TBATE-ALLIANCE

Chapter 2

Arthur Leywin POV

We all turned toward the direction of the voice, quickly taking defensive positions. Gramps activated his second phase as Aya stood protectively next to him. We all pointed our weapons toward the voice, prepared for anything.

It was hard to see anything as the area around us was dark. It was a new moon tonight, giving us no ambient light. Seris must've picked this night perfectly. I tensed when I heard the sound of footsteps of someone walking closer. I ignited despair on fire to give us some light and raised it like a torch.

"Please extinguish the flames, Arthur Leywin," The voice said as they walked into the light. I relaxed a little, recognizing Cylrit. Cylrit gestured to me nonchalantly, "You're giving away our position. The whole point of the meeting tonight was to stay incognito."

I suddenly felt like an idiot since I could've given away our position to the enemy. I nodded and quickly extinguished the flames. I stood straight and relaxed, getting out of my defensive stance, and gestured to Cylrit, "Gramps, Aya, this is Cylrit. He is Scythe Seris' retainer."

Everyone visibly relaxed and lowered their weapons. Gramps dismissed his second phase, but Aya remained close to him, seeming to remain physically tense.

"We've come as requested. Now, where is this Seris?" Aya asked bluntly, sounding a little rude.

Cylrit chuckled in amusement, "She is close. We will walk the rest of the way to her. Please, follow me."

"Why?" Aya immediately questioned, with wariness in her tone. "Why isn't she here? You could be leading us into a trap."

Cylrit clasped his hands to the small of his back and nodded, "This is true, and I understand your hesitancy. However, I assure you we have no such intention. The reason for us meeting you here was so I could confirm you weren't followed. Now, we shall meet in a more private setting."

Aya looked like she was about to say something, but Gramps raised his hand and motioned for her to stop. Gramps looked at Cylrit and said, "Please take us to this Seris. I'm intrigued to hear what she has to say."

Cylrit nodded and turned around. He began to walk into the forest, and we immediately followed him. My eyes flicked to Aya, and I noticed she continued to remain close to Gramps, not letting him get too far away from her.

'Regis,' I said.

'What is it?' Regis responded.

'I want you to stay in Gramps' shadow.' I said.

'Ooooo, that way, I can be closer to Aya. Good idea,' Regis said lewdly.

I could feel Sylvie roll her eyes through our mental connection, 'I will stab you, you horny wolf.'

'Try it, you gecko!' Regis laughed.

'Stop it!' I snapped irritatingly. I could feel Sylvie and Regis grow surprised at my sudden snap. 'Regis, please,' I said almost pleadingly. Stay in his shadow and protect him.

'Yeah, you got it, Princess,' Regis said.

I felt Regis leave my core and watched as a shadow pooled beneath me. The shadow subtly moved across the ground into Gramps' shadow.

'Regis, no matter what, I want you to stay with him. Protect him and ensure he gets to safety should things go bad,' I said mentally.

'Don't worry, Princess. I'll keep him safe,' Regis reassured.

We continued to walk through the dark forest area following Cylrit. The area was quiet except for our footfalls and the leaves rustling in the wind. I noticed Aya was still on edge, more than anyone else, with her eyes darting all around us.