Opening a door, Erix led her once more into the corridor and walked her to the end of the hallway. Together, they exited the chamber and walked into an afternoon filled with sunlight and the sounds of the day's activities in progress.

"Alright," His grey eyes swung over to look at her once. "First things first, we should probably get you situated at where you'll be staying when you're with the Solari." He motioned for Leona to follow him, "Let's go. It's only a short distance away from here."

Quickening their pace, the duo passed religious buildings and bronze monuments bearing Solarian descriptions. They moved without pause, swiftly making way towards several white marble buildings in the near distance. But as they passed a small gathering of Solari praying in an open arena, Leona stopped for a brief moment, staring curiously at the group of Solari. With their heads bowed in a deep trances they hymned an unknown tongue, she could not help but stare. "Erix?"

"Hm?" The young man turned to see Leona watching the afternoon's procession. "Oh, I see you've discovered the one of the religious prayers that takes place among us. What you see there is more for the Solari that are far more dedicated to the art of worship and prayer of the sun. Usually the members in those types of groups are the more Elderly and experienced Rakkor. The younger among us, such as you, tend to inhabit the more ah…zealous roles among the Solari."

Leona raised her eyebrows at the young man. "What do you mean by zealous roles? I don't really see any other things people here are doing except praying to the sun. What are things are there for the Solari besides that?" Erix smirked, amused at her eagerness to learn so much. "All in due time Leona. For now, let's get you to where you'll be staying. The Elders may it quite clear to me that resting there and becoming familiar with the area should be your first priority. Now, Chosen of the Sun," Erix said teasingly, "We should be on our way. I certainly wouldn't want to catch any flak from the Elders for not doing my job."

With a wave of his hand, Erix lead her onward towards the radiant sun, hovering brightly above the cliffs in the distance.

Cracking his neck, Pantheon stepped out from a small compound and into the open air. He sighed inwardly as a guard hurriedly approached him and handed him his spear and shield along with his other weapons that he often carried with him. Without a word further, he began to strap the numerous weapons to his body, hands moving in a fluid motion, eased by the familiarity of the motion. Once Pantheon had finished arming himself once more, he gave a small nod to the guard and began to walk towards his new destination.

Charging into the arena during the Rite had not been without its consequences. During the angry lecture at Elder Lervix's compound, it was made quite clear that those actions would not be tolerated in the future, paragon of the Rakkor youth or not. Pantheon had even, at one point, been threatened with an execution if he should fail to obey the institutions of the Rakkor once more. Overall, the meeting with Lervix hadn't exactly been what one would call enjoyable. But all of that didn't matter to Pantheon anymore. Leona had survived, and the fact even he had survived as well was a favorable situation which he recognized with great appreciation.

Though, it had come with an unexpected price. Rather than his life, Leona had gained her survival with her own freedom when she was claimed by the Solari. Pantheon was no fool. He knew that once one became a member of the Solari, they would always be under their watchful eye. Their rules would apply too, and one would be held up against their doctrine and their religion. Still, compared to death in the dirt arena, this alternative seemed like a small price to pay. Besides, at least he was still allowed to see her even though the Rakkor and Solari tended not to mix. Speaking of which, Pantheon was currently headed to see the orange haired warrior.

He turned away from the Rakkorian camp and walked along the gravel, stones crunching underfoot as made his way to the starting point of the cliff in order to get to the Solaris's entrance. It was quiet and peaceful along the road, the sounds of birds and other animals could be heard. For a while, he walked without a disturbance, his footsteps falling into a rhythmic pattern. But as Pantheon strode along the path, his acute ears picked up on a sound on something more than the sounds of the animals. No…it sounded like…footsteps.

It looks like someone is tailing me. But who? Maintaining his composure as to not give away his advantage, he kept walking normally, all the while listening intently for the sound of the figure behind him. Suddenly, he heard the gravel scrape underneath someone else's feet, confirming his suspicions. What do they want? It would be wise for me to find out now, rather than confront them near the home of the Solari. I don't want to bring any troubles to them I can take care of now. Pretending to be oblivious and bend over and fix something on his sandal, he listened once more for the noises of the intruder. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a figure move slowly through the trees, attempting to disguise itself among the forestry. There.

In one swift movement, Pantheon leapt up and drew his spear, hurling it at the shadow, the metal tip knifing through the air as it flew towards the figure in the trees. The dark shadow emitted a yelp of surprise as the spear cut into the trunk of the wood next to its head. Drawing his sword, Pantheon advanced slowly towards the figure. Stopping at the edge of the trees, he glanced at the broken tree where the shadow had taken refuge. "Enough of this." Pantheon snarled, his patience wearing thin, "Come out and show your face or you will die in this forest!"

