Amid the trees withered by cold and a ground covered in dried flowers, the ghost rider Richard and the elf Lucian stood dumbfounded, staring at Ebony's half-bare legs.
"Hey, stop staring already! I won, damn it!" the blonde girl shouted as she covered herself with her hands to stop them from looking at her underwear.
"What?! No, this isn't fair, that's cheating! You little pervert!" the ghost rider yelled, frowning as he turned his gaze away to avoid looking at Ebony.
"That was highly inappropriate…" Lucian commented, then coughed awkwardly, and like his enemy, he also turned his head away to avoid looking at the blonde.
"Screw you both! I just… I… I was hot! I was just hot and pulled my dress too hard, that's all!" Ebony shouted while holding the lower part of her dress, now nothing more than a torn piece of fabric.
"You truly are terrifying, miss…" the rider replied, then crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
"Whatever… I won, now I deserve to take your life!" Ebony pointed at the undead, demanding he honor the duel.
"..." The rider turned his back on Ebony, picked up his sword, and slowly began walking away from the place.
"Hey, hey, hey, what the hell?! You owe me your damn life! Get back here!" The blonde stopped worrying about her lack of clothing and started running after the rider.
"(Shit, shit, shit! I didn't think I'd lose! I was planning to kill her in that last round with my magic, but I see she decided to cheat too! Damn it!)" Richard thought as he ran through the forest, trying to leave the girl behind.
But contrary to his wishes, the young blonde had far more stamina than her slender build suggested. She couldn't catch Richard, but she could keep up with him.
"(You scared the hell out of me, bastard! Just wait until I catch you, old man!)" Ebony thought as she kept pace with the rider.
And so began a chase between the ghost rider and the young healer, proudly flashing her underwear to every nocturnal creature in the forest.
Meanwhile, Lucian didn't know what to do other than hoist his other companion onto his shoulder. They had survived a banshee's attack and had even won a duel against a death rider.
The elf started walking back toward where the campfire had been, trying to process everything that had happened. He eventually began laughing to himself, hearing Ebony's distant shouting as she continued chasing the undead.
.
.
.
Hours passed, and the sun began to rise. In the middle of the forest, Lucian stood watch over Cristofer, who was still asleep.
Beside him stood the ghost rider, positioned in front of Ebony, guarding her as she snored peacefully.
"So… did you come to some kind of agreement?" Lucian asked the uncomfortable rider.
"Since I don't want to stop existing, and she's incapable of ending my existence anyway… we agreed that as long as you remain in this hexagon, I must protect you," Richard said as he crossed his arms.
"That's a pretty good deal. She could've carried you around in her pocket or something," Lucian said, trying to normalize the presence of one of the most powerful beings he had ever seen.
"Don't give her ideas, kid…" the rider sounded annoyed, not because he had lost, but because he had fallen into such a trap. "To be honest, I didn't plan on letting you live regardless of the duel's outcome… but your wife is peculiar…"
Lucian raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, I've seen hundreds of lives in this forest. Most of them freeze from my mere presence… but your girl is different. I'm curious how far she'll go," the rider said, then looked up at the blue sky.
"It's time… Listen, kid, I'll keep my word. As long as you're in this hexagon, you'll be under my protection. But don't abuse it. Even for me, there are places I don't wish to visit…" the undead said before slowly fading away.
The undead were a race unto themselves, one that couldn't exist during the day and had difficulty surviving because of it. This was why undead were classified as "diurnal," "nocturnal," and "complete."
Watching the rider disappear, Lucian let out a sigh, then felt a presence walking through the flower field he had summoned to protect his companions.
"So, you're still alive," Veronica said as she arrived in a hurry.
"I see you rushed here, thanks…" the elf said before standing up and kicking Ebony to wake her.
"Ah… five more minutes—" Ebony was interrupted when water from Lucian's canteen splashed directly onto her face.
"None of that. Wake up already, we need to make use of every hour of daylight," Lucian replied with a faint smile, something that seemed to irritate Veronica.
"You bastard! What's your problem?! I got us the best bodyguard ever so we could sleep peacefully!" the blonde shouted, her hair soaked as she stood up angrily.
"Bodyguard?" Veronica asked, twitching her cat ears.
"It's nothing… let's just get out of here already," Lucian said before kicking Cristofer to wake him up.
The young human still had ruptured eardrums, so he had to drink a healing potion Ebony handed him.
With the group ready, they began walking, following Veronica's directions. Along the way, they ate bread Veronica had brought from the inn.
"Hey, this… was it made by that bony receptionist?" Cristofer asked suspiciously as he looked at the food.
"No, of course not. That inn has other employees besides the receptionist, and not all of them are undead…" Veronica replied, quickening her pace to walk closer to the group. "I actually worked there for a few days, years ago…"
Hearing this, Lucian was surprised. He had known the cat-woman for decades, and she wasn't someone who opened up easily.
But in the heart of the wild woman, that group had passed their first unspoken test of trust: being hard to kill. She had imposed that rule on herself before opening up again, so she wouldn't lose another loved one.
"Hey, cat…" Ebony called out, earning a cold look from Veronica. But when their eyes met, the blonde smiled faintly. "Thanks for the food!"