Caleb had been on the road for almost a month; though he'd lost count of the specific number of days since his departure. After he'd acquired his new Falchion, which had been the suggestion of a stranger, he had continued on in confidence that he had finally reached the borders of Altea, though he was still unaware of the size of the country or the sites of any of its major cities. The promise of answers was his motivation as the rain and sleet fell perpetually around him, the beginnings of winter biting at his reddened cheeks. Often he slept on the side of the road during the night hours, his back leaning against his young horse, September, no villages or hunting game in sight. Families and churches occasionally offered him sanctuary from the cold when he was within civilization, which he accepted gratefully.

Most of his money had been spent on the sword, a purchase that he was still fairly uneasy about. While the item was helpful to both his cause and swordsman persona, the money spent on it could have helped sustain him for longer. It wouldn't be long before he wouldn't be able to afford food at all, which worried the teenager everyday he traveled.

What was even more disquieting was the fact that he was being followed.

About a week into his journey, Caleb had started to notice that a certain cloaked figure always seemed to be lurking in the shadows behind him. But every time the blue-haired teenager would try to acknowledge the stranger, he would find the person gone. Vanished. And then the feeling of being watched would return the very next day, and Caleb would turn to see the cloaked figure in the distance, riding on a black stallion in the opposite direction. It was all very unsettling to say the least, but it wasn't something that Caleb hadn't expected. He had known from the start that Avi would send someone after him, or even hunt him down himself.

The only strange part was that the follower had been tracking him for well over two weeks, and still he hadn't acted to stop the teenager. Caleb assumed Avi had wanted the tracker to find him and then return him home. But as more and more days passed, the person made no effort to close the distance between him and Caleb or even stay out of his sight.

Then one day, the tracker just wasn't anywhere to be seen at all. There was no glimpse of a flowing cape behind a wall, a dark horse standing by itself, or the sound of heavy hooves echoing behind the teen. Caleb was completely alone on the country road for the first time in weeks, a situation that was both relieving and tormenting at the same time. Where had he gone? If Caleb didn't know where this man was, then he could very well be hiding right under his nose. The blue-haired teenager was an excellent tracker, one of the best in his tribe, and yet this person had been able to evade him this entire time. Things were getting dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Caleb rode on at full speed, September's heavy breath the only sound audible to his ears. There were no birds chirping, no grass rustling at all, but then again, it was the beginnings of winter. Everything outside was starting to die or hibernate. This wasn't unusual…but Caleb still couldn't deny the feeling of unease welling up in the pit of his empty stomach. Before long, a small town came into the teenager's vision. Clouds were starting to roll over the big Altean sky, and thunder cracked as Caleb pushed his young horse towards the village. He hoped to find shelter from the coming rain and sanctuary from his invisible tracker there.

"Come on, girl," the blue-haired teen whispered to his tiring horse. "Just a little further." He stroked the horse's mane as she ran, trying to offer some form of comfort to the fatiguing animal. He knew he shouldn't be pushing September for extended amounts of time, but his own anxiety was forcing him to make decisions that could only help keep them from being caught.

Caleb knew he couldn't go back to his tribe, not after everything that had happened. He felt so close to uncovering all of the mysteriousness of his past, and he wasn't about to give that up without a fight. The air was becoming thick with moisture as he neared the village, and right as he entered its borders, small droplets started to fall on the teenager's head.

Hesitantly, he dismounted from his heavy breathing horse and looked about the small area. People were scarce, many probably having already found shelter from the pending rain. It wasn't unlike every other village he had visited the past weeks. People didn't make eye-contact, the houses were made of old wood with thatched roofs, and everything had this easygoing aura about it.

The cold air bit at the teen's cheeks, making him pull up the black hood of his cape. There was only one tavern in sight with a lit oil lamp above its door. Caleb led his horse towards it, heading for the wooden pole where he would tie up the tired animal for a rest. After fastening September's reigns tightly around the wooden stake, Caleb looked up and patted his mare's nose lovingly. That's when the teenager noticed the dark animal standing on the opposite side of his friend.

It was the horse, the horse of his tracker.

The black stallion's nostrils were flared and its eyes burrowed into those of September. Dread pulsed through the teen as he stared at the dark figure, making him wonder how he could have not seen that shadowy aura before that moment. Caleb whipped his head around several times, making sure the rider was no where in sight. Then, his gaze drifted back to the tavern door not even 10 feet in front of him.

