The boys went for a quick shower. And Alex learned, that shower was pretty broadly defined. They pressured a defender, until he cranked up his water seed and blasted them with cold water. Shivering, the boys dried themselves and went to the camp's gate, waiting for Althea. “I think she went for Michelle, the cook, if you remember. She has a water seed too, but much less drastic. Apart from cooking, she fills up the baths every morning,” Leon explained.

Alex chuckled, “so she bathes in a cooking pot, or how do I have to imagine that?” Leon glanced at the boy, “So you’re like that…Imagining girls while they’re bathing.” Alex swallowed his response and started coughing, as Althea rounded the last hut in front of the gate. “You’re doing what?” the Huntress asked, hiding a smile around her eyes.

“Nothing,” both boys exclaimed. “We should go,” Leon added. Suddenly, a boy came stumbling to the gates. He was breathing hard and it took a moment, until Alex identified his friend, bent over on his knees and catching his breath. Panicked, he asked, “Lin, are you okay? What’s the matter?” “Go-…Good…Good that I caught you. I wanted to ask if you could get me some iron or some other Metal from the Shopkeeper. You are one of the few who are frequently outside, and it may help me with,” he threw a quick glance at the other hunters, “you know what.”

Alex regarded his friend confused, until it hit him. “Of course, as soon as we get near the shop, or if we find anything else outside, I’ll bring it.” He clapped his friend's back, smiled and waved goodbye. The other two followed and Alex could see the question in Leon's eyes, but the older teenager stayed silent. The shadowblade was grateful, he didn’t want to talk about his friends' situation, at least not without him giving his okay.

The trio wandered through the decrepit city. As before, Alex took point, followed by Althea. This time the group stayed closer together, and Leon tried to find prey, which could be shot from afar. He wanted to give the younger boy some much-needed training.

Their hunting trip proceeded without problem. Leon gave the rough direction, Althea brought them closer, and Alex could pinpoint their prey. He tried to shoot some birds, but was mostly unsuccessful. Then it was Leon's turn, and he slowly explained the mistakes Alex had made, while shooting one bird after the other. He told them about his movement skill, which copied his prior move. He had trained it, that he could switch targets between shots and Alex was pretty impressed, as Leon shot down three birds in mid-flight.

The group was pretty relaxed, so it was no surprise when Leon asked, “So I’ve been told that you came from another camp. Do you care to elaborate?” Alex squirmed, he was clearly uncomfortable with that question, and Leon quickly took it back, but Alex answered, “No it’s okay. I am an orphan. I was one, years before the Ruin. Jones and his best friend Andrej are a bit older than I am, and we more or less shared the same room at the orphanage. Well, one thing led to another, and I was bullied pretty badly. I won't tell you exactly what they did, but yeah, it was not a good time.”

Alex took a deep breath and continued, “Then the Ruin came, and I had nowhere to go. My two best friends, also orphans, stayed at the camp. So I had no real choice but to stay there and work, or better said, loot, for Jones and the others. It’s not that I was the only one doing it, but yeah.” Alex waited a moment, for the others to judge him, but they only nodded and waited for the teenager to continue.

Alex collected himself again and went on, “Jones had other things to do, and I and the others were left alone for the most part. Until I found my essence seed. We had an agreement,” the teenager scoffed, “to give all seeds for the group, so the user could be decided together.” Althea watched the teenager with a sad mien. “I had to use mine, and while the circumstances are unimportant, Jones banished me from the camp.” Alex continued his story, and the other two hunters shook their heads.

“Well, that’s all about me. Anyone else wants to share?” Alex asked. Althea cleared her throat, “I guess it’s my turn. My parents divorced a few years ago, and I went to live with my mum.” Both boys listened intently. Leon may have known her for longer, but he didn’t know the full story. “For some time all was well. We didn’t have that much money, but it was enough for us both and a week of holiday a year. Then my mum met my stepdad. He was nice at first. But after their marriage, he got ugly. He didn’t touch me or anything, but he said awful things to my mum and I.”

A tear fell down her cheek, but nobody said anything or registered its existence. “We had a huge fight two weeks before the Ruin and I left. I had already started my apprenticeship and could take care of myself. And now, she is…she…” Althea, the Huntress, stopped her story and choked. Alex wanted to comfort her, but Leon shook his head. He knew her well enough to stop the other boy. It would only make it worse.

The teenagers continued their trip silently for a while. They got some more game, and Alex threw a quick glance at his coins. If he had to buy material to help Lins seed evolve, he needed money. But the 153 depicted in his overview calmed him down. He thought about asking the others for a trip to the shop, but it was pretty late and the sun neared the horizon.

“We should go back, soon,” the shadowblade proposed. “Yep, and while we’re at it, I think it’s time for my story,” Leon began. “I am, in fact, the youngest of my four siblings. We had a pretty good relationship with each other and had our holidays together. We would decide where to go to and rent lodgings. They lived scattered through the country, but easily reachable by car.”

Alex put a finger on his lips and shushed the older teenager. He sprinted around the corner, they were standing at, and quickly dispatched the small fox, that was laying there. Althea and Alex dressed the kill, while Leon was on sentry duty. They finished after some time, and Alex bade the older boy to continue. “Where was I?…Right…Well, the last time we went away, we had an accident. Nothing major, nobody died, but my eldest sister and her husband got hurt pretty bad. My brother, who was in the same car, was lucky and unhurt. My other sister and I were in another car and nothing happened.”

“Now I’m worried. They’re all above 20 years, and where did they end up? Did they end up with my parents? Are there other human communities with our parents? What will happen with my sister and her husband? She had lost her hand in the accident, and he most of his left leg…” Leon's breath got faster and faster, and Alex went to the boy, holding him until he had calmed down.

“Sorry,” the Hunter apologized after a minute. “It’s alright. We all have our burden to bear, and maybe if we share, it gets better,” he gave him a wry grin. “You sound like an old sage, calling down from his mountain, spreading his wisdom,” Leon smiled back. “Much to learn, you still have,” Althea grumbled in a deep, broken voice. It sounded that ridiculous, that the boys spluttered and Alex nearly choked on his spit.

The mood lifted, and the hunters made fun of each other, everyone trusting in their respective Skills, to warn them if anything came near. Sometimes Alex vanished with his cloak, the moon bright enough to allow the use of his shadow Skills. He slipped around corners, always working with [gravitydomain] and got more and more kills. The three teenagers were completely unworried.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting cry spread through the air. All three stopped in their way, and Alex preemptively summoned his [shadowclone]s. Leon nocked an arrow, and used his search Skill. But it was the same as with Althea's Skill. Both didn’t show anything nearby, that could have made that scream. Still, the trio didn’t calm down. Slowly they moved up the street, every sense of joviality forgotten. They had yet to reach the camp, but more and more animals began their hooting and howling.

All at once, the noise stopped. The team was on high alert. Either to fight or flee. Run headless into a disaster, or defend their lives. Suddenly, the sun rose on the western horizon, opposite the camps' direction. “Wha-…What is,” Leon began. “That?” finished Alex.

A gigantic ball of fire was rising behind the decrepit high rises and the broken down houses. Alex knew it was somewhere in the direction of the forest, but he couldn’t make out, how far away it was. Suddenly another cry spread and the teenagers watched in awe, as the ball of fire spread its wings. “It has at least a wingspan of 20 metres,” Leon estimated.

Alex nodded in agreement. He couldn’t take his eyes from this majestic bird. But Althea had it worse. She was gawping, mouth wide open, tears in her eyes. “Boys…I…I want one like that!”