Rion, Karhun and Yuura stood at the fence of the Redwood Den and waited for Dora, even though they weren’t sure if she was at the den or not.
The other trainees and squad members who had already heard about Rion’s challenge to Zukah murmured within themselves while glancing at him.
"Is it true that he challenged a squad leader right after becoming a squad member?"
"Yeah, I heard he challenged Zukah."
"He finally got his ass handed to him, huh?" One of them sneered.
"Hmm? What are you talking about? Don’t you know he won?"
"WHAT?!"
"Do you take me for an idiot? How can he defeat a squad leader?"
"Not like he has done something like this for the first time."
Rion ignored their babblings and mumbled, "Where is she?"
"Maybe she returned early?" Yurra shrugged and said, "How long are you going to wait for her? It’s already turning dark."
Rion exhaled softly and looked at Kahrun as he muttered, "Both of you, go back..."
Yurra and Kahrun looked at him with frowns etched on their faces, and Kahrun argued stubbornly, "No, I’ll stay."
Yurra nodded, leaned back on the fence and said, "I’ll stay as well."
A faint smile creased Rion’s face, and he nodded before turning his head towards the road.
Half an hour passed by in the fruitless wait, and they finally decided to return to the Redwood Basin.
None of them spoke on the way back as all of them finally felt the weight of today’s events seep in.
They all had left their homes to become a squad member on this day, but none of them had become one; instead, they were going to be part of something monumental — They were about to become the flint that had ignited the campfire that was Rion’s leadership.
"You don’t have to worry about it, we still have enough time," Yurra said while patting Rion’s shoulder.
Rion nodded, and all three of them went their respective ways.
As the other two vanished from Rion’s sight, a voice called out to him, "Rion."
Rion turned towards the voice, and his eyes narrowed as they fell on a familiar figure. "What do you want?" He asked in an edged voice.
The figure ignored his hostility and continued, "I heard you need one more squad member to form a squad."
Rion’s frown deepened, and he said, "I do."
The figure’s voice softened slightly. "I’ll join you."
"What?" Rion exclaimed.
"I’ll be the last squad member you need," the figure repeated.
Rion’s brows arched up, and he asked with a puzzled look, "Why would you do that after everything that had happened?"
"Haha!" The figure chuckled and said in an annoyed tone, "I did tell you that I didn’t want to do it..."
Rion’s expression didn’t ease and he began to think whether he should accept the person before him as his last squad member or not.
A few minutes later, Rion looked into the figure’s eyes and muttered, "We have a lot to talk..."
"We sure do," the figure said, and his steps echoed within the silence as he left.
Rion watched the figure leave and heaved a tired sigh before walking back to his home.
As he neared the inner huts, his eyes landed on Dora, who was walking back to her hut after a conversation with Jura.
His face brightened, and he called out with a wide smile, "Dora!"
Dora stooped in her tracks and turned to look at him. Her expression fell between anger and joy as she said with her arms on her waist, "Why did you fight him?"
At the same time, she thought, ’Did he find out about Zukah stopping me from hunting?’
"I just wanted to challenge someone," he lied and stepped near her.
Unfortunately for him, she didn’t buy his false words; instead, she argued, "Why did you challenge my squad leader then?"
Her question wasn’t out of care; instead, she wanted to know if Rion really fought him because of her. She already believed it to be true, but she wanted him to tell her the truth.
However, he didn’t understand her true objective. His expression darkened, and he thought, ’Didn’t she want to leave his squad?’
Yet, he refused to hint at the truth and asked in a slightly sharp tone, "Did you not like me beating him?"
She frowned and shook her head as she replied, "That’s not what I meant."
He lowered his head and asked darkly, "Why do you care if I beat him or not?"
She stepped closer to him and explained, "He is my squad leader, I have to care—"
He sharply raised his head and looked at her with eyes that were dark in possessiveness.
"Leave his squad and join mine, alright?" He commanded in a voice cracking with the emotions of the same intensity.
She took a step back at the intensity of his eyes and words and answered while stuttering, "I-I’ll j-join."
His eyes brightened, he hugged her with a bright smile and said, "Thanks, Dora! I just have to find a squad leader to teach me then."
"Y-Yea!" She responded with her face reddened due to the hug, even though she didn’t know anything about him becoming a sub-squad leader.
He let go of her and said his farewell, "I’ll see you tomorrow."
She smiled and responded, "Yeah."
He nodded and darted towards his home.
She watched him leave with a smile.
As soon as Rion vanished from her sight, she covered her face with her hands.
"Hah..." A hot breath escaped her lips, and she whispered, "Ah, those eyes!"
She lifted her gaze to the bright moon and murmured with her lips twisted in a wide smile, "The lost one of shackled wings..."
She lowered her head, turned toward her home, and continued in a whisper, "...shall unchain those bound of blood."
Her words stilled in the silence of the bright moon, but no one heard them because they were never meant to be heard, for they had always chained whoever knew of them.
She walked towards her home with slow steps and replayed the events of today in her mind.