It was dark enough to be called 'night', surely, but there was enough light filtering through the trees to blind Sol. His blindfold was nowhere to be found, so he had to squeeze his eyes shut. Even without his eyesight, though, he could hear the hair-raising sounds of battle around him, and he could smell the metallic stench of blood in the air. Even worse than the deafening snarls of beasts, though, was the single scream of horror that pierced the forest atmosphere.

"Luma!" he screeched. He made to stand up, only to find that, horrifyingly, his right leg was mangled and bloodied beyond recognition. He was too afraid to scream. All he could manage was a fearful groan as he hit the ground, clutching the gruesome pulp of blood and flesh and muscle that still clung his bones. Tears of agony ran down his face in adjoining streams.

"Sol! Help me!" Luma's plea rang out, falling on the functioning ears of her helpless friend. He tried to shout back, to promise her that everything would be okay, but his throat constricted with terror and grief, and he couldn't make a sound. He could hear the beasts roaring with bloodlust, circling his limp body and slowly closing in on him. His right leg had gone eerily numb now, and he swallowed hard with the knowledge that the nerve endings were all but dead. His hearing started to fail, his thoughts becoming less and less conscious, less and less his own...the last thing that registered in his mind was that he was dying before the world went painfully white.

Sol was breathing heavily when he awoke.

He was still crying, and he was still holding his leg, which, to his numbing relief, was damaged only by a mosquito bite. It took him a minute to realize what had happened—he had been dreaming. He was currently, the rough tree bark rubbing at his bare shoulders told him, in the Miri Woods. His back was to a large oak tree, where he had fallen asleep the night before—or earlier that morning, more likely—but Yuri was no longer asleep next to him. He sat up with a groan and rubbed the back of his neck. The entirety of his body was still sore from training that night.

"Sol? Are you okay?"

"Yuri?" Sol murmured, feeling around blindly for his bandanna. It landed in his lap—Yuri must have thrown it to him—with a soft thud. He grabbed it quickly and tied it over his eyes, then stood up carefully, trying to ignore the popping of his joints as he did. "I'm fine...why?"

"You were talking in your sleep again." Yuri reasoned. "You sounded scared, that's all."

"Does it matter?" Sol retaliated dryly. "I could've died in my dreams, and y'know what? I would've woken up all the same. It's happened before." He didn't bother to add that it would happen again, every single night, year after agonizing year, until the end of his long life. He just left it at that, brushing off concern like a pesky tick or a flea.

"Geeze, alright." Yuri muttered. "No need to be rude."

"I'm—"

"And stop apologizing, would you?"

"Sorry."

"Ech. Whatever."

Sol frowned, rubbing at a cut on his cheek that he could only guess was from sparring the night before. The wound reopened, and he felt a warm dampness on his hand. The half-elf growled and wiped it off on his coat.

"Did you really have to draw blood?" he complained.

"You didn't seem to care last night." Yuri rolled his eyes as he spoke—Sol couldn't see it, but he was sure of the fact. "Stop looking for things to bitch about and get your bracers."

Sol raised an eyebrow.

"Training, master Lowell?" he asked sarcastically, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm still tired from last night, thank you very much."

"Calm down. You don't have to fight me this time." Yuri assured. "We're fighting monsters today...besides, you asked me to spar with you."

Sol couldn't argue with that. He leaned against the tree, stretching his sore limbs slowly until the ache in them faded. He then stood up, cracked each knuckle in turn, and grabbed his coat from off the ground.

"Fine." he agreed begrudgingly, pulling his coat on and fumbling with the buttons. His bracers were still stashed inside the sleeves, and it took him little effort to strap them to his elbows. He finally stooped down and pulled on his socks and shoes, then nodded in confirmation.

"Ready, then?" Yuri asked, the implication in his voice hinting that his words were meant to be followed up with 'finally'.

"Yeah." Sol mumbled around a yawn. "Are we far enough from the Panamko barrier to find strong enough monsters, though?"

"We should be." Yuri called back as he laced up his boots, then straightened up and started off into the deeper, uncharted parts of the Miri Woods.

—Skit No. 003: Nightmares—

Sol yawned.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Yuri asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sol mumbled.

"You didn't seem to get a lot of sleep last night."

"I'm just—" he paused to stifle another yawn— "just fine."

"You don't sound like it."

"They were just dreams..." Sol breathed.

"If you want to stop and try sleeping again, then—"

"It doesn't matter!" Sol snapped.

"Whoa...geeze."

"They'll just...keep coming back..."

—End Skit—

There didn't seem to be many strong monsters in Miri; the ones they did find hidden in the brush were pathetic little pushovers that Yuri silenced with an Azure Edge or two. With every beast that wasn't worth fighting, Sol found himself growing steadily more irritated. His face reddened from his heavy, open-mouthed hyperventilation.

"You're going to scare off anything within a three-mile radius of here." Yuri remarked eventually as he crouched to examine a set of stale Chimera tracks.

