"Mmm... Do we just wait for him or...?" Elisa asked while looking at Krista.
The latter let her head fall to the side with a puzzled expression.
'So cuuute!' Elisa thought while caressing the Moonlit Feline's fur.
A couple of steps away, Mark lay unmoving.
"He did leave while we were asleep. I guess we can do the same, right? Mm. He went and got beaten up, guess that suited him. Not really how I want to spend my time though..."
Both raised their gazes, seemingly deep in thought.
"Think we should-"
"I'm up." Mark said as he suddenly sat up.
So suddenly that he startled the two.
"Holy s... You scared me!" Elisa shouted.
"I'm up." Mark repeated.
"Your eyes tell a different story."
The Moonlit Feline was rolling on the ground.
Elisa chuckled at the sight.
"How long..." Mark rubbed his eyes. It was the first time he did something of the sort. "How long was I out for?"
"About ten minutes. Less, I think."
"Perfect. Let's get going." Mark pushed himself off the ground, stumbled, and fell on the snow.
Krista's rolled even more intensely.
"You can sleep a bit longer, you know."
"No need. I'm in top condition."
"That so? How many fingers am I holding up?"
"What is this? The-"
"How many?"
"Two."
"Go back to sleep."
"Tsk." Mark clicked his tongue and stood up. "The cold will wake me up."
"If you insist." Elisa got up too.
It took a bit longer for Krista to do the same.
"Map." Mark called out as he rubbed his eyes and slapped his cheeks.
"Does he do that every time?" Elisa whispered while covering her mouth.
The Moonlit Feline shook her head in response.
"The Rift... Outside of Pride and Lust, right?" Mark muttered.
"Yep. That's the one."
"Would be faster to cut through Sloth and Lust."
"Yep. It would be."
"Then let's do that."
"I mean... Now that we're going together, I guess that's the plan?"
"A bunch of red crosses all over the place though..." He whispered.
"Red crosses?"
"Places I'm not supposed to approach."
"Why not?"
"Now that I think about it..." Mark rubbed his eyes once more. "I don't think I asked."
"Why the hell not?"
"Because... I don't know."
"You sure you don't need to sleep some more?"
"I'm fine. I just assumed red crosses meant death. Plus, I didn't want to talk to him more than absolutely necessary so..."
"Mm. Yeah. I guess that's a valid excuse."
"It's a reason, not an excuse." Mark corrected while staring at the digital map in front of him.
"If you say so."
Krista took a seat on the ground.
She thought they would be arguing for a while longer.
In a way, she was right.
"I do." Mark said sternly.
"Oh, great. At least there's a reason why we don't know what road to take."
Elisa's sarcasm did not fail to irritate him.
"Are you seriously-"
"I'm jokiiing. Tsk. Never thought I would have to teach humor to a Monster one day."
Mark's eyes widened.
"Monster..." He whispered.
"Huh? Couldn't catch that-"
"Monster..."
"Monster?"
"You're not one, are you?"
A mix of surprise and indignation was drawn on Elisa's face.
"What the hell? Of course not. Just because my teeth got a bit sharper doesn't mean that-" Krista's muffled snickering quickly started irritating her. "What's so funny? I..."
'Mm... Yeah.' Mark nodded.
"What kind of question is that anyways?" Elisa asked, clearly offended, although she did try to hide it.
"You're from the Rift, right?"
"I am." Elisa answered after a second.
"If those born inside the Monster Realm are Monsters, and those born inside the Human Realm are Humans, what does that make you?" Mark asked innocently.
Despite how innocently the question was asked, it was a pretty rude one.
"What does that make me?" Elisa repeated.
"Yeah?" Mark nodded.
"I don't understand the question."
"Well... You're not a Monster."
"Right."
"You're not a Human...?"
"Right."
"Then?"
"Then...?"
"Well, what are you?"
"An Elf you dumbass what kind of question is that?"
With a puzzled frown, Mark stared for a bit.
He scratched his head.
'Let's call it half human then. She probably wouldn't like me referring to it that way but...'
"Is it that way for many of those from the Rift?"
"What way?" Elisa asked aggressively.
"I definitely did not sleep enough for this." Mark whispered.
"You did not just..."
He thought silently for a bit, without paying any mind to her words.
"Oh." Mark interrupted.
"Oh, what?"
"Raven."
"What about him?"
"Is he from the Rift?"
"How would I know?"
"But is it likely? That he is from some part of the Rift?"
Elisa really didn't want to answer.
But she did.
"Yes. It's probable, I guess."
"I knew you could be useful." Mark muttered.
Elisa stared at him, clearly offended.
The next second, she turned towards one who would listen to her complaints.
"Kristaaa..."
'Mmm. Half Humans? Vampires and Elves. Yeah. Let's call them that from now. They come from the Rift... But not everything in the Rift is that way, the Growing Yeti and that Olga being prime examples. Pretty sure Nia said she was from the Rift too? Or did she...? Huh... Can't really remember. Doesn't change a thing though.'
Mark turned towards Elisa and Krista.
The two stared at him.
"Can't keep going up the Rift. Doing that would lead to... Those waiting for me."
"Oh. Forgot about that. So you have people waiting for you, but you're not going to them?"
"Yes. To get to the Elven Forest it would be-"
"Wow. Wow. Wow. Slow down. Why are you not going to them? When they're waiting for you?"
Mark scratched his head for a bit.
'It's the ones who put us inside the Dungeon.'
To lie or say the truth?
He wasn't sure whether being honest with her was the right thing to do.
After all, he remembered a time when Elisa said that she wanted nothing more than to kill the person who put her and the other Dark Elves inside the Dungeon.
Mark settled on...
"Don't want to."
Half a truth. Half a lie.
