"We're not the only ones"
Eugene looked over the cliff.
One by one, the members from the entourage emerged from the trees on the opposite side of the cliff along the river's shore.
"Hey guys!" Ann yelled, waving her hands above her head and then pointed down the cliff.
"We found the river!"
"We can see that!" Noah yelled back, dropping the water bags on his shoulder.
Soon Raeden, Oliver, and Jade came out with a few more water bags along with the Tullus mercenaries and Kalan followed by Ezra.
"I guess the water problem is solved" Ann gushed and turned towards Eugene who had collapsed on the ground.
He was exhausted, thirsty, and hungry from running nonstop through the forest chasing after Ann, who in turn was chasing after a bird.
There were no birds in the sky, on the trees, or even on the ground. It was just the two of them. Though he wanted to pry into the imaginary bird situation Eugene kept his mouth shut. He was too tired to say anything.
"Why are you tired? Aren't you a beastmen?" Ann extended her hand for Eugene and pulled him up.
Beastmen have extraordinary stamina compared to humans owing to their physical stature. It seemed unnatural for him to be tired after only running for a short while.
"Beastmen get tired too you know"
Eugene dusted the dirt on his pants and stood beside Ann watching their friends help the Tullus men fill the water bags. He wondered how they located the river.
While Ann and Eugene ran into the unknown following a bird, Raeden had noticed a distinctive pattern on one of the trees.
There was a crescent moon neatly carved on its bark.
Raeden recognized seeing the pattern a few hours earlier and surmised that they were going around a particular area in circles.
After a quick brainstorming session, they had located the river only to be beaten to it by two of their colleagues who had disappeared with a word.
"Were we running over a mountain?" Ann asked, stretching his hands. She was preparing herself for the trip down to join the rest of the group.
"Isn't that obvious?"
Eugene cautiously took a step near the cliff. The water looked clear without the infestations of dangerous predators. It would approximately be a sixty feet fall if they were to jump down.
Meaning it would be safe if he were to dive down for a swim from the cliff.
'Pfft.... dive down?'
Eugene dismissed the ridiculous thought that occurred to him. Being around Ann for most of the day had corrupted his sane mind.
Only a crazy person would jump from such high altitudes out of their own judgment unless their lives were threatened.
"Let's go back" Ann tugged Eugene's sleeve, snapping him from his strange train of thought.
Though Ann said they will return, she did not budge an inch from the cliff. And what was more was that she had a tight grip on his sleeve.
"!"
Eugene felt a chill run down his spine.
"Don't tell me..." He trembled.
The smile on her face was all the affirmation he needed.
"I'm not going to jump down! Are you crazy?" Eugene panicked, trying to run back.
But due to the overwhelming strength of his opponent, it was no different from an innocent small rabbit caught in the claws of a playful fox.
"There's nothing crazy about jumping off a cliff, Eugene. We've all been there... at a precipice at one point in our life... or lives"
Ann got behind Eugene placing her hands on his shoulders, blocking his way of escape.
"Come on. Where else would you be able to try this?"
She started convincing him with her words,
"Even the others seem excited. Don't they look excited too?"
It was like the devil was whispering in his ear.
Eugene felt the hair on his neck standstill as she slowly took his hand and waved for the people near the river.
"Wave Eugene. Wave"
Meanwhile, on the shores of Eldom river, Noah and Oliver were refilling the water bags required for transport when they noticed something suspicious at the top of the mountain.
"What are they doing?" Noah muttered, narrowing his eyes on them.
Jade and Raeden passed the filled water bag to one of the Tullus men and peered at the cliff.
Instinctively they realized what was about to happen.
"Oh no..." Jade's eyes widened as he stood beside the twins.
"This is gonna be fun" Oliver smirked.
Hearing his exclamation, everyone in the entourage froze and shifted their attention towards the cliff following his line of sight.
Suddenly Eugene and Ann started waving their hands towards them.
