Vigilante treaded with silent steps through the dense undergrowth. However, it was no use as the sounds of the horses seemed to echo around them despite the soft ground. If she it was her choice, she would have left them behind. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option as they would need to travel fast once they had crossed the border, at least if they wanted to reach Wyvern in one piece. Also, they couldn't be certain to find new horses on the other side of the border.

She led their company by the directions she received at the bar. They hadn't been very detailed, but she hoped that she was heading in the right direction. If not, this sucked big time! She had already scraped her face on a thorny bush and she was itching all over because of her unnecessary stitches. She hadn't had time to remove them yet, and they were becoming a real nuisance.

She looked back and saw the others' contours against the dark forest. Vito was lying across the saddle of his horse, a limb, fragile form. He had been asleep, and impossible to wake up once they had come back from the tavern, possibly bordering on unconsciousness. Instead of waiting for him to awake, they decided to continue regardless. She sighed, he was a definite liability in his current state, but she couldn't bring herself to voice that thought. He was probably more important in all of this than she would ever be.

Gradually the compact darkness around them receded, and she knew this meant that they were closing in on the actual border. The Westerlanders had cut down everything in a 100 meters wide, and who knows how many kilometers long, corridor to allow patrols to intercept attempts at illegal crossing.

She stopped at the last line of trees and gazed out over the haunting clearing. The night was weakly lit by the moonlight, so there was a fair chance that they might be spotted. She couldn't see anyone out there, but that didn't mean no one was there.

"I'll search the surroundings. Stay here!" Milo's hushed voice reached her just as he slipped passed her. After that she lost sight of him, as if he disappeared. She felt something alien surge through her system, was she nervous? What for? She had not cared about anyone's safety since that night when she had lost each and every single one whom had held a piece of her heart...

She looked back over her shoulder and saw Qumo checking on the unconscious Vito. The old N'aian looked absolutely calm and that settled her a bit. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced herself to snap out of it: telling herself that she was being ridiculous. Milo would be just fine.

One heartbeat later she shivered as a shadow passed by and her breath hitched, adrenaline flashing within her veins. Milo looked back at her and tilted his head as if wondering what was going on.

"Did I scare you?" he asked.

She couldn't answer, didn't know what to answer. Yes, he had scared her, by going off alone out there.

He stepped closer, and placed his hand on her shoulder, his eyes flashing with concern.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." he mumbled, but all she could concentrate on was his hand on her body. She looked down on it, not really believing that he was touching her. She glanced up again, and she caught that he stared at his hand with a shocked expression before quickly removing it, as if he had been burned.

"Sorry," he said again, apparently uncomfortable. Her heart sank, then she replaced that feeling with something she knew much better, something she felt much more comfortable with: irritation.

"Are we clear to go?" she said, ignoring his apology.

-----

He had yanked his hand away upon seeing her reaction. Vigilante had glared at it as if it was something poisonous. He didn't know why he had sought the contact in the first place, he rarely touched unless to kill. Her question came back to him when he regained his focus.

"Yes, it's clear. Take the horses and I'll cover you."

He gave her the reigns to the two horses, both his old one, and the new grey stallion, the one that hadn't left although it had been allowed free.

He took off again, grateful for the chance to get away. He didn't know what was going on inside of him, and he didn't like it. In fact, he was terrified of himself at the moment. Everything was getting out of hand, out of his control. He felt as if he didn't know himself. He reacted so strangely, and always when around her...

He tried to clear his head, but it was no use: he would have to do this without his usual edge. He started to roam around their company and worried as he saw how visible they were despite the darkness. However, his thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he heard a twig break behind him. He grew cold, then determined before proceeding towards the sound.

Ten steps, then he was there.

He snapped the neck of the soldier before she had time to shout out, or put up any resistance for that matter. She wasn't alone, but the other soldier hadn't noticed that his companion was down. The man continued to stroll in the other direction, assuming that she was still following him. Milo reached him silently and gave him the same treatment as the woman. It was a clean death. Lucky for him, they were ordinary soldiers.

He felt the dark surge that took their souls away and it sent a shiver down his spine. He had grown to know the Destroyer's presence, but he didn't relish in it, and never would.

He turned his back on the dead, but found that he couldn't walk away, the Destroyer held him, held him back with its cold touch. He panicked, this had never happened before. The world started to shrink in on him and the vague light gave way to complete darkness. He felt anger, black cold anger, searing through him. It was pain, it was grief, it was disappointment.

He had no idea of how much time had passed when the feeling eventually seeped away. He tried to slow his breathing, but it was no use. He sank down on his knees, completely lost in his own mind.

"Vigilante," he heard himself, whispering her name in desperation. Too loud. He would be heard. He didn't care.

Suddenly she was there.

"What is it Milo, what happened?" he heard her voice as if from far away, but he felt her presence, felt her touch.

He grabbed her hand, holding it tight against his heart. He couldn't talk, he wasn't ready. He was terrified, but he couldn't show her that. Why had he called out to her?

"You're shaking. What happened Milo?"

He clung to the sound of her voice and he felt himself slowly return back to reality. He felt the ground beneath him again and the wind upon his face.

He grabbed hold of her and hugged her tight in his arms, holding on to what was real.

"I don't know what's happening to me..." he whispered in anguish.

He felt her tighten her arms around him and his breathing became steadier. They sat there, he didn't know for how long. His mind was still raging, nothing felt right.

"We have to go Milo. We can't leave them unprotected," she said. He heard her clearly this time, her voice no longer muffled. The sound was reassuring, but the words, yes the words were what snapped him into focus. He wasn't alone, he couldn't lose it now, the others were in danger. However, he wasn't ready to let go of her.

"Milo?" her voice was like a soft caress, calling out to him. He pressed closer to her one last time, before he forced himself to let go.

"Let's get them to safety," he said, not able to meet her eyes.

-----

Qumo heard them before he saw them, and he let out a breath he didn't know he had held. They were together again inside the protection of the forest, but the difference was enormous; they were in Westerland, one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Unfortunately, this had been the easy part. They still had to get into Wyvern, and then...well everything would have to play out according to others' rules. He couldn't control this. He had no contacts, no one to give them a safe passage out if something went wrong. They were vulnerable, too vulnerable. He wondered if he was making a mistake, but no, Milo needed to be here.

"We should move further in," ha said, and he could see them nodding in response. His eyes stopped at Milo's. The Nyx's eyes seemed distant, as if he wasn't there.

"What happened?" he asked, but he didn't get any response. The silence stretched.

"Let's go!" Vigilante said, breaking off the question, leaving Qumo to wonder. He looked at the two and saw something new. They avoided each other again. He chuckled a little, seeing their inability to do this in any normal way. He shouldn't be surprised, they were too far removed from their own feelings to see what they had between them. His thoughts grazed upon his own memories and grief closed in, just as it always did when he allowed it to. His wife, his daughters, they had been his everything. He was too old, much too old. No one should have to see their children pass away before them.

"Uhww."

"Vito?"

Qumo rushed to the young man's side, dismounting the limp body from the horse.

"We have to move further in!" Vigilante voiced insistently. He knew she was right, but Vito was his first priority, they would have to wait.

He placed Vito on the ground and saw his eyelids fluttering open. His eyes were black as charcoal again. A second later he began to shake violently and Qumo felt completely helpless. He couldn't lose another one...not now.