[Lyra's P.O.V]

I woke up from a restless sleep due to the rough waves to glimpse at the glowing and radiant sun peaking above the horizon out of my window. Sometimes, being on the top floor has its benefits. It extended its vivid light across the deep blue sky. However, I was still more than exhausted. So upon waking, I burrowed myself into the warm, soft sheets and tucked my body in like a caterpillar. But no matter how much I try, my eyes won't fall and the drowsiness left me. So I popped up from my sheets, rubbing the remainders of sleep from his eyes and then gazed out at the horizon through the glass frame; the sun's dazzling and inviting rays flowed through the window, providing warmth to my body. Slowly, the fatigue of the long day I had yesterday was seeping out of me as the welcoming rays trickled in to replacing my unrest-it relaxed my body.

Slowly and reluctantly, I uncover my face. I blink, close my eyes, and blink again, trying to recover my energy in a snap. I sit up, dragged my feet off the bed, and rub my knuckles onto my eyes. Somehow but not surprising, my arms were very sore and hard to above my head and yawn. I watch my legs dangle above the off-white polyester carpet and before I knew it, my feet met the fur. I didn't bother to fix or smooth down my hair because I already knew it was going to be a mess either way.

Eventually I got out of bed and stumbled across to the other side of the room as my fatigue had still not left me. I made my way towards the dining room to eat whatever's in the fridge. But as I passed by the living room, my eye caught the absolute mess on the couches. Piles of coats and jackets, a pair of combat boots, leatherleaf gauntlets-even a scabbard with a genuine sword sheathed in. Although that wasn't what got me. Spending a month in Drakos made me immune to the presence of weapons in unusual places. After finding a grenade down a dish drainer, I no longer feel surprised at the mere sight of a dangerous weapon.

What really confused me was the clock hanging on the wall. I frowned. "Seven-thirty?" I mumbled under my breath but continued on my path.

As I arrived in the dining room, my eyes scanned over the unusually beautiful area that I have never expected to have in my entire life. It was a grand space, to say the least. The huge mahogany table took up most of the vast space the dark, romantic room offered, left without a tablecloth and daring guests to ruin the perfectly varnished shine with their unworthy fingerprints. The walls were covered with a shimmering gold paper and in the middle of the ceiling above the carved oak table was a candelabra.

Directly connected to the room was the kitchen, which was even more exquisite. Yawning, I walked by the table and headed towards the refrigerator. I was in no mood to cook it whip up a new meal so I resorted to whatever is in the fridge. Fortunately, there was a plastic container filled with last night's Pasta Bolognese. So I took it out and placed it inside the microwave, setting the timer to three minutes.

As I watch the container spin around the platform, I couldn't help but think that I'm forgetting something. There was nagging voice in my head, telling me that I needed to make a second meal. For who? No idea. Why? Haven't got a clue. So naturally, I did what every normal person would do if your consciousness started telling you something; I listened.

So I ignored my remaining thoughts as the microwave's timer stopped and a ding rang from the machine. I opened the door, grabbed my breakfast and then grabbed another container of leftover pasta and threw it in there as well. Once three minutes has past, I opened the door, grabbed both containers, and headed towards the dining table where oddly and conveniently, there were two sets of placemats at the either end of the table. Both already had a pair of utensils ready and a glass. Why can't I remember why I have this?

But yet again, I ignored it and sat down on my seat, which was changed to my choice. The bean bag hissed as my body slowly sank down, but just high enough for the table. I placed my breakfast on the table while the other container sat on the other placemat for some reason. Somehow my brain has wired my body to do this and I just listened. My gaze shifted to steaming reheated leftover pasta and I proceeded to devour it like I haven't eaten for weeks. Even though it was pretty early and training starts in more than an hour, General Haddock would not tolerate anyone being late or...

Wait...

