Young Writers Society

In one moment, James could feel blood beginning to fill his lungs. The next, it was gone, as if it had never been. A rush of adrenaline sent him spinning around in time to duck another arrow, and just in time to see Adina being dragged away down the slope, hoisted over someone's back like an animal. The light rain had created a cloud of mist that crept up, swallowing and distorting all visual clarity as she disappeared.

"Adina!" he cried out in vain, met with another sword. There were three around him, and he was constantly having to dance and spin around to dodge and counter their blades.

Ari was a few steps ahead of him, roaring as five different hunters piled on top of him, pushing against his brute strength. James desperately wished he could break through the barrier of swords circling around him, but his attention was torn. If he left an opening for a second, it could be the end for him, whether he was wanted alive or not. It was clear that the only prisoner the hunters intended to take was Adina, and James had already lost sight of her. His gut twisted.

Then a whistle rang out. Distant, shrill, eerily echoing off the cliffs. Suddenly their swarm of attackers backed off on light feet. As quickly as they came, they left. The flood of black figures began to withdraw like a wave pulling back from the shore, carrying Adina away with it.

James took the opportunity to pursue - swiping at a swordman's side. The greatsword caught on the pack on his back, slicing the strap and causing it to plop in the mud as he fled. James cursed, dropping the deadweight sword so he could run, run, run.

Ari was a few steps ahead of him, creating a trail of blood in the ground. The two of them were running as fast as their bodies would permit them, James eventually scrambling past Ari on the narrow path.

But the further they ran, the less they saw. All they could see was fog, and the mud a few feet in front of them. And James didn't anticipate the mud underneath his foot to give way and send him flying forwards, backwards, being caught by two strong arms stained with blood.

He stared up at Ari, the two of them breathing too heavy to speak. Ari lifted James up to his feet, letting go. He looked ready to run again, but James could only stare at the red pouring out his side.

"Why did y' stop?" Ari huffed, each word desperate, pitched to near-tears.

James's mouth pressed into a straight line, and he looked out into the direction he last saw Adina disappear.

This was his fault. If he had been more vigilant, more attentive, a better leader, less divisive - Adina wouldn't have been taken.

But what could they have done against an ambush? Outnumbered 6 to at least two dozen trained fighters?

"They took -" Ari started, taking in a sharp breath. "I couldn' - I couldn'a saved 'er, James-"

James's brows knit together tightly.

They all would be blaming themselves. Now was not the time.

He turned to Ari, grabbing the teenager's arm firmly, looking up into his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Ari whispered, with tears welling up.

"She's not dead yet," James said, his voice solemn but steady. "And it's not your fault. You were brave, and you gave all that you had to give. I firmly believe that-"

"James!"

Both Ari and James looked up. That sounded like Kaia. They could see a faint figure emerging from the mist, running with two swords drawn. As she came closer they could see blood streaming down the left side of Kaia's face from a cut on her forehead where loose hairs were sticking along with sweat. She held both swords in her hands, still poised for battle, with blood spattering her armor. But the battle was already over. One look was exchanged between them, and her eyes widened, and her pace slowed. She looked out behind James, into the mist, and understood.

"Rose and Brett are okay," she said quietly. "Hurt, but okay." Then her eyes fell to Ari's side, where he was now pressing down on the wound with an open palm. He had started to cry quietly.

Her eyes flicked to the arrow sticking out of James's arm and she curled up her upper lip in something between pity, frustration, and worry. James had sever other shallow cuts that were bleeding through his clothes, but nothing as urgent as Ari.

"We need to get back to the others and the horses," James said, gently putting a hand on Ari's back for comfort. He could feel Ari's erratic breathing. He started to push slightly on his back to encourage Ari forward, and they started walking, pace ever increasing back as they headed back to their shelter. Kaia matched their haste, marching just a little ahead of them.

"This isn't over. We're getting Adina back, and as soon as we're stable we're heading back out on their trail. I can help you tend to everyone's wounds," he said, nodding to Kaia as she glanced back at him. She nodded in return.

"But we need to hurry."

