C34: Me and You only!

Elijah dragged Owl out of the inn through the door, leaving the others behind.

Owl dared not to speak, silently waiting for her to explain the situation. However, he did like Elijah holding into his arm, those soft fingers finally grasping his body.

As they went, Elijah turned around to see Owl.

She raised her eyebrow, smirking as she saw his expression.

"Hmm? What is that expression? Huh?"

Owl opened his eyes, gobbling.

"Umm, nothing!" He blurted out. Elijah chuckled as she heard him speak. "Hehe... You can only speak when you lie, right Owl?"

Owl's cheeks went red as she said this. However, Elijah liked the way he acted.

For the first time in a long time, Owl had spoken to Elijah. Slightly, his fear was fading and he decided to speak again.

"Hey Elijah, where are you dragging me?" That was his first question.

"Ahh! Owl! Don't you like to tag along?? Just... Come with me. And it's about a mission only the best can handle," she said.

It was true. After Winry and Elijah, Owl was the third most powerful in the team.

"Huh... How powerful is the guy you're tracking down?" Owl asked from her, narrowing his eyes. He had to make sure that Elijah won't get hurt... Thus the reason he decided to come.

Sigh... Elijah sighed and told him the truth.

"Midnight... We're following the Midnight to keep our heads safe." Her voice was calm, despite the dangerous group they were chasing.

'The Midnight!!!? So she was dealing with them! No wonder! Damn... Thank God I came along with her.' Owl thought, letting out a sigh of relief.

"So... You want to kill the Midnight? Won't it give more attention to them? I mean... There's a whole group of Legends in the Midnight."

Elijah looked down after hearing these words from Owl. "I... I know it's dangerous. But they are tracking down my mana. You see... Something happened yesterday..."

(7 hours ago...)

"Ahh... Damn these people. Making 1000 Rims and getting popular under our noses!" Elijah muttered carrying Alan to the bed.

Despite how tall Alan was, she was strong enough to carry him over her shoulder like a pillow.

"Aghh... What a bother," she said, placing down Alan on his bed.

She covered him with the blanket, before puffing out the lamp in the room. And just as she did so, something knocked over, some metal right outside of the room.

It was only about 2 hours past midnight, and everyone was asleep. There were no drunks on the streets, they were already out cold.

Elijah slowly walked to the window and took a glance outside the window.

A dark mist emerged from something. She couldn't get a clear view because the thing was hiding behind the wall.

However, a sniffing sound came and it raised its head out, catching the scent of something familiar nearby.

First the snout... Then the two ears... and finally, a bright red shine.

'A shadow hound!' The thought struck her head as soon as she saw the red glow in the hound's eyes. Elijah immediately stepped aside from the window, taking cover behind the wall.

"Grrrr..." the wolf growled as it heard the sudden footsteps, and looked in the direction where it was coming from.

Suddenly, a rat ran through the ceiling of the house, making a racket of footsteps.

'Phew...' Elijah sighed out of relief.

As soon as the shadow hound saw the rat, it ran through the streets back to its master.

Elijah's heartbeat gradually decreased. If the shadow hound took a single glance at her face, she would've been caught, along with everyone in the inn.

She only knew one organization that used these shadow hounds. 'The Midnight...'

As for the rumors she had heard, to tame one of those goddamned hounds, you must sacrifice a part of your body and bind them to the hound's life.

Only the Midnight would be so desperate to do such a thing.

However, the cost of binding one's body part to the hound came with a prize. The lifelong honor for its master, and a 4th Grade Demon Shadow Hound with immense mana power.

"Only the pros have 'em!" The villagers would constantly say this when they break down into a case that involved Shadow Hounds.

***

"So... That's why I decided to stay behind and take care of this Midnight problem..." Elijah explained the situation to Owl.

Owl was frightened to hear this. To think that the Midnight was so into Elijah, she could've lost her life in a matter of minutes if one of those hounds managed to catch her!

"Goddammit! I would've stayed up by your side all night if I knew that this was going on with you!" Owl insisted.

Elijah chuckled. 'Maybe that's why I didn't feel like telling you...' she told herself.

Finally, they reached the stable. Elijah mounted one horse and Owl mounted her shoulder.

Elijah looked at Owl as he landed on her shoulder, in his owl manifestation. She narrowed her eyes at him and smirked.

"Hmph! You need to ask before you touch a lady!"

A drop of sweat ran down the owl's forehead and Elijah chuckled. "Hahaha... You're so cute Owl!" She jabbered, riding the horse through the street.

Owl's heartbeat raised as she said this. He couldn't stop blushing.

***

Finally, they reached a tall tower. Elijah leashed the horse to a wooden pole and dismounted the horse.

"Stay here, bud." She said, giving a pat to the horse's neck.

Then, she turned to Owl who was still sitting on her shoulder.

"You better change out from that form, Owl. If they figure out that you're a shapeshifter, they'll be onto you too..." she said, rubbing the Owl's face with her finger.

Owl landed on the ground, shifting back to his true form.

"Hmm... What should we do then?" He asked her.

Elijah looked up at the top of the tower and pointed a finger at the dome of the tower.

"There... We reach there and shoot an arrow into the sky using my skill... The hounds would sense the exact mana of my white eagles."

Owl looked up at the dome. It was a good plan, but slightly risky.

"Hmm... We can take on the Shadow Hounds. But... How are we able to track down the organization? And what the hell should we do after tracking them down?"

Elijah's expression changed upon hearing this.

"Kill the guy who leads this damn operation!" She said, lowering her head, angrily.

The owl could see that the protection of their team wasn't the only thing she wanted, just by looking at her expression.

"Endier... And the others. Do you want to get revenge?"

Tears filled her eyes. Owl couldn't bear to see her in tears. He hugged her immediately.

"Ok... Then let's take care of it," he whispered in her ear. "Me and you only!"

Elijah hugged Owl back, sharing each other's embrace. "Yes... You and me... We can take care of them." She said, hugging Owl tighter than he hugged her.