SYPHER

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The area around her was warm as if a fire had been set nearby; when she awoke to her senses, many voices were speaking amongst each other. 

"What do you want to do with them? I mean, we can't keep them tied up forever."

"But they're not from here, and they spotted him! We can't just let them leave!"

"Y-yeah, Miss Rita's gonna be so…angry."

They seemed to be young by the pitch of their voices as they began to bicker with one another. Terra tugged slightly, realizing her hands were restrained, but her blindfold was somewhat loose. Clearly, it was children's work, so she moved her head slightly against the ground to slide it off to see what they were discussing. Once the blindfold fell off, her eyes adjusted to the figures standing by the fire. Two boys and a girl, followed by a shadowy figure, stood behind the fire. Her eyes adjusted as they turned to face her, shocked by her somehow getting the blindfold off.

"How did she get the blindfold off?!"

"You didn't tie it hard enough!"

"Whoops…"

She lifted herself slowly off the ground onto her knees. Then, she realized that these were the people whose footsteps they had found previously, as they matched the size and makeup of the kids' shoes. They seemed shocked, so she looked behind her to see if they had moved until she realized someone was lying behind her. 

"Xavien…" she said as she looked at him, somehow tangled up more than she was from head to toe in rope. It was odd how their restraints were very much obtuse of one another. She tried to ignore it as she talked to the kids and the figure in front of her.

"Look, we don't want to cause any trouble! We were just…checking to see if something was interesting around these parts, is all!" she pleaded, making a motion of sincerity. The kids looked at one another as they secretly discussed what to do with them. One of the children noticed the paper lying next to Terra, which she tried to grab before they picked it up and inspected it. Before letting out an audible laugh and taking it to the others. This confused Terra and the group laughed together before the shadowy figure snatched the paper away.

A few seconds passed before an outward reaction to the page was oddly different from the children's.

"WHO THE HELL DREW ME LIKE THAT?! I DON'T LOOK LIKE THAT!"

The children continued to laugh loudly as this scene began to confuse Terra even more; why were they so calm after wrapping up two civilians they'd never met before, and why would they be out here now? She'd thought no one would be in the area due to her research for this excursion, but this was something she'd never thought to expect.

Suddenly, the figure stepped forward and closer to the fire, revealing that it was the same person she had seen before. Now holding the scrunched-up paper, he flashed it before Terra's face to demonstrate what was on it.

"Do you actually think this is what I look like? This couldn't be any farther from the truth!"

His face flushed from the flames' light, revealing those same eyes she'd seen before. While her drawing rendition of his description wasn't the best, it was accurate as his looks matched. She looked at him closely, inspecting his features, from the hardened skin to his sharp teeth; this was who she was looking for. Though it was surprising to see the rumor up close, she faltered back, realizing how close he had approached and fell backward. This caused her to fall back into Xavien, asleep on the ground, suddenly waking him up from his somewhat peaceful slumber.

"Ouch! That hurt!" he yelled as he tried to move, but his restraints kept him in place. He began to flop around frantically and panic, realizing he was in a dire predicament. The group stared at him through his struggle.

"Please, please don't hurt me! I swear it wasn't on purpose! We will leave if you let us go!" His pleas continued, much to the annoyance of everyone present. The boy then walked over to him and stared at him with intense eyes, causing him to pass out on the spot. This surprised Terra as it seemed he didn't want to hurt him yet would instead settle down. 

He let out a deep breath as he stared now at Terra, focusing on her alone before continuing his questioning. 

"So, who are you…and why are you lookin' for me…?"

His voice wavered, uncertain about how to approach questioning a girl he'd never seen before, who just happened to be tied up in his hangout spot. She stared intently before speaking earnestly.

"I'm sorry, it's rude not to introduce myself. My name is Terra, and I am from the Farren household in the Kingdom. I didn't mean to intrude, but I just had to search for you! The thought of someone so interesting being all the way out here sparked my interest…" she said lo, looking away, embarrassed by admitting such a thing so earnestly. Dante's face became flustered at the thought that someone was looking for him directly, but then the idea of the previous reading from the book flashed in his mind. 

"Are you here…to turn me in…?" His voice was quiet, as if worried. Terra's face softened as she wondered why he could ask such a question. She didn't intend to expose him but to confirm the rumors and possibly become friends with them. 

She quickly looked around before noticing a book close to him, before fully realizing what he was.

"... You're a Dragonborn, aren't you…?"

The words resounded within the cave as the kids stood silent; his face stood still before he could utter his following words. 

"So what of it? I'm not gonna let you take me," he said as he turned away, disregarding her question. Terra continued to press on, ensuring her intentions weren't misconstrued. 

"I don't want to turn you in! I just want to know more about you! Especially after seeing that you're real, I…really want to be friends if possible…" She solemnly looked down to the ground, knowing that her intentions may have seemed surface-level. However, the truth was that she hoped to become friends with the interesting person she'd heard about if the rumors turned out to be true. Terra was always an "oddball" in her groups, though this was unusual. 

"This lady is weird." one of the kids muttered as they discussed what they thought of Terra's proclamations. It was a weird occasion, knowing that no one had ever been so earnest about their desire to meet Dante, but it was funny to them as they believed no one would ever want to actually meet him.

"Maybe she actually likes him or something," the girl said, staring her up and down. The children didn't know much about people from the Kingdom, but they knew that some would only come to the village for drinks and certain "favors" throughout the night, even if they weren't supposed to know them.

Terra looked at the kids who surrounded them and thought it was pretty impressive how they seemed to secure her and Xavien as intruders; she felt it'd only be right to ask their names. She looked at each of them and asked.

"It's pretty rude of me to ask for his name but not any of you. I'd love to learn your names if you all wouldn't mind." Her smile showed honesty and courtesy, surprising the kids since they thought she'd probably ignore them to talk to Dante mainly. Each one spoke up in their typical order as before.