"What's your plan?" Kaia asked. "If they're taking her to another camp there could be even more people than the ones who just came."

James sighed through his nose, looking up at the shadow of the cave opening coming into view. Rosaleen's head was peeking out. He could see the purple-blue hair.

"I'm working on that," he said quietly. "For now I need you to make sure Ari makes it through this fight so he can fight another one."

He watched as Kaia nodded again, taking Ari by the arm and helping him up the slope whether he needed it or not. James took a little longer climbing up by himself, pausing at the little ledge looking out towards the ocean.

There was a small crack in the clouds where the sun broke through, lighting up a patch of the tumbling waves of the ocean.

They didn't have much time, but if James was sure of anything, it was that he owed Adina his life. He recalled the brief moment the arrow that was supposed to kill him struck him from behind. If it had just been him fighting for himself, he would've accepted his fate without argument. But in the midst of comrades he was willing to die for...

Adina thought his life was worth saving. He believed the same for her. And there was no way that, as long as he still had breath in his lungs, that he was going to let mage hunters put Adina to death without them coming to return to her the time she sacrified for him.


Rose looked uncomfortable riding Posey alone, but she held the reins with a steadfast determination and a look of death James had never seen on her before. One of her arms was in a sling - a shirt, made into one - where her shoulder had been pulled in and out of its socket before Kaia adjusted it again. James knew that was her throwing arm. She'd hit him several times with it.

He mounted up on Elliot, patting the horse's neck as he settled in the saddle. Thankfully, the horses hadn't been injured. The hunters had left them alone, focusing only on the people who got between them and Adina, and for that alone, James was grateful. It meant they might actually have a chance at catching up to them and getting there before it was too late.

He turned back in his saddle to look at the others, each mounted up - even Brett, who especially needed the help with the significantly deep cut to his leg. The less weight he put on it for now, the more likely he would be able to push through the inevitable pain for the fight to come.

It felt cruel to think that way, but it was reality, and it was necessary.

Kaia had done the best she could with the time and resources they had. Bleeding was under control, Ari's wound had been hastily stitched up, so was James's shoulder, and everything else was braced or bound.

Kaia had a bandage around her head. Ari suggested she wear James's hat to hide it. Everyone was too tired to argue when he picked it up with a pained expression and set it on her head.

It didn't matter, as long as it helped Ari's morale.

James led the way out, leading Elliot forward with a click of his tongue. The others followed behind, and as soon as the ground flattened out, they found a horde of foot and hoofsteps in the muddied earth.

They found the trail, and all that could be heard was the pounding of hooves kicking up mud in the mist as they made their pursuit.

Rose couldn't stop replaying the scene in her head: Adina's scream still echoing in her ears on repeat, making her wince every now and again, the sound alone hurting more than her shoulder ever could.

Her eyes closed, her past memories and the fresh ones of her encounters with mage hunters seeming to merge in a haze of flashing steel, bloody knuckles and rain. Where her first encounter with them she felt nothing but rage and sorrow against a lone hunter, this time was desperation against many of them, and she heard that scream and a shiver ran down her spine, the memory replaying again.

The cloaked figures surrounded them as Adina cried out, grabbing anything she could she jumped into action along with Brett and Kaia, trusting the two of them to handle themselves in this fight as she pushed forward through the fight. Throwing stones and dodging swings of axes and swords, her injury coming about from being dragged down to the ground by one of the cloaked figures mid throw, both landing awkwardly in the struggle. With a few well placed punches and help from Kaia she managed to shove him off and they pressed forwards, seemingly just in time to see Adina taken from them. Opening her eyes, she was brought back to reality once again.

She knew she was surrounded by people all with the same goal; save Adina, but she still felt alone, with the thought of losing Adina here and now filling her with an emptiness she hadn't felt so strongly in years.

The pit in her stomach grew deeper when the mage hunters' camp came into view. The path or horse-hooves and footsteps had led them further from the oceanside and inland, where the trees grew thicker and closer together. Among the shelter of a grove of trees, they could see the tents, and clusters of hunters dressed in black around a fire, going in an out of tents, and circling the area. After a few hours the rain had finally let up, but the sky was still dark and grey, and the air filled with a thick misty fog.