Suspended in the air, my hand held the fork with strips of pasta around the tongs. My eyes wide and my body frozen as realization dawned on me. But as cognizance soaked through my bones, my skin grew paler by the second. It all started to make sense now. The messy living room. The sudden shift of my morning schedule. The second placemat on the other end of the table. It all connected to one person;

"Hey, Agnor. Why didn't you wake me up?"

The sound of the door shutting while the voice rang across the entire room was like a church bell signalling my death. My head slowly craned to the side and what do you know, it was exactly who I thought it was.

Her usually flowing golden locks were in a tangled mess, but that didn't erase any of her beauty and elegance. In fact, I think it just increased it. Wearing a simple red sports bra-which did not fail to reveal her taut abs and fit figure-and a pair of black PJs, she strolled down the hall with her gleaming battle axe strapped onto her waist like an accessory. In one fluid motion, the hair tie in her wrist vanished and somehow ended up in her fingers, where she proceeded to tie her blonde hair into a messy ponytail with one hand.

The General Astrid Haddock is stepping foot on my room and judging from her messy and drowsy look, she woke up in one of the guest rooms which means that she slept here!

How could I forget such an important detail! I mentally slapped myself once the memories rushed back in my head. I finally remembered that yesterday, General Haddock had approached me with a special but strange request. She had been wondering if she could spend the couple of days in my room because an incident occurred in her house. Something about a fire that ruined all the electrical circuits and the water pipes. She didn't say exactly what happened but I heard her mutter along the lines of 'never boiling water ever again'.

Regardless, I instantly accepted before she could actually ask me and she already moved in the guest bedroom, which I somehow forgot!

I stare at her agape as she dragged a seat by the table and plopped down right in front of me. Her sleepy-looking eyes suddenly lit up upon seeing the freshly heated pasta on her table. Raising her fork, she pointed it at me with a serious look.

"You..." She then proceeded to stab it at the pasta. "...are a good host."

I responded with a very awkward smile as she proceeded to gobble it up. I don't know if it's just me, but why does she look so elegant and refined even though she's tearing that pasta apart with her mouth. Like normally, people will criticize her and call her a pig. But when they see her eat like this, they'll more likely consider as just a hungry person. That's not normal.

So I began eating as well, only I did it silently and properly. I wanted to just stuff my face in it but to do it in front of your superior is another thing. Even though that the exact superior is finishing the entire container of pasta within a few minutes. After eating every bits of it, she placed down the fork and wiped the excess sauce on her lips with a napkin, wiping it off her face in one swipe.

Why does it look so badass when she does it?

She then flashed me a smile that was so bright, I had to metaphorically cover my eyes. "That was better than I thought. No offense." She said but I wasn't at all offended. It's a normal expectation that leftovers aren't that good. "But I'm just glad you prepared a meal for me in the morning."

Cue the guilt. I couldn't just outright say that I forgot about her because that'll just... actually, I have no idea what will happen. But whatever it is, I doubt it would work to my favor. So the only thing I could was smile sheepishly and anxiously at the general.

"Also, thank you again for accepting my request. Captain Boggs already housed my daughter and son but kicked me out. So, thank you."

More guilt flooded my heart as my smile grew even more awkward. My fingers tapped my thigh nervously. A gave out an audible gulp that General Haddock failed to hear, fortunately...

"For a moment, I thought you forgot I was even here!" She joked, chuckling afterwards. "You were nervous when I saw you but I guess I was wrong."

Haha, yeah...

And for the first time in my life, I mumbled out a curse. "Fuck me..."

"You are not allowed to pass through the line. As long as you stay in the ring, you will still be considered in the fight."

General Haddock announced the rules of today's training regimen as we strap our leather armor and pads along our bodies. Anything involving armor means that we're getting hurt. With my four pistols in my holsters, two in my waist and two on either of my legs, that definitely means that we're about to face something serious.