If they knew anything from experience about the two being together alone. It was a bad sign. Especially for Eugene.
"They're gonna jump down..." Raeden said without taking his eyes off of the duo, triggering a response from Jade.
"Don't jump down!" He yelled.
The Tullus mercenaries exchanged glances with each other. Since the start of the journey, they have been entertained by the Nero mercenaries in one way or the other.
Setting fire to people through food, chasing each other like cat and mouse, a friendship that transcends species... The show went on.
Humor, tragedy, love, horror... they've seen it all. And now was the long-awaited action sequence they were looking forward to.
Along the way, they discreetly started placing bets on them without the knowledge of Chief Gallahan, who was also spectating the jump.
"Two silvers. They are going to jump"
"One gold. They won't"
"Three silver. Jump"
"Jump jump jump jump..."
The men started chanting.
It was then they noticed an ominous aura looming around them.
They flinched realizing who it was and paved a way for the gentlemen to pass through before scattering away.
"Sir..." Ezra held back his words.
Unlike his master, Ezra was still skeptical.
He too had been witnessing crazy things he had never expected. It was nothing like what he had been told.
He once heard that there were seven people in the world who look alike.
They might simply have the wrong person. A doppelganger.
However, what mattered was the opinions of his master.
Ezra stiffened when he noticed the smile on his master's face.
"Ha..." Kalan's eyes curved as he grinned.
Kalan and Jade were standing side by side expressing two different reactions to the scenario. One was amused while the other was pissed off.
Meanwhile, Ann was on the verge of brainwashing Eugene. She could've just kicked him like she usually does to Clive. But couldn't bring herself to scare Eugene anymore than she already has.
'I can never hurt my baby'
Eugene has to choose on his own violation. At least he should think it was his own decision.
To her surprise, she heard Jade shout 'jump'.
Since the wind was blowing when he spoke. His words were unclear to the recipients and were open to interpretation.
"You want us to jump down?" Ann shouted back at Jade.
"Why would they want us to jump down?"
Eugene frowned. Considering Jade's rational mind, he would never advise plunging into danger especially from a cliff.
"How would I know? But it'll be fun. So for once in our lives, we'll listen to Jade" Ann shrugged.
"Besides it will be faster this way..." She pointed to the river and then back at the forest.
"Than that. We were lucky enough for not running into any monsters"
Now that she was explaining it did make sense. Logically it would save time to jump into the river rather than climbing down the mountain.
'That does make a bit of sense. No!... what am I thinking" Eugene contemplated.
Even if they were to climb down and circle the mountain. It would take hours to reach the camp without being lost.
His stomach started to grumble.
He was hungry, not having eaten anything since breakfast. If they were to reach the camp late the food would have gone cold which was something he hated.
"Ok. We'll jump down!"
Ann took a few steps back while pulling a confused Eugene by the collar.
"Don't jump, you idiots!" Jade's refute went unheard as the wind started blowing again. The mountain was too high to hear anything.
By the time Eugene realized they were pacing themselves for the fall. It was too late.
"Wait, we're not really jumping down, are we?"
"Take my hand Eugene"
"No. I'm not. I'm gonna jump!"
"Take my hand!"
Ann took Eugene's hands and ran towards the cliff.
Together they leaped off hand in hand, screaming the whole way down.
"Jeronimo!"
"AAAH!"
Everyone watched in slow motion as Ann and Eugene plunged down from the cliff and disappear into the river.
*SPLASH*
There was a moment of silence in the atmosphere as they stared at the water with bated breaths. Not a single person blinked in the fear of missing anything.
"Why aren't they coming up?"
Whispers rose among the Tullus mercenaries.
Kalan clenched his fists. His heart was starting to beat fast.
Just as he was about to step forward, Eugene sprung up from the depths of the water yelling,
"Again!"
"Did you see that? Did you see that... Oh!"