He's in there, the teenager thought to himself. He might be waiting for me.

Caleb thought about getting right back on September and making a break for it, but he immediately shot down the idea. His horse was too tired to carry on as it was, and there was no doubt that this tracker would find him again anyway. Caleb knew that he would have to face this man eventually, but he had hoped that it wouldn't be in the middle of a town. If he was going to have to draw his sword, he didn't want it to be in front of too many witnesses.

Signing inwardly, Caleb tightened the strap of his sheath around his waist and continued on the muddy path to the entrance of the tavern. The tracker's horse watched him the entire time, its dark, chilling eyes holding him until he was able to disappear behind the wooden door.

The blue haired teen closed the entrance hurriedly behind him, just wanting to be free of the rain and lingering gaze that had surrounded him outside. He didn't want to leave his poor, young horse alone with that haunting animal, but he had no choice. It was either leave, or face his tracker.

Turning around, Caleb found that few people were actually inside the tavern. Oil lamps burned in several corners of the room, giving a low, eerie feeling to the space. Most tables stood uninhabited, with wax candles burning in their centers and chairs resting empty at their sides. Several travelers were seated and spaced apart, their cloaks heavy on their backs and warm drinks held close to their faces. No one seemed to acknowledge one another, which added to the uneasy feel of the air. A man stood behind the bar systematically cleaning glasses with an old towel and then stacking them on the counter behind him. There was only one figure that sat at the bar, and Caleb immediately recognized the black cape that hung from its slumped over shoulders.

It's him, the teen thought. The tracker's hood was up and his body looked tired from travel.

Caleb's hand subconsciously fell to his sheath, feeling the thick fabric that kept his Falchion secure and hidden at his waist. A deep anger started to well up in him then, one he hadn't felt for weeks. He wanted to march right up to the man, pull out the sword, and watch as his arm would slice right through the tracker's neck, making his blood spill all over the wooden floor of the tavern. No one would scream, the only sound to last being the satisfying rip of flesh giving weigh to a demanding blade.

But Caleb knew he couldn't get rid on the man so easily. Killing him would mean having to take out every witness, and that was a bounty the teenager was not willing to pay. The deed would have to be sneakily carried out, with minimal opportunity for mistakes.

The blue haired teen took his seat a few stools away from the man in black, his heartbeat starting to pick up as he snuck a few peeks at his tracker. The face beneath the hood was still mostly hidden, even up close. Then, pulling down his hood, Caleb moved to the stool right next to his target, knowing he had no other choice than to confront the problem directly.

"An ale, please," the teenager requested, looking to the bartender, who nodded and picked up the mug closest to him. Caleb shifted uneasily as he waited for the drink, his gaze shifting once again to the shadowy figure next to him. The stranger made no effort to make contact, instead continuing to sip at his warm drink in silence.

"Did Avi send you?" Caleb whispered, placing his elbows up on the bar. He knew the tracker could hear him and was aware that he was talking to him, but the man didn't speak, instead nodding in response. Caleb had been right. This man had been tracking him for Avi.

"Who are you?" Caleb continued, locking his gaze on the hidden face of his tracker. The figure sighed then, as if internally torn about the task he had been sent out to do. Caleb glared at him, starting to become impatient. "Who are you?" he repeated in a demanding tone.

Then, the tracker lifted his right hand, the one that wasn't holding his drink, and brought it to the back of his head. Caleb watched as the dark hood fell down around the man's shoulders, revealing blonde hair and a young, familiar face.

"Kegan…"

It was Caleb's old friend, the one he had trusted above all the others. Well-known auburn eyes stared back at the blue-haired teen with regret, and memories of the tribe immediately flooded Caleb's mind, from the early morning hunts to the night hours spent huddled around a dimming fire. He remembered every moment he had tried to suppress since his departure. Then, he remembered how he had spent so much of his childhood with Kegan at his side, laughing, crying, and everything in between. And now this beloved friend…was hunting him.

"Caleb, I…" Kegan started to explain, reaching out to his companion. But Caleb recoiled from the attempted touch, his cerulean eyes burning with feelings of betrayal and anger. Of all the people he expected to be under that hood, Kegan hadn't been one of them. He'd thought that the 'gentle giant' would never betray him like this, no matter what Avi threatened to do to him. But he'd been wrong.

"Why?" was all that Caleb could ask. Everything else he wanted to say, all of the things he wanted to yell were stuck in the back of his throat, held there by shock and disappointment.

