Ethan and Amina were walking along a path in the forest.
Ethan glanced at Amina out of the corner of his eye; she noticed.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Ethan tried to pretend nothing was wrong, even though he knew she'd seen him.
"Nothing..."
Amina looked at him, unconvinced.
"If you say so..."
There was a moment of silence between them.
"Now that I think about it, I've never asked you how old you are..." Ethan said, surprising Amina.
"Why would you know?" she replied.
"Nothing... just curious..." His answer made Amina even less convinced; she let out a small sigh.
"I see... anyway, I'm sixteen."
Ethan stopped.
"Really!?"
Amina frowned at his reaction.
"Why are you so shocked?"
"No, it's just..." Ethan stopped after looking at Amina again.
"Hey!" Amina exclaimed, embarrassed.
"Sorry. It's just that at sixteen, I looked like I was about to start elementary school. What do they feed kids these days? Steroids!?" she blurted out.
Amina was perplexed.
"No, I don't think that's possible..."
"Come on, it's not normal!"
"You're the one who's not normal here!" Amina retorted.
Her words struck Ethan to the core.
"I understand. Sorry."
Amina saw Ethan looking shocked.
"How old are you, then? From the way you talk, you must be much older."
Ethan looked away, even more saddened.
"I'm twenty-one..."
"You said twenty-one, not fifty..."
Another silence ensued between the two.
"By the way, I haven't thanked you properly yet." Amina said suddenly, leaving Ethan confused.
"For what?"
"For indulging my whim to come see the ocean." she added, a little embarrassed.
"You don't have to thank me for that..." Ethan replied, embarrassed by her gratitude.
The silence fell again, this time more awkward.
Ethan stopped short.
"What's wrong?" Amina asked, alarmed.
Ethan grabbed his gun and turned around, his expression serious.
"Who's there!?" he shouted.
Amina didn't understand what was happening.
"Get out before I come get you!" Ethan insisted.
After a moment, a hooded boy appeared.
"How long have you been watching us?!" Amina shouted, raising her bow.
The boy raised his hands and showed a frightened expression.
"Please, don't hurt me! I don't mean to hurt you!"
"Then why did you follow us unseen?!" Amina asked angrily.
"I didn't mean to worry you!" the boy begged, stepping forward with his head down, but he stopped when one of Ethan's scythes dug into the ground at his feet.
"Let's do this..." Ethan drew a line at the boy's feet.
"You can't cross this line."
The stranger looked at Ethan and hesitated at the aura of confidence he sensed.
"Okay..." he whispered and took a step back.
"Do you have any weapons with you?" Ethan asked.
"No, I don't!" the boy replied.
"So you're one of those who didn't receive weapons from their deity?" Ethan added.
"Exactly."
Ethan scanned the surroundings again, but saw nothing. He looked at the boy again, his gaze hard.
"What do you want?"
"I... I just want food!" the boy stammered.
"Just that?" Amina asked after seeing Ethan's expression.
"Yes, just that, I swear!"
Amina approached Ethan.
"If it's just that, we can help him."
"We talked about this, Amina... don't trust people blindly."
"But he only asked for food, and he's unarmed."
"Unarmed doesn't mean harmless."
"Please, I'm at my limit... I'll take anything and leave!" the boy begged, clearly distressed. Amina's concern began to show.
"Ethan, please, let's help him." he begged.
Ethan looked at the boy and tightened his grip on the chain of his weapon.
"But what if..."
Ethan stopped when the boy suddenly collapsed to the ground.
"Hey!" Amina shouted, running forward, but Ethan grabbed her left wrist and held her back.
"What are you doing, Ethan!?" she screamed.
"No, Amina..." he replied.
"But he's in pain!"
Amina looked extremely worried while Ethan seemed lost in thought.
I don't trust him... he just gives me bad feelings. Like that time...
—
Amidst the darkened buildings, the red and blue lights of the police carved into the night. On the concrete, a black bag was being sealed with a sharp click: for a brief moment, a girl's face was glimpsed. Ethan stared at the scene, motionless, as murmurs rose around him from the officers. One of them approached and began to speak to him, but his words came out muffled, as if coming from far away.
—
"I'm going to help him!"
Amina's words snap Ethan out of his thoughts, though he still seems confused. Amina breaks free from Ethan's grip and approaches the boy lying on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Amina asks, kneeling down to help him.
Stunned, Ethan looks at her, then notices the boy's hand in his left hoodie pocket.
"A-Amina, back off!"
Before he can even react, the boy stabs her in the side with an arrow.
"What—"
Amina collapses to the ground, and Ethan is shocked.
The boy gets up, dusting off his clothes.
"Naive..." he says, mocking Amina.
Ethan tries to hit him with the other end of the chain, but the boy dodges.
"Son of a bitch!"
