That first week passed quickly. Wyatt explored the city by day, coming to realize there were only 3 truans in the city as far as he could tell. Sadly none of them seemed to be cultivators. Wyatt couldn’t help but feel as if that put a timer on how long he could stay. He had a gut feeling that he needed to move faster. It was difficult to deal with it when he was feeling he was going too slow, but he had no real destination in mind.

The job was extremely easy. It was also incredibly boring, and Wyatt had a very difficult time keeping his mind from drifting. The family seemed to be trying to distance themselves from him as much as possible. It would be a lie if he said that it didn’t hurt him, but he could understand where they were coming from. They had all survived a traumatic experience, and that type of situation either brings people closer or it splits them apart. In this case it appeared his time with them was coming to a rather abrupt end. The exception to this seemed to be Su. She randomly showed up to just sit with him. It was quite strange to Wyatt, but she seemed to take comfort in his presence. As weeks passed he had developed a friendship with a few of the guards at the Caravaner’s guild. He often trained with them during his free time. It became clear to him that joining the caravaner’s guild was the best way forward. It gave him assistance, and almost as importantly a reason to be traveling about. He could potentially take jobs with multiple caravans to get him to the truan territory.

Wyatt ultimately made a decision to stay for 6 months to build up as many contacts as he could with the caravaners, the most money that he could save, and get as much training in as he could. As the weeks turned into months he fell into a routine. He spent 4-5 days each week looking over the warehouse for most of the day, trained at night each night, and on the days he was not working. Contrary to his expectations he rarely saw Azuka who had only visited him one time since hiring him. That one time he visited he hadn’t cooked for him again. Instead he just stopped by and asked if he was ok with his current work. Wyatt had no issues with an easy job, and something about the question told him it had more implications than he realized so going off his gut he said yes. He didn’t need anymore work or responsibility. 5 months into his self imposed 6 month deadline Su started showing up to his practice at the caravaner’s guild. Within a few days of her showing up everyone grew to like her. She was quiet, she was extremely observant, and after a few days when she requested to train with them they realized she was also extremely gifted.

Argana was not very happy when she found out. Wyatt had no idea that Su was sneaking out to come visit him. Or he had no idea until Argana showed up. “Why are you trying to steal my daughter from me? Who would steal someone’s child? You like to pretend you are a good person, but it’s become clear you are not.” Shock hit first, and Wyatt stood there unable to say anything. This was a woman he had for a very brief time felt close enough that he felt like they were family, and now she seemed to hate him. Once the shock finally started to fade he felt anger threatening to overtake him. It was more than his own anger. Joy’s anger was fueling his own. They were both feeling extremely betrayed by the accusation. It took everything that Wyatt had not to lash out. Some part of him knew that Argana was just afraid. She didn’t have a lot of time left, and her daughter was growing up faster than she was ready for. He also realized that none of that was his fault, and he wasn’t feeling real accommodating.

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Wyatt decided he needed to walk away before he said something he would regret. Just as he turned to walk away Argana grabbed his shoulder. Something primal within him answered. “Remove your hand from my shoulder or I will remove it from you.” It was quite possibly the most threatening statement he had made, and he realized as he said it that in that moment he actually meant it. He wasn’t sure why he was so angry, but in that moment he could see himself actually hurting Argana if she kept pushing. Luckily she seemed to realize that he meant business. She took her hand off of him. Wyatt was about to continue walking away, but he stopped and without looking back said “I am not encouraging Su to do anything. She’s figuring out who she wants to be in this world, and I have to tell you I believe that a traveler, an explorer, a fighter, those are the ways that I would describe her. She is quite possibly the most naturally gifted fighter I have ever seen. If you want to try and stop her, come by the caravaner’s guild tomorrow, and watch her. If you still want to stop her then you can try.” With that said Wyatt walked away without another word.

The next day was one of Wyatt’s days off, and he planned to spend the entire day training. He was only planning on staying around another 1-2 weeks, and he wanted to get in a few more training days before resting for a few days before his trip. Su showed up fairly early in the morning. From a quick glance it was clear that her parents hadn’t talked to her yet. As little as she talked a lot of emotion showed on Su’s face, he imagined when they tried to stop her that it was going to cause her a great deal of hurt. The day passed by guards rotating into the training ground for sparring matches. Wyatt was one of the best, but in just a few weeks Su had become a strong competitor. She was throwing around more experienced larger guards with perfectly executed throws. Her evasions were perfect as she danced between blows. Wyatt had seen Argana show up, and could see tears streaming down her face as she watched the beautiful movements of her daughter. He knew that she finally understood that whether Wyatt showed up or not this was what her daughter was destined for.

Wyatt hadn’t told anyone about his 6 month imposed limit on his stay, but it was time. He had long ago passed the tests, and had joined the caravaner’s guild. Su had also passed the tests, but she was too young to become a full member. He thought of the hidden blade in his pack. She had never asked about it, and he hadn’t felt the time was right to present it to her. He still wasn’t sure if the time was right, but he was about to leave for an unknown amount of time. Part of Wyatt was concerned about how Su would react to the news he was leaving, but it needed to be done.