"Your father…" The blonde teen looked down at his hands, which were now both situated in his lap. "Avi sent me to take you back to the tribe," he admitted. "I know you know I've been following you for a while now, and there have been so many opportunities to take you before now…but I just couldn't do it."

Caleb said nothing, his mind still trying to process what was going on around him. This 'tracker' had looked so intimidating only seconds before, and now all he saw was an ashamed little boy who was just as conflicted and scared as he was.

"Avi didn't say why you had left, and I feel like you wouldn't have fled without good reason…but I had no choice but to follow orders, Caleb! We both know what your father is capable of when it comes to his anger."

Caleb thought back to all of cries he had heard in the middle of the night as a child. So many screams had echoed throughout the camp when Avi was enraged, all results of the bearded man beating another human being after they had disobeyed his orders. Whether it was a child wandering off at night or a young man forgetting to tie up the horses, Avi didn't care. He would take anyone who stepped out of line into the woods at night and remind them of who their leader and sovereign was. When the lord of the tribe was cross, everyone knew it, and they all feared the day would come when they were his victims.

The entire tribe obviously knew about Avi's secret anger, but none of them had enough courage to stand up and face his fury. Besides, their leader was calm and loving most of the time, and as the years had passed, his nighttime rage seemed to calm. His beatings became infrequent and soon it became a rarity to hear the screams at all.

"He's changed," Caleb thought aloud. "People don't fear him anymore."

"I thought I'd be able to stand up to him if I needed to…" Kegan almost whispered. "But when he looked down at me and told me what to I must do…I couldn't help but feel like I was ten years old again, covering my ears from the shrieks I heard outside. I still can't help but fear him…"

A drink was placed in front of Caleb then, and the blue haired teen looked at it apathetically. He felt so betrayed, and even though now he knew exactly who his tracker was and why he had followed him, there was no feeling of solace. Everything about his situation stung much worse now, and his mind had no idea which direction he should head. If Avi could corrupt someone as solid as Kegan, what else was he capable of? Should he give up? Should he run? What should he do?

"Caleb?" Kegan murmured. The blue haired teenager looked up from his mug, locking gazes with a boy who was just as confused as he. "What should we do…?"

And with that, Caleb rose the full glass of alcohol to his lips and drank the entirety of its contents without stopping. He swallowed hard, his throat feeling suddenly very dry. And when the glass was completely empty, he rested it back down on the wooden bar, wiped his mouth with a free sleeve, and placed two silver coins on the counter for the bartender. Kegan watched him the entire time, confusion and anxiety apparent in his fixed expression. And when Caleb gathered himself up from the seat and headed towards the exit, the blonde teen hastily followed him.

"You're not going back?" Kegan yelled after Caleb, who was storming out the door. Both teens pulled up their hoods as they exited into the pouring rain.

"No," was Caleb's only response as he focused on untying his horse from the post he had left her at.

"B-but you have to come back!" Kegan almost shouted, grabbing a hold of the slippery rope the blue haired teen held in his hands. "I can't go back without you!" Kegan's expression was desperate and pleading, showing just how scared he really was. Caleb looked up at him, seeing the anxiety swirl in his friend's deep brown eyes. But how could he go back?

"I'm sorry…" Caleb sighed, pulling the rope from his companion's hand. "I can't go back now…"

Kegan stumbled back a few steps in the mud, knowing exactly what Avi had told him to do if this situation arose. The blonde's hand fell to his waist, where a hand crafted sword waited in its sheath.

"You must come back…" Kegan whispered. And then, in one swift motion, he pulled the sword from its cover and pointed it towards his target. Caleb watched him in astonishment, feeling the cold sensation in the pit of his stomach start to rise up to his rib cage. The blue haired teen shuddered, watching as his friend's blade glistened with rainwater.

"Is this what he told you to do?" Caleb questioned, his eyebrows furrowing together. "He told you to raise a blade against me?"

"He told me to bring you back…whatever the cost!" The blonde shouted, flicking his wrist to the side.

"Even if it means bringing back a body?" The blue haired teen's arm rested against his own sheathed sword. He hoped with all of his being that he wouldn't have to take out the blade. He wanted no more innocent blood spilled in this land, especially by his hand. "I'm not going back, Kegan." He repeated firmly, gripping his Falchion's leather handle. "I'm sorry, but you will return empty handed."

