Eli poked her head through the bushes, careful to not make them rustle too loudly. The slightest noise would alert the machines to her presence. They were only Watchers, but she had yet to defeat more than one at a time. Her teacher Magyar wouldn't be pleased if he knew she had sneaked off to train on her own, and he would be furious if she blindly attacked three Watchers without him there to assist. Her best option was to lure the machines to her hiding spot, to kill them off one by one rather than as a group.

She threw a rock and it landed just a small distance from the bush. The closest Watcher heard it, and began to make its way over to her. The other two remained oblivious and continued to roam. As the Watcher neared, she silently took aim with her bow, targeting its eye. She was about to release the arrow when she heard a noise by the trees, like a twig snapping. The Watchers immediately focused their attention on the cause of the noise, and she followed their gaze. Poorly hidden behind a tree there was a boy, and his silver-white hair painfully stood out as he peeked around the tree trunk.

The Watchers began to run in his direction and the boy panicked, turning and running away. As the machines chased after him, Eli found herself racing after them, heart pounding. Whoever the stupid boy was, she couldn't let the Watchers get him! To be killed by a machine was too cruel a fate for anyone...

When she caught up to them, the boy was backed against a cliff, but she was relieved he at least had a spear to defend himself with. She aimed at the back of the closest Watcher, and released her arrow. It dug into the wiry flesh of the machine, and it turned, seeing it was her who had attacked. She steadily nocked another arrow as it alerted the other two Watchers, and as all three turned their attention to her, she tried to remain calm. One at a time... She would run if she had to, but she could kill them all if she managed one at a time.

"YAAAAAHHHHH!"

She released the arrow, but the sudden yell had startled her and her aim was thrown off. It bounced off the rim of the closest Watcher's lens. The machines turned once again and she realized the boy had yelled to distract them, and at first she was grateful for the clear shot. But when he suddenly rushed at the Watchers, swinging his spear madly, her gratitude turned to frustration. "What are you doing?!" she shouted, running to help him.

"Saving you!" The boy swung his spear as a Watcher drew close to him, but it knocked him back against the cliff. The Watchers paced back and forth playfully before him, observing their prey.

"Saving me?! You're going to get yourself killed!" Not that she could say much better for herself. Throwing strategy to the wind, she unhooked her own spear from her back and thrust it into the side of a Watcher as she passed around it. Yanking it out, she stabbed its lens, but not before the bright red light blinded her. She could hear the machine fall beside her, but her vision was hazy as she stumbled back.

A force hit her in the chest and she felt herself flying back. Luckily she landed on the ground, and she hurried to stand back up. As she did, her vision cleared and she saw the Watcher coming for her. She lifted her hand to find it empty. Where was her spear?!

"Catch!" The boy's voice reached her, and she turned to see him throwing her spear to her. She caught it and stabbed the Watcher in the chest, payback for the way it had flung her. It sparked and wobbled on its small legs, and she struck again, downing it for good.

She heard the boy shout in pain, and she ran as fast as she could to save him. The Watcher had him pinned against the cliff, throwing its body weight at him. It leaped back, and its lens began to glow dangerously. Just in time, Eli grabbed the boy's arm and yanked him out of the beam's path. She darted forward and thrust her spear into the machine's underside, sending sparks flying. It toppled to its side, and to her surprise the boy finished it off, stabbing its eye with his spear.

Closing her eyes, Eli collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. "Thank All-Mother... We're alive..." she panted.

"That was so awesome!" the boy exclaimed as he collapsed beside her. "I've never fought three Watchers by myself!"

"By yourself?"

He quickly amended his words. "Sorry. Thanks for helping me. What I meant to say is more like... It's the first time I've fought three machines at the same time. Without my old man."

Satisfied at his correction, Eli smirked. "Same goes for me. I snuck out to hunt. I would tell my teacher about this when I get back, but I'm sure I'd get scolded rather than praised. How about you?"

The boy was silent for a moment, then he mumbled, "I would like to tell my old man too, but he's dead."

The statement was jarring, and memories flashed through Eli's mind before she could stop them. She opened her eyes and stared up at the dimming sky. "I'm sorry... I lost someone too, so I understand..." She turned her head to him and got her first real look at him. The sight of his plain, ragged clothes startled her, and she quickly bolted upright, crawling backwards to put some distance between them. "You're an outcast!" she cried.

