The white-haired girl's weapon fell to the ground with a soft thud. Thinking quickly, Sol inched the toy rapier closer to himself with one foot. He propped it against the tree next to him, then slid his arms over it and leaned forward. One wrist cracked painfully, but Sol was able to ignore it. The knot in his yo-yo came undone, and, not bothering to free his arms completely, he jumped to his feet just as the white-haired girl made to slap Luma. He stuck out one foot in a halfhearted, spinning kick that nicked the girl's shins and sent her sprawling.

Sol snickered quietly, then tore his wrists free and caught his yo-yo. The string felt precariously loose on the axel of the toy, but it wasn't something he couldn't fix later. He eased the slip knot onto his finger, gave his wrist a few experimental flicks, then let the rounded disks fall into a sleep.

"Sol!" Luma greeted, and Sol saw her grinning cruelly at the girl's fall. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Sol answered calmly. He doubted that he looked fine. His face still burned wonderfully where he had been switched by the white-haired girl's weapon. He could still feel the ghastly stinging of fingernails on his neck, and he was sure that there was still blood running down his chest and shoulders. Even his wrists smarted from being tied behind his back for so long.

"But you're hurt!" Luma argued. Sol had to struggle not to roll his eyes.

"I'm fine." he insisted shortly. He yanked his wrist up and caught his yo-yo, let it fall, then pulled it up again.

"Are you ready to fight, then?" the girl asked doubtfully.

Sol opened his mouth to reply, then paused. He doubted he could honestly answer the question with a positive. His head was still abuzz with half-felt pain, for one, and he was still tired from fighting it. He didn't have to reply, though; the sadist girl made sure of that.

"Don't bother!" she snapped. Sol turned calmly to face her through narrowed eyes.

Blood trickled down her face from a gash over her right eye. Her dress was stained brown with mud, green with grass, and grey with dust. Sol smirked with the knowledge that he had been the one to trip her. Served the bitch right.

The woman with the cat ears mimicked Sol's smirk, then grabbed her companions by the wrists and took a step back.

"We aren't fighting anymore." she purred. "We have what we came here for. Zagi! Alice! Let's go."

Sol shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. At this point, he just wanted to curl up and disappear. No harm done if they escape, he figured.

"What makes you think we're willing to let you walk away unharmed?" Luma called after them. She took a step forward, but Jade reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Let them go." he whispered.

The woman glanced back at Luma, then smiled. She disappeared into the trees first, followed by the girl. The man with the odd hair paused on his way after them. He turned around, and looked Sol straight in the eye. He grinned, cracked his knuckles, and laughed, "Next time we meet...I will kill you."

"Like hell you will..." Sol murmured. Before the boy had time to walk away, Luma was hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder.

"You're hurt, Sol!" she wept, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "We're gonna have someone look at that welt as soon as we get back to Panamko...—"

Panamko...Sol thought with a grimace. Surely even Luma must have realized that he couldn't go back? The military was on his tail. His mission had been only to find Luma and bring her back home. She was right there, standing in front of him. Mission accomplished; that was the best he could do.

"I'm not going back with you." he interrupted.

"Wh-what?" Luma sounded shocked. She frowned and looked at Sol, like she didn't quite believe—or understand—what she was being told. "I...didn't quite catch—"

"I'm not going with you to Panamko." Sol repeated loudly. "You're on your own."

"Why!?" Luma demanded, clearly hurt. "What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing, Lu." Sol explained with a wistful smile. "You followed your heart and chose your allegiance. But I can't go down the same path as you. The military is after Yuri and I, and therefore so are you. I can't follow you to my own doom."

"Then what are you gonna do?" Luma challenged. "Are you going back home?"

"To do what?" Sol countered coolly. "Tell your father that I couldn't bring his daughter back because she ran away to join the military of a country that wants our land under their rule? I don't think so."

Luma took a step back and shook her head in disbelief.

"Then what?" she asked.

