𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑, luke castellan

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

Luke didn't want to sound ungrateful, but when Jon mentioned he had 'information that could be handy,' he thought it was something more important than it turned out to be.

Jon had discovered that there was a pack of manticores in a dark corner with the densest vegetation in the forest. Sure, it was good news in the sense that they had found the pack they had come to look for, but when Jon came happily to share the news, Luke thought he was going to reveal something that would allow them to leave the forest as quickly as possible.

Luke couldn't stand another second there, amidst the humidity and cold that combined to make their stay unbearable. Besides, his bad mood was escalating the more he thought about the situation he had just experienced with the Empousa and Keira.

She had been willing to let him die. There was not even a hint of a joke on her face when she said it. What would have happened if Jon hadn't shown up? He couldn't help but wonder. Surely, he would be in the Underworld right now. It might have been a bit better than having to be in that forest, with the humidity that wouldn't let him breathe.

And above all, he wouldn't have to be on an expedition with the blonde who had been willing to watch him be killed by the monster.

Luke didn't know if Jon had heard that part of the conversation, but if he did, he had elected to ignore it. Jon tried to stop his friend many times. He told her not to make more jokes, not to argue anymore, but Keira seemed not to care about Jon's requests. Luke thought Jon might be too lenient and, being Keira's closest friend, he could try to do something more to bring her down a notch.

Keira was walking behind Jon, who was leading them to where he had seen the pack so they could see it with their own eyes. The blonde's thoughts were in a completely different tune than Luke's, as if she practically didn't remember the situation with the Empousa that had happened just a few hours ago.

Her head was making an effort to take note of everything Jon was saying on their little forest stroll. Fundamentally, Keira was concerned about how Jon had ended up there. He was on guard outside the tent, why would he stop observing the surroundings to go so far away from where they were, leaving the tent unattended? Keira didn't mind him leaving, but she found it very strange that he didn't notify the other two and just left like that. She raised this doubt as they walked, and immediately, Jon looked uncomfortable. Keira quickly realized that there was something that embarrassed him about the situation.

"Well," he stammered, searching for the right words, "some monsters attacked me, and I moved away from the tent not to bother you guys. I wanted to take them far away."

Keira, knowing her friend, sensed that those words were not a complete lie, but he was not telling the whole truth either.

"Empousai appeared, right?" she asked, remembering what one of them had said earlier as it had mentioned him as the cute one. Her friend didn't answer, and Keira took it as an affirmation. "You fell for it, didn't you?" she inquired after a few seconds of silence. Luke was surprised not to hear a mocking tone in her voice, but she was simply asking casually, as if to better understand the situation.

"For a few seconds," Jon confirmed, scratching his head while dodging some huge roots from the ground. "When I realized, I was already far from the tent. There were two of them, and well," he said, embarrassed, "I had to fight."

"You did well, man," Luke said, trying to comfort him a bit, realizing that his brother was disappointed with himself over the situation. "If you hadn't shown up, I'd be playing poker with Hades in Tartarus," he added with a hint of resentment in his voice toward Keira. The blonde couldn't help but smile slightly, understanding the indirect remark. As Luke was behind her, he didn't notice.