From here, he could see that the little fox's three tails were wagging and it yipped as if that whole battle had simply been an exciting game.
                          
Fantastic. Simply fantastic.
                          
Slumping down to the forest floor, the pain finally setting in, Asta felt exhausted and bloody. A horrible combination, really. His arms and legs were covered in deep scratches, the right half of his face was numb, and blood soaked the back of his shirt from the wounds that trailed down his spine.
                          
Needless to say, he was downright miserable.
                          
But as he stared at his arms, he noticed something strange; the cuts seemed to be closing up, the skin knitting together like new. 
                          
Tentatively, he felt his back and found that it was healing the same and even the pain itself was beginning to subside. 
                          
It was then that he realized what sort of sorcery this was, for Monster Lords had magic healing blood. 
                          
Curling up with Alphonse, Asta wondered what he should do next. He realized now that it had been rather stupid of him to run off like that earlier. Now, he was stuck in the middle of the woods with no food, no water, and his warm clothes were now in tatters.
                          
 On top of that, the shadow Monsters might come back and he was much too tired to deal with them again.
                          
Beside him, Alphonse suddenly whimpered once more, his ears perking up as they caught fragments of sound echoing somewhere deep in the forest. And while Asta was certain he did not have the same level of hearing as the fox, he took a moment to listen as well, a shiver crawling snaking up his spine when he realized what it was.
                          
Human screams.
                          
                                ...................................
                          
"Asta! AAASTAAA!" Adar was sick of calling that stupid boy's name. How could Asta simply run off and get himself lost? It was very annoying. 
                          
Sometimes, he wondered why everyone couldn't be as sensible as himself.
                          
But sensible or not, the Guild mates had been in the midst of following those screams — convinced that they were Asta's — when they suddenly stopped, leaving the night sky chillingly silent once more.
                          
 "What now?" Jin asked, much to the prince's annoyance. It was HIS fault they were out here freezing to death in the middle of the blasted woods in the first place. He didn't GET to be the one to ask 'what now?'
                          
Adar ran a hand through his hair, huffing a frustrated sigh.
                          
Blimey, Asta could be anywhere by now! Perhaps the best thing to do WAS to leave him, at least till morning when it was warmer and there was more light... yet there was also no telling if the boy would be able to survive that long. And besides, he doubted Nico would be very happy with that decision-- that girl could pack quite a punch if she was provoked. And since Adar didn't fancy his beautiful face being beaten in, he continued the search.
                          
Thus, with the darkness wrapping its arms around them like a Monster itself, the companions headed in the direction of where the screams had been, every ear pricked, every sword drawn just in case. 
                          
Adar could feel the nervous tension in the air; the breath that came quickly, the movements that were rushed, the strained voices that snapped at one another to keep moving. He supposed that, as his duty as a leader, Adar should comfort them in some way.
                          
"Cheer up, you lot!" he barked, "We're not Monster food yet."
                          
Then again, he wasn't really the comforting type...