House hunting was perhaps the most tedious thing Runa's done in her entire life. When she first came to Anemone Town, purchasing a house was one of her dreams. She was hours away from accomplishing that dream after seven years, and yet it took so long. Numerous real estate agents took her several tours across many houses. While impressive, none of them quite screamed out as home to her.

By the end of the day, Runa postponed her decision to purchase any of the houses. It was a difficult decision to make without Sarra around. It wasn't just a house for her, after all. The place was where both of them would stay for a long time. It needed to be perfect.

Runa returned to the Wild Hunt Guild and searched around for Sarra. When no sign of her partner appeared, she asked around for the little girl's location. To her immediate dismay, she learned of Sarra's decision to head out on a mission with Kyros.

"What were YOU thinkin'?!" Runa kicked in the door to the Guild Master's office, knowing that the duo of Serhan and Cailey would be there. She stormed into the room and grabbed the scruff of The Mono's shirt, shaking her violently.

"Calm down, Runa. Calm down," Cailey nonchalantly pleaded, showing no fear towards the enraged Huntress.

"Calm down? Calm down?! How can you expect me to calm down when you send my partner out on missions with strangers?!" Runa hollered.

"Mr. Kyros is a member of our family now, Runa," Serhan interjected, raising an index finger as he left his chair. "Therefore, he is no longer a stranger. Besides, Sarra was the one that brought the mission form to the lovely receptionist."

"Thank you," Cailey giggled.

"Stop flirtin'!" Runa released Cailey and confronted her Guild Master instead. "You're the one that ordered me to keep an eye on him in case he's a Soterian spy. And yet you send him out of town with my partner?! What sense does that make?!"

"We couldn't stop them from leaving without raising suspicions. We tried to contact you, but you never answered your Milo," Serhan said.

"Where are they going?" Runa demanded. It was getting dark out. Sarra was in the dark with perhaps one of the most unreliable men in the world. That fact alone frightened the Huntress beyond belief. She had to find her partner before anything happened.

"Lamium Village. They're hunting wolves," answered Serhan as he handed the woman a copy of the mission form.

"Goddess damn it!" Runa snatched the form out of the man's hand and made a mad dash for the village. Thankfully for her powers, she'd reach the settlement within a day if she ran with all her might. And since her partner could've been in danger, that's what she planned to do.

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Meanwhile, the duo of Kyros Aleister and Sarra Zosime traveled on the dirt path cutting through the vast plains of green. Their destination--Lamium Village. The Hunters dismounted from their carriage when they reached the location specified on their mission request form. It was perhaps the largest structure in the entire village, but it paled in comparison to the Guild building back at Anemone Town.

"This is the place," Sarra announced while Kyros dealt with the horses.

"Have you been here before?" Kyros asked.

"A few times, yes." Sarra nodded, thinking back to the days Runa brought her here during her rookie days. The little girl found it ironic that now she was the teacher and Kyros, the student.

Almost immediately, an older man accompanied by two young women stepped out from the building, carefully walking down the steps towards the Hunters.

"Ah, Sarra, so you and Runa were the ones that accepted my request?" The elder smiled at the sight of the little girl.

"It's just Mr. Kyros and me today." Sarra indicated to Kyros with her finger.

The elder and the two women looked at Kyros in utter confusion. It was unheard of for them, Sarra teaming up with other Hunters without Runa around somewhere. Not that Kyros didn't look capable of getting the job done, but they all knew how protective Runa is of Sarra. Should anything happen to the little girl, the people feared what Runa would do to them out of retaliation.

"Did something happen to Runa? Is she sick?" The elder wondered.

"Would you mind telling us what the issue is concerning the wolves?" Sarra waved the mission form in her hands. She was in pure business mode, a sudden side of her that Kyros didn't even know that she had. Perhaps he'd continue to see different sides of the girl now that Runa wasn't around.

The elder took the hint and gestured for the others to join him inside of the building. The group situated themselves in the living room, where the man proceeded to explain the situation to the Hunters.

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"As stated in the mission request form, the village has been having problems with wolves lately," The elder began while the young women prepared food and refreshments. "They've been traveling further from their hunting grounds, even sneaking into the village, preying on the people."

"Any deaths?" Kyros asked.

"Five," The elder reluctantly answered. "Three men, one woman, and a child."

"Where do the wolves usually hunt?"

"The forest. It's not too far from here. You must have seen it during your travels."

"We did," Sarra nodded. The forest was several miles away from the village. It certainly struck her as odd that the wolves would travel so far to hunt. That usually only meant one thing — a change in the ecosystem. Something fiercer than the wolves was driving them out from the forest, forcing them to hunt and prey on the innocent people of the village.

If it were just the wolves, then Sarra wouldn't have much of a problem dealing with the mission. But with the addition of something fiercer in the mix increasing the level of difficulty, perhaps requesting back up would be the best course of action. Unfortunately, that's not the decision Sarra decided to make. She wanted to prove herself a capable Hunter without needing the assistance of Runa.

