Loren kept watch at night, she seemed to be tireless. Or just there was too much to dwell on. She couldn't decide it. Things didn't go as she has planned it, the outsider was no more than a mere child in her eyes.

The problems just pilled and the list went on and on, about what there should be done. They had to find a temple to get a challenge for Isabel, a group of crazy cult members to get guidance from the mad god, she had to train and teach her on their way... And this was just the beginning of the list.

Loren sat there motionless. She stared at the small campfire as she went on with her list. The dancing flames bewitched her and it made anger to grow inside her. The list in her mind slowly twisted inside-out and the memories of her past conquered her mind.

She wanted it. She wanted to find and massacre all who betrayed her or even just thought about it. She wanted it with all her might. She wanted each and every one of them, to see as despair swallows them whole to the point where they even fear the daylight. To saw as madness become their second nature and make them beg for their end. Just so she could tear them into shreds until nothing left. She wanted it.

The fire took her on the ride and brought her back as well. The flames shrank as they lived up their fuel. The now dim light made Loren shook her head.

She felt for it, again. It must have been her perk, or this was how gargoyle slept she thought. But being motionless was so inviting time-to-time.

She stretched her legs, then fed the fire for one last time that night.

---- ------

"Isabel. Isabel, wake up." Said Loren.

Isabel turned to her other side. "It is still dark, let me sleep some more." Murmured her.

"A few minutes and sun will be up. And I want to be ready to go." Explained it Loren. Isabel didn't respond to that.

Loren got an idea, an idea that made her grin. "If you don't wake then we have to skip breakfast." She said.

"Growl" Complained Isabel's stomach. "Catch ya!" Said Loren.

"You are a real jerk. You know?" Stated Isabel with a sleepy and grumpy face.

"Put me on the court if you have to, but we still have to go. I want to reach that hamlet before dusk so we can train you a little at least."

"Train? Ugh... At least it will just lecture, right?" Isabel knew what Loren meant, but she had to ask.

"Yes." Isabel couldn't believe her ears what she just heard. It made her brighten up. "I will lecture and you will excise."

"Oooh."

Before breakfast. Loren showed Isabel how to properly wrap and bind the sleeping bag. It wasn't exactly a sleeping bag in Isabel's opinion, it was just a leather sheet, with a thin cloth stitched to its side to use it as a blanket.

Loren then gave Isabel a smaller portion of food and then she picked her bag up.

"Is that all?" Asked Isabel. Just looking at the just handful of dry crackers made her sad.

"Yes. I figured it would help if you eat your share in more piece than in a few large ones to keep your cravings at bay." Explained Loren. Then She turned toward Isabel and said it in a serious tone. "And don't think I haven't found out your snacking from yesterday." This made swallow to Isabel, Loren reminded her one of the drill sergeants from a movie and she felt like she just signed up for one of those fat camps.

The path in the forest they follow had a slight downward angle. It made them slow down on the tempo. Isabel was still not comfortable with her new feet.

"One of the first things will be that you learn how to walk properly." Mocked Loren Isabel as she walked backwards. Loren had no problem to get a good grip on the ground, which made her wonder. She stopped and before she notices Isabel passed her.

"Whats wrong Loren?" She looked back at her.

"It been a while, and I don't know what is the limit of my body. Would you mind, if I go ahead? I want to run and jump around a little. And maybe punch a tree or two."

Loren seemed a little embarrassed for some reason.

"Sure?... Go ahead." Said Isabel. It was unusual to ask something like that, but this word was already out of place.

"Just stay on the path and we will meet later, okay?" It made Loren a little uneasy to leave Isabel alone, but this valley seemed harmless enough.

"Jeez, Loren am not a child. Just go already" Isabel rolled her eyes.

Loren passed Isabel, looked back one last time, then ran down the path. Isabel walked for a while and watched as Loren disappeared from her sight. She waited a few minutes then stopped. "Finally, just in time." She took off her bag and opened it. "What? No, Nononono. It's gone, she took it. All of it." Isabel felt betrayed and defeated, Loren must have put all the food in her bag. "That witch." She puffed up her cheeks and put her bag on.

