Young Writers Society

Amy finally came out of her hiding place behind Ari and inched forward to take a look at the gifts. Eagerly, she started taking the weapons out of the bag and inspecting them with a small, sleepy grin.

James's expression didn't change much and he sighed again. "Still doesn't answer why you're here."

She sniffed. "Because I'm bored and had nothing better to do. Besides, you're a funny group, it's entertaining. Don't act like you couldn't use some extra hands anyways. She's young and inexperienced, he's naïve, and you, Tiberius James, have a thousand gold pieces on your head. The werewolf is helpful but she's not a fighter and you're liable to get your hands tied. That's aside from the fact that you've also posed off the thieves on top of everything else. Another fighter would be beneficial for you. Besides, there's safety in numbers."

James glanced back at Amy and Ari at their mention.

Her assessment of the group was one that he was already aware of, but if he was reading between the lines correctly, it sounded like she wanted to stay with them to help. And, for some bizarre reason, she'd grown to like them, despite her original intentions when she ran into them. Either she was really just that lonely, or she'd grown to trust them in the very short time they spent together with her as their captive of all things.

It certainly wasn't a conventional way to welcome her into the group with their brief history, but maybe she really was just that desperate for companionship, and somehow found them to be less repulsive than she made it seem on the outside.

He looked at her with a critical gaze, sizing her up as he considered the consequences of turning her away or welcoming her in. If she was playing them, she'd only be a liability, but if she was being honest, her skillset would be of use. She'd proven herself a capable fighter in their skirmish with the thieves, especially with them being so wildly outnumbered.

That still didn't mean he liked her, or that he really trusted her. But there was a suspecting feeling crawling under his skin that if he said no she'd stay anyway, or he'd only make an enemy out of her again. So he sighed, half-rolling his eyes.

"Well if you like us that much," he replied dryly, "Then fine. But I'm going back to sleep."

"I don't like you," she clarified instantly. "I'm merely bored and your presence remedies that. There's a very distinct difference."

"Hell of a thing to join two wanted men and a werewolf out of boredom, but whatever makes you feel better," James spouted back, voice laced with a sarcastic sass as he sat back down on the ground where he'd been sleeping before.

"Hell of a thing to join two wanted men - one of which looks homeless thanks to the abhorrent facial hair, I might add - and a werewolf for any reason pertaining to 'liking,'" she retorted sharply.

James brushed his beard with one hand, looking down at it. It seemed like no matter what he did with his hair, he was always receiving insults for it. He wondered for a moment, if people just grabbed for it as an easy insult - which was what he'd grown to believe - but for a split second, he wondered if he really did look terrible no matter what.

He half-rolled his eyes. "I agree with you."

She unsaddled her horse and strode past Ari to put the saddle down. "You should cut down on the facial hair, too. It doesn't suit you," she informed him matter-of-factly as she plopped it onto the ground.

Ari touched his mustache self-consciously. Was she right? Did it really look that bad? He'd just wanted to be like James and it looked so good on him.

Amy shot an angry pout at Tasha before looking over to Ari and scurrying over to him on all fours in wolf form, then popping up in human form beside him and giving him a hug.

"I think you look really handsome," she said quietly. "Tasha's just grumpy. Don't listen to her."

He smiled and put an arm around her. "You like the mustache?"

Tasha grunted at the grumpy comment but didn't argue as she untacked her horse.

James laid back down in the grass as Tasha got settled and the 'couple' chatted.

Amy smiled shyly and nodded. "Yeah. It's cute."

"Then I'll keep it!" he said, raising his fist in the air to emphasize his point and grinned. Ursuku watched Wolfsbane from the corner of camp and the dog stared back, the two of them engaged in some animalistic communication or perhaps even contest.

Tasha finished with her horse and tethered the beast before sitting down next to the fire in silence.

As Tasha got settled, the group felt the pull of sleep once again. Ardeshir finished his post and woke up Amy to take the next watch as the rest of them slept into the night.

Amy poked at her face with her fingers to keep herself awake as she sat by the pile of weapons and the fire. She couldn't say much for Tasha, but she was glad that she'd found Ari and James when she did. If she hadn't, things would've turned out much different. Probably with her dead, as Tasha's... prize or something. It wasn't something she wanted to give much thought to, but in any case, she was glad to be alive, and that was something to be thankful for.

She poked at one of the daggers lying on the ground and lifted it up to look at it in the light. From a certain angle, she could see a dim outline of her reflection in its blade. The firelight flickered and danced, making the shadows cast of her face change a little here and there.

She couldn't really tell, but she was pretty sure she looked like a mess. After about a week of running through the forest, she was starting to miss getting comfortable in the town she'd found refuge at. Even though she was in good company, she missed being surrounded by people. It didn't sound like James would ever take them back into town though, and that was a disappointing thought.

As she spun the dagger around carefully in one hand, her head perked up when she heard something shuffle further back in the wood. Instinctively, she set the dagger down and shifted into her wolf form, letter her ears perk up and swivel as she sniffed the air. As soon as she did so, she could see Ursuku and the wolf heard something too.

So it wasn't just her.

She stuck her nose to the ground and felt a chill run down her spine.

It smelled like... some kind of animal. A monkey? Monkeys plural? Panic made her fur stick up and she backed up, accidentally bumping into Ari.

"Uh... guys, I think there's something in the forest," she said, not sure if she should be loud or quiet, and ending up somewhere in-between.

James got up almost immediately, but he was bleary-eyed. "What?" he asked.

"Something's coming-" she started to say, before freezing when she heard the the deep chanting of baboons as they broke in through the trees, dashing towards them. She let out a sharp whimper and nudged Ari roughly. "WAKE UP!"

James was already on his feet with his sword in hand. "Run!" he shouted.

Tasha was on her feet instantly, drawing her sword before she registered the band of creatures that was rushing out of the woods towards them. They had long forelimbs and short legs, with long, prehensile tails and nasty teeth dripping with thick saliva.

Unnaturally thick saliva. That, paired with the somewhat mottled hue of their coat, and their more extended gait all pointed towards one very specific thing: they weren't normal baboons. These were acidic ones.

"Don't use metal weapons and don't get bit!" she yelled as she grabbed her horse and swung onto its back, wheeling it around. "Their saliva's acidic!"

Acidic? Gods. Of course it was.

James hurried into the forest and after Amy and Ari, glancing back only to view the baboons'es foaming mouths once, which was enough to put the fear of getting burned and mauled to death in him as he fled on light feet.