He excitedly shouted before stiffening under the intense stares.
"Yup. I think they saw that" Ann laughed, appearing next to him. She was happy to see him enjoy himself without any restraints.
"Ahem... I mean. That was reckless"
A wave of sighs and whispers was heard from the shore on seeing her.
Will collapsed to the ground holding his heart while some of the men cried from losing their money on the bet.
Although they should have known better they didn't expect them to jump.
Ann swam towards the shore followed by an embarrassed Eugene. Her tight clothes were sticking to her skin from being soaked from head to toe.
When Ann reached the shore, Raeden covered her with his jacket and helped her walk through the slippery mud.
"Thanks, Raeden"
"Are you out of your mind?" Jade asked as veins started popping on his forehead.
"Ease up"
Ann said with a satisfied smug and went towards the carriages.
"This ain't my first cliff"
"?"
Jade stared at her in confusion.
"Don't ask. It only gets worse"
Eugene shook his head following after her.
Later that night, the Nero mercenaries grouped together as usual waiting for dinner to be served.
"You were reckless!" Eugene complained, wiping his hair with a dry towel.
"Says the guy who yelled 'again' like an over excited teenager" Ann rolled her eyes.
She couldn't understand why he was being fussy when he thoroughly enjoyed jumping into the water like any kid.
Most of all, she did not want to be lectured for the second time in a day.
After they safely made it to the shore both Eugene and Ann had an earful from Jade and Chief Gallahan for acting immature and irresponsible.
It would have been fatal if either of them got hurt in the forest as the nearest settlement was a week away.
Fortunately, they were saved when Kalan interfered and diffused the situation in their favor.
'It is always good to have friends in authority' Ann wanted to thank Kalan for his help.
"You were in the water for a long time" Raeden said, passing a cup of hot coffee to her.
"We saw a glowing fish at the bottom. It was green. We went to take a closer look. And you..." She raised her eyebrows at Jade.
"I didn't say anything" Jade scoffed and turned away.
"Stop staring at me with that judgy face. It's been almost a week since I've had a proper bath. When I see water. I jump"
"Can't deny that" Noah and Oliver accepted Ann's reasoning.
For some reason, it was unsettling to see them taking glances at each other. Ann could feel a bad premonition.
"Spill the beans. I know when you are plotting something" She asked, doubtful of their sudden change in attitude.
The twins took glances at each other for one last time. They held out a gift wrapped in blue and whispered,
"Happy birthday Ann!"
"Oh! thank you..."
Ann passed the cup back to Raeden and received the gift in her hands. She touched the sides of the gift so as to guess the object before opening it.
Only a few hours were left for the day to end. Though she told them not to make a fuss. It was pleasant to see a surprise gift. It meant that they cared.
"From preliminary analysis... a book?"
"Open it!" Noah encouraged her.
"It is a book"
Ann tore the wrapper excitedly. In an instant, her face twisted after reading the title.
"We thought it might suit you" Oliver smirked, only to have a book thrown at his face.
"Didn't you say you wanted something helpful? This is the most useful gift you would've ever receiv-... Don't... don't throw the pot?!" Noah shrieked, snatching the book from his brother's hands to use as a shield to protect himself.
"What did you get her?"
Jade took the book from Noah's hands and read out the title.
"Basic cooking for dummies... pfft!"
"I'm going for a walk"
Ann stood up and headed towards the forest.
"Hey! wild wyverns roam at night looking for prey"
Noah tried to stop her.
Under different circumstances, this would be another casual event for them. That day was different from others.
The moons were almost full.
"If I run into a wild wyvern. It better run!" Ann screamed as she disappeared into the forest.
"And don't follow me!"
Raeden glared at the twins.
"Really guys?"
"We mean peace"
If any of them were to follow after her, it would only increase Ann's anger. They had no voice but to wait patiently until she returned.
At that moment, they didn't realize it was going to be a long night.