"… be too careful."
Lea said under her breath, her expression sharpening at the edges as she observed the approaching storm.
"Pardon?" Orvin leaned in a bit, mindful to keep an appropriate distance.
"Huh—oh! Just thinking out loud?" Lea added, returning her gaze to the storm.
A few streaks of blue lightning flickered across the grey dark clouds, her eyes narrowing in search of something inside.
"You're going to get wrinkles if you keep that up," Ian said flatly, already on his feet.
Beneath the helmet, his teal eyes were also searching for any organic structures that may be hidden within the storm.
"This far out, one would starve before finding anything worth eating." He spoke first again after a short pause, before turning and walking towards his mount.
She waved him away with a dismissive tone, "Yeah, yeah."
Despite this nonchalance, her eyes never strayed from the storm, each flash of lightning pulling her focus one way or another.
"Sorry, but may I ask what it is you're looking for?" Orvin eventually managed, failing to make heads of the two's exchange.
For the first few seconds, there was no reply. And then…
*Sigh*
A heavy breath escaped her lips as Lea mustered the strength to pry her eyes away and face Orvin.
"Wherever there's thunder, then the odds are, a stormchaser or two aren't far behind—so I was just trying to see if I could spot any from here."
Orvin couldn't help but glance at the storm, "A stormchaser?"
"Ah, right—" Lea sounded, realising who she was speaking to, "—A thunderstalker, I think they're usually called. They hunt dreadmares."
"They… hunt them?"
"Uh–huh. Normally, you don't have to worry about them because they live way~ hight up in the mountains, but when there's a storm passing by, they usually hitch a ride.
"All the rain and thunder help to mask their approach. After all, you don't get a name like 'thunderstalker' for being a silent flyer."
Orvin fell into thought after her confirmation, his eyes naturally gravitating towards the approaching storm.
Although he didn't expect to see anything—especially given that any information he may have had came from an illustration or first-person account—he couldn't help but also be on the lookout.
Then, his gaze shifted downwards to the mountains far off in the distance; The Grimspine Mountains—likely where any thunderstalker's would have flown in from.
Given the little he knew about the beasts: dark, leathery skin, razor sharp talons and twisted faces like something from a nightmare, said to prowl mainly within The Stormwell Mountains in the distant northern regions of the empire.
"Are they the reason for our early departure; is it because that they might try to hunt ours?"
Lea smile faded slightly.
"Partly."
And then she pointed backwards towards where Ian was tending to his mount, "But they're smart enough to know when they're out matched."
Orvin followed her gaze, the nervous drop of his lips lifting slightly at the sight of the fully armoured Ian playing with his equally bulky mount.
"Although, knowing Ian, he'd probably be more worried about the dreadmares than anything hiding in the storm."
Orvin glanced at her, "Why?"
Lea met his eye with a wide smile on her face. "Big softie underneath all of that armour?"
She nodded towards the distant knight, "He dotes on those things; talks to them more than he talks to half the people in our unit."
Orvin chuckled at that.
With how much Ian had already spoken with him, he was starting to think that his initial impression of the man had missed the mark entirely.
It also made him realise how little he knew about the people around him.
His gaze lowered, a faint sense of disappointment settling over him as he considered how quickly he had formed assumptions about them without ever bothering to speak with them.
That would make him no better than the people who had looked down on him for being shy and his upbringing.
And to do the same to people who had been nothing but welcoming to him left a sour taste in his mouth.
—KRA-KOOM!
Thunder much louder than the initial boom swept over the field, pulling Orvin from his thoughts before he could sink deeper into a pit of self-deprecation.
—Neigh!
Orvin's head snapped towards the familiar noise—a startled cry much like the one he had heard from his own mount.
To his left, and much to his surprise, Ian was currently wrestling a dreadmare in a manner similar as to what the captain had done with his.
What stood out to him this time though, was how smooth his movements were as he guided the beast to the ground before placing a hand near the base of one of its horns.
And then, as though a switch had been flipped, the dreadmare's heavy, panicked breathing gradually became more regulated.
Orvin watched with his mouth slightly agape, the shock and concern that had once pained his face quickly replaced with an awe at what he had just witnessed.
Ian had managed to do something on his own that he had required the captain's assistance with.
A feat that—even with the captain's monstrous strength—Orvin doubted the man could replicate with the same ease.
Demonstrated by the fact that the same captain had required his hands to reach that spot behind its horn.
It wasn't that Orvin didn't believe that the captain could do it, he certainly had the brawns to.
