleep was bound to be unpleasant

She couldn't do much about it though, if he didn't know how to deal with it then for sure she didn't

Her shifty eyes moved on from the peaceful figure in front of her onto the silent scenery around her

White mist which once hovered over the trees now covered every bit of the jungle, enveloping the multi-coloured foliage with its sweet smell

'Such a lovely place'

Danger nestled in the depths for sure, the edges of this land however seemed ever so peaceful, not a single beast had they seen on their way here and she didn't even have her aura out, the small bit leaking through her eyes would have not deterred any foes coming toward them

This place would have been the perfect place for one to rest, alas she didn't have the luxury of letting herself go, not only was her skill preventing it her master was now sleeping as well, any thoughts of slacking flew with the misty wind

Her seated position wasn't kept for long with how bored she was getting so she stood up, walked on the branches, making small jumps here and there while she surveyed the area, if not for threats then just to keep herself occupied

How long could this keep her satisfied though? The answer was soon revealed when the mist gained a ting of pale blue to itself, the sky beyond the trees couldn't be seen as darker blue fog covered it, plunging the jungle into further darkness, darkness that dug out the deep emotions one's soul hid

Within the darkness Ellis's eyes were one very prominent source of light, the swirling eyes looked like a whirlpool now, sucking in any who gazed upon them, but none were here to witness except the two sleeping near her

'It's getting harder to concentrate'

Her skill was going a great job allowing her to keep her wits about with the gradual shift in hue, still the two opposing senses coming from the outside and within disoriented her slightly, her mind was balanced but her body nauseated

Finding her body turning rigid she tried moving around more, which helped to a degree, still, a small walk wasn't going to cut it

Bring out her sword she did, one with a slightly curved edge as these were her preferred type of weapon, the left and right the sword was swung lightly in fear of awaking the resting man near her

Attack stance was the first thing she tried, then defence, then counter-attack, the only there she knew of

During the small practice her brows furrowed, a look of dissatisfaction crossing those purple eyes

'Why is the sword so crooked'

SHe thought, switching it out with another, yet to her surprise the new sword was still crookedly moving in her arms as if it was swung by a crippled man, flawed and inefficient

Trying her hand at a few more she found them al to be the same assuring her that the fault lay in her, not the tool she was wielding

With the newfound purpose, she started swinging her sword again and again, seeking the perfect form, one graceful and efficient, worth the dignifying aura each swing held

Hours passed and the mist thinned out gradually as morning approach, eventually the sky could once again be seen with the fog lifted, a blue one that was turning red with the rise of the morning sun

With the dirty red globe came determination and passion for the new tomorrow, to Ellis though it meant both those and their opposite, making her new day not as bright as it was for others

The morning scent and various emerging emotions seemed to affect YuJu who woke up in a daze, his eyes unfocused

Ellis, who sensed him waking up, came to his side to check up on his state only to be briefly assaulted by emptiness followed by a growing sea of sensations

From the clothes she was wearing and the very bark beneath her legs to every wisp of mist remaining, she could feel it all, it wasn't a feeling of touch or anything like normal senses, rather she could feel everything as if it was a part of her, so natural that it made her own body feel foreign

Her skill wasn't helping much either as it spread numbness throughout her mind, dulling her perception making her feel like someone took her out of her body and made her a static unfeeling viewer to the world around her

This state continued on for second after second, very long and heavy seconds during which Ellis repeatedly pondered and hoped this ends, until almost an entire minute passed

The continues stream of senses she was receiving suddenly stopped, as did her brain, shutting down briefly before going into a hibernating state where all manner of thought ceased and only vital requirements in keeping the body alive remained

"..." Thud! "!!?"

YuJu who had also escaped the torturing heavy sensation and was about to open his eyes felt something hit him promoting him to take out two daggers and quickly attack the target while scoping out the situation

His mind acted faster than his body did, thankfully, alarming him of the friendly target he was about to stab, having him cease his attack just above her skin, barely drawing any blood

Recognising Ellis to be the one who was on him he surveyed the surroundings for any hostile creatures but found nothing, even after he faded into the surroundings and searched for the enemy he still found no living creature other than the three of them and a harmless small red squirrel thirty meters away from them

Getting back to the area where Ellis still lay unconscious he quickly checked her condition

'No signs of physical attacks, she has her swords drawn though and has suffered a mental attack of some sorts causing her mind to operate on bare minimum due to shock, nothing too dangerous though'

He wanted to suspect that it was her skill acting up due to the terrace's hue but the fact that she had her sword drawn was a sign that something else had happened

'Which beasts could do mental attacks in the terrace, which of them could stay hidden after doing so?'

A long list did come to mind, Rattle Rain, Humming Brood, Haaror among many others but none should be in this area, nor would they need to hide, if they could that is

'Haaror do have an unpredictable behavior though and while they don't show up here they roam so much it is possible, plus they could pull off a hit and run this quickly'

That was the only possible explanation he could come up with, then again she could have been practicing and thus her swords were out, caution was required though so he didn't throw his suspicion away even after listing two possible outcomes so he did another scan of the area, knocked out the squirrel while he was at it, just in case, and returned to the two unconscious bodies

"Haah"

After a troubled sigh he carried Ellis on his back and picked up Anput's cage then proceeded further into the jungle

The road was long and silent, emotional spikes came and went with the change of time nut he paid them no heed, he couldn't help but notice, however, the soft two mounds on his back, her braless state and the tight clothes made sure her well endowed figure was as obvious as possible

'That reminds me, its almost time she started the training we brought the bra's for, once we get to the centre she should have enough peace and quiet to practice undisturbed'

With his mind drifting toward training the two soft sensations gradually got thrown to the back of his mind, thus started another round of plan reviewing and making