"You sure you don't need to sleep?"
"I said I'm fine." Elisa answered for the third time.
"Why aren't you standing up then?"
"Ah." The Princess rose to her feet, despite the stumbling and general lack of balance.
"We can wait for you."
"Shut up." Elisa said as she started walking. "I'm too hungry to sleep."
"Since when did the Princess develop an appetite?"
"SiNcE WhEn..." Elisa mocked.
"Let's get going then." Mark said after chuckling.
With the Moonlit Feline seated on his shoulder, the three started moving again.
Mark called out his map and stared at it for a bit.
"We're north of the Forest. That's good. Gotta keep going northeast... It is a long way though. We'll have to cross into Lust then go to... Oh. Is there anything special between the different regions?"
Yawn-
"What do you mean?" Elisa muttered as she rubbed her tired eyes.
"The border between Sloth and Lust. If Yarnha was the separation between the Rift and Sloth then-"
"What happened in there?" Elisa asked suddenly.
Mark started explaining for a couple of seconds but eventually,
"Elisa?"
"Huh?" She opened her eyes.
"You're not listening."
"No, I am. It's just-"
"It doesn't matter anyways. But you need to sleep. If we get attacked now, it'll-"
"What? I'll be a burden? Since I'm useless, right?"
Mark chuckled at the sudden outburst.
"Oh yeah, it's funny, isn't it?"
"You're cranky."
"Excuse me?"
"Grumpy?"
"You-"
Mark turned his gaze towards the other side.
Towards his left shoulder.
"Krista."
The Moonlit Feline's eyes narrowed.
"Can you...?"
Krista looked away.
"Oh come on. Just for an hour or something. If you can carry her while she naps then..."
Elisa stared at the two as they argued.
What happened in there-
'Tsk. That's not the question I want to ask...'
They continued walking, as Krista seemed unwilling to take her Lioness Form and carry the Princess.
Elisa's lips parted multiple times, but she couldn't bring herself to ask the question she wanted to ask.
After restless hours of thinking, the question had changed.
You want to get rid of me that much-
'Get rid of me... To do what? What is it you will do once we make it to the Elven Forest...? Once I make it home? What would you be doing if I wasn't here? Where would you be going?'
Sigh-
'It's aaaalways about me. Where I want to go, what I want to do. But what about you? I can't believe I don't even know that.' Elisa's face twisted into a slight grimace. 'I can't believe I haven't asked. Not once, about what-'
Thump-
Elisa stepped back after her forehead collided with Mark's back.
"Well, don't just stop suddenly."
"That wasn't sudden at all." Mark said as he held back laughter.
The Moonlit Feline on his shoulder, on the other hand, didn't hold back.
It snickered hysterically.
"Yeah, whatever..."
About half an hour passed while they walked.
The Princess swayed and walked with closed eyes half of the time.
By this time, the sun was fully visible and shone on the field of grass below.
Not once did Mark raise his gaze towards it.
The sun and clear sky he had wanted to gaze at for so long were just above him.
Yet, his mind was elsewhere.
Images of the night kept popping into his mind.
Images of the hurting Spirit. The screaming Spirit. The bleeding Spirit. The crying Spirit.
He would shake his head and keep going.
Krista could tell something was wrong but... There wasn't much a Moonlit Feline could do about such things.
'Defenseless and harmless... Why do I feel-'
With a hand, Mark stopped Elisa's swaying body.
"Ah. Sorry..." She muttered.
"You were about to collapse. You really should-"
"It's... Fine..." Elisa whispered.
"Krista."
The Moonlit Feline shook its head in response.
The Monster couldn't help but sigh.
Seconds later, Elisa opened the eyes that had closed without her permission.
"Huh?"
In front of her, a crouching Monster.
"Get on."
Elisa's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Do it before I change my mind."
"Do what?"
"Get on."
"On your back?"
"Yes."
"No."
"Tsk." Mark clicked his tongue. "I'm alternating with Krista. Twenty minutes each, alright? So get on."
"No."
"Well, we can't keep going like this. Either you sleep or-"
"Why would I get on your back?"
