A few days had passed since Laurie and Lennier had checked in the cheap motel. From the found money they also got some camping equipment that would allow them to have it a bit more comfort during their trip and of course some food to take with them. They had decided not to try and overstay their welcome, especially since they were still being searched by the BlackThunder, but they had at least used their time in civilization to rest, restock and get up to date with be latest news.
The most recent news was the reason why they wanted to leave early in the morning: the money they found was from the local bank, and the dead digimon they made a makeshift grave for was supposed to travel with the money to the BlackThunder for unknown reasons. While neither Laurie nor Lennier were really sad about BlackThunder not receiving the money, they were uncomfortable by the fact the grave was found. That meant BlackThunder was probably looking for the whereabouts of the money… and if the numbers were registered, then they would be found over their very own expenses soon.
They had already mapped out how they would leave the town. If everything went according to plan, then nobody would be wiser at the end of the day about their whereabouts and they would be able to continue well equipped and well stocked without the need to visit any town for a while.
In bed, Laurie and Lennier laid on the sides, their backs showing at each other, and they tried to sleep, until Laurie began, "Lennier… are you still awake?"
Silence for a while until the Dorumon answered, "I am… what is it?"
"Lennier… I… never really thanked you for being such a good friend to me," explained the Renamon and rolled on her back. "And… there are a few things… I would like to tell you."
"I… I want to tell you something as well, but…" answered Lennier, not sure how to word his next thoughts without expressing the wrong meaning.
"I understand. We should sleep and be rested. Once we are in safety tomorrow, we can talk," suggested Laurie, indicating she guessed what thought Lennier intended to say. While it was far from anything he originally wanted to tell her, he let it be for now, as it was a true fact that they should be rested and prepared for tomorrow’s trip. So he closed his eyes once again and was soon asleep.
On the next morning, they were woken up by a ringing phone that was in the room. Tired, Lennier reached out for the phone but it was just the requested wake up call. Forcing himself out of the bed, he crawled into the bathroom and splashed cold water into his face to get rid of the remains of his slumber. Once he got out, Laurie was getting in and did the same. Once they were as awake as possible, they packed their stuff and put them into a corner to leave once they had breakfast. They ate as much as they could without hindering their ability for the walk without side effects, paid for the nights and began leaving. They headed for the route down the south. While in the east were the borders of to the neighbor country, where BlackThunder lacked influence, they had to assume that they couldn't just simply travel there, instead, trying to get to a hole in their surveillance. So they had decided to try their luck at a certain direction. Also, normally they wouldn't walk on the path, but they had a good reason to do so.
They passed a Veemon, who stopped in his tracks and turned around to look closer to them. Then he took out his smartphone and tipped on it. As he found what he was looking for, he gasped, looked again to ensure the pair didn't notice him. He quickly made a shot with the camera of the device and moved out at the direction of the town while making a call.
Only twenty minutes later, the Veemon was confronted by two ultimate-leveled members of the BlackThunder, an Andromon and a Taomon. The robot asked, "So you say you have seen the two to the south route, right? What is your proof?"
The Veemon showed the picture he had taken. The Andromon looked at the Taomon, who stated, "Given the last confirmed sights and their move patterns, it is likely they got to this town and also likely they took the south route as north is blocked off and the borders in the east heavily guarded."
Nodding, the Andromon looked at the Veemon, "You provided us with vital information! And for that… we are going to reward you," before moving closer to the Veemon, who had the feeling he really didn’t want this reward…
Later, search teams were covering the south route, coming from the town, the south and the west to pinch the elusive pair and trap them or at least force them to take a route of their choosing so they could end the hunt as soon as possible.
Several BlackThunder members were searching the town itself, in case the two tried to lay down a false path. While video footage has proven that the pair was in town previously, they found none of the two leaving and the route to the south resulted at a dead end as well, as there was a sudden lack of trails. While a few Renamons were captured, none of them was the wanted one and not a single Dorumon was even found in a one hundred kilometers search radius. Except north.