"There is nothing within a three-mile radius." Sol argued, throwing his weight dramatically against a tree and sliding to the ground. "If we really want to find something, we should head north."

"Too close to the border." Yuri countered. He had obviously been expecting that remark. "I can't risk crossing into Paeonia with a half-elf."

"Racist." Sol leered.

Yuri shrugged.

"Whatever." he shot back. "I'm not the one who wants your kind enslaved and tortured to death."

Sol froze in his tracks. He felt a nagging pressure in the back of his mind, like there was something he was supposed to remember. Enslaved, tortured, death...something about the set of words triggered his brain. He chewed the inside of his cheek, sucking absentmindedly on the salty, metallic tang of blood. It was as though his body wouldn't let him remember whatever it was that was bothering him; there was a memory there, he knew that much, but it wouldn't surface. It was as if his brain was trying to protect him from his past...

Sol...

The voice of a girl, probably no older than ten or so, echoed once in his mind, then faded. His subconscious stilled, leaving him to stand there and shudder.

"Sol?"

Sol snapped back to attention and stiffened.

Yuri sounded apologetic.

"Are you okay?" he coughed. "You just...spaced out for a minute."

Sol! You have to run! Forget about me...

The half-elf ignored the meaningless plea and shook his head to clear it. The edges of his mind still felt hazy, like he was trying to shake off the remains of a half-forgotten nightmare—and in a way, that was exactly what he was doing.

"'M okay." he replied gruffly. "Sorry. Le's go."

He could practically see Yuri narrowing his eyes skeptically at his slurred speech. Finally, he muttered, "Whatever you say. Just don't keel over on me. I can't promise I'll carry you back to Panamko if you pass out."

"Shh!" Sol hissed suddenly.

"What—"

"Shut up! I hear something..."

A low, deep snarl rumbled somewhere in the distance. Sol felt the earth trembling under his feet. It was a dull buzz at first, but it quickly escalated until he was on his knees and Yuri had to lean on a tree to stay vertical. There was a faint odor of smoke in the air, steadily growing stronger. Sol could picture the fine wisps of grey as they grew to black clouds; telltale signs of fire.

"Sol! Get up!" Yuri had to shout to be heard over the roaring of the beast.

"Dragon?" Sol gasped as Yuri yanked him to his feet and pushed him back forcefully, so that the swordsman could stand defensively in front of his partner.

"Yeah." Yuri called back. "Can you fight?"

"Of course I can!" Sol growled indignantly. When the dragon burst into the clearing, he was ready.

"Arekuruu nagare yo..." he murmured, bringing his hands together and closing his concealed eyes. A bright cyan glyph appeared on the ground underneath him, right on cue. The insignia under his right eye glowed to life with a dark violet radiance. "Splash!"

A torrent of water splashed over the battlefield, surging around Sol's knees. He heard the dragon bellow in pain; it was the one sound that made soaking everything below waist-level tolerable. He twirled his yo-yo once, already mumbling another incantation.

"Gouka bakuretsu...Eruption!"

"That's not going to work, Sol!" Yuri yelled from where he stood, trying to get in a blow to the dragon's left flank, just above the blazing flame of its charred, blackened tail. "You can't—damn—can't use fire attacks on a dragon and honestly expect them to work."

"Right..." Sol managed, pressing his palms together. "Senppū reppū! Wind Lance!"

Sol braced himself against a tree, wincing as the gust of wind he created ruffled his hair and tugged at the hem of his jacket. The attack hit the monster directly in the eyes, blinding it. It spread its massive wings, igniting the trees in its path. Branches fell like flaming dominoes on the battlefield. One singed the ground just in front of him, and a second would have hit him if Yuri hadn't moved at that exact moment.

"Don't just stand there!" the man snapped, and Sol felt hands on his shoulders, a knee on his back, and then he was lying on the ground, winded, while Yuri recovered and landed skillfully next to him.

"M-Minna ni yasuragi o!" He choked out, clutching his bruised, likely broken ribs. "Pixie Circle!"

The mage didn't wait for the pain in his chest to fade. It probably wouldn't, without an apple gel or another spell. That wasn't going to happen; his pockets were empty, and he doubted he could cast another Pixie Circle, or a First Aid for that matter. He staggered to his feet. One hand still rested on his side. He brought the other to his face and pulled his bandanna up off of his eyes and onto his sweaty forehead. His eyes burned, but he forced himself to ignore the pain and squint up at the dragon. It was still in a rage, spewing fire from one of its twin heads and snapping at the air with the other.

"The trees are too dense here!" Yuri advised. "We need to lure it into the open. Can you still fight?"

"I don't think I have enough energy left to use artes." Sol admitted. He lifted his shirt gingerly to check his wounds. The bold outline of his ribs against his chest were more obvious than usual and had turned a nasty shade of reddish-purple. Definitely broken. He lowered his clothes back over his dangerously thin frame and turned back to Yuri. The sword wielder was sifting though his items. He found what he was looking for after a moment and tossed it to Sol, who almost dropped it.