Sol took a deep breath, then responded, "I'm traveling with Yuri. He helped me find you, and I want to return the favor."

"You'll just slow him down, Sol." Luma shot back venomously.

"Slow him down?" Sol whispered. He let his bangs bangs drop over his eyes darkly, and his mouth twitched in an angry smirk. His voice rose suddenly to a screech. "How will I slow him down, Luma? Fucking how!?"

"You can't fight, Sol." Luma retaliated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, this is rich. Fucking brilliant. I can't fight? This coming from the girl who got her ass handed to her by a dragon?"

"And you just got beaten half to death by a girl with a toy sword. If I hadn't saved you then—"

"I didn't ask for your help." Sol snapped. "I could have saved myself I wanted to."

"Then why didn't you!?" Luma screamed. "No excuse there, unless you wanted that girl to hurt you."

Sol felt his face heat up at the painful truthfulness of Luma's last statement.

"That's...irrelevant." he faltered. "I can still fight!"

"No you can't, Sol." Luma argued quietly. Without warning, she took a step forward. Then, she put her hands on Sol's chest, shoved him backwards harshly, and hissed, "You're blind, Sol."

The words struck Sol in the heart, like a dagger. He gritted his teeth. His throat constricted with unshed tears, and he looked at the ground. He bit the tip of his tongue and loosened his jaw, trying to distract himself from the watering of his eyes, but it didn't work.

"S-screw you, Luma!" he choked out as the first droplets ran down his face. The others were watching on quietly, and while Sol didn't give two shits about Luma's companions, the thought of Yuri's annoyance at the half-elf's actions only further frustrated him. He whirled around, humiliated, and ran. He didn't let himself stop until long after Luma's voice had faded into the air behind him, and he was alone, struggling for air and staggering on nothing.

He didn't bother leaning against a rock or a tree when he finally stopped running. He crouched down, bracing himself against the ground with one balled fist, and tried to catch his breath. After a minute, his legs gave out, and he fell back on his tailbone. He gasped loudly and clutched his back halfheartedly at the pain, then paused. Who was he kidding? The boy dug his nails into his palms and sighed, half in resentment and half contently.

"Sol."

Dammit.

Sol glared at Yuri's shoes through half-closed eyes, not wanting too tilt his head and look the other in the eye.

"Why are you here?" the cleric demanded, trying to sneer.

"I came to get you." Yuri replied with a lackadaisical shrug. He knelt down next to Sol, who flinched and looked away.

"Why?" Sol's voice cracked. He tried to relax his clenched jaw. "I'm just—just gonna slow you down, after all!"

Yuri thought about that, then shook his head.

"You said so yourself." he argued. "You owe me."

"But...I...b-b...can't..." Sol managed. He choked on his own words, then bit his tongue and shook his head frantically, trying to hold back a sob. A loud hiccup escaped his lips, followed by a high-pitched yelp. He let his head fall into his lap and buried his face in his hands. His palms were already damp with tears. He growled and swiped at his eyes.

"This—" he whimpered, pausing as his inhalation turned to a shuddering gasp. "This is exactly what Luma meant. What I mean. I'll only s-s-slow you down, Yuri."

"You really are an idiot, Sol."

"E-excuse me!?" The response had been automatic and unexpected. Sol jumped to a crouch and stared Yuri down through red, puffy eyes. The swordsman chuckled softly at Sol's reaction.

"You aren't slowing me down by showing emotion." Yuri explained calmly, standing up. "The only thing hindering our progress is your attitude, got it?"

Sol didn't answer.

"Look," Yuri sighed before walking away, "you can come with me, or you can go back to your village. It's your call. I'm leaving before sunrise tomorrow."

Sol watched him go wordlessly. He wanted to get up and follow him—to thank him. He wanted to be near another person. He stayed put, though, and didn't say anything. He sat there, with his knees tucked up to his chest, long after the sun had set and the mosquitoes had come out, sobbing quietly into his hands.