As short as my sleep was, I was still upset to hear my alarm go off. I roll to the opposite side of my bed, blindly slapping at my side table until I somehow hit the snooze button on my scroll.

"Rise and shine, Silv!" Paige yells, bursting into my room.

I groan and prop myself up on my elbows. "How can you be so energetic?" I ask, voice gravelly.

"I'm a magical talking book. I never need rest."

I sigh. "Fair point."

"Hey honey. You were the one who wanted to get up early." If Paige had legs, she definitely would have sashayed out of there.

I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and force myself to get ready, even if my mind wasn't matching up with my body. I drag myself to the bathroom. Few minutes later, I come out in my usual hunting gear: a purple t-shirt that rises just above my midriff and fitted black jeans. A black utility belt sits around my waist with a good portion of the tools I need. I grab a few hair ties before heading out to the living room.

Once there, I load my belt with the dust shards that I need. Earth, fire, ice, lightning, and a few specialty ones I got at a market. Since I don't know who I'm facing, it would be helpful to take whatever is necessary. The shards clip into my belt, while the backups get stored in my backpack.

I pull my sword off the wall and slide it into its sheath on my hip. Next, I grab both my bow and its set of arrows and watch as they merge. With the help of my magic, they become a silver bracelet on my wrist. Paige was the one who showed me the spell. If it weren't for her, I would be lugging it around everywhere.

"What you gonna do about food, Silv?" Paige asks.

"I'll stop by a nearby store and stock up," I answer, adjusting the bracelet. "I would store it in a pocket portal, but if the magic goes haywire again, I may not be able to access it."

"Good idea then."

"You got everything, Silv?"

I sling the backpack onto my shoulder and look around at my apartment. This may be the last time I see it for a while. I hope it's still here when I get back, maybe even untouched by Grimm.

Just as I am about to respond to Paige, my eyes halt at the wall where my weapons usually sit. Alone on the wall rests Azure's gun. Its light blue finish draws me in, almost as if it - Azure - were speaking to me. Something about it staying here while I go on this journey didn't sit right with me.

Without hesitation, I reach over and grab his gun. I weigh it in my hands before sliding it into a free spot on my belt. The extra weight against my hip is unfamiliar, but it's something I will have to get used to. It makes me wonder how Azure could carry so many of these on him at once. Then again, he would say the same of me with my sword. The thought brings a small flutter in my chest.

"You're taking it with you?" Paige questions.

"Yeah. Azure told me to keep an eye on it, and I intend on doing just that."

"Do you even know how to use a gun?"

I shrug. "No, but I know how to use a bow and arrow. Can't be that far off, can it?"

"Good point."

With a small smirk, I head for the door and move out with Paige into the unknown. With the crumbling moon above as our guide, we start our journey to discover the mystery of the core.

About a hour and a trip through a dark forest later, we manage to make it to a nearby town. Amnity is a small enough place that not many people talk about it, but it still is pretty advanced in terms of technology. It's far enough from Vale that it wasn't affected by the Grimm attack, but close enough that it was one of the first towns to hear about the news. Either way, the attack still haunts Amnity today now that they must live in Vale's shadow.

Before we enter the town, I tell Paige to go into my bag. If the citizens saw a strange girl with weapons accompanied by a floating and talking book, something tells me it would cause some panic. I know it's the middle of the night, but you can never know who can lurk in the alleyways, waiting for a chance to strike.

Despite the late hours, I manage to find a convenience store that's open with a "Open 24 Hours" neon sign flashing in the front display window. I push open the door, a light bell ringing above my head. To my surprise, the store actually looks pretty well-kept. Almost deathly white lights hang above each aisle, flickering every so often. The aisles are lined with a rainbow array of snacks and sugary beverages. On the far back wall rests certain weapons and ammunition cartridges, most likely for the traveling huntsman wandering through. A clerk sits in the back, mindlessly tapping his fingers in the pattern of a unheard tune.

