It was another rough day for Kyros Aleister. He rigorously trained in the courtyard of the Wild Hunt Guild, having ignored the wandering eyes of the other Hunters around him. With Runa and Sarra elsewhere at the time, he was left all alone in the organization. It didn't take long for him to feel out of place. No one bothered to interact with him whenever Runa and Sarra weren't around.

Not that he didn't understand. Kyros was an outsider, after all. It would take some time until others would come to accept him as a full-fledged member of the group. He wasn't in a rush for acceptance, as he had other priorities to focus on.

"That should be enough for today." Kyros cleared his face from sweat and headed back to the inn. Along the way, he spotted Sarra trudging her way through the streets. The little girl kept her hand to her head. Blood seeped through the cracks in her fingers. "Sarra?!"

Kyros rushed to the girl in a panic, immediately bombarding her with questions of concern.

Sarra hesitated to answer, exhausted from her walk back to the town with a head wound. Before she could answer, the light-blue light emanating from Kyros' hand caught her eye. The man set his hand on the head wound, enveloping her in the same light. The warming sensation brought upon by the man's Praus invoked a smile on her face.

The head wound closed, and the blood stopped.

"Are you okay?" Kyros concernedly asked. Even if he healed Sarra's wound, it didn't mean the head trauma was gone.

"Yeah, I'm fine now..." Sarra's gaze dropped to Kyros' hand. The light radiating from the man's hand diminished. "It must be nice, having unlocked your Praus."

The despondent tone in her voice caught Kyros' attention straight away. He led the Sarra back to his room inside the inn, where they could proceed with their conversation in private. Sarra sat by the foot of the bed while Kyros stood nearby with a stern expression.

"What happened to you, Sarra?" Kyros asked once again, having used a softer tone that time around.

"I went to speak with Runa like you suggested," Sarra nervously rubbed her arm, struggling to find the words to describe the turn of events. It was a difficult situation. "She struck me when I spoke out against her."

Kyros froze when he heard the words straight out of the source's mouth. He didn't have an instant response to the revelation. How could he? From his perspective, Runa and Sarra were family. It never crossed his mind that Runa would strike Sarra, a child.

The woman hit Sarra hard enough to draw blood from the side of her head.

An intense, seething rage flared inside of Kyros. What kind of person did that? Who would strike a child because they spoke out against you? Unforgivable.

"Sarra did that to you," Kyros muttered. It wasn't a question. But rather an affirmation to help soothe the rage inside him. It didn't help. "I'm going to teach her a lesson."

"Don't bother, Mr. Kyros. It doesn't matter." Sarra softly said. "Runa won't change. She'll never change. She's that kind of person."

"I don't care. There's no excuse for Runa to hit you." Kyros declared.

"Why? Because you think I'm a child? Too weak and naive to take care of myself?!" A sudden burst of frustration expelled from Sarra as she stood up from the bed. She knew that Kyros meant well by his response, but she couldn't control it any longer. Years of anger and frustration continued to pour out of her uncontrollably again.

Her saddened expression turned aggressive, unnerving Kyros. He'd never seen the little girl make such a face. Whatever happened between her and Runa must've severely impacted her.

"That's not what I meant, Sarra," Kyros tried to defuse Sarra's hostility. "Yes, you're a child. But that's not the point. People shouldn't harm others."

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Kyros' words of sincerity passed through one ear and out the other. Sarra was far too upset to listen to reason.

"Well, that's not how it works out here! The only rule out here is to survive. It doesn't matter what you have to do or who stands in your way," Sarra continued to vent. "You just do it."

"Tell me, Sarra. What does Runa hitting you have anything to do with survival?" Kyros countered. He didn't agree with the survival of the fittest mentality from the Gardens of Eden. He saw it as archaic and barbaric. Humanity should stick together to survive, lending a hand to everyone that needs help.

"I..." Sarra averted her gaze to the floor.

"Did you come to Runa with the intent to kill her? Because if you hadn't, there's no excuse for her to attack you."

"All I did was yell at her," Sarra admitted. "I said awful things to her. I was frustrated and upset about how she treated me like a child. I understand that I'm young and inexperienced, but I've been through hell like the rest of you. I'm far from an ordinary child."

