The sunlight singed my left eye, 'Finally…' I brushed the built-up snow off my shoulders and head.

I hadn't moved the entire time, I stretched my arms and the satisfying sensation of moving after being still for hours was amazing.

Nothing happened other than a hunter who passed by and me feeding the horses, so it was a quiet night. I looked into the tent and found the two still asleep.

'Pandres was very tired and I had kept her up last night… guess it wouldn't hurt to let her sleep in.' I heard a branch break behind a tree, I glanced at the source and spotted three people hiding behind a bush.

"Crap, you think he spotted us?" Still hasn't gotten any smarter during my time away, she might've gotten stupider.

"Why are you hiding?" I fully turned their way.

"I don't know, the hag told us to." The snake was the first to come out of hiding but was immediately pulled back and there was a thump, then my master and Archibald revealed themselves.

"We just wanted to check in on you, and we know you're a light sleeper." She pouted and turned away.

"Damn you, why'd you have to hit me!" The snake stood back up and was grabbing the top of her head, "Hold on, what's with the eyepatch? Trying out fashion?"

"Stole it off some hunter." I grabbed the firewood I had borrowed from said hunter and lit it on fire.

"Why'd you hunt a bear?" The snake pointed to the bear's corpse which I had caught, I guess it would be more appropriate to say stole.

"Food. What else, stupid?" She kept a smile but her bulging vein gave away her true emotion.

"You brat…" she turned around and tried to leave but was stopped by my master.

"I thought I had made it clear that it's forbidden to get into arguments between my disciples." I scoffed and lit the wood on fire.

"Then discipline the brat for being rude to a senior! Also, I'm not your student." Archibald came over to me and started asking how he could help me.

"Stop barking, lady. Some people are trying to sleep." As I said this, the two who were asleep had come out.

"Good morning." Angel turned to each of us, she greeted my master, Archibald, and me but ignored the snake.

Which had gotten under the skin of the snake, "Don't you think you're forgetting someone, brat?" Angel turned to her, looked her up and down, and then walked away.

While the snake started to complain loudly, Pandres had come over to me, "Good morning." She looked relaxed, mainly because she was still half asleep.

"Good morning." Archibald started to skin the bear as I instructed, Pandres started to walk away but then stopped in her tracks.

She rubbed her eyes and then made her way back while staring at my face, "Woah…" she continued to stare at my face more specifically my right eye.

"You look like a pirate…" I smiled at her face which was seemingly enamored by the eye patch.

"My eye's sensitive to sunlight but it should go back to normal soon." My eye had been aching ever since I used it, probably because it had laid dormant for a long time and then I exhausted it so suddenly.

"I think you look better with it on." Really now?

"Not keeping." She looked disappointed.

"I just think you'd look cooler if you wore it." She turned to the two arguing idiots, "don't you think?"

"He looks goofy." My master immediately answered.

"Y'know, she's right, keep it on it suits you." The snake added and my master snickered.

"As soon as my eye is back to normal it's going in the garbage." Pandres shrugged and said 'they just don't see the vision.'

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She then created a bucket using earth magic and filled it with water, "You even learned earth magic?" Previously, it was the only thing she couldn't get right. Fire, water, and wind, she was a natural at but she failed miserably at earth magic.

"The tent you made had some bad construction, holes, too suffocating, and so on, and so when push came to shove I was forced to learn it." She washed her face and then went into the woods.

Weirdly, I still wanted to talk, so I turned to Archibald, "Why are you still here?" He looked up from the bear's corpse.

"I'm officially a disciple of the Daybreak school." He had a big smile on his face, "Master gave me a test and I succeeded."

'Poor guy got tricked.'

"Congratulations, but may I ask what the test was?"

"Survive the mob on my own and make it here." He continued to smile not realizing he had gotten tricked and used.

"What was my master doing during the test?"

"She said 'It wouldn't be a test if you got help from me.' And left." Classic, usual, typical, expected, no word in the dictionary could describe how unsurprised I am.

"Anyways congrats, don't drop out once things get hard though." I joked and turned to my master who was standing over me and was in my face.

"Too close." I pushed her head away from mine.

"Is that how one should treat their master?" She crossed her arms.

"That's how one should treat a dunce who doesn't understand the concept of personal space."

"How is it that you don't do anything when he insults you?!" The loud snake had raised her head again.

"I do it with love, you do it with rudeness." Master just nodded along.

"There's literally no difference, that's just so unfair!"

"Quit your barking. Anyways, what I say is true while yours are just hateful." That had gotten me a smack on the back of the head, she looked visibly angry. Haha guess when they say 'Give a man an inch and he'll take a mile' it's true.

"Oh come on, I was saying that you weren't an old hag." She looked up and thought for a bit before pulling me into a hug.

"This is why you're my favorite."

"Blatant favoritism." The snake scoffed and I just stuck my tongue out at her which succeeded in getting under her skin.

"Does that mean you accept that you're my disciple?!" She let go of me and excitedly turned to her.

"I'm just using you since I have nowhere to go thanks to that idiot." She had a scornful look as she stared daggers at me.