As the others continue to wrap the bindings around their bodies, I walked over to the room where a glass door separates us and the other room on the other side. What I noticed in that room, was that it was very spacious-almost as big as an indoor basketball court. A simple strip of red tape ran across the rectangular room, about two feet away from the actual wall. Metal tiles covered the inside of the rectangle, with absolutely no decoration or object whatsoever.

But what caught my eye is the iron door by the end of the room. I have no idea what's going to pop out of that door but I'm sure that it would be bad for us, yet enjoyable for the general.

"Alright. Now, I'll give you a brief description about this challenge." General Haddock said after the rest had finished wearing their armor and strapping their weapons along their waists or back. We faced the general as she crossed her arms over her plated chest and gazed at us with a furrowed look. "This will allow you to experience different kinds of combat situations that you will encounter out in the field. There are certain levels in it, kind of like a video game. It's not a holographic battle or an illusion. Everything would be real and you will feel everything. But I'll make sure that you won't sustain any heavy damages."

So it's a combat simulation. I heard about sparring lessons and field training. But the way she described this challenge was different and certainly new. Levels? A video game? I wonder what she means about that?

"There are seven levels in total. To finish it all; a perfect mark. Finish five; you passed. Finish four; you're barely hanging your ass on the passing line. Anything below that; you're fucked." She then proceeded to flip a switch by the wall, which then activated one of the glass doors to swing open. Gulping, we already knew what she expected us to do and so we stepped forward towards the doorway.

Then all of a sudden, someone pushed me out of the way and sneaked into the front. I gritted my teeth in irritation but I held my fist back. I was not surprised to see the blond jerk, Jack, push his way up to the front. What will he gain from being in the front anyway? As we enter the strange room, I could feel the entire atmosphere shift, from our mood to the room's temperature to the actual aura the room's radiating. The first thing I noticed that the area was cold, really cold. Yet my body isn't reacting at all. My skin could sense the frigid air and the cool wind blowing through the room, but my body won't physically respond naturally nor organically. It's like my body temperature didn't change, despite the absolute freezing condition.

I watch as my teammates' breath came out as white mist from their mouths but their bodies, like mine, isn't shivering or trembling due to the cold. As our footsteps slowly faded away into oblivion, the glass door shut close behind us. Our feet were still outside the rectangular line. Nothing happened in the thirty seconds we've been inside.

"Hey! What the fuck are we supposed to do?" Jack cried out behind us, to supposedly where General Haddock is. However, as I turned around, the glass doors showed nothing except a clear white plane, almost like tinted glass.

"Splendid. We'll all die here, I guess." One of the Cardinal twins, Phoenix I believe, quipped with a roll of his eyes.

He then proceeded to roam around the room, which was a very big mistake. Because as soon as his foot crossed the line, everything shifted within a second. Heat burst through the tiles and melted off the frosty temperature. The floor no longer felt smooth and clean, but was replaced with a rocky surface, filled with moss and dirt. Rocks the size of chairs grew out of the ground like plants. After the freezing cold dissipated, the heat did not stop until we were sweating.

"What the fuck is this?" Jack wiped the sweat off his brow, yet his skin was gleaming with it.

The Cardinal twins were also having a hard time to cool off. Their hair were already damp with their own sweat and they used their swords-that are still in their scabbards to fan themselves. I myself was perspiring strenuously. Luckily, I had my leather armor to cover my damp clothing, otherwise I would have to deal with those hormonal guys. Wearing pants was not the right decision, even if it's sole purpose was to protect me.

Thirty minutes has passed and almost all of us were in the brink of boredom and a heat stroke. Most of us were just leaning against a convenient rock by the side and making the most of our time by staying still.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Slate asked no one in particular as he collapsed to the rocky surface and laid his back against the ground.

"We'll be cooked up in here like an turkey in Thanksgiving." I replied with a groan as I joined my teammate on the ground.

Jack scoffed. "Yeah, no shit." He then abruptly stood up and stretched his arms out. His leather armor laid loosely around his body like an apron. The white inner tunic was slicked with sweat, making it transparent and revealing his absurdly muscular figure. Most women likes those kind of stuff; sweaty muscular hot guys. But to me, they're just who they are-sweaty and muscular. Nothing special.