"Heal yourself first." Yuri ordered as Sol popped the orange gel into his mouth. "I'm out of apple gels, so you'll have to cast something."

"Then?" Sol asked hurriedly as he cast First Aid.

"See those trees back at the larger clearing? The one near the river?" Yuri asked, pointing. "Set those on fire, and—"

"Fire?" Sol choked. "You can't fight fire with fire; you said so yourself!"

"Just do it, Sol!"

"Fine! Gouka bakuretsu! Eruption!"

The trees Yuri had indicated burst into flame. Sol huffed quietly as the dragon turned, roared through both mouths, then took off in the direction of the blaze, destroying everything in its wake. Next to him, Yuri had to handspring forward to dodge a falling branch. Sol merely backhanded it away, watching it fall, snapped like a twig, on either side of him.

"Let's go!" Yuri called. "We have to catch up to it!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Sol managed, taking off after the beast.

It didn't take long for the dragon to disappear from view. It also didn't take long for Sol's lungs, damned with asthma and weakness, to burn more and more with each shuddering breath, until he was gasping and sobbing for air. He finally stopped running when he tripped on the roots of a tree and fell forward, coughing pathetically. Yuri skidded to an immediate halt and turned back to face his companion.

"Sol, get up!"

Sol...

"I can't!" Sol rasped.

Sol heard Yuri curse loudly. He closed his eyes and let his head rest on his arms. His breathing was still loud and painful when he felt Yuri's hands on his shoulders, helping him to stand and brushing the dirt off of him. They must have stood like that for twenty minutes before Sol finally looked up with determination in his eyes.

"Let's catch up to that damn animal, Yuri, and kill it."

"You don't think it's escaped by now?" Yuri asked.

"I doubt it, judging by—"

Sol never got to finish his sentence. He was cut off by a loud scream from the direction the dragon had fled in. He looked in that area to see smoke pouring from the treetops and staining the sky ebony. He hit the ground running at the sound of a second cry—a familiar one.

"Hey, wait!" Yuri objected, matching paces with the other easily. "It's too smoky. You'll suffocate."

"I don't care!" Sol yowled on ragged breath. His previous defeat pushed aside, he burst into the larger, water-enclosed clearing. At the battle in front of him, though, he stopped dead.

Their own plan had backfired; instead of trapping the dragon, the spiraling river had forced a group of passersby into a battle with the enraged, blinded monster. Three twelve-year-old girls were huddled in a corner, clinging to each other's arms. A man in a Panamko military uniform was kneeling on the ground, bleeding, next to a dark-furred, fallen beast. And at the monster's feet, trying to reach for her fallen sword and screaming in fear and rage, was Luma.

"No..." Sol breathed.

"Sol." Yuri whispered. "You have a Mystic Core, don't you?"

"Yeah." Sol growled doubtfully. "So what—wait. Are you suggesting we use a unison attack on it?"

"It should work." Yuri replied. "We already weakened it. You know how to perform a unison attack, right."

"Yeah, I do. I've done it before."

When? When did you do it? You wrote in your journal that you and Albina and Apollo could use unison attacks...but who are Albina and Apollo?

"Perfect. On three. One..."

"Three!" Sol cried impatiently, jumping at the dragon with his fists raised. "Rising Phoenix!"

"Azure Edge!" Yuri shouted behind him.

Sol felt a jolt of electricity run down his spine. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled—the effects of a unison attack. A ball of icy blue fire formed over the dragon's back, consuming it. The monster's own flaming tail faltered. The fire on its back turned teal, then crystallized and went out. The dragon roared in pain, then fell, shaking the ground with the impact of its dead body.

Luma looked Sol in the eyes, her mouth agape with terror. She spluttered something that Sol didn't quite catch.

Then, she passed out.

Sol was at her side before her head could hit the ground. He squeezed her wrist in his left hand, checking her pulse. She would live, at least.

Yuri stood on the other side of the clearing, trying to rouse the younger girls. He looked up at Sol, then stood, carrying the smallest of the girls carefully in his arms, so that her head rested against his chest and her blonde hair cascaded down the side of both their bodies.

"We need to set up camp." Sol swallowed. "I'll deal tend to their injuries, but I need help. Fetch some water; Luma's burning up."

"Yeah, uh, sure." Yuri agreed, placing the girl next to Sol and Luma. He turned towards the river, then paused. "Sol?"

"What?"

"How did you know the dragon was still in the area earlier?"

Sol snorted.

"When I hit it with Wind Lance," he explained patiently, "I took out its eyesight. I knew it couldn't have gone far if it couldn't see where it was going. That's why it seemed so much more aggressive after I attacked it. It went blind and felt scared and insecure..."

"You have a way with blind people." Yuri remarked.

"As do you with assholes, Yuri." Sol sneered.