A new day arrives, the city coming to life with the bustle of many individuals and voices. Amongst the voices is one very happy Suxarine.

  "MONSTER HUNT TIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!" Kak-Yak shouted, spinning around in circles...for whatever reason.

  "..." Lyra sighs lightly, turning to the Dwarf. "We're both here. Now who is this person we're supposed to wait for?"

  "Don't get a headache lass, he'll come. Just need to wait a bit haha."

  As if right on cue, an unknown, mysterious individual separates himself from a crowd of people and walks towards the three, wearing an odd mask accompanied by an even more odd looking robe. A finely detailed and ceremonial one at that.

  The stranger bows. "I am happy you could all make it." He looks to the dwarf. "Although...i remember two other individuals...who are these two?"

  The dwarf waves a hand. "Let's just call em replacements. The other two, they are a bit of bad food the other day, and are, let's say, bed ridden for the time being hehehehe. Not to worry! I've two talented heros right here!" He quickly looked to Lyra. "Ain't that right lass?"

  "Mhm." She narrows her eyes, gaze untrusting of both the dwarf and the stranger. "Dernaek here doesn't know of the monster we're supposed to hunt." She steps closer to the stranger, whose stance and posture was dead still, unmoving. "So you're going to tell me what this job is for, none of this secretive nonsense. Or I'll take my skills elsewhere."

  "..." Underneath the mask was steady, still breathing. "Very well. Follow me...i shall explain on the way."

  The three follow behind the stranger. Before any of them could speak up, Kak-Yak did. "Lyra!! Remember that golem we fought together?! Man that was so cool. If we can beat that thing without issues, this monsters got nothing on us!!!"

  "We still don't know what the monster is Kak-Yak, it could be more dangerous than a golem. We need to be wary. Speaking of which." She walks alongside the stranger. "Speak. Tell us what this jobs about now. I want details."

  Formal nod. "The monster has marked its territory within my groups great grounds. We chant together there. Love one another there. We cannot hope to continue our devotion within our great temple with the monster afoot. It must be dealt with. As for the monster itself, it is a monster that uses nature to its advantage. I seen the beast myself. It used the very bark to entangle, strip the life of one of my dear friends. It must. Be. Slain."

  Lyra thinks, drawing the conclusion to what monster it could possibly be. "From your words, monster might be a Stalker. Unsure though. Regardless of what it might be, we still need to be careful. Stalker or not."

  "Hehehehe, whatever it is, it has got nothing on us!! We'll show it!! Actually, this reminds me of this one story I read along time ago!! So there was this-"

  And there he goes again, telling of another stupid and absurd story. The ridiculous and absurd telling of it makes Lyra smile a little as they walked.

  ...

  ...

  ...

  After a very long trek out of the city, the three are eventually led to an opening in the nearby woods. Trees were knocked down, blood was on the ground. It was an odd sight to say the least.

  "Deeper within, you shall find what remains of mygroups temple."

  "You have a temple? Inside the woods?" The dwarf crossed his arms, laughing loudly. "Next you'll tell me pigs will start falling from the sky and the trees will grow coin! Hahaha!"

  "..." Ignoring him, the stranger points into the woods, looking to Lyra and Kak-Yak. "I will be awaiting your safe return outside the forest. Slay the beast. It disrupts sacred grounds."

  With a bow, the stranger steps back, getting on both knees as he begins to...pray? Yep. Looks like it.

  "..." Lyra turns to Kak-Yak. "Stay close. We have zero clue what this monster truly is. Remember that if the monster really is a Stalker, physical means of attacking doesn't do much. Magic is the go to option when dealing with these things swiftly and efficiently."

  "Pfft. No matter! We'll take it no problem! Just watch!"

  The three slowly entered the forest. The smell of dried blood and the forest itself entered their heads. The deeper they went into the woods, the darker it seemed to get. All around, crows watched. Mocking. Cawing. Serving an entity that they would surly report to of the intruders.

  Deeper. And deeper. And deeper. A sense of unease went over Lyra and the dwarf. As for Kak-Yak? He was having a blast. Moving through some bushes, the three hero's finally reach it. The temple the strange man mentioned. It was destroyed. Broken. Covered in greenery and bark.