He pulled out his ridiculous weapon out of the strap on his back, and gripped it in his hand. The blade-riddled metal bat was a very formidable weapon, yet it bears a strange and silly aura around it. Something like this could only be found in a video game or a movie yet here we are in the real world, where a sexist bastard wields such a weapon. But then all of a sudden, he took that same bat and slammed it against the ground.

All of us stared at him in shock as he continue to bash the ground with his metal bat. Since the blades were stronger than titanium and lighter than steel, it easily penetrated the rocky surface without dulling or bending. An angry cry resonated out of Jack's mouth as he sent one last powerful swing at a nearby rock, utterly obliterating it into a hundred fallen rubble that was sent all over the place.

Fortunately, we were out range. But the mere shock of his actions was enough to stun us. Jack's shoulders heaved as he panted in exhaustion. The heat had already affected his physical strength and endurance, and using it for insignificant goal were only going to make his body weaker. He dropped to his knees, using his bat as a cane, and lifted his head up to the ceiling.

"You bitch! You left us here to die, didn't you?" He yelled out.

While the twins simply watched him with a mix of concern and amusement, I was feeling otherwise. Ever since the first day, this guy was already getting on my nerves. One look at him and I already knew he was trouble. But at first, I thought it was just a façade, that he was hiding something precious to himself. But the only thing he was hiding was that horny penis in his pants. He flirted with me the very first day, along with some of the female recruits. That guy was the definition of a pervert and I don't think anyone would forgive his actions despite having an attractive face.

He was someone that I would never associate myself with but now, he's in my team, insulting our superior, and acting like a temperamental child. However, I won't pay him my attention just because he's having a mental breakdown by himself. If he wants to break his arm once again due to the insults he's shouting, then be my guest. I just hope and pray his arm won't heal for at least a year.

But as I was about to ignore him, a phrase snapped me out of my thoughts.

"You useless piece of shit! Why can't you do anything right?!"

Suddenly, my vision started to get disoriented. Everything seemed blurry. My hands flew to my eyes and rubbed it until my vision cleared. But when I opened my eyes, I no longer saw Jack as himself. Instead, it was a black-haired woman dressed in a baggy shirt and shorts. Her limbs were thin and lanky, veins visible within her skin. She was obviously unhealthy. In her hand, right were Jack's bat is supposed to be, is a broken beer bottle. And she wield it threateningly at the person below her. He was an older man and definitely much stronger. But the fear and concern was evident in his eyes and face.

I recognized not only the woman, but also the man. Of course I remembered them. Then in within a second, the woman's beer bottle appeared in man's jugular, its sharp and jagged end stuck inside his flesh as blood poured out of the hole. The man choked and gasped upon the sudden thrust the woman forced onto his neck. His body flailed around while the woman watched him slowly die with an emotionless look on her face. Soon, the man laid still on the ground as the remaining pints of blood trickled down his wound.

The woman's head towards me and without warning, I rushed out of my position and lunged at the woman. I slammed my fist against her cheek, knocking her to the ground with me. As she struggled to get up, I grabbed her wrist and crushed it towards the ground, holding her in place. The woman cried out in pain but my rage zeroed it out. My mind was too occupied to hear the twins' protests or the person's cries of pain below me.

I take out my Desert Eagle from my waist holster and stuck it directly under her chin. Through gritted teeth, I seethed out, "I promised myself that I'll kill you if you ever show your face to me again, Mom!"

There is a wrinkle in her nose that has nothing to do with a coming sneeze, muscles tight, jaw clenched. When she moves it's like an epic series of movie-stills, fists moving as her face contorts into an expression she's never worn before. The Cardinal couldn't believe their eyes. One minute, Jack was screaming at his baseball bat because one of the blades came out from out of his swings. The next, Lyra pounced towards him like a tiger and forced him to the ground without any consent.

