The smells of charring meat and baking bread wafted through the camp’s air, Anjali stepped out of her tent and took in the ambient smell around her. The blinding suns of Terensey and Terensol were, as always, high overhead enveloping everything in their warming embrace. The blinding light gave the camp a washed-out look as if it was an old memory being recalled; much the same as the camp was always like this during periods of rest. A line began to form around the mess hall tent, soldiers already beginning to fight over their lunch rations for the day.

Anjali stretched her back upwards and began swiftly making her way towards the mess hall, eager to claim her food before having to fight the foot soldiers for it. While some Anurians ate their meals within the tent itself, most preferred to eat amongst comrades around the squad campfires, each sharing overly exaggerated stories of heroics, fortitude, or Fey slain in their pasts. 

Of course, there was still much discussion about the camp’s newest guests and the foreboding atmosphere that they brought. Much of the dialogues were concerned as to the trustworthiness of their guests. The company was already highly wary of outsiders, not even allowing the numerous dwarves within the Conglomeration from entering their ranks, the humans were an even larger outside presence. The situation with Ferig only heightened the tension in the air; Anjali could hear him with his mutiny of followers proclaiming how Ryker had attacked him and how the humans are a dangerous folk. His exaggerations weighing heavily in the air, they made for an annoying distraction for Anjali.

The sound of a wet glob of blue gravy struck her plate, snapping her back into reality. The chef at arms stared at her, his serving spoon smacking against his apron in impatience.

“(Pork), or (beef)” he asked, pointing to the meats he had on offer. The soldiers behind Anjali were also starting to get antsy, miffed at her inability to choose her lunch.

“Uh, (pork) I suppose,” Anjali replied half heartedly. The chef simply snorted in response, and deposited a choice cut of (pork) onto her tray, making a wet slapping sound as it fell onto her Gravy and flying all over the place. Anjali didn’t even pay attention to the mess the chef had made, and quietly made her way back towards the communal area of the mess hall when everything suddenly went quiet.

The humans had arrived into the tent, escorted by their guards; the three that were captured by Anjali were present but Ryker was mysteriously absent. The tent held its collective breath as the three made their way to the chef, waiting in line with their escort on either side of the group. The other soldiers wordlessly got their own meals before making their way from the mess hall. Before long it was Aaron’s turn to grab his food, he cautiously lifted his tray towards the chef, unable to reach over the wooden railing that divided the food troughs from the communal area. Anjali found her favorite table, a quiet one near the corner of the room, and sat down and watched the humans from her vantage point.

“I’m sorry,” Aaron started, “But what’s being served today?”

“Lunch,” the chef simply replied; an annoyed scowl was forming across his face as he looked down at Aaron.

“I guess I’ll have that then?”

“Hmmph,” the chef went and poured onto their plates a small slab of meat and the same blue gravy as Anjali had. The humans exited the line and back into the company of their guards before turning and exiting the tent. Anjali stopped them, however, by waving them over to her own table.

“Hey you three! Over here,” she shouted, the tent's attention now fully fixated on her. Anjali felt their confused gazes pierce her face. Murmurs echoed around the mess hall as the three humans slowly made their way towards Anjali. They silently took their seats together at the opposite end of the table from Anjali, giving her their own quizzical look not too dissimilar from her fellow Anurians. They soon died as the soldiers started their previous conversations back up, although soon continued to glance over at their shared table. 

“There we go, food is always better when shared with a stranger,” Anjali said to her tablemates, “isn’t that right?”

“Where we come from it's better when it's shared with a friend,” Melissa stated.

“That seems... A bit wary but I can understand the practical use of that caution.”

“What?”

“Is there something wrong?”

“I-No it’s nothing. You elves sure are strange.” Melissa exhaled a bit and began to eat her lunch. Her wife and son soon followed.

“I’ve been meaning to ask about that,” Anjali prodded. The three of them looked up from their plates at her, “Why do you call us elves? Is there something like us in your world?”

“No there isn’t,” Sarah answered, “But your pointed ears and use of magic reminds us of creatures from fiction known as elves.” 

“Magic is fiction from where you’re from?”