But Rose wasn't as interested in the hunters and the weather. The moment she caught sight of Adina's curly haired ponytail (though half of her hair had fallen out of it) her eyes were locked on her.

The emptiness the welled inside her was quickly being replaced with adrenaline as she saw the makeshift execution being set, the noose in plain sight.

Her gaze turned to James "We need a plan, and we need it now James." She hissed at him, her only idea was to run in all at once and take them by surprise, but she knew it wasn't their best chance, and she couldn't believe she had this thought, but she trusted James to make a solid plan without time to spare. He wasted no time.

Crouched down behind the trees, he whispered. "Brett, stay with the horses. If we're struggling bring them to us. Kaia and Ari, go around the right and cover us. There's more hunters there. Rose, come with me. We'll go left. We need to go, now."

Rose gave James a quick nod along with everyone else, watching Kaia and Ari run off. Even if anyone wanted to, there wasn't time to argue. They were sizing the noose over Adina's head. James led the way ahead of Rose on light feet, and Rose hurried behind him.

Reaching back, he handed her a knife. She didn't bother to ask where he got it or what it was for. She just knew she would need it.



It felt like time skipped in minutes or hours every time Adina blinked, staring at the backs of the people that wanted to do nothing more than kill her. She couldn't see past this very moment, of them tying her arms tightly behind her and traveling to a camp site that stood bare besides a few trees. Her fate was a simple one now - along her forced trip, all the mage hunters spoke about was hanging her, proclaiming something about justice or something garbled.

If she thought about it for too long, Adina knew she would break down, so she held her tears back as well as she could, thinking about her family that she hopefully left to live, in her stead. The hunters left her leaning on the very tree she would die on for however many minutes. Her brain wasn't processing everything as smoothly as it might have before. She wanted to remember the good things, the good times, not her ticking death sentence.

She took a deep breath that rattled in her chest as they converged on her once more, one of them picking up a long piece of rope. A few of the hunters mumbled something, probably closer to insults that anything important, while the noose was tossed around her neck. One pulled the rope tighter, nearly cutting off oxygen even before lifting her up to wrap the rope around a large branch. She was able to count a single breath, before her feet could not touch the ground anymore.

All Adina thought about were the people she left behind, perhaps worse for wear, but alive, beautifully alive. Tears threatened to fall, while she turned her head away from the hunters and out to the quiet grounds. This would be over soon, at least. She could hear the hunters' laughter all around her, but she couldn't let that be the last thing she had to hear before her dying.

And it wasn't.

She heard a shink instead, and then the rope went slack. She didn't know how far she fell, but she was caught by two arms, before being set on her feet and feeling someone grab her hand.



"Come on, we've got to move!" Rose said desperately as she tugged on Adina's hand, urging her onward and away from the danger, her adrenaline still pumping and her heart pounding, feeling ready to carry Adina if need be. All she knew is they needed to get away from there, and fast.

Adina felt herself moving before her brain caught up with what was happening. Rose - Rose was here, saving her, alongside James? James was beside them, and she felt a tug on her hand. She tried to run, her breath coming in quick, panicked moments. Adina didn't know whether to feel grateful they came to save her or fearful that one of them would be hurt worse because of this.

Behind them, James was fending off hunters like a panicked madman. Somehow he'd stolen someone's sword - that, Rose hadn't seen - and was blocking blows on either side, practically spinning the sword like a baton. But in that glance back, she saw more than just a swordfight. She saw a woman draw a gun.

At that moment, Rose didn't stop to think about where the barrel might be aimed, but yanked on Adina's arm to pull her lower to the ground as the ran, hunched over, under a low hanging branch, and then scrambling zig-zagged through the trees. She could hear the gunshots ring out. One, two. The third whizzed past her ear and into the mud.

Up ahead, to their right they could see a group of hunters pushing towards them, being held back by only Kaia and Ari. Ari's wound had reopened, and a stain of blood was dripping down his side and through his shirt. Kaia didn't look much better, with blood dripping down the side of her face through her bandage.