Meanwhile, the blond himself was confused and angry. This was not how he imagined a woman riding him. Especially when said woman was aiming her pistol under his chin while calling him 'Mom'. He definitely did not expect this chick to suddenly act crazy. Normally, he would push her away and scowl. But he didn't know why but he suddenly had the urge to pummel this emo chick to the ground. Of course, he listened to his instincts and kicked Lyra in the stomach, knocking her off of him.

"Lyra! Jack! Stop this!" Phoenix cried out as the two fell into a fistfight.

Punches were thrown. Kicks were delivered. Faces were struck. Bodies were slammed. Jack did not held back at all and used his entire strength in his strikes. Although being the stronger and larger person, Lyra had no problem with dodging and redirecting those attacks, using his own power against him. After all, this is what she did to fight off her abusive mother, which is exactly who she is envisioning before her.

But as the fight continued, it began to escalate as well. After being kicked in the chest and falling down to the ground, Jack noticed his bladed bat beside him. A reckless idea entered his mind and decided to accept it without remorse. He reached for his weapon and hopped to his feet, where Lyra waited for him with her pistols in hand, aimed at his direction.

However, this failed to lower Jack's aggressiveness. He continued to charge towards the woman, swinging his metal bat to the side in preparation to obliterate her head. Lyra turned off the safety and cocked both her guns back. Her fingers slowly moved to the trigger and with one flick of a finger left to go.

But before any lives were lost, a sword was brought down against the rocky surface, cracking the ground and releasing an inferno from the blade. The two immediately stopped in their tracks as the ground between them was split and burnt black. Slowly but surely, they began snapping them out of their trance and realizing what they were about to do.

Jack was disoriented, stumbling around like a drunk in the holidays. His sudden aggression receded back down his stomach. Regardless of what happened, he did not regret his actions at all. In fact, if he another chance to do it again, he would gladly accept it. But what irked him was when he remembered calling his weapon a useless piece of shit. That was what he regret.

Lyra however, was completely shook. Remembering her past took its toll on her mind and heart. Her breathing felt irregular and shaky as it flowed out her mouth. So she took a deep breath, as if to suck in the earth's inner calmness and tranquility. Slowly, her body stopped trembling and her heart stopped pumping faster than an Olympic runner's. As her mind felt at peace with itself, she slid her pistols back at their holsters.

She wiped the blood trickling down her lip after receiving one of Jack's strikes Luckily, she was able to evade or redirect almost all the attacks towards her face. The rest of her body was a different story. Jack's face was totaled and his body was riddled with bruises. Lyra did a great job of getting out of the fight with less injuries than him.

Phoenix heaved his sword back up and sheathed it back to its scabbard. He glared at the two with a unique set of intensity, one that did not threaten them but made them uncomfortable either way.

"Don't you see what has happened?" Phoenix exclaimed. He spread out his arms and gestured to the hot and rocky environment. "This is a test! A mental test to be precise!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack scowled in response, and for the first time, Lyra agreed with him.

Slate stepped in with his arms crossed. "The general never said anything about actually fighting someone. She just said that it's combat situations like..." He gestured the surroundings again and that's when it clicked in the duo's heads.

But just as they were about to get it, a sound of an alarm that resembled a video game's sound effect, rang across the entire room. Their heads turned from side to side in confusion as a voice suddenly spoke within the room.

"Yippee, you passed level one. Now six more levels of torment to go."

Ignoring the voice's similarly to a depressed teenager in his puberty years, they perked up at the word torment and they groaned in unison. They began cursing themselves and complaining, unaware of the rising walls underneath their feet.

Meanwhile, in the other side of the glass doors and windows, Astrid stood there, watching her students complain about the entire challenge. But she couldn't blame them. Actually, she was more surprised to see them finish level one when she herself, failed back when she was still a recruit. She sighed as she remembered beating the shit out of all her teammates and started scavenging for food.

