"Eh?" Jake muttered.

"Sounds like a tussle going on." he said to himself.

'But... what kind of fight....?' he then wondered.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he picked up his pace.

He had to see what was going on there, and almost immediately, he saw one of the denizens of the pond that he'd taken to swimming in. It looked like a cross between an alligator and a turtle, but it was deceptively quick.

But what was it fighting against?

".........." Jake was silent as he saw this, before sighing.

A few seconds later, the creature emerged from under the water, and crawled up onto the shore of the pond. It looked over towards the girl, and seemed to almost smirk.

It then lunged straight for her, mouth wide open, but the girl suddenly saw that someone had gotten in the way, and had grabbed the creature by its mouth, twisting it suddenly and slamming it onto its back in a deft swift motion.

"Hmph." he muttered, as the creature rocked back and forth, stuck on the back of its shell. The man then sighed, before giving it a swift kick, rolling it back into the water.

"....you need medical help." he then said to the girl.

"...eh?" Jake muttered.

He then sighed, and grabbed some seaweed-like plants that were growing nearby. He started to clean the blood up with some of them, while wrapping the wound with some others.

"You are?" he asked.

"But why?" he asked her.

"Who would send a child to almost certain death here?"

"I am." Jake responded.

"Fairly new. Name's Jake.'' he introduced himself.

"Sydney brought me here to the guild." he went on.

"Saved me from being homeless and on the run." he said further, before something hit him.

"...Cassandra?" he then asked.

"As in, Cassandra Argento?" he asked further, seeking clarification.

"Not really." Jake replied.

"Maybe a few things here and there, but I've never listened." he admitted.

"But Sydney's told me about you." he said.

"She's also said how if I'm caught being nice to you, there will be consequences for you." he went on.

"So let's keep this meeting a secret, all right?" he asked with a small smile.

Jake was silent again, and shook his head.

"I've heard about the treatment you receive." he said.

"It's unacceptable." he told her.

"He shouldn't be treating his own offspring like he's treating you." he went on.

"...." he then noticed the wound healing faster and more efficiently than he would have expected.

"... you have mana?" he asked her.

Jake shook his head.

"No." he replied.

"Your father hired me because I'm not human." he told her.

"I'm Ramaarin." he said, showing her his teeth.

"Guess he thought that was enough." he shrugged.

"Maybe it is, seeing as I took down that Trap-Snapper." he added with a light chuckle.

Jake just smirked.

"Heh." he chuckled.

"Yeah, we tend to be a low-key race." he said.

"Humans tend to despise us." he went on.

"Well, mortals, anyway." he clarified.

"So we do our best to seem like we either died out, or were a myth in the first place."

Again, Jake sighed.

"Sadly." he said.

"Anyway, it's clear you've been using your mana to help heal yourself, but how are you feeling?" he asked.

"These salveio weeds should have disinfected and cleansed the wound, at least." he continued.

"I can't believe he sent you out here, though." he went on.

"This is mating season for those things, and they're a lot more aggressive." he muttered.

"Does he really have no regard for your welfare?"

Jake nodded.

"Yeah." he said.

"And I'll linger here, out of sight for a bit." he told her.

"It wouldn't look good if we returned together." he reasoned, shaking his head slightly.

"I was planning to go for a swim, anyway." he added.