Immediately Auren stood up, alert as a predator sensing prey. Meredith opened her eyes and gently sat up too.
He glanced at her impassively—having expected her reaction—and said:
"You don't need to follow me. I sense a presence around the rock... I will check it out."
Meredith replied blankly, her voice flat as still water.
"Will you be enough...?"
Understanding exactly what she was implying, Auren forced a smile.
"I have been surviving alone all this while. I even killed a Major Blighted alone. What makes you think I suddenly need your help for everything?"
He raised his chin, still grinning at her with cold confidence.
"Rather. Is this not the other way round? You are the one who needs me."
Meredith simply laid back down and folded herself into a defensive posture. This time though, her eyes remained wide open, coldly glaring at Auren like some frozen ghost, unblinking and eerie.
He shook his head at her uncanny stare and climbed out of the jagged rock formation, moving silently as shadow. When he reached the top, Auren crouched and observed from above as a figure cautiously tiptoed forward with a horrified demeanor.
He did not need to see the guy's face to know how terrified he was. Every step the stranger took betrayed his fear—the guy would nearly jump out of his skin at the sound of his own footfalls.
Auren frowned, unimpressed.
'Who is this twerp?'
The boy leaned against the rock, cautiously and excruciatingly taking very slow steps forward. His eyes darted to and fro, scanning frantically for potential danger like a cornered rabbit.
Auren slowly stalked across the top of the next jagged rock and bent down again. The boy was there, plastered to the stone and intensely surveying his surroundings before taking yet another hesitant step.
"Are you seriously going to continue moving like that?"
At the sound of the sharp cold voice laced with quiet menace, the boy flared up and staggered backward, falling on his butt with his eyes shooting upward toward the top of the rock.
The first thing he saw were cold crimson eyes backdropped by a lightless sky, glaring down at him with inhuman intensity.
The inhuman visage made him scream.
"Ah! Ah!! A monster!!!"
Auren immediately frowned, snatched up a stone and struck the boy's head, causing it to jerk backward and momentarily silencing his cries.
In one fluid motion, Auren leapt down from the rock and rushed toward the boy, grabbing his collar and clamping a hand over his mouth before he could shout again.
He scowled, his voice a threatening whisper.
"What manner of fool are you? If there was to be a monster right now, the first thing your underachieving mind tells you to do is scream?"
The boy's eyes widened, pupils darting frantically as if trying to speak through them.
Auren frowned slightly and released his hold on the boy's mouth, causing him to stagger back a step.
"Oh, bless my Passion! You are human!"
Auren's frown deepened, shadows gathering between his brows. He had frowned too much for one damned night; a dull ache was beginning to form.
"Are you mentally sound at all? Do you realize you are in a Desolate place crawling with Cursed Creatures?"
Auren's voice was low and cold as winter steel.
The boy, only now grasping the gravity of his situation, lowered his voice to a nervous whisper.
"Oooh, ooh, right, right, I'm sorry about that. I didn't know there were other humans around. I've only been encountering dead Cursed Creatures since arriving—first there was a big dead one in a large hole, then corpses sprayed around everywhere."
He leaned closer, fingers clutching at Auren's shoulders as he whispered with wide-eyed urgency.
"See, friend, I think there's a larger and very dangerous monster here in this Desolate place, much larger than anything you and I can take care of."
Auren stared at the boy with a chagrined expression and shifted his shoulders away from the unwelcome grasp, his face tightening with irritation.
The strange boy examined his rejected hand with confusion, even sniffing himself to ensure nothing was amiss.
"Follow me..."
Auren commanded unceremoniously and strode toward the jagged rock formation.
The boy hesitated momentarily before trailing behind, stopping short as he watched Auren scale the slippery rock face with the effortless grace of a predator.
Gulping audibly, he uttered:
"Uhm, friend. I don't have claws. I'm probably going to need your help."
Auren's face darkened as he knelt and extended his hand downward.
"Reach for my hand."
The boy smiled with naive relief.
"Oh, that's doable."
He quickly pressed himself against the rock and attempted to climb higher, but each effort ended with him sliding back down, not even reaching half the distance to Auren's outstretched hand.
Seeing he couldn't reach, the boy began jumping passionately, desperate to catch Auren's hand, each attempt more futile than the last.
Auren watched with an expression of terrible disappointment before releasing a weary sigh. He opened his palm; the air around it swirled, birthing white sparks that merged and coalesced into solid form.
He extended one end of the Shackles of Depravity downward while gripping the other.
A delighted smile curved the boy's face, eyes lighting up.
"Oh oooh, now this is really convenient."
He grabbed the chain eagerly and was hauled upward by Auren's steady pull.
"So where are we go—"
Before he could finish his question, Auren's foot connected with his chest, shoving him down the other side of the jagged rock. The boy tumbled into the cave-like space where Auren had been resting earlier.
Auren landed gracefully in the empty space beside him and sat down impassively, the dancing flames illuminating his crimson gaze with hellish light.
Meredith was already seated upright, cross-legged, observing the newcomer with a deadpan expression as he groaned and managed to sit right himself.
He raised a hand in greeting and waved, then winked with unearned familiarity.
"Hello, young lady."
Meredith continued to stare at him impassively, her gaze unwavering, not even granting him the courtesy of a blink.
This unsettling response caused the strange boy to shift awkwardly toward Auren.
"Pardon me, sir, but might you be so kind as to introduce me to the young lady over there? I would greatly appreciate the honor."
Auren lifted his head and glanced at him, his expression darkening to something dangerous.
The boy gulped visibly, Adam's apple bobbing.
"Nevermind then. I shall do myself the honors."
He shifted back and looked at Meredith. His bright blue eyes glowed warmly as he offered what he clearly believed was a charming smile.
"Dear young lady, would you be kind enough to do me the honors of bestowing upon me your resplendent name? I am Jasper Hellingsworth, first son of House Hellingsworth of the Passion Province. I'm sure you'd know me well."
Meredith did not respond. Instead, Auren spoke, his voice flat and unimpressed.
"No, we don't... we are from the Hope Province."
A small frown creased the young man's face, confusion replacing his practiced charm.
"What?"