  Looking down, Lyra saw much, much blood. This wasn't good. Not at all.

  "Oh!!! What's this?" Kak-Yak gestures for the two to come over, pointing to an odd looking totem. "I wanna touch it!"

  "Don't." She gently pushed him aside. "Do you always go out of your way to touch random, seemingly dangerous things out of the blue?"

  "..." Our hero scratches his head, sheepishly responding with a grin. "Maybe?"

  Annoyed sigh. "You're hopeless."

  Watching from the trees, countless crows silently watched as the heros investigated the area, air turning chilly as the sounds of the forest died down. Our protagonist was the first to commit on the changes of atmosphere and temperature.

  "It's pretty chilly now. But um, it's still morning!" Hands on hips, he speaks loudly, a cocky and smug expression on his face. "What, trying to scare us?! Neat party trick, but it's not gonna work on us hahaha! We're hero's! You'd have better luck wi-"

  In an instant, roots sprung from the ground trying to ensnare Kak-Yak. Due to his agility and awareness, he was easily able to escape. "HAHAHAHAHA!!! Try again!!!"

  Ears perking up, Lyra looked behind the group, wolves closing in on the three. She quickly cast a defensive spell around the dwarf and Kak-Yak. Alongside the wolves, something begun to manifest from the very bark and nature around the forest. Standing eight feet tall, the monster known as a Stalker had made itself known, an army of crows shielding the monster as it gazed at the hero's. Its body was entirely made up of both arcane energy and its forestry surroundings. Underneath its grassy and bark like exterior was a reddish entity, lacking any physical qualities to its actual form. Well, from what our heros could see anyway.

  Perched on-top its shoulder, a crow spoke through a magical voice. " Our friend here doesn't like people snooping in on his business. And for this you all must perish."

  Another crow joins in, flying onto the other shoulder. "Shush brother! Look that the weird colored one! The Suxarine!"

  "What?! The feline one? What about him."

  "Idiot!!! Read the woman's and the short guys auras!!! And then read the cats!"

  Slightly chuckling, Kak-Yak steps forward.

  "Idiot what are you doing?!" Obviously upset and confused, Lyra stared in disbelief at Kak-Yak as he begun conversing with the crows. "You're going to get yourself killed!!"

  "Shhhh, I've got this Lyra, trust me." He turns to the crows and Stalker, giving a confident and fearless stance. "What was that about me hmmmm? What, can't get enough of my looks or something? Yeah yeah I know I'm pretty handsome huh? But um, I'm not a cat ok! I'm Suxarine! Very different from a simple house cat ok?"

  The two crows look at one another before laughing loudly. "Cats a cat to us!!! Only difference is that you can talk!"

  "But brother! He DOES look different you have to give them credit for that. Their stupid bodies are different compared to the stupid domesticated cats of today."

  "Shut up!! You!!! Suxarine! Your aura is off!!! We demand to know why! Tell us and your suffering will be quick!"

  Smirking, our hero sticks his tongue out, turning around to mockingly smack his behind. "What can I say? I'm allllllllll unique."

  *Loud caw* "Great, he's smacking his rear now."

  "HOW UNCOUTH!!! Pah, you will beg for mercy now you idiots!"

  Both crows rejoin the swarm, the Stalker circling the three hero's as tensions rise.

  "Ok ok ok, perhaps we've started on the wrong foot. In my case paw, but whatever! Here, a peace offering."

  Before the Stalker could process anything, Kak-Yak took out a bomb of some kind from his satchel, arming and chucking it at the Stalker. It catches it regardless of its unreadiness. Despite this, the bomb still detonated, sending the monster flying into a nearby tree as its helpers were also blown backwards.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "HAHAHAHAHA!!! I should use those things more often. Well, buy them...whatever!"

  Enraged, the Stalker quickly stood up, immediately beginning to attack with unpredictable attacks. Not being able to read the attacks, the dwarf fellow is launched into a nearby wall of the temple, colliding head first as he falls unconscious.