Kyros had nothing to refute. The sudden shift in Sarra's attitude left him stunned. He was so comfortable with the girl's shy and meek nature that he never considered any other sides to her personality. He couldn't imagine the amount of stress she kept bottled up. It was only a matter of time until she exploded.

"What are you going to do now?" Kyros inquired.

"I've dissolved my partnership with Runa. I don't ever want to see her again for as long as I live." Sarra answered. That much, she was sure. She couldn't team up with Runa again. "I may leave Wild Hunt behind too."

"Sarra, you can't possibly mean that," Kyros presumed. "I know you're mad at Runa. But you two are close. You can't toss her aside over a simple fight."

"It wasn't a simple fight, Mr. Kyros. I've been thinking about this for a long time," Sarra looked down to the palm of her hands. She clenched her hands into fists, having affirmed her desire to become her own person. "I'm through with Runa, and everything concerning her. I don't have to follow her orders anymore. I'm free to make my own decisions from now on."

Her voice beamed with confidence and determination. Kyros couldn't come up with any viable excuse to alter Sarra's decision. The girl had made her mind.

"If that's the path you plan to go down, then so be it," Kyros reluctantly accepted the decision. "If you're leaving Runa and Wild Hunt, does that mean you're leaving the town as well?"

"Yes," Sarra reluctantly answered. She couldn't stay in the same town as Runa, not after breaking off their partnership and cutting her ties with the guild. "There's a guild over at Malus. I'm sure they'll accept me."

"Maybe..."

"When do you want to leave?" Sarra suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"How soon do you want to leave town? You're coming with me to Malus, aren't you?"

"Sarra, it's a little sudden. I just came to this town and joined Wild Hunt. I can't just leave." Kyros explained.

"Why does it matter? Nothing is tying you to this place," Sarra asserted. "You don't have friends here other than me, and the others don't like or respect you. Honestly, they think you're a spy from Soteria."

Kyros shook his head and heaved a sigh. He understood his situation long before Sarra told him. He didn't know about the spy stuff, but he let it go since he saw where everyone came from, allowing a stranger into their ranks.

"I know that already, but I still have to stay here, Sarra. Leaving with you would only complicate things and validate their suspicions toward me," Kyros mentioned.

Sarra understood Kyros' reasonings behind his words, but she kept quiet about how hurt she felt. Out of everyone in town, Mr. Kyros was the only other person she could rely on with Runa out of the picture.

"Okay, I understand. Thanks anyway, Mr. Kyros." Sarra forced a smile and left the room, having decided her next course of action.

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Hours after their argument, Runa das Meer walked back to Anemone Town, having spent most of the time gathering herself and finding the right words to apologize to Sarra. She couldn't believe it. Everything was a complete disaster. Not only did Sarra spot Runa in her moment of weaknesses, but she physically lashed out and hit her partner.

What poor, pathetic excuse of a partner did something like that? Runa lost control of her emotions and drew blood from another partner of hers. Worst of all, Sarra severed their partnership.

Things couldn’t end. Not like that. She wouldn’t allow it. Runa and Sarra had been through so much together. How could she just want to end their partnership over a single argument?

Runa understood that they both said and did things in the heat of the moment. A moment like that had to be a long time coming. Regardless, she was more than willing to apologize to Sarra. No matter what she said about her children, hitting her was wrong. She shouldn’t have done it.

Raising a hand against a child wasn’t right. Runa already had enough guilt weighing on her conscious. She couldn’t afford to have anymore.

Runa snapped out her despaired state when she caught Kyros coming out from the entrance to the town on horseback. He pulled on the reins and stopped the horse in front of the woman.

"Runa! There's a problem!" Kyros desperately announced.

"What? What is it?" Runa asked.

"It's Sarra! She's quit Wild Hunt and taken off!"

"What?!" Runa exclaimed. "Where?! Where did she go?!"

"She mentioned a place called Malus to me! I think she's heading that way!" Kyros answered. "It's going to get dark soon! We have to get her back!"

"You don't have to tell me!" Runa jumped on the back of the horse. "Let's go!"

Kyros slammed his legs to the sides of the horse, holding on tightly as the animal took off down the dirt path.