Rose kept her gaze ahead as they ran, her hand squeezing Adina's tight as they ducked and dodged a few more gun shots and even a couple of errant arrows. Rose made the mistake of thinking they were home free, and in that moment she heard a man roar as a cloaked figure approached, sword in hand. She pushed Adina to the ground as he advanced, she ducked and dodged his wide swings, quickly getting to him and driving the lower half of her palm into his face, the man reeled, his nose obviously broken, without a moment to spare Rose grabbed for his sword by the blade, tearing out of his loosend grip, using it more so as a mace now as she slammed the pommel across his head as hard as she could, leaving the man in a heap as she returned to Adina.

At that moment, James came running up behind them, pushing them forward with a shove. At least a dozen people were right behind him. Adina almost tripped over her feet, but Rose helped steady her as they started to sprint again, watching, just for a second, as the noose still around Adina's neck bobbed back and forth.

As they ran, Rose thought for a moment she heard the roar of rolling thunder above the pitch of their battle, she fleetingly wondered just how much worse the weather was about to get, but it was too constant... Against her better judgement she turned to look at the source, the only thing that could have made what she saw more picturesque is if Brett had stolen James' hat, as he came riding in on horse back, clearly proud of himself for seemingly mastering the technique on such short notice, the other hoses following closely behind him as he closed in on Rose, James and Adina.

James's horse came right to him, and James grabbed the horn of his saddle and pulled himself up somehow, like some kind of actual mustache-wielding cowboy. Posey looked a little more lost, following Brett on Rosey.

Adina panted, trying to keep pace with Rose, her side aching with every breath. She looked up to see Posey approaching her, and this of all things nearly made her sob. She didn't think she would be able to see the horse again. Adina grasped at her reins, trying to slow her breathing down.

Rose never thought she'd be happy to the horses rushing to their aid, for a moment she actually felt like everything was going to be fine as she grabbed Adina and hoisted her up on to Posey, but unfortunately stumbling as she did, losing pace with the horse, what happened next was so new to Rose she probably thought it was a dream, or some kind of out of body experience.

Kaia and Ari rode up on their horses, and Ari, though injured, noticed how much Rose was lagging behind on foot and jumped into action the only way he knew how, he leaned off his horse and grabbed her by the back of the collar of her shirt, leaving a panic stricken look on her face as she flailed, her expression only growing more panicked as Ari hurled her towards Posey.

Adina watched with widened eyes as Rose was literally flung towards her, but she scrambled to grab at her arm, this time making sure she stayed with the pace of Posey and the rest of the horses. She wanted to say something to Rose, to say something to all of them, but Adina figured words would be better left to when they all can gather together and rest, away from this forsaken area.

Rose was obviously still shaken when she had finally gotten on to Posey, her heart beating faster then she ever felt as she flew through the air, but she had little time to focus on that traumatic experience as she still had their work cut out for them, dodging and ducking from stray bullets and arrows, but the dense forest thankfully made for good cover as they made their escape.

As they rode through the forest and away from the mage hunters, Kaia couldn't help but keep looking over her shoulder to check the widening distance between them. As she did, she also cast her gaze over the others, not only scanning for the severity of their wounds but taking in the shaken expressions on their faces.

None of them had expected this, or asked for it. Kaia sighed.

Hopefully no one found them again, at least for quite a while. They needed time for to recover--physically and emotionally. And to be honest, Kaia wasn't sure she and the other "protectors" of the group could hold it all together if they didn't get a rest.

After riding for what seemed like an eternity of only sounds of galloping horse hooves and the harsh, shallow breaths of the whole party, Kaia hadn't been able to see the mage hunters behind them for a while. She called out to the others, "I think we're safe for now."

"Agreed," James called back, pulling back on Elliot's reins and slowing in pace. "We all need a rest."

Kaia dismounted and led her horse forward, tying it to the nearest tree. They had stopped in a small clearing, the perfect place to address injuries at this point. She pulled her medical kit out of the saddlebag.

"Everyone come here," she ordered, "and sit down so I can take a look at your wounds."