  "Hahahaha. I thought Dwarves were more durable. Look at him in sleepy land now."

  "SHUT UP AND HELP ME FIGHT THE STALKER IDIOT!!!" Lyra quickly cast defensive spells on the two of them. "Rush it, I'll protect you."

  "Got it!!"

  Both hero's combined efforts to take down the monster. Kak-Yak lifted up his shield and charged the Stalker, the monster covering the entire area in a swarm of crows as it unleashed ancient arcane attacks at the hero's. The very forest sung, animals hiding within watching the spectacle unfold.

  Driving a strike from a combo attack down, Kak-Yak strikes the monster in its exposed...skull? Not really. The amalgamation of animal skulls into one weird one was more of an aesthetic choice, rather than being the entity's actual head. Angered, the monster unleashed a aoe spell of sorts, using arcane arts to engulf the area in flames. Kak-Yak is blown backwards against a tree, yelling in slight pain at the harsh impact. Luckily for him Lyra's spell was still active, mitigating the actual damage he would've taken. As for Lyra herself, albeit surprised, she quickly casted another spell on herself before taking the full force of the fiery attack. Her and the monsters magical ability's collided, the beast stepping forwards to deal with the challenge in ability's.

  *whistle* "Over here you overgrown tree...thing."

  Kak-Yak picking himself back up quickly rushed the monster. Unbeknownst to the creature, it would soon find that this entire fight would be more than it initially wanted. Swapping stances, Kak-Yak effortlessly evaded both the swarm of Wolves and crows, using taught techniques and movements to get the upper hand.

  "AHAHAHAHA, man I really need to thank Aza-Riel for the training. AND this cool new style. Check this out!!"

  The Stalker watched as the Suxarine rushed it, elegantly evading all of the attacks from both its wolves and crows. Annoyed and angered, the creature raised a long, outstretched hand towards the sky and begun to move the very forest, the trees and very ground beginning to attack. It was like something from a nightmare.

  With the distraction from Kak-Yak, Lyra finally managed to deal with the swarm of Crows and Wolves attacking her, emerging victorious. She turns her attention towards the real battle, using a teleportation spell to...well, teleport next to Kak-Yak, quickly casting a defensive spell around him and her once more.

  "Keep its attention while I attack from afar. Got it?"

  Smirking, Kak-Yak playfully (and gently) nudges her. "On it!"

  The very forest, a fiery inferno at this point, was an arena. Good versus evil. Hero's vs monster. Despite the forest literally being on fire and nature itself attacking, Kak-Yak kept a smug and confident smile on his face the entire time, charging forward fearlessly to clash with the Stalker.

  A brilliant light show of fire and spells lit up the area. Beyond enraged at this point, the Stalker transforms, getting on all fours to attack savagely and brutally as it hurls spell after spell towards our hero's. Its form also shifts, its bark like skin and body cracking to show a bit of the reddish entity that dwells inside. The singed soil, ground and trees around combine within the Stalker, creating an odd looking and intimidating entity.

  With a loud roar, it jumps into the air, large spikes forming from arcane energy to shoot towards Lyra and Kak-Yak at high speeds. By the skin of his teeth, Kak-Yak manages to dodge the ones hurled at him, while Lyra simply teleported away. The Stalker roars once more, clawing and using arcane arts to bombard the pair with devastating power.

  Coming together, an army of crows targets the two, working with the Stalker to eliminate the two hero's quickly. Unable to use any spells due to the in sheer speed of attacks, Lyra quickly takes out a grenade and arms it, chucking it towards the swarm of crows. In a blinding light, the swarm of crows falls to the ground, their bodies frozen solid.

  "Nice work Lyra!!"

  The Suxarine once more charges head first towards the Stalker. He drives his sword down upon the Stalkers neck, dealing major damage. Before he could dodge in time, the creature pounced onto him, brutally clawing at him. Sadly for this creature, it wouldn't be able to do good enough damage, Lyra quickly jumping onto its back to drive a magical spear right into its neck. Stunned, Kak-Yak uses the opportunity to kick the monster off of him, pouncing back up to deliver a series of combos into the monsters chest region.