Cutthroat sat down on a chair right beside her, watching the students try to navigate themselves through the maze that had risen from the ground. Every time they go through a hall, the wall behind them would close and one would open, leaving them stuck in this endless cycle of suffering.

"Well, that last longer than I expected." He remarked.

Astrid scoffed. "Tell me about it. I don't know whether they're a bunch of prodigies or idiots. On one hand, their skills are beyond what I expected from them as a recruit. But they're all as stupid as the twins."

"Well, that's a bit harsh. We both know that the Thorston twins are incomparable with anyone."

"You have a point." Astrid heaved out a depressing sigh of exhaustion as she plopped down on her own chair. "What am I going to do with them? They're so hard to understand and even harder to train."

Cutthroat shrugged. "Well, you did a great job training your last students." He replied, fully aware what her retort is.

As expected, the blonde general rolled her eyes and shot the pale man a bored look. "You honestly think I believe that? Sure, they're top-ranked agents but I didn't do much." She threw her hands in the air and exclaimed, "Gavin and Takeo were practically trained already! Henry and Marcos didn't have a hard time adapting because somehow they're already used to it!"

"So, that's why you tripled their training." Cutthroat smirked.

Astrid glared at him. "Shut up. Not important." She snapped at him with a scowl.

"I miss being respected."

"Well, I'm far more superior now so respect my disrespect."

"For the first time in my life, I agree with the twins. You are a tyrant."

"Just shut up and watch the challenge."

Cutthroat turned to the glass doors and his eyebrows raised up to his hairline upon seeing the recruits sprawled on the ground. The air around them was misty and thick. The pure white hue almost blocked the entire environment but due to the mini-vacuums scattered along the ceiling, it sucked enough of the white mist to coat them with it, but not completely overwhelm them.

"Oh, done already?" Cutthroat lightly exclaimed. He then leaned forward and pressed a small red button on the wall, which then activated the vacuums to go full power and suck all the mist out of the room as the environment slowly melted back to the ground. With no their vision cleared, they visibly saw the recruits on the ground, worked to exhaustion and out of strength and stamina.

Astrid crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Toothless. What level dud they stop?" She asked the A.I., who materialized in front of the general.

Flashing his pearly-white jagged teeth, he replied with sass, "Level three, ma'am. Knockout gas did the job, as always."

"I still have no idea why there's knockout gas in there. Up to this day, that level seemed useless." Astrid quipped, propping her elbow over her folded leg and placing her chin on her palm.

"To learn how to survive in an impossible environment like this, I guess." Cutthroat shrugged in response, honestly agreeing with his fellow agent.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "When has that ever happen to any one of us?"

"It happened to Riley. Had to swim in shark-infested waters for about five hours." Toothless suddenly chimed in, evidently interested and curious about the conversation. He had fabricated a chair of his own and sat relaxedly.

"Yeah, but the girl had to amputated her arm after that and retire." Cutthroat replied with an arched eyebrow.

"Hey, she survived didn't she?"

"Good point."

A silence fell on them as they simply watched the mist completely disappear. A frown soon formed in Cutthroat's lips as soon as realization dawned on the pale agent, though his eyes never ceased to radiate a dull emotion during this boring moment

"We should help them, right?"

"Agreed."

Then they sat there for about five minutes before actually moving.

Humming, Lyra strolled down the hall of the main building-supposedly, to go to the food court and try out the new stuff. After receiving a disappointed lecture from General Haddock, they were dismissed and ordered them to try again tomorrow. It was not a request or a question, but an firm statement. Of course, as soon as it was over, the team split up and went to wherever they desired to be. The twins were most likely in the training room, practicing their swords. Jack was probably lazying around his room. Lyra was hungry. So she went to the place where it serves the best and unhealthy food.

But as she passed by a few numerous doors, one suddenly opened that caused her to flinch and stagger in her steps.