Rather, he doubted that the captain could have done so with nearly as much finesse.
This, coupled with the fact that he had never pegged Ian as the swift type left him doubly perplexed.
Noticing his stare, Ian raised a hand that had been stroking the dreadmare's mane to wave at him.
Orvin recovered enough to wave back, although his was ricketier as though the gesture was unfamiliar to him.
"Heh."
A small chuckle besides him pulled his attention towards Lea, who had a proud smile on her face.
"He may not look it, but after the captain, Ian was next in line to wrestle the owlbear."
In that moment, as the words were processed in his mind, Orvin's expression slowly morphed into one split equal parts between astonishment and disbelief.
Ian did boast a large frame, although it paled in comparison to the captain bulk—as most would—he had not expected to hear something like that.
Although, the longer he thought about it, the more plausible it became.
Because even if he was smaller, the mana that was virtually pouring out of Ian gave Lea's statement more validity.
Noticing the thoughtful look in his eyes, Lea couldn't help but tease him. "You can ponder on that all you want once we're on the road. For now, less gawking and more moving, Rookie."
She tapped him lightly on the back, already walking towards the buzzing procession.
Orvin stumbled forward slightly, the strength behind the encouraging gesture knocking his stray thoughts from his min as he jogged lightly to catch up.
*****
Nestled within the warmth of the Brutein* family's carriage, Thorsten was shielded from the storm's cold wind, with only the pleasant smell of fresh rain permeating its decorated interior.
Outside, a constant shower of fresh raindrops coated the intricately framed windows, the water drops bending the passing scenery into a blurry, desaturated mosaic of green and grey.
Thorsten could barely even make out the sounds of the procession's movements; gone was the rhythmic clip-clops of the horses and the familiar rattling of the carriages.
In their place were the proud roars of the fierce storm, an emphatic proclamation of its destructive force.
Bellowing with thunder loud enough to rattle the carriages windows, the storm rolled forward as it consumed more of the daylight in its path.
'It's really coming down.'
With the storm finally upon them, heavy rain descended as the dark clouds advanced like a rushing tide.
It looked as though a false curtain of night had fallen—was falling—trespassing into the domain of light that was the day.
Now within the storm's boarders, Thorsten watched blazing streaks of lighting as they leapt out from the dark clouds.
Ever few moments, bright, jagged purple flashes of charged energy tore through the sky.
A curious though popped into his head as he watched an entire cloud glow a brilliant blue, 'I wonder if it's also magic lightning?'
There wasn't much weight placed behind it, just a simple idea spurred on by how the lightning would sometimes twist and weave itself through the clouds before dissipating.
Compared to the regular, forking lightning he was accustomed to, this particular difference struck him as odd.
The sound of thunder was as one would have expected, although he could argue that it was several decibels higher with how loud it sounded.
'Maybe it's alive?'
He wasn't entirely sure if that was about the lighting or the storm, as neither of them appeared ordinary in his eyes.
Although, given what he could recall, the latter was already an observable phenomenon in this world.
"Hmm… Nah, not this far inland.'
Thorsten cast the thought aside, letting his gaze wander lazily through the clouds; searching for any hidden silhouettes outlined by the intermittent flashes.
Even if it was just a regular storm—albeit, with much more thunder and lightning—the chances of something wriggling around inside wasn't entirely off the table.
Perhaps he'd spot another flying beast, or maybe just a giant bird.
Then something caught his eye.
It had almost gone unseen in the heavy rain; shrouded by both the constant shower and the dark clouds hovering above.
'Maybe there actually is something inside?"
Thorsten hummed thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing on where it had vanished before a similar shape appeared in a spot ahead of it.
As it drew closer, distinguishing it against the lightning had become easier—but that wasn't entirely accurate because it appeared to be just another bolt of lightning coiling its way through the clouds.
Yet, unlike the bright purple and blue bolts that the storm had spewed out, this one was a dark red colour.
The crimson strand wove through the clouds, an unnatural permanence about it as it slithered through the clouds with an almost deliberate purpose.
It took him a few seconds to realise that this red lightning was getting closer—its jagged edges contained, just barely, in a way meant to resemble lighting.
'… Just in case, I'll just check in with Rowena.'
That thought surfaced in his mind, but the light was upon them before he could get the words out.
"What—"
Thorsten felt all the hairs on his body stand up, and then his vision was consumed up by a searing, white light that swallowed the carriage whole.
But before he lost his sight, the last image his brain registered was of Rowena; reaching out towards him with an expression warped by dread and confusion.
—BOOM!