29 | The Last Message

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"I was always told to be grateful that the Emperor and Empress had chosen me to become their heir but it never felt right." Harumi ended her story and Lloyd nodded.

"I get that. I mean if I just lost my parents and the ones that took me in were like that then I would prefer to be back in an orphanage." He agreed.

"I have you now, Greenie. Along with the team and that I am grateful for." Harumi smiled before taking a look around. "Where did the wolf go?"

"Over there!" Lloyd pointed towards a cluster of rocks where he spotted the wolf asleep on top of one. "I guess it got bored."

They ran over to the wolf and joined it to take a break and eat some breakfast.

"It wouldn't be nice to keep calling him 'wolf' though." Harumi pondered as she took a bite into the carrot in her hand.

"You ought to have a real name." Lloyd patted its head before taking a sip of water. "How about Rover?"

The wolf whined before looking away which they understood that he didn't like it.

"Uh, don't like that, huh?" Lloyd continued thinking of names.

"How about Buster?" Harumi suggested and the wolf glared at her.

"Buddy? No, those don't fit."

"What about Red? Get it? Because of this." She pointed towards her cheeks which meant she got the name from the marks on the wolfs face.

The wolf barked in response which made Harumi giggle. She got up and patted his head.

"We're making progress, Red." Lloyd agreed as they set forth to continue their journey to the mech. Red kept sniffing the air for something while they walked which made the two look at each other.

A beeping noise echoed from the backpack and Harumi took out the tracker.

"The mech's signal. It's getting stronger!" She reported in excitement. It was a good sign since it meant they were getting closer. "This way!"

The ran off into the distance and straight into the fog. The cold was not as bad in the morning but it was still enough to make them chilly. They reached a path between two mountains once more as Harumi followed the tracker.

"We're getting closer, Lloyd." She informed him.

Red whined and started barking while they walked further. It now stopped its tracks which made the two pass him.

"What's the matter?" Lloyd asked from in front of Red. It only responded with whines before it sat down on the snow. "Look, we've got to go this way. Are you coming or not?"

"Come on, please?" Harumi pleaded since Red had refused to move an inch. The wolf barked and continued following them through the snow.

The fog got thicker but they had managed to find their way through it with the tracker. They passed a stone archway before they heard a cracking sound. Red started barking to get their attention which made the couple turn around.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked and the wolf pointed to its feet where it had stepped on something.

"Bones?" Harumi gasped as she looked around to find the snow covered in bones. "What happened here?"

A shadow flew in front of them which made the trio jump in surprise.

"What was that?" Harumi yelped while covering her head. A bird like creature flew in from behind them which they had manage to dodge before they got hurt.

"That is not an ordinary bird." Lloyd pointed out as he watched it fly in the sky. It was 10 times the size of your regular birds which meant they could end up like the creatures that passed by that place before them.

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