𝐀 𝐊𝐎𝐀𝐋𝐀'𝐒 𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 ── ( ray )

Chapter 17: The Forest Path

"Bet you can't catch me, Thoma! Ha ha ha!"

"As if! I'll catch you for sure, Lani!"

Laughs and giggles of the kids filled the quiet underground tunnel as the huge troupe of children - including Sonju and Mujika - walked through the secret passageways.

It was the next day, everyone had rested as much as they could, and today, they were going on an adventure, as the younger ones called it. Sonju and Mujika walked at the very front of the group, leading the way, and the other kids tagged behind them, all chatting and just having fun. Emma held Rossi -  who was afraid of the dark - in her arms, while Ray and Y/n, as usual, walked alongside each other, so close that their shoulders bumped without them realizing.

"Don't worry, they won't find this path." reassured Sonju, grinning proudly as he referred to the pursuers, "I've connected the caves of dead vampire trees to make these paths."

"It's a complete maze down here, only Mujika and I knows the exits." he finished as he watched some of the squealing kids chase after dragonfly-like creatures in the underground passages.

"I still get lost, actually." Mujika admitted as she laughed lightheartedly.

"The demons from the farm don't know their way around this forest." Sonju went on, swinging his spear around carelessly, "You can go straight on this path to get out of the forest."

Y/n let out a yawn, earning a few chuckles from Sonju and Mujika. She blinked tiredly, and saw Alicia playing around with Jemima. She smiled to herself, at least the kids are having fun.

"Hey, you still tired?" Ray asked Y/n, slightly frowning.

She hesitantly nodded. "A bit. I'm fine though, don't worry about it."

Ray frowned harder. "You really have to take care of yourself, even more since that now we're not in the comfort of a house any more. Not to mention, we were going to tell the others about what Sonju told us later so you didn't have to -"

"Don't lecture her, Ray!" Emma chimed in, smiling, "I'm sure Y/n knows what she's doing."

Ray sent a glare to the girl, and Y/n giggled as Emma cowered away, pretending that she didn't exist. Sonju glanced at the adorable trio and grinned.

"Oh, these are the anemones that hold water!" Alicia suddenly exclaimed, lighting up at the sight of the familiar plants from before. "I'm surprised you know about that." Sonju commented. Everyone followed along, different conversation topics striking among them.

"Do you guys live in this forest?" Alicia asked Mujika, her wide, innocent eyes brimming.

"No," answered Mujika in her soft voice, "We're just travelling through here. We normally travel around, going from place to place."

"And why's that?" Dominic questioned, curiosity getting the better of him.

Sonju paused, his smile dropped. Y/n looked up at him, she noticed his obvious change in demeanour. The mysterious feeling radiating off of him was making Y/n feel uneasy.

"Why, indeed..." he vaguely muttered, before continuing on as if he hadn't said anything.

Weird, Y/n thought to herself.

At the very back, where the older kids walked slower than they others, Emma was busy telling Don, Gilda, Nat, Anna and Y/n about what Sonju had told Ray and her last night. Y/n knew all about it, but she listened on anyway.

"A promise between demons and humans..." Don muttered, after digesting all the information.

"A promise was mentioned in Mr. Minerva's morse code." Gilda voiced out.