Part I

"I despise your arrogance."

Here we go again.

"I'm not arrogant, I just know what I'm worth!"

"You have no clue what your limits are. You overestimate yourself. You have no consideration for the danger you could put your companions in!"

It was the same almost every night. And every day, too, to be fair: she'd do something crazy, he'd chew her out for it, and she'd start again the first chance she got. Both had that in common: they were stubborn as hell, and as he was never willing to let her continue her antics, she was never willing to let him stop her.

"I had everything perfectly under control! Besides, I'm the reason we beat the damn thing, aren't I?"

"Your luck will run out eventually!"

"Excuse me?!" she jumped up and pointed a finger at his face. "That's not luck, that's skill, mister I-only-landed-like-three-hits!"

He did not give her the pleasure of reacting to her taunt, but he was growing frustrated – well, more frustrated than he already was – and clenched his fists. He, however, did not stand up, but stared her in the eyes as he answered.

"It is luck, and it will run out, and the day it does you will regret it all. And if you bring about even a single scratch on one of your companions, I will personally make sure of that."

She shot him a glance as she turned around, throwing her hands in the air as she walked towards her tent, fuming.

"Whatever!"

He watched her walk away, and when she was out of sight, he sunk in his seat, burying his face in his hands, and let out a long sigh.

"She is impossible."

The Cadet, a young man with hair a shade of orange that didn't seem possible and big eyes that looked perpetually amazed at everything, was fidgeting nervously with his hands. He was never quite sure who's side to pick; even though he thought the girl's hammer-related antics and tricks were impressive to say the least, and even though he thought they were awesome, he was hesitant to go against his mentor, and could somewhat see his point.

The Gunner, a black woman with long flowing hair held up in a dark ponytail, looked entirely uninterested in picking sides. She preferred listening, and found it entertaining; she had always thought the Commander looked funny when mad. The Hammer wielder's sarcasm towards him amused her greatly as well, and she was indifferent to the issue at hand.

The Lancer, a tower of a man who's build looked perfect for the weapon he preferred, stood up and looked to the Commander.

"Just let it go, Commander. She never will, and you're just wasting your energy."

He looked up to his companion, a serious look on his face.

"I can't let her do this... She's endangering everyone, including herself."

The Lancer closed his eyes, a quick smile flashing on his lips as he sighed.

"You are both just as stubborn as one another."

He stretched, then crouched to pick up his things, before taking a step back and nodding to the people still sitting around the fire.

"I will head to bed. Good night."

"Good night."

"'Night."

"'Night!"

Over the course of the next half-hour, the two others left to go to sleep as well, leaving the Commander sitting alone by the fire. His gaze was deep in the flames, like they hypnotized him, and they were reflected in his eyes. Although he sat close to the fire, he did not feel it's warmth; he felt cold, as flames could not warm the soul, and the scar on his side ached.

The Hammer wielder woke up a bit before the first light of day. She slid out of her covers, slowly got up and rubbed what sleep was left in her out of her eyes. She stretched and grabbed pants and a shirt, which she quickly put on before heading out of her tent.

The Commander was sitting near the fire, slowly poking what was left of it with a stick. She sat down on the opposite side of him, waving vaguely as only greeting.

"You should put some shoes on," he said absentmindedly, without taking his eyes off of the embers.

"And you should stop trying to tell me what to do."

He gave a tiny, bitter smile.

"Did you ever listen to anyone? Your parents, or something? Anyone?"

The question caught her a bit off guard. She took the time to think, which only vaguely surprised him. He never took his eyes off of the dying fire.

"I listened to the man who taught me how to fight, sometimes."

He looked up, meeting her eyes with his, and for a moment she saw in those green eyes of his a million questions he wanted to ask, a million things he wanted to say about that... but he stayed silent. She looked at him, with this neutral expression only betrayed by that look in his eyes, she stared at his hard features, his sharp jaw, his hair so blond it was almost white, and once again like always, she found that she thought he was quite good looking.

"So, should I start teaching you in order to have you listen to reason?"

She gave him a wide smirk.

"I don't think you can teach me anything."

He sighed softly, his eyes going back to the glowing embers reflected in his eyes. She stood up, grabbing some nearby wood, and started reviving the fire. He only watched it come back to life, never lifting his gaze from the newly revived flames.

He always was like this in the mornings; distant, lost in his own thoughts. She had always found that extremely intriguing. In fact, she thought he was quite intriguing as a person; absolutely insufferable, but intriguing. She always thought there was something behind his attitude, not to mention the fact that he told no one his name, and only referred to himself as the Commander. The Hammer wielder, however, had her doubts that Hana, the Ace Gunner, knew it. They had the relationship, the dynamic of people who have known each other for a long time. She'd have to ask the Gunner about that one day. Anyhow, her curiosity was probably the only thing that kept her from hating the Commander, as opposed to being strongly annoyed by him.

She put some water to heat with the intention of making some tea, and took out a few pieces of meat from her pack to chew on. He only kept staring at the flames.

"The Kindred Hunter is going to be in Dundorma. She will get there after us. She mainly uses a hammer – I think you'd like her."

"No offense, but I don't think you'd know who I'd like."

He gave a small smile which faded away quite quickly.

"You vaguely remind me of her," he stated simply.

"And you like her?"

"She has my utmost respect. She has put her own life on the line to protect those she loves, and even people she hardly knew. Obviously that is not your case."

She smirked at him, still chewing on a piece of meat.

"Don't act like I'm not saving you guys' asses every time."

"You are putting us, and yourself, in danger."

He felt like he'd stated this a million times, yet she never understood, and he seriously started to doubt she ever would. She only rolled her eyes and kept eating.

They stayed in silence for the rest of the time as the sun was coming up. When their companions woke up, they would be hitting the road again, towards Dundorma, where their biggest challenge still lay ahead.