At first, there was no response from the figure. Time seemed to move sluggishly as Pantheon stood, awaiting possible retaliation from the creature. He steadied his breath, watching for any sings of aggression. Then suddenly, the figure stepped slowly from behind the shattered wood. As he did so, a glimmer of light flickered across his face for only an instant, but it was enough for Pantheon to recognize who it was.

"Titus?" Pantheon furrowed his brows in surprise, lowering his weapons. He had expected some sort of strange creature or a foreigner be following him, rather than one of his acquaintances. He had certainly not expected Titus of all people "I had not realized that you had recovered so soon from your injuries. What are you doing out here?" Titus removed his dark hood that covered his face,revealing his dark hair that ran down the sides of his face. A small scar ran among the lower side of his jaw, an unwitting souvenir from his battle during the Rite.

Taking a breath to steady himself, Titus spoke, "I'm sorry for following you, but I needed some answers that I couldn't find from anyone else. I was going to ask you right when you left Lervix's hut, but you seemed so intent on going somewhere that I didn't want to interrupt you. I remember what happened to the last guy who asked you questions at a bad time" Pantheon frowned at his words, "Well, you can ask your question now. Be quick about it. I must be on my way very soon."

"It's about Leona. You're close friends with her right?"

Pantheon tensed at his question, his body becoming more alert and hostile. It was a moment before he gathered his words, speaking through clenched teeth. "We…are. What about her?"

Titus stepped back slightly, somewhat alarmed by the sudden changes in Pantheon but pressed on nonetheless. "Well, as you know, she spared my life in the arena a while ago. Something like that isn't supposed to happen in the Rite. What I want to know is why she did it. No one's ever shown kindness like that to me before. Besides, she had nothing to gain from that but she was prepared to die for me. I just need to understand why. But I can't ask Leona because she's with the Solari now, so I figured you were my best chance."

Pantheon stood silently for a while, pondering the stocky warrior's request. He had never thought Titus, whom he had always begged as a hotheaded meat bag, would be one to pick up so curiously on the actions of others, yet here he was, charging after him so he could understand Leona's actions. Titus had even nearly gotten himself killed on accident just because he wanted to know the answers. Pantheon chuckled inwardly at the thought. Now, it seemed that he was not the only one who was confused by Leona. Perhaps Titus had some merit to his character after all.

"Unfortunately Titus, I wouldn't know the answer to that. You would need to ask her yourself," Pantheon jerked his head towards the cliff in the distance, "And it just so happens that I'm headed to see her now. Let us make the journey together shall we?"

Titus gaped in surprise. Was the stone faced paragon of the Rakkor…asking him for company? He had to be dreaming. Never in a million years would Pantheon ask for anyone else's company but Leona's. It came off as very strange to him. Yet moments later, Titus found himself saying, "Sounds well to me." Pantheon nodded, satisfied with his response, "Very well. Let us move quickly. We'll need to arrive at the Solaris's front door before the set of the sun."

Leona sighed to herself as she looked around at her new surroundings. The hut that the Solari had given to her was much more comfortable than the one she had before. In addition, the Solari had given her a new set of weapons and armor to replace the ones she left behind in the Rakkorian camp. It was large and spacious, complete with lavatories and a nicely sized bed. Everything she would ever need was provided to her. Compared to the living conditions she had previously faced, this was nearly equivalent to living like a king. But despite all of these great things presented to her, she felt something was missing. But she couldn't quite place her finger on it…

A knock at the door roused her from her daydream. She looked over as the grinning face of Diana popped inside of her room. The white haired Solarian flashed her a brilliant smile as she rushed over to Leona's bedside. "Leona! It looks like you've already been all suited up to part of the Solari," she said, examining the new weapons that lay against her bed, "It certainly seems you're ready to play up to the role." Leona smiled slightly at the Solarian's chipper attitude. "Well, I have admit that all of this is really nice. Especially this place that the Elders have given me" Leona said, spreading her arms.

Diana nodded, pleased to hear her answer, "That's good to hear. On that note of the Elders, your official integration ceremony will be very soon. It's important that you attend the session on time." "Of course. You're going to be there as well aren't you?" Leona asked her companion. Diana nodded, "Of course. All of the ranking Solarian warriors will be there. It'll be a good chance to get to know the other if you're going to be one of us." Leona nodded, turning towards the side of her bed to organize her belongings. Diana opened her mouth once more to say something else, but was interrupted by the shuffle of heavy footsteps from outside of the door. They two warriors turned their gazes to their door as two figures, one shrouded in a dark cloak and the other donning more traditional Rakkor armor stepped into the room.