"Ah, damn. What the..." She accidentally remarked but trailed off once she saw a head of short chestnut-brown hair pop out of the door. It whipped from side to side, checking its surroundings. But due to Lyra unintentionally hiding behind the open door, she was unseen. So as the girl walked out and close the door shut, she turned and came face to face with a very confused and startled Lyra.

The recruit immediately recognized the girl to be the one who appeared back at their classroom a few weeks ago. Her glowing, noticeable purple eyes were unmistakable and no one could naturally posses something like that. The girl was frozen shock and Lyra began feeling awkward as time passed by. She doesn't know why, but even if she's a lot older than this girl, she seemed more mature and experienced. And she had to admit that her hairstyle was unique and fits her quite well. So she anxiously raised her hand and waved.

"Uhh, hi?"

Ezra Haddock snapped out of her stupor and registered the actual scene. The teenage side of her wanted to freak out and panic, which would obviously make her very suspicious. But luckily, the Dragon side of her took over and a calm façade formed over her worried face.

"Hello. You must be one of... General Haddock's recruits. I remember you." She greeted, momentarily covering up the fact that Lyra's superior and Ezra's mother were the same person. Otherwise, she'll be treated differently and also, it would only be a matter of time before she'll realize the connection, so she didn't bother to disclose any person information on someone she doesn't know.

Lyra was surprised that she was remembered when Ezra barely gave her a glance. "Uhh, yeah. That's me." She replied. An awkward silence then fell between them and both individuals felt the weird atmosphere and began shuffling uncomfortably.

Ezra decided to break it first. "So! I guess I'll be on my way."

"Wait!" Lyra called out and unintentionally reached for Ezra's arm.

Although she was held without consent, Ezra purposefully saw this coming and allowed it to happen. She had no idea why she had done it but it happened so she can't take it back now. Maybe this girl wanted to say something or whatnot.

Said girl was just as confused as to why she called her back. She had no motive or purpose to had done that but now that she had roped in the young Dragon-unintendedly and surprisingly-she had no choice but to go with it. However, she couldn't come up with an explanation or reason. As Ezra waited patiently, Lyra inwardly panicked and spouted the first thing in her mind.

"Food!"

'Damn my grumbling stomach...' Lyra cursed herself. 'But I guess I'll go with this one.'

"I'm going to get some food. If you have time, do you want to come?" The recruit smiled sheepishly while the young Dragon stared at her all confused. Lyra took this as a rejection and she couldn't help but feel dejected. But she quickly covered it up with a smile and a humorless laugh. "But if you don't want to, that's fine."

Lyra hastily let go of her arm and began walking towards the other direction, leaving Ezra puzzled and not knowing what to do. Her gaze shifted to the door, specifically on the sign. It lingered for about a few seconds before the guilt suddenly rushed in. She knew that she was doing something wrong and she couldn't help but regret her actions, but at the same time, she doesn't.

For the past few days, her mind feels more stressed than ever. But again, on the other hand, she hasn't felt this happy since years ago. She was lost at what to do but at the same time, she feels like she would do this all over again if she had to. In other words, it's ripping her mind apart. Maybe she needed a break or a distraction, after all.

Her gaze shifted to the retreating form of Lyra. Maybe, just maybe, she might be interesting enough to keep her mind off of things. If this continued at this pace, she might become grumpier than her Grandpa Stephen. Besides, what has she got to lose?

Momentarily shifting to sign on the door;

'Eye of Horus'

That's when she decided.

"Hey!"

Lyra stopped in her tracks and turned around with an almost hopeful look on her face. Unconsciously, Ezra cracked a grin. Maybe she will gain more than a distraction, who knows?

"I do have some time. Lead the way!"

An enormous smile grew on the recruit's lips as soon as she heard her answer. She didn't know how great acceptance feel like, even if it's something as minor as this.

Lyra gave her a three-finger salute and a wide grin that reached from ear to ear. "Great. My name's Lyra by the way."

"Mine's Ezra. Nice to meet you!"