But that was considered impossible. The north route was blocked since an explosion happened recently and blocked off the path and the only safe bridge over a giant chasm was destroyed as well. Also, the strong winds there made it impossible to fly over, so even if the Dorumon had turned into a Dorugamon, they would have plummet to their deaths.
The only other possibility was that the two were either faster than anybody had thought, or there was a hidden passage somewhere… first one was the more logical solution, so orders were given out to search a wider parameter for any signs.
An old lady that had served the local BlackThunder staff at their usual café, only thought to herself, "They really are poor in mind…"
Deep in a forest, Lennier poked his head out of a cave and carefully looked around. As he didn't notice any danger, he moved out and Laurie followed him. The two looked at each other and sighed and the female spoke, "Looks like it worked."
"Yeah… and I was surprised that the first guy we ran into at the south route instantly alerted the BlackThunder. I thought we would have one or two hours before anybody would wise up," stated Lennier. "But it saved us time."
"Yeah! Good thing we ran into somebody from the WhiteCloaks. She really helped us out telling us about this old passage," agreed Laurie. "Too bad she could not come with us, but at her age I cannot blame her."
Lennier nodded in agreement and took out the map they were given, "So… with that we lost the BlackThunder and even if they find our trail quickly, we are now in a country they have only little influence. So once we got a good distance, we should be able to relax again and try to find that contact we are told to find."
"In which direction should we go?" asked Laurie while leaning over Lennier, looking at the map as well.
"According to this map… one hour from there is a route that should lead us within four or five days march to a camping place, which should be informed about our arrival and paid in advance. From there we should get information on how to continue" explained Lennier. "Although… I wonder why the WhiteCloak are so interested in helping us. Getting us off the hands of BlackThunder is one thing, but telling us that they are going to give us shelter?"
"You think they want something from us?"
"That is what I think… for now I will trust them due their reputation. But afterwards, it depends on them."
"I think this is reasonable," nodded Laurie and they began to head north until they found the already mentioned path and after a consult on the map and the compass, they turned into the direction they were supposed to go.
They didn't exchange any words to preserve their energy until the sun was very low. They looked for a good spot to set up their tent. Once it was done and a small fire made to cook their meal, Lennier said, "Laurie… I… wanted to talk with you."
"Is it… about last night?"
Lennier nodded to her and Laurie looked at him and he stated, "Well… I… I…"
Laurie got what he tried to tell and she began pulling him closer. Lennier was surprised at first, especially when she… kissed his lips. But then he gave in and began to kiss her in return, holding her close. Laurie laid slowly on her back while Lennier went on top of her and the two kept on kissing each other for quite a while.
Once the kiss broke, Lennier gazed at Laurie and whispered slowly, "I… I love you…"
"I… love you too," replied Laurie in a gentle tone and smiled at the Dorumon. Smiling back, he entered one more kiss with her and murred as the two held each other close, his tail wagging happily and the two enjoyed their small private moment. They kept on for a while until their stomachs reminded them on their hunger and they got to their meal. They ate it together, leaning on each other and afterwards, instead of going into separate sleeping bags, they repurposed them so they would be able to share them, snuggled together and having a very peaceful sleep, one that they didn't have for weeks or even months.
As the next day arrived, the two slept in very long and even after waking up they decided to just snuggle together first before they would make breakfast and carry on. While it would cost time, they figured they could use this luxury at least once.
After a short and simple breakfast, they packed their equipment together and got ready to walk. They used a slow pacing to have it comfortable and not appear in a hurry for anybody who might be on the lookout for them. While they knew the chances the BlackThunder was receiving help, even though much less than they had the previous day, there was still the risk and there also might be pursuers. On the map was a detail that let them hope that BlackThunder was looking at the wrong direction right now, gifting them with time to buy distance.
They continued walking until it was midday and the sun was getting very hot. To their luck though, not far from the path they were walking was a spring and they went there to refresh themselves and cool down, as their fur were right now adapted for colder climates and not for such a warm sun. It made them wonder how such a different climate existed within a day’s worth of travel. As Laurie had her feet in the water, Lennier had taken the opportunity to catch a few fish from the spring and was soon prepping them for a quick meal. Luckily, they bought something that allowed them to fry the fish without making an extensive fire place, but they had to use it barely due to the fact they had only so much gas for it. Once Lennier was had finished, he called the yellow vixen, watching her movements as she came to join him for a the quick meal.