I head for the food, picking up a handheld cart along the way. I scan the shelves for food items, specifically those that are canned and will hold more worth and nutritional value than just a plain bag of chips. Spotting the canned section, I stock up on fruits, beans, and soups. They will be easy to heat and eat while on the go.

I switch aisles to the candy and quick snacks section. I grab a small bag of trail mix and other assortments of nuts and fruits in case I need to make any of my own. I stop at the chocolate bar section and I can feel a smile appear on my face. It's like I can almost hear Azure urging me to buy them just so he can eat them after training. Despite my situation now, I still take a few and throw them in my cart.

In the back where the fridges are, I take a few of the massive bottles of water. If I run low, I can find a stream and use some of the iodine packets I have to filter it.

Finally, I head to the back of the store where the man is. His eyes are distant, almost distracted, but looks up when I head his way.

"How can I help ya?" He asks, his voice clearly scruffy. Up close I can see how disheveled he is. His beard is long and clearly not groomed and his hair sticks out in places it shouldn't.

"I was wondering if you have any arrows on hand."

"You looking for a specific make? Wood, alloy?"

"Alloy."

He nods and pushes off of his stool to open a display case. He pulls out an array of arrows and sets them on the counter in front of me. They arrange in colors ranging from silver to bronze to obsidian, each with varying tips and lengths.

"Some of these are more than just arrows." He picks up a silver arrow, with a diffuser underneath the tip. "This is a explosive arrow. It'll blow at your command." He sets it down and picks up another, this one with a light blue glow from inside the tip. "This one has an ice dust in it, in case you need to freeze some stuff. But this," he smirks and holds up the obsidian one. "This is a new model recently released. It can create a smokescreen to confuse your enemies."

I nod, taking in all of the options for arrows. I'm surprised that such a small store can have such a large selection of weapons. I'll have to keep this in mind the next time I need to stock up.

"So what do you think?" He stands back, watching me. His gaze is a little unsettling, but I brush it off.

I think for a few moments before I point out the ones I want, including the explosive, ice and smokescreen arrows. They may come in handy in the case I'll have to ambush someone.

He places the arrows I picked aside then packs the others away. "Anything else I can get you?"

"Yeah." I place the basket of food on the counter then I pull out Azure's gun. "I was wondering what kind of ammunition this gun takes."

He examines it for a second before reaching out to take it. I hesitate and pull it back slightly. Something about the thought of someone else touching Azure's weapon sent my skin crawling. I can feel his confused gaze on me before I force myself to give him the weapon. He examines it for a bit, then opening up the magazine to examine the ammo.

"Okay, we have these in stock." He slides the magazine back in and hands me back the gun. Feeling the hilt back in my grip lifts a weight off my shoulders.

He messes around in a few drawers, eventually finding the correct ammunition. He places it aside of the arrows. "Anything else?"

"Yeah these." I pull up the basket and start unloading it.

"So I'm assuming you're a huntress?" He starts picking up the items and scanning them.

"Yeah."

"So what are you doing in a town like this, especially this late at night?"

I shrug. "Just out on a mission."

"Where are you from?"

"Vale."

He chuckles shortly. "Why stay there? It's run over by Grimm."

"It's still a city that needs to be protected."

He raises a curious eyebrow in my direction. "Last time I checked, a city needs people to run. Everyone evacuated from Vale during the attack. There really isn't a place for you to protect anymore, lady."

Anger courses through my veins at the words. "Vale has been and still is my home. And I will still protect it from the Grimm that destroyed it."

He smirks smugly with a roll of his eyes. "If you're really looking for something to hunt, you should try hunting down some other criminals, or stopping freaks like the Suro."

I hesitate in answering at the mention of the Suro. "I guess in some ways I am."

After he checked me out, I exited the glow of the store and back into the darkness of the familiar forest. Before I could even move for my bag, Paige had already ported out and beside me.

"For someone that knows a lot about weapons, he sure is a bitch."

"I know, Paige." I sigh. "Sometimes guys can be dense."

"I'm so glad that I'm an animate book so I don't have to deal with idiots like him."

"I wish Paige."

"Maybe he could be a little bit more like Azure."