The boy looks at Amina, who is clutching her wound and tries to back away, which makes him smile.
"Too easy! You're really willing to trust anyone! It was a desperate move because your partner had me cornered, but apparently it worked!"
The boy pulls back his hood and looks at Ethan.
He's thin, almost skinny, with short brown hair and a thin beard. His dark brown eyes betray a hint of tiredness, while his green hoodie and dark blue jeans hang loosely on his back.
"So, Ethan, right?"
Ethan's expression is furious.
"Don't call me by my name!"
The boy raises his hands in apology, then smiles smugly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to rush our relationship. I hope 'asshole' is okay with you; it seems appropriate!"
"And I think you'd be better off dead, so you can stop being a pain in the ass and that damned smile gets wiped off your face!"
"Oh! Easy, I'm insulting you, but that's a clear death threat!"
The boy throws his arms out.
"Come on, kill me!"
"Gladly!"
Ethan throws the scythe he's holding at him, but the boy ducks back, dodging it.
"Let's see if you can dodge it!"
In a flash, Ethan swings the chain of his weapon up and down and pulls out the other scythe, still embedded in the ground, then hurls it forcefully at the attacker's head. Immediately afterward, he throws the first scythe again, this time at knee height, leaving the boy barely any room to dodge.
"Got you!"
The boy isn't caught off guard: he jumps between the two scythes and lands unharmed.
"Funny!" he says, mocking Ethan.
Ethan is astonished by his opponent's agility.
"Bastard!"
He prepares another attack, but this time the boy lunges at him, fast and aggressive.
He's so fast... I can't react!
As the boy moves to strike Ethan, an arrow lands at his feet, stopping him and forcing him back, right into Dana, who is waiting for him. She delivers a powerful punch to his face, knocking him down.
"Got it!" Dana exclaims, excited.
"Good job!" Dalai praises her, emerging from the trees and pointing his sword at the boy's neck.
Estrella and Riccardo also arrive. Riccardo notices Amina injured, trying to understand what was happening.
"Estrella, can you help the girl?"
"Yes."
Estrella approaches Amina.
"And who are you!?" asks Ethan, his expression a mixture of confusion and aggression.
"Apparently, your saviors." replies Dalai.
Riccardo approaches the boy lying on the ground.
"Who are you? Are you part of a group?"
The boy gives Riccardo a challenging look and remains silent.
Dana studies him carefully.
"Wait... I've seen you before!"
"Do you know him?" asks Dalai.
"I met him on the first day, moments before Bragi's speech."
"Under what circumstances?" asks Riccardo.
"Well... I accidentally punched a boy, who lost his balance and pushed another boy, who in turn hit another boy: it was him!"
Dalai and Riccardo exchange puzzled glances at Dana.
"It wasn't my fault! I was training when I was called!"
Dana looks at the boy again.
"Anyway... it's strange. That day, you didn't seem capable of something like that."
The boy chuckles.
"Strange, huh..."
Then his gaze sharpens, becoming disturbing.
"This is just a small demonstration of what I'm capable of!"
Ethan's anger flares at those words.
"Then that's reason enough to end you here!"
Ethan prepares to attack, distracting everyone, but at that moment, the boy picks up some dirt from the ground and throws it, aiming to blind them all. Dana is hit and momentarily blinded, while the others manage to shield their eyes.
"Shit!" Dana screams, losing her balance.
The boy takes advantage of this and tries to stab Dalai with the arrow, but Riccardo quickly draws his sword and cuts it in half.
"You tried!" Dalai exclaims.
Dalai attacks the boy with his sword, but he instantly jumps up and headbutts him. Immediately afterward, he begins to run away, while Riccardo ignores him and stays behind to watch over Dana and Dalai.
"Where are you running!?" Ethan shouts, chasing him.
"Where are you going!? It's too dangerous!" Estrella calls out, but Ethan ignores her.
"Are you okay?" Riccardo asks Dalai and Dana.
"Yes, just a little dirt in your eyes." Dana replies.
Dalai touches his nose.
"Just a little cut on my nose..." he adds.
"Three days ago those crazy hunters, and now this... this forest is a madhouse!" Dana mutters, a little frustrated, making Riccardo smile.
Riccardo gets up and walks over to Estrella and Amina.
"Estrella, the girl?"
"She's alive, just unconscious! The wound isn't deep, and I made a simple bandage using a piece of cloth from her shirt. She'll be fine!"
Riccardo kneels down to check on Amina, who slowly regains consciousness and suddenly grabs his arm.
"Please... help him... it was my fault!" Amina says through tears.
Riccardo looks at Amina, shocked, then glances at Estrella, who nods, signaling him to go.
"Don't leave here before sunset!" Riccardo said, standing up.
"Yes! Be careful!" Estrella replies.
"You too!"
Riccardo begins to run in the direction of Ethan and the fleeing boy.