Once they were done with their fish, they rested some time to give their stomachs the chance to digest their meal before they would get ready again. Laurie got surprised as Lennier turned into his Dorugamon form, and demanded that he would carry everything… including her.
"Why?" wondered Laurie
"I have noticed that your ankles are swollen… didn't notice it before due the fur but as you got out of the water, I could see it," answered Lennier. "Why didn't you tell me before? I could have carried you all the way."
"I did not want to bother you… nor worry you," explained Laurie in a slightly embarrassed expression.
"But you got me worried nonetheless," said Lennier while shaking his head a little. "Now, let us get everything on my back, get your feet wrapped in wet and cold clothes and then you ride me until you are doing better."
The Renamon never heard the Lennier speaking in such a manner to her, but she figured he did that because he cared… so, she reluctantly agreed to his demands and once she was secured on his back, her legs wrapped in cold and wet clothing, Lennier began walking down the path, enduring the complete weight placed on him, as long it gave Laurie the rest she needed. And his champion-level form also had one perk: he had a natural higher walking speed, but the energy drain was the drawback… at dinner he would have quite an appetite.
The afternoon went on without any troubles. They paused time to time to enjoy the beautiful view of some parts of the landscape, Lennier was also receiving some lovely gestures of Laurie during the ride, such like scratching him behind the ears or wrapping her arms around his chest.
Lennier walked longer than they had planned, as he wanted to ensure they would reach the next place where they had a source of fresh water to replace the wrappings around Laurie’s swollen ankles. He also did all the work in the evening while Laurie sat at the fire and cooked a meal from their rations.
Lennier laid behind Laurie to give her something to lean on while they enjoyed the meal and the Renamon openly enjoyed the treatment of her beloved companion.
A few more days passed by like that. Then they reached a point that, according to the map and the environment formation, they should reach the camping site on the next day. With some luck, at lunch, else they would surely get there by dinner. Lennier made himself a mental note that he would at least try and get there as soon as possible so a doctor could look at Laurie. While Lennier was sure the swelling came from all the running and careless fleeing, he wanted to be sure.
He looked over to Laurie who was looking at the map as well and they smiled at each other before she leaned on him. Lennier rolled on his back with Laurie getting on top of him and they shared a deep kiss together and closed their eyes as their tongues danced together. Her hands rested on his chest while his were on her back. They continued to share their deep kiss and ignored the setting sun. They continued kissing until they began falling asleep in each other’s embracement.
At the next day, after they had their breakfast, was Lennier was getting ready and put new wraps around Laurie’s ankles and got a few bottles of water for the trip.
"Ready?"
"Go, my lovely beast," murred Laurie, laying her torso on his back and her arms around it and Lennier began walking their path. Setting in a good walking speed, he put in effort like he had planned and carried on. Soon, the sweat was running over his body.
Laurie noticed it and wondered "Are you that eager to get us there today?"
"I want that your legs are taken care for," stated Lennier on his walk and at early afternoon the camping grounds came in sight and as they reached the gate, a Tyrannomon was standing there, writing on paperwork.
As they stood before him, he looked up and stated, "A Renamon with a sword and a Dorugamon. I have been expecting you."
Opening the gates, he handed the two a piece of paper "You two got place 28. Showers are active all day but warm water is only between six and eight."
"Understood," stated Lennier. "Can you tell us perhaps where there is a doctor? My… friend needs somebody to look at her legs."
"Doc Brock will come over anyway. Just wait for him," stated the Tyrannomon. "Now leave me alone. I have to work."
Lennier walked towards their place and stated, "Such a wonderful guy."
"Yeah! But at least we don't have to worry about a couple of things," agreed Laurie.
As they got to their place and while Laurie was sitting to rest her legs, protesting on the way, Lennier set their tent up and made a quick meal and while they ate, they wait for this doctor Brock… whoever he was.
