The Betrayal of the Guardians

~ (35) The Enchanted Forest ~

The trio reached the girls as they prepared to leave their campsite. Thelma was busy talking to Nala when she noticed their presence. She froze for a second, her gaze stuck on the blond boy with scars covering half of his face.

Thelma frowned. "So you finally decided to show your face."

As Thelma gazed at him thoughtfully, Arisa could see uneasiness in Train's expression of indifference.

"Tough Boy." Thelma broke the few seconds of silence.

Arisa and Train glanced at her confused.

"Your new nickname." Thelma smiled. "Although I liked Broody Prince better, Tough Boy suits you more, thanks to that tough stare you're giving me."

Train stared at her, annoyed. Arisa chuckled quietly, glad that her friend didn't show any signs of pity at the sight of him. It was good to see Thelma continuing to be herself. After the terrible event of the night before, a lighter mood was needed to console their saddened hearts.

"Well, then," said Garoh calmly, "we should resume our trip to find that Sanctum if you people don't mind."

"Of course we don't mind." Thelma placed Forty-seven on her shoulder. "I was just playing with Tough—"

"Train." Train interrupted her.

"I prefer Tough Boy." She winked.

Arisa laughed at Train's annoyed reaction, which seemed to not affect Thelma.

After a minute of teasing each other, the team finally grabbed the few belongings they had and resumed their journey.

"Wait." Arisa glanced around. "Caris, aren't you joining us?"

Everyone turned around and saw the blue-black headed girl with fin-like ears, planted on the same spot where she had her meal.

She shyly glanced at them. "I-I'm sorry. I think, for your safety, it's better if I stay."

"Nope." Thelma approached her. "You're coming with us. We can't leave a little girl in the woods that might be hiding scary monsters."

Thelma held Caris' hand and helped her stand up.

"But you may be killed because of me," she said nervously.

"What do you mean?" Garoh frowned.

Nala quickly joined Thelma. "If you're worried about your people hunting us, don't worry, we'll take care of them."

"If those cowards show up," said Garoh, playing with his fists, "I'll be sure to teach them a lesson. Don't worry, you're part of the team now."

Caris stared at them for a few seconds before she followed Nala and Thelma and blended with the team.

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The team walked through the curious woods with their guard raised up. As they walked, the members talked to each other to ease the tension, wondering what kind of creatures the forest hid.

Throughout their journey, Arisa would drop her guard to admire her surroundings. The woods really looked like something from another world. Every tree that they encountered had different shapes. Some had an abstract form, others were either circular or zigzagged.

They sometimes passed several normal shaped trees, but most of the saplings they encountered had an atypical shape. The colors of the leaves were another wonder; they had all kinds of colors Arisa knew, from white to black.