The special day finally arrived. Kyros awoke to the sound of loud knocks coming from his door. Upon answering, a familiar little girl barged into the room, jumping for joy in celebration for the glorious day, and entering shortly after Sarra was the little girl's partner, Runa das Meer. The woman showed no excitement.

From their conversation last night, Runa made her displeasure well-known to the military man. She didn't trust him. She wouldn't trust him. But if he kept the Guild and the others out of trouble, she'd stay out of his way. That was the agreement.

The group returned to the Guild, stepping into an explosion of confetti and streamers, courtesy of the Wild Hunt members. The only ones to express genuine excitement and joy was the receptionist, Cailey, Sarra, and the Guild Master, Serhan.

"Congratulations, Kyros!" Serhan continued to shower Kyros with streamers and confetti. The other members of the organization watched on in mild interest.

The Guild Master and the receptionist flanked Kyros and provided him with his guild identification card. He took the card and smiled, now a proud, official member of Wild Hunt. Next to a photograph of him was his rank.

F.

The lowest rank the Guild provided. He expected to get placed around the C-level, but he wouldn't complain. He'd stay and raise his position in no time.

"Hey, Runa! Look! I've got a guild card!" Kyros enthusiastically waved the card around in his hand.

"Wow, yeah, that's great." Runa had long stopped caring about the celebration of the organization's newest member. The woman instead focused on ordering a meal for her and Sarra from one of the waitresses.

"You could at least pretend to be happy," Kyros slipped the card into his pocket.

"Oh, never mind her," Cailey spoke all too calmly, brushing off Runa's rude behavior as if it were natural. "Now that you're a member of the guild, there are a few rules that you must abide."

The Mono's usual carefree and joyful tone suddenly vanished. A dreadful air of seriousness hung in the air. Kyros took immediate notice of the change in atmosphere.

"I'm listening." He said.

"Rule number one," Cailey raised her index to Kyros' face. "The Blood Law. Members of the Wild Hunt Guild are family. Therefore, murdering members of the organization is prohibited."

Kyros stared at Cailey in mild disbelief. He wasn't bothered by the fact that the rule existed. It was the fact that it needed to get announced to him in the first place. Even when he first joined the military, it was an unspoken rule that no one should murder comrades. There was no need to mention it.

Allies should fight together, not each other.

But the Gardens of Eden was different. The people out there were far more savage and selfish, at least according to the Soterians.

If the no killing allies rule needed mentioning, then someone without a doubt committed such a heinous deed. It should've been common sense not to harm, let alone kill allies. But someone, at some time in the past, didn't understand the concept of comradery.

"Know that if you try and murder anyone in the guild, you'll be hunted down and brutally executed," Serhan warned. There were only two instances in Wild Hunt history where someone either murdered or attempted to kill fellow guild members. Serhan was unfortunate enough to witness both cases.

"I understand." Kyros nodded, feeling the weighted words of his guild master press down on his entire body. "What else should I know?"

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"That's the most important rule," Serhan's joyous tone and eccentric mannerisms returned in a heartbeat. He left Kyros with those parting words and headed back upstairs to his office. The Guild Master was a busy man, after all. He didn't have the time to babysit every new member of the group personally.

"Runa can explain everything else to you," Cailey waved Kyros goodbye and followed her boss up the stairs.

"Damn it! Why do they keep droppin' you on me?!" Runa slammed her fist on the table, severely damaging the surface. She had half a mind to climb the stairs and chew the devious bastards out. But it'd do her no good. Like it or not, she was stuck with Kyros.

"We're partners, aren't we?" Kyros joined Runa and Sarra at the table, greeting the ladies with a warm smile. At that point, Runa figured that he was screwing with her. He knew that she didn't like him, and he was trying to test her patience.

"Sarra and I are partners," corrected Runa, wanting to make sure the man got that fact straight. Kyros was nothing more than an annoying tag along.

"We can become partners now that you're one of us," Sarra delightfully stated. Ever since she joined Wild Hunt, she'd always wanted to form a giant, unstoppable team of Hunters. With a team of three Exousia, they were well on their way to the summit of Huntsmen's history. But Runa adamantly refused to allow others into their group.

"He's not joinin' our team," Runa set her foot down on the subject of the matter.

"C'mon, Runa! Mr. Kyros is a good guy!" The little girl's desperate pleas fell on deaf ears. Runa wasn't having any of it.

"We're not bringin' a rookie into the team," Runa shook her head in refusal. It wasn't the only reason, of course, but it was the most logical argument at that time.

"He'll get better! We'll train him!"

Kyros edged himself away from the conversation. His travels with the Huntress duo waned his desire to get in between the two. They often argued, especially whenever Kyros' name was brought up. But in the end, Runa always won. Kyros sat back and waited for that moment.

"Look, I'm the leader of this team! I get the say in who joins us or not!" Runa raised her voice and slammed her foot on the floor. The entire first floor fell silent. "This discussion is over."

"Runa, you're too harsh on--"

"Stay out of our business!" The one-eyed Huntress snapped at Kyros, immediately reminding him of his place in the organization. Afterward, the woman settled down and stood from her seat. "I'm gonna look into buyin' a house. I'll come to collect you later."

With those parting words, she felt the guild building. Eventually, everyone went back to minding their own business. Arguments in Wild Hunt were a regular occurrence. The Hunters were glad that it didn't result in a brawl. It cost a lot of money to fix broken furniture and structures in the building.

Kyros placed a hand of comfort on Sarra's shoulder, knowing all too well how the little girl must've felt. He experienced such oppression in his home country — the citizens, public figures, and even from his allies.

"Are you okay?" Kyros asked worriedly.

"Mr. Kyros, let's take on a quest," Sarra immediately suggested. Kyros smiled, noticing the fire in the Huntresses' eyes. That whole exchange with Runa lit a fire in her. If Runa refused to acknowledge Sarra as an equal, then she'd show her.

"What kind of quest do you have in mind?" Kyros wondered. Sarra got up and led the young man up to the third floor. The duo found themselves in front of the quest board.

Posted on the board were several mission request forms for everyone to see.

"Let's show Runa what we can do," Sarra snatched the first mission form that caught her eye. "The highest missions we can do at the moment are D-Ranks, thanks to yours truly."

"What are we hunting?" Kyros asked.

"Wolves," Sarra showed the picture to the man. The request form detailed essential information such as the type of wolves, the items required to consider the quest completed, and the location of the beasts. "We collect their paws, ears, and pelts. The more we gather, the higher our reward payment."

"Sounds good, when do you want to head out?"

"Tonight," Sarra answered. "The sooner we do this, the better."

Kyros offered no complaints, figuring the two of them could handle a pack of wolves without Runa. He remembered his conversation with the woman last night. He was initially concerned with how she'd react with him going out on a mission with her partner. But he wasn't the one that initiated the task.

The honor went to Sarra.

Perhaps he wouldn't get in too much trouble thanks to that crucial piece of information? Who was he kidding, he knew Runa would get pissed regardless. She always had a reason to get angry at one thing or another.

Thankfully, Sarra's happiness dispelled his initial fear of Runa's rage. The little girl deserved some independence under her partner's tyrannical rule. Partners should be equals, regardless of age, experience, and rank. Kyros planned to treat Sarra with respect while on their mission.

The duo brought the request form to Cailey, and the receptionist approved it. Kyros and Sarra were officially a team for as long as the mission remained active. They collected the necessary supplies and headed out of town.