"What?"
"Why would I?" Elisa repeated.
"Because it'll allow us to keep going while allowing you to rest... Wait why do I even have to explain this?? If anything, I'm doing you a favor." Mark said as he looked behind him.
"Well... No thanks."
"You're being stubborn for no reason."
The two remained silent for a bit.
Silent, but not unmoving as Elisa's swaying really couldn't be stopped.
Mark directed his gaze forward and away from Elisa.
"I need you to get some rest."
"Huh?"
"If you're not in top form then... We might get in trouble. I managed with the Spirit but... We need you rested, or else it'll be difficult."
Elisa swaying ceased.
Taken aback, she stared at the crouched Monster.
After taking a step forward, Elisa stopped.
She extended her hands forward.
Just when they were about to come into contact with the Monster's body, she pulled them back slightly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, yeah. Won't be for a while anyways. Krista agreed to twenty minutes each, but hopefully, I'll only have to take the first turn."
The Moonlit Feline seemed appalled by the plainly laid out and declared plan of betrayal.
"Al... Alright."
Elisa's hands took hold of his shoulders.
She raised and wrapped her legs around his waist, not without much hesitancy and indecisiveness.
"I'll keep using the Wind... To detect things, okay?"
"Okay." Mark said.
His hands came into contact with her thighs, and she quivered momentarily.
Elisa clenched her teeth as she stopped herself from shuddering.
'Did he feel it?' She asked herself. 'Can he tell that I... He so could tell.'
The Princess squirmed around, trying to get comfortable.
"This is..." She yawned. "The last time I'm not sleeping, okay?"
"Yeah. Please do next time."
"Well, you don't have to make it sound like I'm that much of a burden."
Mark chuckled.
"You kind of are one right now."
"Oh really? Am I that heavy?"
"No..." Mark answered as he straightened up. "You're lighter than I thought you would be-"
Her grip over his shoulders tightened.
'Shit...' He cursed internally.
"Oh, really? Do I look heavy?"
Mark pressed his lips together, something that she couldn't see.
He simply chuckled in response.
"Alright. Let's get going..." Mark said as he stepped forward.
THUMP-
His foot hit the ground with great strength to keep himself from collapsing.
"Haha..." Elisa chuckled.
The instant Mark had stepped forward, she had put all her weight forward, disturbing his balance.
"Stop that."
"If you keep swaying like this, I might as well have been walking. Lousy work for a Knight."
"I feel more like a horse than a Knight right now..."
Elisa laughed for a bit, and the two remained silent for a while.
The Moonlit Feline walked by Mark's side. Its eyes only left them sporadically.
Elisa squirmed around some more until she was comfortable.
She was comfortable, but she still couldn't sleep.
If anything, it felt worse than before.
"Didn't you have wings?" Elisa asked suddenly.
"Yeah, I do."
"Then...? Did you lose them against...?"
"No. It's just..." His right hand let go of Elisa's thigh and moved forward. He stared at the hand for a bit. "I feel like I can control my body better now."
Elisa didn't really listen.
Instead, she was focusing, determined not to shudder once that hand comes into contact with her thigh once more.
"You're not wearing your armor." Mark noted.
'Did he notice? Did he notice?? Is that why he's asking??'
"Of... Of course not. I'm not sleeping in armor. Duh."
"Right..."
Slowly but surely, Elisa felt more comfortable.
Slowly but surely, she started feeling sleepy.
Perhaps because she didn't need to walk.
Perhaps because the rocking was making it easier.
Still, her sleepy eyes wandered.
The white scales that covered his body. How strange. White scales. She had never seen any.
The sharp horns that extended from his skull.
Elisa felt like reaching forward and grabbing them.
She stopped herself though.
The Princess glanced below.
At the hands that were in contact with her thighs.
Brutish hands.
Hands that could extend claws.
She wondered if she had the speed to move away in time if he were to extend his claws.
Elisa wasn't sure, but she was surprised by how gentle the pressure exerted by those hands was.
After all, again and again, she had seen him crack skulls using those hands.
Her hands let go of his shoulders.
She was finally falling asleep.