The mention of him brings me to a halt. Butterflies flutter in my stomach, yet every part of my body tenses at hearing his name. Every memory, both good and bad, charge at me and take me back to all the times I spent with him. He's good. He's bad. He's an enigma that I can never solve.

"Yeah, maybe," I muster, my voice coming out dry.

She hesitates. "Silvia, are you okay?"

A faint chuckle sounds from me, but I don't recognize it. "Depends on what you mean by okay."

Paige sped in front of me. If she had eyes, I'm sure she would be shooting daggers my way. "Honey, let's talk. Come on."

As much as I don't want to talk about this, maybe Paige is right. It's been almost two years since he left but the wound is still there. It hurts even thinking about it or mentioning it. Maybe it's why I avoided really talking about it since then. For the first month, maybe I brought it up a few times. Now, it's an entirely different story.

I look up at Paige for a few seconds before a sigh escapes me. "It's been hard since Azure left, you know."

"Would it be bad for me to say that I never expected it to be easy?"

"I thought that, for once, things would finally work out for us," I explain.

"The prosthetic attack was something no one could have predicted, Silvia."

"But he still left, Paige. For four years he abandoned us when he had nothing to apologize for."

"He killed someone."

I turn to look at Paige, anger from so many years ago filling my bloodstream. "His spine was his implant, Paige! When the virus hit, it went straight from his central nervous system to his head. Nothing he did he was in control of!"

Paige sighs. "I… I'm sorry, Silvia. I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's okay." I take a breath to calm myself. "I should have seen him leaving again coming."

Paige floats over and places her pages on my shoulder. "Azure leaving was something that no one could have predicted. You two were getting along as you always did, and you still will when he returns. And you know he'll come back."

My hand immediately drifts down to my holster where Azure's gun rests. "He tried to fix everything for me when no one else has. He wouldn't throw that away forever."

If Paige could possibly grin, she would definitely be doing it right now. "Exactly. And believe me when I say that Azure wouldn't purposefully do anything to hurt you, including leaving you again."

Her words surged a wave of hope inside me. For the first time in a year, I finally start to feel comfortable with the idea of trusting Azure. It's like there is this feeling deep in my stomach that won't lift, knowing that not only will he come back for his gun, but he'll come back for me, and that's all of the relief I need.

"Can I hug you?" I finally ask, an unfightable smile on my face.

Paige flew from my shoulder to my chest, folding her covers together. "You never need to ask."

I wrap my arms around her and pull her in tight. "What would I do without you, Paige?"

"Honestly? You'd be a wimp at magic."

I mock gasp and release her. "No I wouldn't."

She chuckles, drifting back into the air. "I know. You're amazing at everything you do."

A faint blush coats my cheeks. "Shut up. I'm not."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Silv," she scoffs. "So, where are we going?"

"For our mission?" I ask, pulling up a map on my scroll.

"Duh! If you wanna find out who's attacking the core, you need to start with some suspects."

"So who would want it out for magic?"

"I mean, if you think about it, almost anyone if the motive is right. People who are obsessed with power, anyone who was done wrong by magic, people who just hate it. There are so many possibilities."

Suddenly an idea struck me like a chord. If the store clerk hadn't mentioned them, I probably wouldn't have even considered them. "Paige I think I know where to go."

"Oh! Do tell!"

"Who do we know that has a deep-rooted, not so pleasant history with magic?"

Paige pauses in thought, then lights up. No literally, she starts to light up with magic. "The Suro!"

I smile. "Exactly. Out of all the gods and goddesses in their mythology, there is one who is representative of magic: Sterro."

"She's the one they consider evil, right?"

"Well pure evil, yes. For others it's kind of implied."

"You think that a Suro somehow found the Core and wants to destroy it for good?"

I shrug as I enter coordinates into my scroll. "How a Suro found the Core still confuses me. But it's the only motive and good lead that we have right now."

"Alright. So where are we headed?"

I look ahead, stuffing my scroll in my pocket. "We're heading to talk to the king of the Suro."