Way of the Knights

---action

"Princess…" Raven gently called out as he held Luna's hand. "Stop sulking already."

Luna had been silent and pouting ever since the meeting ended. Raven thought that it was adorable but he was also comforting her.

The reason why she's sulking like this is because she wanted to go along with them, but was adamantly refused by her own father and even Raven himself. She does understand why her father would refuse to it but even Raven prevented her from coming so she felt slightly betrayed.

"Am I weak still? Is going outside of the walls still dangerous for me?" Luna turned around asked him seriously.

Raven frowned and answered her question: "No. You're not weak. In fact, you're very strong. So long as you stay inside the Yellow Zone then you should be safe."

"Then why won't you let me come with you?" She asked, "I do understand why Father won't let me go but even you? Like you said, nothing could seriously harm me inside the Yellow Zone, specially if there's a safe route, so why won't you let me come with you?"

Raven's gaze softened as he wrapped her in his embrace, he sighed and cupped her face, saying: "I didn't want you to go simply because there is no need for you to do so."

"Hm?" Luna tilted her head, asking for clarification.

"Aren't I already coming with them? Don't you have faith in me?" Raven asked.

"I do have faith in you."

"Well, there you have it." Raven smiled and kissed her pouting lips, "I'm already coming with them so there is no need for you to go. And even if were just travelling within the Yellow Zone and following a safe route, the fact that it's still outside the safety of the walls remained. I just don't want to drag you into a mess if it all boils down to it."

"Besides…" Raven continued, "What made you think that you can't help by staying here?"

Luna's eyes brightened, clearly asking Raven about clues. He laughed and pinched her cheeks, saying: "You can go pick where they will settle down once we bring them here. You can ask for your brother's help with that, right?"

She instantly beamed as soon as he said this. Luna gave him a sweet kiss and pulled him to a hug, saying: "You're the best."

"I know." Raven smugly said. He then broke the hug and said: "Alright, you go get busy now. I still have to prepare for the journey since were leaving as soon as possible."

"Okay." Luna nodded, before Raven left she said: "Be safe and bring them home."

"I will." Raven gave her a kiss and left the room.

***

Later that day, Raven as well as the Lair Hunters and Royal Guards gathered at the Southern Wall for debriefing and supply check. 

Once everything was set, they then headed out of the walls, making sure to keep a tight formation and staying alert. Like what Raven told Luna earlier, even though they were travelling within the Yellow Zone and following a safe route, it doesn't mean that they're completely safe. Being alert won't hurt anyone, right?

Travelling in group definitely slowed them down, it took them three days to arrive within the vicinity of the tribe. But due to them staying alert all the time, they didn't face any kind of dangers on the way. Sure there have been some beasts who were spying on them but witnessing their numbers, they immediately left them alone.

As the group closed in at the Lair, they then moved on to the next plan.

"Alright, I'll go to the tribe now. I'll leave the Lair to you guys, okay?"

Jackson who personally travelled with them nodded and immediately ordered the men to prepare for the Lair Clearing. Raven then turned around and went on the opposite way.

It had been decided that Raven will approach the tribe alone from the get go. This just so that they won't scare them with their numbers. The plan is to ease them up to the idea of coming with them willingly. They didn't want to make this look like an abduction or something like that.

Since he was travelling alone, Raven practically reached the vicinity of the tribe in record time. Thanks to the Skynet Array, he could prevent himself from blindly guessing which way to go. 

The tribe was hidden in the middle of thick forest. It acted as their natural cover from the spying eyes of the beast. There's also a wooden fence filled with thorns, erected around the forest. Raven slowly walked around the fence and looked for the entrance as he didn't want to just simply jumped in. 

Out of nowhere, he felt a presence nearby. He activated his eyes and found a small kid carrying a dirty sack filled with yellowish rocks. The child was a young girl and was clearly malnourished, her face was very dirty, her cheeks were sunken and her clothes didn't even cover her whole body. Each step she took was labored, it was clear that she was very tired. 

Raven sighed, he suppressed the negative emotions he felt and gently approached her with a smile on her face. 

As soon as the girl saw him, she practically shivered. The sack she was carrying abruptly fell down as a visible panic appeared in her face.

Raven help up his hands and said: "Be at ease, be at ease. I won't harm you."

"…" The girl let out a squeak and some unintelligible words. 

Raven's eyes gleamed as he thought: 'Dark Moon Era language? So that's what's going on.' He inwardly shook his head and spoke once again.

"Don't be scared. I'm not going to harm you." He said using the language she could understand. 

The little girl's eyes widened like saucers, she placed her hands on her mouth and said: "Waa, it's talking! It's gonna eat me! Uwaa~"

Raven laughed at her antics, he then slowly crouched but he didn't move from where he was. He then said: "I'm not gonna eat you, little girl. I don't eat humans. I just want to help you out since it seems that your carrying something heavy."

The girl showed hesitation in her face, with her voice still shaking, she asked: "Are you really not going to eat me?"

"Nope." Raven laughed once again, "What's your name?"

"N-Nana." The girl replied, slowly squirming in her place. 

"Nice to meet you, Nana. My name is Raven. Why are you carrying that heavy sack?"

"B-because our tribe needs it." She said, still slightly afraid of him.

Raven smiled and sat down in front of him, he kept that friendly smile and asked: "What does your sack have?"

"Sparking Rocks." Nana replied, somehow easing up with Raven's gentle gestures.

"Sparking Rocks?"

"Mn!" She nodded, "We use it to set fire to twigs so that the fire could keep us warm."

'Ah, Sulfuric Rocks.' Raven nodded his head in understanding. He then asked her, "Why are you the one gathering them? Where's your parents?"

"Dad and Mom are sick." Nana replied sadly, "They can't stand up so they can't work. If they don't work, we won't have food. If we can't have food, they won't get better. And I want them to get better so I gather Sparking Rocks."

Raven smiled sadly. The girl can't even talk properly yet she was already exposed to this much hardship. Suddenly, he heard the girl's stomach rumble. He saw how she reeled back in pain and immediately placed her fingers on her lips. Raven frown and said:

"Stop doing that!" His voice raised a little too high, much to the horror of the girl who immediately went pale. Realizing this instantly, Raven immediately added: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you. But stop eating your nails, it's dirty."

"B-but…I'm hungry. I don't have anything to eat." She said as tears flowed down from her dirty face. Raven's heart ached. 

Moving slowly, he raised hand and traced his spatial ring. Suddenly, a plate filled with a bunch of food appeared in his hands, much to the surprise of the little girl. 

In the sight of that much food, the little girl practically drooled on spot. Raven smiled and placed the plate of food in front of him. He then said: "Eat it. It's yours."

"Really?" The little girl's eyes shone like stars. 

"Really." Raven nodded, "It's all yours."

The little girl hesitated, she remembered the words of her parents to not trust anyone outside of their tribe. But faced with a plate of a delicacy, she would be lying if she said that she wasn't tempted. 

Seeing her hesitation, Raven smiled and pushed the plate even further. He then placed two more plates beside it and said: "Don't worry, I told you I'm not gonna hurt you. You can have all of this, you can bring back the rest to your parents."

After hearing that, the little girl practically flew forward and gorged on the food. Her tears poured out like rain as she said: "Delicious! It's so delicious! Waa~." 

Raven smiled and patted her head.