Rose and Adina staggered forward together, both wincing as they dropped to the ground. Ari sat next to them, with Brett limping between stifled groans. Kaia held onto his arm and eased him down next to Ari. She glanced up at James, who was standing behind everyone, fiddling with the horses and just about everything else he could.

"You too," she said pointedly.

"I'm not bleeding out. I'll be there in a minute. We ran the horses hard. They need care too," James said quietly.

Kaia chose not to argue with him, but instead replied, "Don't be too long." She turned back to the rest of the group and looked over their injuries again.

"I'll start with Ari," she said, whipping out the bandages and beginning to unroll them to wrap around his side.

At that moment, the side of Kaia's head began to itch, and she swiped over the spot with her wrist, only to find blood left behind. She blinked, a bit surprised, but immediately ignored it again and started wrapping Ari up.

She figured it was more important to make sure the bleeding stopped first, then treat for potential infection after the initial crisis was over. After she instructed Ari to apply pressure to the stab wound area, she set to creating a splint for Brett.

"I don't think you should be using this leg for a while," she told him. She wrapped cloth tightly around a couple of relatively straight sticks she'd found. "At least, not intensively. Hopefully there's no reason to be walking around too much in the next weeks."

Brett merely nodded stiffly before answering, "Yeah, hopefully."

Next, Rosaleen's dislocated arms had to be fixed. Kaia carefully felt both shoulder sockets to make sure they were actually dislocated, then said, "Brace yourself," and immediately shoved one arm back into place without further warning.

Rose cursed. Kaia didn't comment and moved on to the other arm, quickly getting that one back into place as well. "Don't move too much," she said. "It'll hurt less."

She met Adina's eyes and asked, "Anything you need me to look at right now?"

Adina shook her head quickly, eyes wide and vacant. "No, I'm not hurt," she said. "Not really. Thanks to you guys..."

Kaia nodded and looked at James again. "The horses are all right. Let them rest undisturbed and get yourself checked."

James was sliding the saddle off of Posey with what had to be a pained expression, even though his face was prone to looking angry most of the time. He set it on the ground and looked back over to her with a huff.

"I've lived through worse," he said, insistent. "Just give me another minute."

Kaia paused before retorting, "Stop being so stubborn for once and get over here. I've got a job to do too." Being a bit forceful was probably the most effective way to make him do what she needed him to do.

James stood frozen for a moment, mid-action as he reached for the horse's reins. A second passed before he sighed and lowered his arm, walking over to her.

"Fine."

Kaia placed one hand on his arm around the arrow head embedded into his flesh, and gripped the broken shaft with the other. Then she pulled at it--not too slowly, but not entirely forcefully either. When the pointed tip of the head finally slipped out, blood began to gush out of James' arm.

She looked down at her supplies and found that she only had a bit of bandage left. She took it and began looping it around James' arm as quickly as possible to staunch the bleeding. After a few more tight rounds, she tied it and nodded. "That's all you need right now, correct?"

James stayed still for all but a nod. "Yes. Thank you. Now take care of your head."

Kaia gently touched her head wound again, having almost forgot about it. She forced a smile. "I'm all right. We even ran out of bandage."

James blew out of his nose. "You can still clean it."

"Yeah," she replied, sighing. "Maybe there's water nearby." She took a step away, then hesitated.

I don't feel right leaving them alone like this, she thought. How come there couldn't have been a river running through the clearing? Of course, they had water in their canteens, but she didn't want to waste that, especially if water really wasn't too close by.

"You can clean it here," James said to her, his voice low. "We have water. We can get more when you're not bleeding down your face."

Kaia scoffed, but in a more good-natured or resigned way. She took a canteen and began to rinse her temple with the water. As she did, she once again desperately hoped that no one found them or they thought of a good plan to hide from their pursuers.

All they had wanted was a place to truly belong. That was the one thing she felt shouldn't be snatched away from them, at all costs.

Battered but bandaged, everyone huddled around the fire under the ominous shadows of the forest, where cold winds whistled through the trees and the ashes of Adina’s noose lay with the smoking embers. It was early evening, when normally they’d be starting to set up their tents and bed down, but instead they were restless and unwilling to unpack for the night. Not to mention exhausted.