  A defending roar sounds, stunning both hero's as the monster grows an arm from the bark on its back, using it to grab Lyra. Now most people wouldn't be able to get out of a Stalkers grab willy nilly. Well Lyra? She was an S class hero. Best of the best. So this was nothing.

  Lyra chanted a quick phrase. In an instant, a blaze of light struck down to smite the Stalker, causing it to drop her as it begun burning in a whitish flame.

  "Woah!!! That was a cool spell Lyra!!" He grins, still wincing a little after the roars from earlier. "Hehehe, you'll have to show me more magic stuff after this battle!"

  *eye roll* "Focus on the fight Kak-Yak."

  Still burning in white flame, the Stalker opens up a portal, jumping into it. Both of our hero's rush in after it, the portal closing right behind him.

  They both fall into hard ground. Looking around, they find themselves deep within the temple they've found, ancient ruins and artifacts scattered everywhere.

  The two quickly look to the Stalker a short distance away from them both. Having tried a more brute force method and failing miserably, the Stalker decides to play it smart, calling forth crows once more to attack in a swarm as it cast arcane magic from range. It raises up, unsettling noises emitting off the walls as it contorts back to its upright posture. A low, ominous voice rings through both Lyra's and Kak-Yaks minds.

  "You will not live to see the sunrise tomorrow." It outstretched an ominous finger, pointing to the two of them. "I shall harvest your bones into my very being. Now die."

  A swarm of crows attacked both the hero's. Thinking quickly, Lyra chanted a powerful spell which caused all arcane related powers to become temporarily disabled, as well as severely hindering any hostile mages sorceries. Hindered, the swarm of bloodthirsty crows disappeared into a cloud of blackish gas.

  Lyra and Kak-Yak locked eyes. An unspoken plan forming between them as they both nodded, rushing forward as they attacked. The Stalker ominously walked forward, beginning its own series of attacks.

  Driving his sword down towards the creature, the Stalker vanished from thin air as it quickly emerged from the ground, popping from a corner to unleash a volley of dangerous energy towards the two. The air turned static like, the air growing dangerous each second that passed. With the advantage, the Stalker once more vanished, reappearing behind Kak-Yak to violently slash at him. With a smirk, our hero met the attacks with valor and confidence, dodging and shielding himself.

  The swarm of crow appears again. They begin to swarm Lyra, who was expertly engaging. Her movements swift, expression focused and serious, she twirls, casting both a defensive spell for her and Kak-Yak, as well as a powerful offensive spell which lights up the chamber. In an instant, the swarm of crows once more falls easily as their master burns bright in whitish flames. Twitching in sheer rage, the entity called forth shadowy specters resembling panthers, it also summoning forth ghostly wolves to fight alongside it and its two panther spawns.

  "Hehehehehe, now it's getting challenging!! Lyra!!! I'll deal with the panther things, you deal with old woody over there and his wolf friends!!"

  "Don't get yourself killed."

  Kak-Yak rushes forward, using his newly taught movement to close distance with the two panthers, who teleport around and try to viciously end him. Despite literally fighting for his life, Kak-Yak keeps a snarky and cheeky smirk on his face, using elegant and graceful movements to get the upper hand on the summoned beings.

  "HAHAHAHAHA, I don't even NEED to use my powers!! Not like I want to anyway!! Come at me ya ugly little ghost...things...yeah!!"

  *roar* One of the shadowy panthers leaps towards Kak-Yak. With a smirk, he dodges, quickly unsheathing a dagger in his spare sheath to drive into the panthers torso mid air, quickly jumping up and mounting the beast as it lands. "WOOOOHOOOOOO, oh it's on now HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

  With enough strength and determination, Kak-Yak forcefully uses his new mount to attack its ally. A shadowy panther on panther battle ensued, Kak-Yak having front row seats to the show as he maintained a grip on his improvised mount, using the dagger as a so called leash to control the panther he's riding.

