"I'll take whatever I can get." the man sighed as he got closer.

"And... well... call me Jake." he then told Sydney. "It's not my 'real' name per se, but my real name involves using a forked tongue to make a sound that is borderline impossible to replicate." he admitted.

"Jake's the closest to it." he went on.

"Nice to meet you, though, Sydney." he told her.

"We heading back the same way you caused that brute of a beast to disappear?" he asked.

Jake just smirked.

"I can handle it." he told her.

"I'm a hardy individual." he said confidently.

"So let's be off." he said further, bringing a hand to his ear.

"...I hear some commotion coming this way." he told her. "Probably some people heard the commotion and might be coming to investigate." he reasoned.

"So we should make ourselves scarce."

Jake looked at the portal that formed in the trunk of the tree, and nodded.

"Right." he said.

He took a couple of breaths, before making his way towards it. He paused at it for a second, looked back at Sydney, and then towards the portal once more.

"Here goes." he said with a shrug.

Then, without further delay, he leapt into the portal, bracing himself.

As soon as he did that, he felt like his insides were being twisted and knotted around, but before he could fully 'comprehend' what was happening, he landed on his feet, almost falling to the floor.

'Where am I?' he thought, looking around.

He noticed that he was outside, with an impressive and imposing structure of a building before him. However, that was not what caught his attention the most.

What caught it was the fact that a lush and beautiful forest was spread out before him, surrounding the building before him.

"....nice." he said quietly.

Jake followed Sydney to the door, and was silent as she knocked.

There was silence on the other side of the door as well, until a small panel opened, and a pair of eyes looked out.

"Oh." the person they belonged to said.

"It's you." they said further, looking at Sydney.

"What do you want?" they asked.

"Just to pester me again?"

"Hmph." the person responded.

"This won't save you from the boss's wrath." they told her, as they heard clinking and clanking, obviously locks being unlocked and undone.

"He's still livid with you for sending that beast back alive." they said further.

"So have fun with that." they finished a smirk in their tone, before the shutter was closed, and the door was opened slowly.

'.........hm.' Jake thought, as he remained silent throughout the exchange.

Jake stepped inside and quickly followed Sydney, catching a quick glance at the one that had been manning the door.

"Hmph." they grunted.

"Think you're soooooo good." they growled, locking the door.

"Really need to be taken down a peg or five." they grumbled further.

"...hm." Jake mumbled.

"I assume you two don't get along so well." he said to Sydney.

"I... I see." Jake responded.

"Lovely." he muttered.

With that, the two of them made their way to where the boss's office was, with Sydney knocking on the door.

"This had better be good." a gruff voice growled from the other side.

"Unless it's good news, scram!" he ordered.

Sydney merely stepped inside, with Jake following.

"At least you completed the bounty." the man at the desk said to her in a low, restrained tone.

"....a spar?" the man asked.

"Yeah." Jake replied.

"I was set to take down that beast myself, but she got there before me, so we ended up having a bit of a spar to determine who got the rights to it." he said further.

"It was her." he went on, knowing where Sydney was going with the lie.

Immediately, the man looked surprised, shocked, and impressed.

"I see." he responded.

"Well, we can always use another hard-working and talented hunter." he said, seeming to believe what they had fed him.

The man made an unimpressed sound.

"Whatever." he said.

He then dug into a desk drawer, and tossed Sydney an envelope.

'Take it." he told her.

"The new recruit and I have business to discuss." he said further.

"So go. Scram!" he then ordered her.

Jake watched her go, and sighed, before he and the boss were left alone.

About 45 minutes later, in the lounge, Sydney was sitting on one of the couches, alone in the room, when she saw Jake step into the room as well.

And he looked exasperated.

"Ugh." he groaned.

"I don't know HOW you put up with him." he said to her, making his way over.

"Every time he speaks, I just want to punch him in the stomach so hard, he vomits up his lunch from 2 days ago." he muttered further.