"You can't do this to me!" The blonde continued to yell, whipping his blade through the cold air. He pointed one accusing finger at Caleb, his entire arm tense from the panic he felt pulsing through it. "It's your fault that I have to do this! If you hadn't run away…I wouldn't have to do this…"

"I'm so sorry…" repeated not knowing what else to say.

"Yes…" Kegan's voice was low and laced with hushed anger. "You will be sorry."

And with that, the blonde rushed at Caleb with sudden ferocity, his blade in front of him and ready to attack. The blue haired teen whipped out his Falchion in less than a second and blocked the coming blow. Their swords clashed with a loud clang that echoed in the bitter air surrounding them. Caleb struggled under Kegan's superior weight for a second before throwing the other teen off in a different direction.

"I don't want to fight you!" Caleb bellowed. "Please don't make me fight you!"

But Kegan was beyond persuasion. His auburn eyes burned with a new intensity the blue haired teenager had never seen before, and his stance was stubborn and immovable. He was so wrapped up in his own fear that he had told himself that Caleb was the bad guy, or maybe he had just let Avi convince him of that.

The blonde soon moved in for another slice, which Caleb evaded with a quick block and jump to his left. They danced like this for no more than a few minutes, with Caleb swiftly evading everything Kegan tried to throw at him. No one was in the street to see them spar, but the blue haired boy still took precaution to keep the situation under control.

Kegan became angrier with each jab he took at his target, making his swordplay sloppy and uncoordinated. And soon Caleb moved to the offense, taking his own stabs at his hunter. He was so conflicted with each hit that Kegan took, because he was still so unsure of how this whole conflict was going to resolve itself. Caleb knew he was going to win the duel, but how was he going to get his comrade to stop hunting him? If he left him alive and unharmed, there was no doubt that Kegan would get right back on his horse and follow Caleb wherever he traveled, no matter where that may be. Kegan wasn't about to go back to the shame and beatings that awaited him if he returned home without his bounty.

A rash decision needed to be made.

Then, Caleb swiped the blonde's shoulder with more force, causing the gentle giant to recoil and clutch the fresh wound that had been made by the Falchion. He had been hit before, but none of the cuts had hurt until now. Kegan removed his hand to find his glove and the tip of Caleb's sword covered in crimson liquid, and as he gazed at the blood, Kegan's rage and adrenaline seemed to dim. He came at Caleb one more time before he lost his balance and fell to one knee. The blood started to seep down into his tunic and even fall onto the muddy earth. The wound was deeper than he had realized.

Caleb gazed down at him like he would a wounded animal. He looked so defeated, with his hood having fallen back and his blonde hair now sticking to his head and neck. His shoulders were slumped over farther and his breathing was very heavy. The blue haired teenager felt no remorse for the deep wound he had given his friend, seeing it as merely a solution to his challenge.

"Nnnggg…" Kegan grunted, his face twisted in pain. He heaved one more breath before falling into the mud completely, his body suddenly very exhausted and weak.

"I'm sorry." Caleb restated coldly, his eyes like ice. Kegan looked up at him in sorrow, his expression pleading for mercy. The blue haired teen lifted his Falchion once more and slowly brought it down on the left knee of his tracker, breaking the fabric and then the flesh it had protected.

"GAAAHHHH!" Kegan screamed in agony as Caleb ripped the ligament apart at an unbearably slow rate. His cries reverberated throughout the entire village that surrounded them, but no one attempted to come to the teenager's aid. Caleb continued to cut into Kegan's knee until a small pool of blood started to gather beneath the limb. Even in the mud and rain, the fluid was bright and visible.

That will keep him from following me, Caleb thought as he raised the blade to his other hand. Pulling out a cloth from his pocket, he cleaned the tip of it of the cherry colored substance, and then, sheathing the sword once again, he looked at his broken friend one last time. Kegan's eyes watered as he gazed at his target, not recognizing the cold, heartless stare that held Caleb's once caring expression.

"D-don't leave me…" the blonde whimpered as the other teen strode away and began mounting his horse. "Please…" His mouth quivered with every word that escaped it. He didn't want to bleed out. He didn't want to die there.

Caleb said nothing and didn't make eye contact again. Instead, he mounted September and kicked at her sides gently. Soon, he was bolting down the dirty path out of the town, the horse's hooves kicking up mud with every stride. The rain pelted down hard on the blue haired teenager's face, washing away the tears that were starting to form at the edges of his eyes.