She walked for a while until the angle of the path eased. "Huh. A quick break seems appropriate." She looked through the greenery to tell the time, but she only could guess it. It seemed it was a little before noon. She looked around for any proper seat, but a tree caught her eyes instead. She knew at the very moment that Loren would be mad. She saw a tree that size was just right, its branches were within her reach. And the tree possessed the bane of her curse. Growl. "Oooh. Loren going to kill me."

She just ran and ran. And she felt she could run forever, away from the problems, away from the gods, and away from Isabel. This last thought made her slowly stop. She was worried for a moment and looked back. "Focus!" She slapped her cheeks with both hands.

"My stamina is like one of those machine people, and I don't get hungry and thirsty just like them. With comes down to that, that I ran on mana." She stated it. "Which means I can do little to none magic." She bit her lips, I was worse than a curse. Magic was an important role for most classes. It was the base of his kit back then, illusions, body enchantments and detect spells. If she was right then she couldn't use most scroll or rune that high-mages prepared for adventurers.

"Then all is left are magic items, but they are expensive." Sigh. She looked around and walked next to an older taller tree. "Alright tree. Bear with me for a little." She said it with a smile.

She marked her height on its bark with a dagger. She stepped away from the tree and looked at the mark. She looked up once just to be sure there were no branches. Then jumped a few time cutting a new line in front of her into the bark.

"Could be better. It's not even the half of my height. A decent Rouge could jump serval feet up, but even the worst could jump their height with light gear." She looked down feeling a little defeated. On the ground, there were now a few at least six-inch deep clawed feet marks. "Yeah, it not gonna happen any time soon." She said and made a weak smile.

"No magic and no acrobatics in the future. Well, my endurance good for sure, but there is still one thing left." She looked up and jumped into a fighting position.

The tree didn't stand a chance. She punches her way through its bark with ease and damaged the wood as well in a few punches. Seeing her progress made her blissful. "Haha. No mace needed for the softies!" She was satisfied. Her body was fitting for being called a monster. She stood there for while observing what she was capable of even at low levels and it made her feel confident in her power.

But she ran out of ideas and breaking stone with stone didn't seem like a good idea. "Well, time to head back, she must be close by now." She peeked at her bag and grinned a little.

She made a mistake, a big one. Since there were no farmers to shout at her for eating the various fruits and no Loren to watch out for her, she ate more than she should have. Two became three as she reassured herself that fruits were healthy then it became five, six, a dozen and a little more. Her roundish stomach ached while she rubbed it. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw it, but she surely felt it. She cleared a quarter of that tree in one sitting when she left the scene of her crime.

She walked back to the path and followed it for a while. "I'm so done for. Loren surely could tell that I found food, but even if not.." She looked down at her middle and frowned. "...she will surely notice it if I don't ask for it." These though were on her mind as the guilt settled.

"Isabel!" Isabel looked up and saw Loren running in her way while she waved her hand a few times.

"Gods save me." Said Isabel quietly. As she waited till fate couth up with her.

Each step Loren took made Isabel uneasy. By the time Loren stood before her she played with her tail hair.

"Good to see you in one piece." Loren seemed excited.

"Yeah, good to see you as well. How the limit testing wen?" Asked Isabel trying to hide her guilt.

"Not exactly as I planned, it looks like being sneaky will do no good for me." Loren was careful with her words, it was for the better if she didn't know about her past. "But it's not that important. I might have lost my sense of time, but I still want to reach the hamlet before dusk. So, how about we walk for a while and you may snack twice while we reach it?."Asked Loren.

"Okay." Isabel looked down with a small frown, she couldn't look into Loren's green eyes.

Loren sensed there was something off, but she didn't want to push it. Isabel had a good share of grief in the recent past and breaking her meant an end for herself as well.

"Alright then." Loren had to cheer her up. So she did the unthinkable. "How about while we walk, you tell me about those places you visited in your homeworld." She said it, while she put on a fake smile.

Isabel nodded. The memories brought great joy to her, she cherished them well. And thus pandora's box opened once again.