“That's right,” Melissa continued, “Where we’re from, Earth, nobody can just shoot fire from their hands like you elves do. It was always just a fantasy for us, an escape really, from our mundane lives.”

“I see, that explains your looks of confusion and, how should I put this... terror?”

“Hmmm, well what we lack in magic we made up in our own way; our own tools.”

“Our own terrible weapons you mean,” Ryker interrupted. The table stopped eating as he pulled up his own chair and stole a hunk of meat off of Melissa’s plate. Ryker gently put his broken arm onto the table and bit off a chunk of his stolen lunch as the juices dripped down his hand and onto his sling.

“Well someone’s feeling better,” Melissa said.

“Weren’t you sick earlier,” Sarah asked, an inquisitive look scanning her son’s face.

“I don’t have anything left to vomit out so i’m fixing that real quick,” Ryker said, still chewing his food, “don’t worry you can go back to nursing me after I have a bite to eat.”

Anjali looked over to Ryker, it amazed her how quickly he could just switch personalities at will. She found it hard to believe that the rude barbarian of a human in front of her could so easily see through her facade earlier in the day. Ryker took another bite out of his meal, messily scarfing down the food like a starving dog; he practically swallowed it whole before sucking his fingers to enjoy the last bit of flavor lunch had to offer him. He patted his stomach with his good hand.

“Ah, that hit the spot. Alien meat is surprisingly decent,” he said while picking his teeth, “Tasted like porkchop but had the juiciness of a steak.”

“Okay, by Blaz’s nature, what is your deal,” Anjali exclaimed, her voice once again bringing the humans to attention, “You just keep switching how you act so casually. You go from this intelligent manipulator straight into a shell shocked warrior to this brute of a beast. What’s your game, Ryker?”

Ryker’s eyes went cold and his gaze turned towards Anjali, the same chill from when she first saw him returned all over again and she became numb as Ryker took a heavy breath. His family ignored the drop in temperature and continued their meal, although Aaron’s eyes kept darting back and forth between Anjali and his brother; a worried look filled them.

“My game, Elf, is extremely simple,” Ryker started, “Protect this family from people who would harm it. Sometimes that requires putting on a face and acting like someone I'm not and other times that requires me to be as honest as possible and show my true colors. And that includes you and your little band of rebels here.”

“Harm you? We saved you!”

“Oh, is that what you call saving us? Aaron getting a concussion and a third of my bones being broken as you storm our prison and, quite literally, blow it up, chasing us through the forest with weapons and armor, knocking me out and dragging me to a place unknown and trying to coerce us into being your own little human weapons like we’re pitbulls you pulled from the ring to fight in a war that has absolutely nothing to do with us? Is that what constitutes saving in this damned world?”

“We healed you, freed you from Imperial soldiers who were going to do who knows what to you!”

“And you think you’re much better? Whether you call us guests or prisoners either way we’re still trapped with you! We’re still being dragged to god knows where to do god knows what! How the fuck am I supposed to trust you when you even forced my own mothers, my own brother, into this forsaken place?”

“Ryker,” Melissa shouted, “That's enough.”

Sarah grabbed Ryker’s arm and looked up into him, he hadn’t even realized he had begun to stand in his angry tyrant against Anjali who simply sat back into her chair with defeated tears welling in her eyes, her pointed ears with flush with blood and emitted a dim red light onto her face.

Ryker sat back down and turned away from Anjali, an exasperated look on his face he refused to look at his handy work any further. His one working hand pulled itself into a fist before slamming it down onto the table. It shook with a loud banging sound as it buckled under his force.

“I don’t believe in lies,” Ryker started softly, “And I don’t believe in secrets either. Everything I just told you are my honest thoughts about you and this entire situation we’re in because of you.”

“Ryker, calm down, please,” Aaron pleaded to his brother. Ryker turned away, unable to face him. He slumped down into his chair and finally exhaled.

“She didn’t force us, you know.” Melissa stated bluntly.

“....What,” Ryker responded

“We… went with her on our own accord. She really did save us Ryker.”

“Really now? And how did that happen huh? How did the three of you somehow get convinced to go with the people who were out to capture us?”

“It's because she saved and protected us. She nearly gave her life trying to save Aaron, Ryker.”