"Arrrgh arrrgh..."
Ken hunched over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
Next to him, Alpha leaned against a tree, panting hard, her face red from exertion—and frustration.
"Looks like we lost them..." Ken muttered between breaths, glancing back over his shoulder. No angry guards in sight. Finally.
"My babies..." Alpha whimpered, her eyes welling up as she mourned the fallen gold.
"What?! Alpha, do I have to remind you—this is the twelfth village! The twelfth! We've been exiled more times than we've eaten breakfast!" Ken shouted, grabbing his head like he was trying to hold his sanity together.
"Uh?! Are you blaming me now?!" Alpha snapped. "Over half of those villages kicked us out because of your uncontrollable murder lust!"
"What?! I'm just being a hero!"
"A hero?! Every time you 'save' a village, you end up painting the walls with demon guts! The people can't even tell who the real monster is! So you get exiled—and guess who has to tag along? Me!"
"That's rich coming from the girl who sold a whole family into slavery for two gold coins!"
"It was a discount, okay?!"
Ken stared in disbelief. "Do you hear yourself?!"
"Oh yeah? Are we forgetting the time you knocked out a village chief because you thought his kid was a demon in disguise?! The boy was just playing with a paper mask at night!"
"That was me being vigilant!"
"That was you being stupid!"
"You're obsessed with gold!"
"You're obsessed with killing things!"
Their voices echoed through the forest like two drunk parrots in a shouting match. Birds flew away. Animals evacuated. Nature itself was over it.
Then suddenly—
"You know what?!" Ken barked, slamming a fist into his palm. "I'm done! Let's split up!"
"Eh?!" Alpha blinked, her face frozen. She looked like someone just told her taxes were backdated to birth.
"Y-you're joking, right?" she asked, forcing a laugh.
"I'm dead serious!" Ken declared with a dramatic finger point. "From now on, you go your way, I go mine!"
"B-but what about the guild? We're supposed to return to Azura together!"
"Yeah, well... we'll just go separately. Unless someone's scared?" Ken smirked. "Don't worry. I'm a hero—pity is part of the job. Apologize now and I might take you back."
He grinned smugly, expecting her to beg.
But Alpha's response?
"Tch." She snorted. "I'd rather drop dead."
Ken staggered a little. "Oi, oi, oi! Then let's split! Go on! Let's see how you last out there without me! I hear demon attacks are on the rise... who knows? Maybe your blood makes good butter for their bread!"
"Oh please!" Alpha scoffed. "I'm not scared of demons anymore! I've grown! I'm strong now! You're the one who'll starve—I hold the money, remember? You'll be eating leaves while I dine like a queen!"
"Hah! You're all bark!" Ken spat, turning toward the forest. "Don't follow me!"
"As if I would! Drop dead already!"
Ken waved dramatically as he walked into the woods, disappearing between the trees.
Alpha crossed her arms and turned away.
A long silence followed.
Then it hit her.
She was alone.
The wind whispered through the trees.
"...Ken?" she called out, glancing over her shoulder.
No reply.
"Ken!!"
Silence.
"Don't tell me he actually left me?!" she cried, panic creeping in. She looked around, clutching her arms. "Ken, you idiot! You know I'm still scared of demons!"
No reply.
"KEN!!" she shouted as she darted into the forest in the direction he left, fear written all over her face.
***
T. B. C
I apologize for the short chapter, I didn't want to lump in different scenes.