After checking his splint, Brett glanced up at Adina’s sweet, innocent face through the waves of rolling heat from the fire. Ari was good at lightening the mood and was at that moment making her laugh with a silly story about a blind shark and a fisherman. Brett dropped his head and said a quick prayer of thanks: it was a miracle that she was still alive. They had tapped into a mode of utter desperation when she had been snatched away from them, and even then, they had just barely succeeded.

James stood to scan the premises for the dozenth time. The looming mage hunters were like spiders prickling their spines - they were so tired, but they couldn’t rest.

Kaia stood too, holding a makeshift leaf bandage to her temple. “I don’t think it’s safe for us to travel as a group anymore,” she said, softly enough for those across the fire not to hear.

James nodded in agreement, but his furrowed brows indicated the emotional tug-of-war within. “We need to go our own ways and do what’s best for each of us, especially Adina. She can’t keep living in constant fear like this.”

“Can’t this wait just a little bit?” Brett asked. “We just got her back.”

“The sooner we discuss it, the better,” Kaia said. “I don’t like thinking about it any more than you, but...” She sighed and sat back down with the circle, giving James a glance that asked him to do the same.

“Alright,” he said gruffly, “meeting time.”

Everyone looked up except Rose, who by the look on her face could gather what was coming. She stared quietly at the ground as the others began to speculate about their future plans: who was going with who, which way they’d head, what their goals were. Adina was adamant about Rose coming with her and Kaia, but Rose just shifted uncomfortably and gave vague replies. Unsurprisingly, James was silent about his plans too. Brett prodded him with one question and then gave up.

“Well, I guess that’s that,” Brett said. “We better get some sleep. I’ll write Matt a letter tomorrow.”



Dear Captain Matthew W. Crawford of the Western Isles Shipping Co.,

If it is of little inconvenience to thine excellence, I desire to take but a moment of thy most precious time. My allies and I humbly implore thee to consider our request, that which is inscribed below.

Hast thou been fooled yet? Writer, thy name is brother!

(I hope no one actually writes you letters like that, it’s absolutely revolting. Did I fool you, though? Even for one second?)

My dearest brother Matt, hope this letter finds you well. The way things are going, it won’t be too long until I’ll get to see you again. Hopefully you haven’t changed your mind yet about deciding to be kind and forgiving to your ol’ criminal of a brother, because Uncle Brett is dying to meet his niece! You and Beth better be prepared, because I’ve been planning all the pranks and tricks I want to show her. And I was thinking about how there’s a whole bunch of stories about her father she should know, too, like how he earned the nickname Fishsticks. Doubt you’ve told her that one.

Uncle Ari is also excited for the possibility of seeing her. He says he’d like to show her some of his fishing techniques, and he might need a trusty sitter for Ursuku from time to time. Would Beth let a wild cat in the house?

Anyway, we ran into some trouble yesterday regarding Adina. Our biggest fear very nearly came true... She’s safe and mostly unharmed, thank God, but not for long unless we seek help. So, four of us (me, Ari, Adina, and Kaia) are heading back west to find you. Then the latter two’ll split off and try to find a place of refuge, maybe on your recommendation. Me and Ari, though... maybe you have a ship with a pair of vacancies. Ari deserves to be quarter master, but I’m okay with mopping the deck.

As for where James and Rose are off to, well...

The mustachioed fellow left quietly last night, during my watch. His leaving like that was without warning but unsurprising in nature. Don’t know why he picked my watch - guess he thought I’d be the only one who’d honor his wishes and understand why he didn’t want to make a big emotional fuss over the goodbye. He didn’t have many words, but he seemed sadder than I’ve ever seen him, like he was almost hoping that I’d come up with a good enough excuse for him to drop his bags and stay a little longer. His road is a painful and lonely one, and I don’t envy him for it.*

We haven’t the slightest idea what happened to Rose, but when I turned in after my watch was over, she was already gone. Taken her things and one of the horses, maybe while I was talking with James and distracted from keeping an eye out. This morning I found her tracks, and they were leading off in the same direction James left. Maybe his journey won’t be so lonesome after all. I sure wish I could’ve said goodbye to her, despite how ornery she is. Never thought I’d say this, but I’m gonna miss her a lot.