"Mr. Kyros, let's head to the forest and investigate," Sarra stood up from her seat and smiled.

"You want to head out there now? It's getting dark out," The elder warned the little girl.

"Don't worry; we can handle a couple of wolves." Sarra dismissed the warning.

"It's not the wolves he's worried about," Kyros surmised when he noticed the elder's brows furrowed. Several animals and other creatures roamed in the night, but the most dangerous of them all was the Varvara. Beings of pure destruction that only appeared when the sun went down. With those monsters out there, hunting the wolves proved difficult.

"We can handle the Varvara too," Sarra boasted. Well, Kyros was the only one that could deal with them. Since the girl hadn't unlocked her Praus, harming the Varvara was an impossible task for her. But that's what partners so useful. They could cover for the weaknesses of their teammates.

Kyros could handle the Varvara while Sarra dealt with the wolves. And once finished, they could deal with whatever chased off the wolves in the first place.

 "Well...if you're sure..." Everyone noticed the hesitance in the elder's voice. He was confident in their abilities, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried about their well-being. Nighttime was the worst time to hunt. Usually, a party traveled at night together to hunt. But since it was only the two of them, he couldn't help but feel concerned.

"We'll be back before you know it," Sarra assured them before she walked out of the building with Kyros. The team returned to their carriage and headed out for the forest.

They stopped just outside the area to gather necessary supplies. Once situated, they traversed into the forest.

"Keep close to me at all times, Sarra," Kyros took the front with the lantern in his hand.

"You don't have to worry about me, Mr. Kyros. I can handle wolves," Sarra proclaimed as she walked behind Kyros with her dagger drawn. Her head was on a swivel. With each step they took, she couldn't help but scan the area around her. There was no telling what could jump out of the woods and attack them.

"We're not here for wolves, and you know that," Kyros said sternly, having picked up on the situation long ago. If they wanted to deal with the wolves, then they could've waited by the village and guarded it during the day. But instead, Sarra wished to travel to the forest at night.

"You picked up on that?" Sarra frowned.

"Immediately," Kyros answered. But it wasn't the time to scold her. Not in that forest. "We'll investigate what's causing them to move away from their hunting grounds, and then we'll leave and report back to the guild."

"But, if we take down whatever's chasing them away, then we--"

"Sarra, no!" Kyros sharply turned frowned at the girl. "I know what you're trying to do, but this is too dangerous! We're in the middle of a forest at night! It's just you and me! If Runa were here, then I'd feel a bit safer being out here with you! But, I don't have that luxury!"

"I can look out for myself, Mr. Kyros!" Sarra snapped back as she brushed the man aside and continued forward. She didn't very far since Kyros reached out and grabbed the back of her shirt. "Let me go!"

"Where do you think you're going? I told you to stay close to me."

"I found something," Sarra pointed ahead to the number of dead wolves spread across the area. Most were mangled and ripped into pieces. Large chunks of their flesh were bitten into but left for the scavengers.

"Shit..." Kyros carefully approached the carcasses of the wolves. He knelt and inspected their injuries. Meanwhile, Sarra wandered over to the nearest tree when large claw marks caught her eye. She ran her hand across the scarred tree.

"It was sharpening its claws here," Sarra noted.

"And decided to test them out on the wolves," Kyros figured. He left the wolves and approached Sarra. The light from his lantern illuminated a missing piece to their investigation. Feathers.

Sarra picked up the feathers and inspected them. She recognized them from somewhere, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Thankfully, the girl carried around an encyclopedia in her bag. She grabbed the book from searched through its contents.

She grinned and planted her finger on the page for Kyros to see. It featured a depiction of a large, avian creature with horns and sharp talons.

"It's a Noctua," Sarra revealed. "C-Rank nocturnal avian monsters that hunt their prey at night and tear them apart with their beaks, and sharp claws, or impale them with their horns."

"C-Rank? We signed up for a D-Rank mission, Sarra. We should turn back." Kyros decided to air on the side of caution.

"Not yet," Sarra advised against leaving. "We should at least find it before we go. Once we find its nest, we can head back to the village and take care of it in the morning."

"...Fine," Kyros and Sarra proceeded onward, following the trail of mangled bodies and feathers to lead them to their next destination. In the dead center of the forest resided more feathers and uprooted trees. The only one left standing was perhaps the largest of trees in the whole forest. In the center of the tree was a large hole.

Out from said hole was the avian monster itself, the C-Rank monster, The Noctua. It's sharp, golden-eyes pierced through the darkness. It's wingspan alone was perhaps the cause for the uprooted trees.

"Kyros, turn off the light!" Sarra pleaded. Kyros turned off the lantern, but it was already too late. The Noctua spotted them almost immediately since they stood out in the open space created by the monster.

It spread its wings and screeched. The ear-piercing sound forced the duo on their knees, leaving them helpless as the monster swooped down from the tree, seeking to tear them apart like it did the wolves.