There was a moment of brief silence, the two parties somewhat surprised by the sudden arrival of the other. Then, Leona burst into a smile. "Pantheon!" She ran over, embracing him a hug, its openness catching Pantheon by surprise. It was certainly more direct that most of the previous years he had known her. She removed herself from the embrace, grinning at the stoic warrior. "Don't get me wrong, it's always good to see you once more. But why are you here? I thought the Rakkor were starting to train the Rite victors into small groups." Pantheon shrugged. "Perhaps. But their rules cannot restrain me too far. Coming to see you was something I could always make time for. Besides," Pantheon motioned with his head towards the figure standing a few feet from him. "There is someone else here who would like to talk to you as well."

Leona turned to face the stocky person standing beside Pantheon. She squinted through the darkness of his veil for a moment. "Is that you Titus?"

"It is very nice to see you too Leona" Titus bowed his head slightly, slipping his hood off from his head. Diana frowned at his voice. "Another Rakkorian? There's something you want isn't it? Even for the companion of Leona, it's rare that Rakkor come up here to Solarian religious grounds. You possibly can't be here solely for her company." Titus nodded apprehensively, somewhat uneasy of the pale haired Solarian's hostility. "Yes. I need to speak with Leona on a personal note." He locked eyes with the orange haired warrior, "I need to know about the Rite. Perhaps Leona and I can discuss this alone?"

Diana opened her mouth to protest, but Leona spoke first. "It's fine Diana. This is very important to him as a Rakkor warrior so I can understand why he wants this to be between as little people as possible." Diana muttered under her breath, shaking her head. "Alright then. I suppose its fine for a short while. I'll be waiting outside. Be sure to find that you ready for the ceremony Leona." With that, Diana walked out of the room silently, leaving behind the three Rakkorians. Pantheon locked eyes with Leona for a brief moment, a silent message passing between them before the paragon of the Rakkor followed Diana from the room.

Pantheon stood outside, quietly observing the funnel of activity of the Solari below him. It seemed that they were always participating in some sort of religious activity regarding the sun. Crazy, but Pantheon could respect their dedication. He himself could never be part of such a fanatical cult like that. He stood silently for a while longer, watching them run around like ants at work before he turned to face the pale haired Solarian behind him. "Are you going to watch me for the entirety of the day? The Solari are supposed to revere the time the sunlight gives them are they not?" Pantheon said gruffly.

Diana smirked at his comment, "Very well, I'll get straight to it," She shifted, leaning her shoulder against a birch tree next to her, "My question is, why are you here?" Pantheon looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Titus is here because Leona saved his ass in the Rite and almost paid for it with her life. It's pretty obvious why Titus would want to know why she did it, given the fact that the Rakkor run a strongest will survive policy. But you," her magenta eyes shifted over Pantheon slowly, "You on the other hand have no real reason to go through all of the trouble of passing Solari security just to visit her. She hasn't done any life altering things with you. Besides, you two said it yourselves in the arena that you aren't in a relationship. So if you don't have any obligations to her, why are you here?"

Pantheon stood still, unable to utter a word. He pondered her questions, his voice unable to find itself in the mess of his thoughts. "Well…" Pantheon struggled for words, "She is my companion after all. We trained for many suns together for the eventual Rite since we were mere children. I simply would like to maintain a good standing with one of my few acquaintances that I have within the tribe."

"Oh? Well I don't see that you've gone through even the fraction of the trouble to visit the others as much as you do her" Diana laughed, " It's amazing how out of touch and oblivious you are given your reputation as a tactical warrior. It's impossible to keep running and denying what's in front of your face forever paragon. Bottling up something that you feel you belong to will not go away and will only serve to bring you down further."

Pantheon raised his brows in scrutiny. "It seems that you speak from experience Diana. I have no such connection."

"Tch. Anyways, the bond is obvious between you two. No matter the warrior you might be, you are a human in the end. Think upon this during your time here. You would be wise to see sense in my words and move quickly paragon. I also hear that there are others who seek to establish a connection with her as well."

Pantheon ignored her words, though he could not prevent a sickening feeling that spread in his stomach. He grit his teeth. "She is a solely companion of mine. I simply wish to take care of her and ensure that her future here in the Solari is one of fruitful promise. It is only the right thing to do."

She scoffed, "Still ignorant of the truth I see. You will recognize eventually. The question is whether you can do it in time or not. Will you purposely leave behind your calling paragon of Targon? You might believe you have found true salvation in combat, but in time you will see the error of your ways"

With that, the pale haired Solarian turned away and left Pantheon to his spot alone on the hill. He shook his head vigorously, clearing the foolish conversation from his head. What a meaningless amount of time he had spent talking. He knew his purpose. He was a friend looking after another, nothing more, nothing less. But as he stared at the burning sun on the horizon, he could not help but be reminded of the orange locks of her hair.

Only a friend?

Authyor's Note: Sorry for the late update. Hope you guys like this Chapter.

Until next time,

-C. Geng