Keep your telescope polished! Before you know it, you’ll find us playing hide and seek in your cargo hold again.

Thy loyal subject,
Brett L. Crawford of the Province of Outer Lands

*paragraph generously plagiarized from @soundofmind

The ocean was far behind them.

They were back in the thick of the forest, and the familiar. The trees grew taller, thicker, and the sun beat down a little more mercifully through the lattice of leaves overhead. It was the middle of the day, and it was just Rose and James, riding through the forest in silence for quite some time.

James didn't mind it. He didn't have much to say anyway.

He hadn't asked her to come and follow, but there seemed to be a quiet, mutual agreement that they both believed it was better this way. He knew that Rose had always thought it would be safer for the others if he left, and she was right. Now, she was getting what she wanted, and the others were getting what they deserved: a greater assurance of safety, or rather, a better chance at it, without his reputation and ridiculously high bounty weighing on all of them.

He and Rose weren't planning on sticking together either. She seemed to have a plan or at least pretended like she had one. Very clearly, she told him that she wanted to return to Ruddlan. Her hometown. Where she was wanted most.

He pressed her - only a little - on the foolishness of running back into the arms of the city that was begging to see her slain, but she wasn't there to argue. And neither was he.

At the end of the day, her decision was her decision, and there was only so much he could do to stop her before he'd have to let her go her own way.

As Elliot and Posey stepped over the undergrowth of the forest, James let his ears tune into the sound of their steps, and the shuffling of plants and earth.

And then Rose spoke.

"So like... did you want help finding your lost pet or something?"

James blinked slowly but didn't look at her.

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, I am too. If I didn't know you were over 20 I would assume you were 10 now. You look like you started puberty and halfway through decided you're bored."

James slowly dragged his narrowed gaze over to her.

He'd shaved off his mustache. Of course she was going to comment on it eventually.

"A part of me is honestly just convinced the cowboy you stole that mustache from came back and took it, while the other part wants to take a ruler to your eyebrows and see if they've grown."

James rolled his eyes.

"Your upper lip is so naked it could model for life drawing classes."

He looked away from her, staring ahead into the forest as she went on.

"Were you just holding a sneeze for our whole adventure and it finally got the better of you? Did you find anything in it you thought you lost when you shaved that thing off? I know you probably looked for it but I can assure you, my respect was not in there."

"Wow," he sighed as they came to the top of a hill. The trees cleared away a little, providing an open view of the valley below.

In the far, far distance they could see the dome of the griffin games' coliseum that stood out among the rest of a town nestled between two hills. This was where they'd part ways.

They stood in silence for a moment, both staring at the city.

"I'm going to miss you, Rose," James said.

"Heh, I'll miss making fun of you too James." She chuckled, no doubt patting herself on the back for her roast-session, but her smirk quickly faded as she paused and took a long look at James. He looked back at her, finding the same wistful sort of sadness he felt in her eyes.

"You know, I wish we had met at better times in our lives. And I mean all of us." Her expression turned somber, almost sad. "I think we would have all been really good friends, and I would have liked that...a lot."

A warm breeze came from behind with a sudden, strong pull. Stray hairs flew out of Rose's purple braid, fluttering around her face. Both of them turned their eyes back to the town down below.

James knew this would be the last time he'd see her.

"Me too," he said quietly. He felt the urge to say something else, but as he struggled to find words, Rose started to ride forward. Slowly.

"Try not to get killed out there, eh?" she said, turning back to look at him. "I'm the only one allowed to die in our little group."

His brows drew together and he stared back at her. His tongue was in knots. She turned back around, continuing down the hill, back into the thick of the trees.

"Be careful!" he called out.

Rose raised a hand and shouted back. "I always am!"

He let out a soft huff through his nose and watched as Rose disappeared down the hill. He whispered to himself.

"Goodbye."