"Dove on your back, Wolf in my arms—let's move out."
Hunter shifted the sleeping woman nestled on his back, getting ready to depart.
"Looks like your mentee has a lot going on," Alpha remarked, glancing at Dove.
"Nah, it's probably just a little tantrum," Hunter defended, breathing heavily as he spoke.
Alpha nodded in response, "Sure."
But then, as Alpha directed his gaze at the creature in his grasp...
Her mouth opened wide.
With a dull thud, the body thumped down onto the ground as Alpha stepped back toward Hunter.
He drew a small knife from Hunter's back pocket, pointing the blade toward the earth, his demeanour not suggesting any intent to attack.
"Take me to Rum," the creature commanded.
"Rum?"
"An animal and a drunkard," Hunter chuckled, "Beautiful."
Alpha shot him a look, his expression unchanging but unmistakable disgust evident. "Please, don't smirk ever again."
The creature lunged toward a tree, fixating on the soil until its eyes ignited with a fierce red glow, pulling up dirt, roots, flowers, and leaves in a hefty grasp.
"Move, Hunter!."
She didn't throw it at them as they had expected, or at least not in the way Hunter had expected.
Alpha knew why the tree was her main goal. The people of nature were the only ones who performed such bizarre things.
Absorbing the tree without chewing would give them powerful dreams, temporarily, but long enough to permanently destroy... Everything.
He wouldn't let her absorb the tree, if she got the dream whatever happened there, happens in the real world.
His heart skipped a beat.
But none of the people of nature still existed.
He threw the knife to Hunter, running towards him and getting Dove off his back.
"Hunter!"
Hunter tilted his neck as it slowly snapped, a heavy sound following the movement.
He crouched down, watching the animal's feet as she groaned, now screaming at the top of her lungs, "Take me to the palace, to Rum!"
It sounded like a plea.
Hunter reached into his pockets, sliding a pendant towards her feet, the moon pendant.
She looked down, picking it up and facing his direction, assuming a position to throw it right at him.
But it blew up.
Her body leaned to caress the floor, head diving in first, but Alpha caught her right in time.
"Just a sleeping blast?!, You could've knocked her out and made our work easier, "Alpha said, not looking so happy, though he never actually did.
"C'mon. What's your plan?, Killing her?"
He grabbed the animal's body, "Yes, I wish to kill her."
Hunter sighed, "She may be the last of her kind or even the first. And she kept saying something about the palace"
"Then we make sure her kind goes extinct. I hate trouble.
"But you also hate mysteries, don't you?".
Alpha carried her bridal style, pushing his hair to the side quite violently. "Let's head to the palace, and please don't get all excited."
Hunter screeched, hugging him as he kept Dove on his back, "And we ask for Rum too!"
"Why would we do that Rum thing?"
Hunter whined, "It might be a code name... or if there's real Rum, you know what we do.
Alpha looked at him and sighed.
----------
The outside world felt less familiar to Hunter than it did to Alpha, even if it might seem the other way around to onlookers.
Hunter was far too sociable for his own good.
Leaning in closer, Hunter whispered in Alpha's ear, "We're probably giving off a weird vibe, lugging these girls around like this."
With a resigned sigh, Alpha glanced at the nearby shops as they strolled along. "What worries me is that someone here might recognise them."
Curious eyes followed their every move, with whispers circulating about the guy sporting green hair and the oddity of the brown-haired companion who chose not to wear his jacket.
"He's draping it over his shoulders like he's some big shot!"
"Does he really think that makes him look cool?"
Hunter dramatically touched his cheek, pretending to wipe away invisible tears.
" Alpha, they're so cruel! You have to help me!"
Alpha let out another sigh, stretching his hand just enough to avoid disturbing the animal nestled in his arms.
"And what would you have me say to them?"
Hunter picked up his pace, the majestic palace coming into view. "Never mind! Everyone's just so mean!"