He opened his eyes and she flinched at the sight of their strange red color tinted with light blue. She didn't know a person could have eyes like that... They reminded her of a machine's eyes. Was he an outcast because of that?

He smiled weakly at her reaction. "Yeah... You didn't notice?"

She shook her head. "No! We were too busy fight-!" She hurriedly covered her mouth with her hands, realizing her mistake. She wasn't allowed to speak to an outcast! What was she thinking?! She got to her feet and gathered her spear. She had to leave. He could keep the metal shards and machine parts for himself.

"Please... Don't go."

She turned to the boy, glaring, but her eyes softened as she saw the desperation in his strange colored eyes.

He swallowed. "You're... You're the first person I've talked to since my old man passed..."

Eli stood frozen, debating with herself. She could get in trouble for talking with him, but... She understood all too clearly what he was going through.

The boy tore his eyes from hers, knowing he was asking a lot from her. "Sorry... He was just... He was all I had."

Looking over his thin pale frame, Eli had to wonder just how long the boy had been on his own. He had to be about the same age as her, around 11, but she was far more muscular than he was, and there was more meat on her bones. Was he getting enough to eat? Judging from how he had fought and how easily he'd attracted the Watchers' attention, he clearly didn't have much hunting experience. With the cold season approaching, he was definitely going to struggle by himself...

Biting her lip, she quietly hissed, "I could get in big trouble for talking to you! Do you just want a conversation, or what do you want, exactly?"

Surprised that she was actually speaking with him, the boy blinked. "Could we just... talk? For a few minutes? Nobody has to know! I won't tell a soul!"

Eli debated some more, then sighed and sat down again, still careful to keep some distance from him. She put her spear down and crossed her arms as she threatened, "You better not... If you do, I'll call you a liar and find you! And break your arm!"

His face instantly lit up, and he began to tell her about his old man and how great he was. The old man, Fritz, had been an outcast too, and had been tasked to take care of the boy when he was just an infant. He treated the boy just like a son, despite the fact that they were not related by blood. Fritz was not blessed with good health, however, and he hadn't been able to teach the boy about hunting and living on his own as much as he would have liked to. A fellow outcast had helped them with food and supplies when he could, but he had made it clear it was only because he and the old man shared history together. When the old man got very sick and passed away, the other man stopped coming by, leaving the boy to fend for himself.

"So... It's just me now," the boy concluded. When he glanced at Eli, he was shocked to find tears rolling down her cheeks. She hurried to brush them away, but she knew he'd seen.

With a shaky breath, she replied, "That's horrible..."

The boy awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I-It's fine. I'm managing on my own. Just have to get better at hunting and other stuff..."

"No, it's not fine!" She curled her fingers into tight fists, and when she spoke there was anger in her voice. "You're not fine on your own! How can this be okay?!" She angrily brushed more tears away. "My mother died on a hunt, a couple years ago... A Scrapper wandered too close to the settlement and she and a group of other Braves had to kill it. It got her. But... At least I had my father after! And my friends! You have... You have nobody..." She looked at him with a sad expression, and he averted his gaze.

"I don't need your pity," he mumbled, his cheeks reddening.

"No, but you need my help." Energy sparked in her eyes, and she grinned at him. "I can teach you everything I know about hunting! My teacher says I have a lot to learn yet, so anything new I learn, I can pass on to you! I can sneak out, we can meet somewhere where no one will see us, and we'll train together!"

He stared at her, dumbfounded. "B-But what if someone finds us? You'll get in trouble! I don't want that..."

She thought for a moment. "Well... What if we do this? You can talk, but I won't. Technically, I'm only banned from speaking to you. But I can listen while you talk! It'll be like I'm ignoring you, but I'm really not."

He frowned. "But... Then you won't get to talk."

"We'll think of something... Maybe I can write messages in the dirt. Or we'll develop a secret language that doesn't need spoken!" She stood and dusted herself off, and as he stood and did the same, she held her hand out to him. "This will be our secret! It's kind of exciting!"

He hesitated, then clasped his hand around hers. "Thank you... Thank you so much! I don't know how to repay you, though." His grip was weak, but she would fix that.

She tightened her fingers around his, showing him the proper grip for a handshake. "You can repay me with lots of hard work! My name's Eli, by the way. What's yours?" she asked with a grin.

The boy beamed as he copied her strong grip and they shook hands. His strange eyes danced with a newly discovered light as he answered, "I won't let you down! ...My name's Gil."