The distant voices which filled the air jolted Orion from his sleep.

Sunlight which beautified the sky shone directly in his eyes, while birds flew around from tree to tree. The crisp morning breeze whistling in his ears.

He was lain in a bucolic landscape. Staring at the beauty of the fields where he presently was, realising how much he had missed home, his father.

They always took rides together, hunting for animals and even watching the sunrise even if he hated admitting that to people.

He had grown to appreciate the beauty of daylight and nature after all that had happened.

Slowly, his brain registered the figures stood far away from him which turned out to be Pavlos and Bellona with sticks in their hands, conversing, and throwing moves at each other.

"Duck!" Pavlos yelled at Bellona, while shoving a stick at her face.

The stick poked at her face, causing a low groan to escape her lips while she fell to the ground.

"You need to learn all of this, Bellona. You won't get a warning before being attacked" He stated.

She was about saying something but noticed a pair of eyes on her.

Turning around immediately only to be met with the calm gaze of Orion.

They both watched each other, as if passing a message.

Orion was quick to turn away, as he got on his feet, moving to another area.

"What's wrong?" Pavlos asked, his eyes resting on Bellona as she watched him.

There was a pause for a moment, as she sighed and then turned around to face Pavlos who was stood in front of her.

"He saved me" She breathed.

"I saw that" He responded.

He raised his sword up, staring at it while conversing with her.

"You don't understand, Pavlos. One moment, I thought he would be the one killing me, and the next, he turned out to be the one saving me"

"Don't let that distract you from the fact that he was the one who killed that young boy" Pavlos replied.

"I know" Bellona uttered in a whisper.

"Behind that dead heart, there's a man waiting for redemption" She muttered to herself, while her eyes lingered on the back of the young man ahead.

"Here's some water"

A voice filled Orion's ears. He turned around, seeing Aiden holding out leaf holding water for him to drink.

Was it so obvious how famished he was. He had longed for water for days, he couldn't say no to the offer, regardless of him not wanting to associate himself with them, which could be very hard to keep up with.

Reluctantly grabbing it, he chugged it down instantly, feeling relieved the moment it touched his lips.

"Thanks" He breathed.

Aiden's brows perked up, while his face lit, glad that Orion was slowly warming up to them.

Conflict wouldn't lead them anywhere. They had to put heads together, to work this out. Fight, for each other just as Zephyra stated.

Taking one look at Orion, he turned away to join the others.

They all soon continued their journey, heading towards Sedona.

Orion moved so fast like there was something out there in wait for him. He communicated with no one, only focused on completing his mission and getting back to his normal life, which at this point, was no longer normal.

"Slow down, we're all gonna get exhausted if we keep moving like this"

Pavlos called out to him, but he didn't bother stopping.

"Hey!" Pavlos yelled once more, his anger already heating up.

Orion soon took a halt, not cause of Pavlos', but the light sounds coming from a bush in front of him.

There was a large tree in front of them, which looked like it fell. Behind the large tree, he could make out some movements.

"What's wrong?" Aiden asked, surprised at how alert he got.

"There's something out there" Orion whispered.

He drew his sword out quietly, taking slow steps towards the fallen tree.

Cautiously, his eyes moved around the tree, while he firmly poked some branches with his sword, moving closer to get a glimpse of whatever it was.

He jolted back immediately as two kids jumped out from behind the large log, shaken with fear by the sight of swords pointed their way.

"Hey, it's okay" Orion assured them, pulling his sword back and moving forward.

"I won't hurt you" He uttered in a low voice.

Pavlos watched from behind, taking few steps closer, while Bellona who had stepped forward immediately in a bid to calm the kids who were still frightened by Orion, reached out to them, pulling them closer to herself.

They warmed up immediately to her touch, sniffing and wiping their tears away.

"It's okay" She cooed, while stroking them softly.

Orion turned away immediately, a bit pained that the children weren't welcoming to him, yet they rushed into the arms of another.

He didn't mean to scare at them all, the least he wanted to do was to be of help and comfort them, but instead, they chose to ignore him.

He gulped hard, while moving away from them all, picking a fruit which fell from one of the trees.

"What's your name?" He heard the soft voice, belonging to Bellona.

"I'm Nerida" The girl spoke first.

"And this is Hardin" She added, pointing to the young boy.

"I'm Bellona"

She gave the girl's hands a little squeeze and then smiled at her.

"Can you tell me what you were hiding from. It's dangerous for the both of you being out here alone" She uttered to them.

"We've got nowhere to go. We were fleeing from Cedric's army, before we found ourselves lost"

"What business have you got with Cedric's army?" Orion pitched in, gaining interest and moving closer to them.

"Go easy on them" Bellona uttered to him immediately.

Their eyes locked instantly, watching each other's gaze, neither wanting to look away, not until Nerida's voice broke the contact.

"We ran into them during our escape" She said.

"Escape from what?" Elpida asked.

Nerida suddenly went quiet, playing with her fingers while looking away.

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Pavlos asked.

"We need to get you back home. These woods are dangerous" Orion said.

"Please, we can't go back" Hardin pleaded.

"Why, what's wrong?" Bellona asked softly.

Silence ensued as neither of the kids said a word, their eyes searched round the woods cautiously, fear evident in them.

"Trust me, all will be fine" Bellona uttered.

"All I need you to do is show us the way to your home, so we can get you back to safety. I promise we won't let any harm come your way"

"Promise?" Nerida asked.

"Of course" She responded.

Reluctantly, Nerida and Hardin stepped forward agreeing to show them the way which led to their home.

Although, on their way, both the kids kept pleading for them to turn back, and go the opposite way but Bellona kept them calm, giving her word that they would be safe.

The state of the kids got Orion wondering what could be so bad that got them terrified. He was hell bent on finding out the reason why they were acting that way, and ensuring their safety.