Alpha, used to this routine by now, simply followed him.
"Hey, thanks for having my back out there," Rum said, his eyes fluttering playfully. "I love you, dude!"
"Ew, gross, never say that again," Abdo replied, scrunching his face in mock disgust.
He tossed him a towel along with some clothes, which Rum snagged deftly, throwing in a cheeky wink.
"You might want to cut that out," Abdo warned, a playful seriousness in his tone. "Or I chase you out".
"Alright, dude, just relax a bit."
As Abdo strolled toward the shelves, he picked up a book and added, "Take your antics somewhere else, not in my library."
Rum crossed his legs and dramatically placed a hand on his forehead, adopting a mock salute. "Dude, Yes dude!"
The sudden sound of footsteps racing toward the library grabbed Rum's attention, pulling him from the moment.
"Seriously, these palace folks are always so noisy."
A Knight burst through the door, declaring, "Rum, Sir, there are two men here who insist on seeing you. They say it's urgent."
"Men? Tell them you didn't see me," Rum replied, already rising from his seat.
The Knight raised two fingers, "Actually, the two men are accompanied by two women."
Rum sprang to his feet, heading eagerly for the door. "Now that's more like it!"
"Lead me there, " he said.
The Knight took Rum out to the balcony, where two men sat, legs spread, arms wide, with two girls next to them unconscious.
"Whoa! "
Rum moved closer, his confusion evident. "It's you! Hand-in-mouth!"
He clasped her hand, attempting to pull her up.
That's when he spotted them.
Turning left, he came face-to-face with Hunter, his grin becoming so broad it was almost painful to behold.
"Um..." Rum began, "You know, Hand-in-mouth doesn't have claw-like fingers."
With a swift motion, he drew a gun and aimed it at Hunter's face.
"Care to explain?"
Hunter glanced at the gun and then leaned back in his seat, a relaxed expression crossing his face. "That's how we encountered her."
Rum tilted his head, casually spinning the gun in his hand. "You might be telling the truth, but..." he chuckled. "I really wanna kill you".
Hunter stayed silent, contemplating the man's state of mind. Perhaps his name was Rum because he indulged a bit too much.
Rum stood up, releasing the creature's hand.
"Let's keep this professional, shall we?"
He gestured toward the door, encouraging them to follow. "Get your friend and the girls; we'll need them all."
Alpha was the first to rise and head for the exit.
"You trust him?" Hunter inquired.
"No, " he said, "But we're not getting anywhere with this stupid back and forth.
"We need to find out what's wrong with Dove and apparently, the animal too".
Hunter ruffled his hair, "What if he doesn't have the answers?"
"Then we kill him".
"WELCOME TO ABDO'S LIB-"
A book landed on his face mid-sentence, making him stammer back till he hit a shelf.
A young man, probably in his twenties, emerged from the counter. Black puffy hair, sorcerer-like clothes and black eyes.
He went closer to Alpha and Hunter, picking up the book he had previously thrown.
"Come, " he told them, "Just keep quiet".
Rum rubbed his nose, "That's his love language".
Alpha looked at the counter, "So this is the palace library?"
Abdo nodded, "Ye-"
"No!", Rum interrupted. "This is Abdo's library!".
He wrapped an arm over Alpha's shoulders, "Take a look at the assortment. See how there's only chairs and tables in this corridor, no shelves, no nothing".
"Then look at those doors with a specific colour on each one, open those doors and you'll see books of that colour, arranged into different genres. Notice how here it's brown, but when you walk into those rooms, it's white," he whispered to his ear, "That's Abdo's work.
Alpha pressed his hand to his face, pushing him as far as he could.
"Personal space".
Abdo had since crouched next to the girls, inspecting them. "This is why you brought them, right?" He questioned Rum.
Rum nodded, " I knew you would figure it out".
Abdo sighed, "There's only one explanation".
"The five dreams... they're here".