  Turning to Lyra, our second hero expertly deals with the wolf spawns, them not being much an issue for an S rank hero. Both the Wolfians and Stalkers attacks collided, creating a colorful, albeit deadly light show as the two clashed. Deciding that the range games was getting boring, the Stalker closed the distance, disappearing and reappearing right in-front Lyra as a red, clawed hand made up of arcane energy was swung towards Lyra. Despite dodging, the monster didn't let up, attacking in fast and rapid motions to prevent Lyra from doing any cheeky spells quickly.

  Backed into a corner, she had no choice but to engage in a close range fight. Purplish light engulfs both her arms and paws as inner magical energy forms into weapons. Narrowing her eyes, she pinpoints where to strike as she dodges gracefully and expertly. Seeing an opening, she takes the advantage, unleashing a barrage of combos into the chest region of the Stalker, quickly driving a magical blade into the monsters self made, decorative skull. She finished up her combo with a roundhouse kick, causing a blast of magical energy to light up the room as the monster is blown backwards.

  Lyra backs up, catching her breath as the monster is exposed. It's once protected and decorated body was left destroyed. Turning to her side, Lyra sees Kak-Yak ramming the panther he's riding directly into the Stalker, jumping up into the air to land nicely near Lyra as the panther slams into its master, defeated as it disappears from reality.

  He smirks, looking to Lyra. "Don't worry, the other panthers defeated. Decided to finish off the other in a flashy way." Shrug. "And I expected a challenge." Turning to the Stalker, Kak-Yak stares confused at the entity's true form. "Huh. So that's what it really looks like. Pfft!!! No matter. We're gonna vanquish you!!! HAHAHAHA!!!"

  The chamber/tomb lights up in a brilliant red light, the Stalker making one last ditch effort to defeat the hero's. Left weakened by Lyra's spells and attacks, it rushes forward, using raw, powerful and ancient arcane energy to try and defeat the two hero's. It teleports between the two, quickly slashing away at them at high speeds, unknown, angry sounds coming from deep from within it.

  Getting a bit too cocky, Kak-Yak taunts the monster. "Hehehe, is that the best you've got?! Cmon, do something that will ac-"

  In the blink of an eye, the Stalker appears right in-front of Kak-Yak. Before he could react in time, it unleashed a series of deadly and violent attacks to the hero, finishing up with a rather deadly attack. Aimed for Kak-Yaks throat. Luckily he was able to react to the last hit, parrying the monsters attack and flipping backwards.

  Before it could continue its onslaught of attacks, Lyra cast a quick bombardment of ice related spells at the monster. It quickly moves at high speeds, dodging each and every magical based attack down at it. After the bombardment, it stands intimidatingly still, eyeing Lyra as she try's to come up with a way to finally end this fight. She glances at the now injured Kak-Yak, his once cocky and confident expression now gone as he bled, blood soaking through his clothing.

  It just stood there. Watching both of them. It knew it was at the disadvantage. It knew it would be over soon. It KNEW it was going to lose. Turning to Kak-Yak, it decided that if it was going to die. It was at least bringing one of them with it.

  "Hahahaha...hehehehe." Breathing heavily now, he spoke up. "You're looking to the injured one here. Thinking you can just try and take me with you. That it?" Deep laugh, followed up with a cough. "Well cmon. Don't keep me waiting." His expression turned serious, the Suxarine entering a fighting stance as he sheathed his sword, gently laying his shield onto the cold hard ground. He looks to Lyra. "Let's show it what hero's can really do, eh Lyra?"

  "..." Shaking her head, she swiftly entered her own fighting stance, giving a deep sigh. "Let's. Ready to get this over with already. I would try to heal you, but then it'd get an opening on one of us. C'mon, let's just rush it. Can't do much at this point."

  Together, both Lyra and Kak-Yak rushed the monster, the combination of attacks upon attacks sounding throughout the very chamber into the temple they're in. Despite its best efforts, the Stalker loses any chance of an advantage as both heros ready the final blow.

  Together, the two land their finishing blows into the Stalker, a loud, deep and angered voice ringing from within the creature as it fell to its knees, disappearing. And eventually...nothing. It was defeated. Finally defeated.