"Great! The school's growing by the day!" That reminded me of what I had wanted to ask.

"How are the little ones? Have they dropped out yet?" I had to help look after the two during my stay with Master and I gotta tell you, it's not easy keeping track of those two.

I had expected master to lose control as soon as I had left, "They have calmed down ever since you left and I will say they're on the right track." This was a real shock…

"After some more time, they'll be full-fledged Daybreak swordsmen." She excitedly happily.

I was her one and only graduate so it was a big deal for someone to make it through her unconventional teaching, let alone two.

"Tell them I wish them luck." I heard the sound of a sword cut through the wind and looked back, to find Angel practicing her swings.

"Your shoulders are too tense." Before I could advise her I was beaten by my master who was right next to Angel.

She fixed Angel's stance, "Girl, who's been teaching you?" Angel pointed right at me.

"That's a shocker, not really," she laughed, "that boy is physically unable to teach anything let alone my prestigious style."

"No, it's more like your style is too unconventional and too free." Daybreak was like a bucket that contained too much water for its own good.

"I think it's a combination of the two." Pandres had gotten back from her business and sat across from me.

"What would you know of the Daybreak style?" My master had an unusual tone, was she actually upset with Pandres?

"I don't know much, I just know it's hard to understand, and combined with Sebastian's inability to explain things correctly isn't a good combination." She warmed her hands against the fire.

"Girl, do you want to actually learn the Daybreak style?" Angel nodded and kept on swinging.

"Then how about joining up with me?"

"No." All eyes turned to me.

Shit, "Ahm, I meant that… Angel is too young to handle my master's difficult training."

"I'll take it easy on her, I know not all children are like you, at least now I do." Angel had caught my eye.

"I also don't want to, I made a promise to be the best student of Mr. Sebastian…" yes, that too.

"I also made a promise, so I'd rather not break it." Master walked over and sat next to Pandres.

They began whispering things to each other, I couldn't hear anything over the crackling flame.

'Are they talking about me? I mean they keep glancing at me…' I turned to where the snake had been, 'annoying her should distract me enough.'

But I couldn't find her and then looked back and she was there whispering with the two of them.

"Archibald, I'll take over from here." I wanted to take my mind off them. He nodded and handed the half skinned corpse over to me with the knife.

I began to skin the corpse, the knife felt uncomfortable in my hand.

I looked up to see Archibald had joined them, "oh come on, what are you even talking about?!"

"Nothing." They all replied in unison.

"Tch." I just continued to skin the corpse until it was finally done, I used my sword to cut the meat.

I then began to cook it over the fire, while it cooked, I went over to Angel, who was putting her all into her swings.

I looked at her hands, "Take a break." She was barely keeping her grip on the sword.

She dropped the wooden sword and looked at her calloused palms, "but I'm not getting any better…" …

'I should do what's best for her…' I grabbed her sword off the snowy ground and guided her over to the group.

They had stopped their little gossip session and sat around the fire, my master was telling a story of sorts.

I looked at Pandres who looked pretty invested in the story, 'it can wait.'

The meat was getting looked after by the snake, I stood and watched as she intently looked at it. She noticed me, "what?" She had the same rude tone as always.

"Nothing just found it funny how you thought you were getting a piece of the food." She looked confused.

"Don't tell me you expected to come here and all would be forgiven? You still haven't grown from that little immature mentality of yours?" All of them stopped talking and looked on.

She turned to master, "are you hearing this? Tell him-"

"Trinity, it's his party, we're just guests here."

"But-"

"Apologize and all is forgiven." I knew this woman well for our years together, this was the last thing she'd ever do. Apologize to someone? Impossible.

"You arrogant brat… you think you're the boss because you got a hit taller?!" She got in my face.

"Is it so hard for you to apologize after putting us in danger?" When arguing with someone like her, insults and replies don't work. Only questions get through their thick wall of egoism and pride.

"…you asshole." She began to walk away.

"You think you can survive out there? Nothing but the clothes on your back? I mean, you don't even have a sword. Speaking of which did you lose it or sell it?" You may say the last part was unnecessary but I say it was very necessary for her to make the right decision. To make show me what was more important to her, her pride or her safety.

"Fuck you!" She didn't turn back kept on moving until she disappeared into the woods.

"Haa that idiot…" I turned back to see mixed expressions, master was disappointed and a mix of sadness, Pandres had a blank face, Angel looked at me with confusion, and Archibald looked saddened.

The first to speak was master, "that girl…" that was all.

Master and her had a complicated relationship, while master may be harsh at times she does love all her students, and while she may act hateful towards master, she does have respect for her. They just ended on bad terms the last time they had talked.

"If she's a true Daybreak disciple then she should be fine, right?" Pandres asked master, which snapped her out of her thought.

"Yes, of course." Master recomposed herself and smiled, "isn't the food ready yet?" I just sighed and handed the meat out to them.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Angel asked.

"Not hungry." That was a lie, I just don't like bear meat. Doesn't matter though, I had something I needed to do now.

I grabbed my bag and headed for the horses, "where're you going?" I looked back and found Pandres had followed me.

"Going back to apologize to the Twilight Knight."