  The two slide down a wall and eventually seated themselves close to one another. They were exhausted. Tired.

  "..." Kak-Yak turns to Lyra, his usual expression returning. "That was fuuuuuuun wasn't it? Hehehehhe. OH MAN!!! That was crazy!!! Oh man oh man, I can't wait to talk about this fight in the future." In that moment, he winced in pain at his wounds.

  "...Sorry, forgot." She quickly cast a healing spell using the remainder of her magical energy and strength. "Feel better?"

  "YOOOOOOUUUUU BET!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That was so crazy Lyra, I mean did you SEE what we did?!?!"

  "Yes Kak-Yak, I did indeed see what, quote on quote, we did." She sighs, crossing her arms onto her stomach. "Feel like I should mention this now. We just fought an Elder Stalker. Just think of a normal one but more powerful and dangerous."

  "Cool!!!"

  Silence and peace. This envelops the two as they rest against the wall. Eventually Lyra speaks up, turning to Kak-Yak. "I'll say this, you far exceeded my expectations when coming face to face with a Stalker. I mean this with no exaggeration, if you would have stayed within your hero school, you'd no doubt be an A rank hero by now. Not many can go toe to toe with an Elder Stalker, mock it, and actually beat it."

  "Well, I had YOU helping me Lyra!! Who knows if I could have actually beaten it on my own."

  "Still! It takes incredible skill to actually fight it, regardless of any other factors." She turns away. "You're very different from any other hero I've met. In more ways than one. I don't know how to describe it."

  "..." Kak-Yak, seeing Lyra's mixed expressions scoots closer to her. "..." He observes her calm yet tired face, admiring her beautiful features as she closes her eyes to rest. "...You know, you're really pretty Lyra."

  The sudden compliment catches her completely off guard. She just stays silent, continuing to have her eyes closed as she rest.

  Silence. Peace. It's as almost a grueling fight never even happened here. A thought comes across within Kak-Yaks mind, making him speak up.

  "Hey Lyra. I wanna ask something. You don't have to say yes if you don't want to. Buuuuuuuut." He leans towards her, goofy smirk present on his face. "You seem like a really cool person! I want to get to know you more. How about we be friends?"

  "..." This question makes her mind develop thought after thought. Should she accept? Should she? Should she? Should she? It kept playing in her mind. Why was such a simple question so hard to answer? Perhaps she doesn't want to put her trust into someone. To have someone who she lets her guard down around. But then again...it's always easier to have a friend in this world...than it is to not have a single soul you can rely on. To share your thoughts with. To laugh with. To be with.

  Opening her eyes, she takes a deep breath, looking to the Suxarine. "Why would you want to be friends with me anyway? I'm no one special."

  "Awww don't say that. Everyone's special! In their own way!!" He scoots closer to her. "From the short time we've spent together, you seem like a really cool person! I want to get to know you more! Without the entire quiet bad girl thing you got going on."

  This makes her actually chuckle. "Shut up."

  "Hehehehehehehe." He fidgets with his paws for a bit. "Sooooooo...is it a yes or no? To us being friends?"

  "..." Millions of thoughts go through her head. Eventually she arrives to an answer. She turns to him once more, small smile present on her muzzle. "Know what? Yes. Yes, let's be friends."

  "YAYYYYYYYY!!! We're gonna be the bestest friends EVER just you wait and see!!!"

  He gets up and starts dancing...for whatever reason. She watches, amazed at how energetic he was after a long battle. Well, that is until he falls onto his behind.

  "You're exhausted. Come rest."

  "Ok!!!"

  The two begin talking to one another, Lyra actually lowering her guard and barriers a bit to genuinely talk. Normally. Without any hesitation or mental barriers set in place. But hey! Happy moments aside...whatever happened to that dwarf?! Pfft. Who knows!! He's not dead, just unconscious. Ehhhh, someone would probably find him. Eventually.

  At the end of it all is silence. Introspection. Trying to understand oneself and why you... are you. And sometimes, having someone there to help you through tough times is all that takes to take you out of the darkness. Because at the end of it all...there is only silence and discovery of oneself.