"It was dark when you got there, right?" Nora asked, a desperate flicker of expectation lacing her tone.

"It was," Eliot replied, casually throwing a handful of dry twigs onto the small fire.

"So maybe they're just injured, like me, and you didn't get to see them because you ran off, right?" She scooted even closer to Eliot.

"...That's very possible," Eliot conceded, not looking away from the flames.

"So they could be out there looking for me, right?" At this point, she was so uncomfortably close, leaning in with her entire upper body, that Eliot had to gently push her back with a finger pressed to her forehead.

"...Right. Look, I understand you want to find your friends, but for now, you are in no condition to even walk. Just focus on yourself. You have to survive to see them again," he advised, turning back to the fire.

"Yeah, you're right," she sighed, her gaze dropping to her bandaged, missing leg. The practical reality hit her hard.

Crackle. The fire responded with a soft noise.

"Why did you help me?" she suddenly asked. Eliot glanced to his side to find her tracing random patterns on the dirt beneath them, avoiding his eyes.

"I don't know. Pity?" He answered with a genuine lack of certainty.

"Pity? Really?"

"As I said, I'm not sure. I simply realized you were alive, and my first instinct was to aid your recovery. Why do you ask, though?"

"No reason," she responded, her fingers now clasped tightly together.

"O...kay," he said, deciding not to press the issue.

"What's your name?" Nora asked, changing the subject.

"Eliot," he replied.

"Nice to meet you, Eliot. I'm Nora." She stretched out a hand for a handshake, a formal gesture he appreciated, and he took it briefly.

"Nice to meet you as well, Nora." With that, he returned his focus to feeding the fire.

Crackle.

"Are you a noble?"

"You could say that," Eliot gave a vague answer, maintaining his composure.

"That's not an answer. Or could you be a commoner?" Nora asked with a playful grin, trying to lighten the mood. "Don't be ashamed, I won't judge."

"I have a feeling you might," he countered dryly.

"Come on, I just want to know," she pressed, tilting her head.

"Tell me your background first, and then I will consider telling you mine," he challenged her.

"Tell you who I am?" she repeated.

"Yes. Are you a noble?" he asked directly.

"Yes," she replied, straightening up slightly. "From my appearance and bearing..." Her eyes caught the sight of her current ragged clothes, and she gave an unnecessary cough to cover the awkwardness. "From my looks, you should have known that," she finished with a hint of her former smugness.

"Sure. Which house?" he asked, seeing the immediate complication flash across her expression.

"Look, you don't have to tell me your background, and I won't have to tell you mine. Deal?" He offered, cutting off her impending evasion. She squinted at him for a moment, weighing the trade-off, then looked away.

"Fine," she conceded quietly.

Crackle.

"I'm sorry, I can't get you something proper to eat right now. I'm not sure if these... forest berries are edible," Eliot apologized, indicating some nearby flora.

"I doubt they are. Apology accepted," she replied.

"...Right."

"So, where do we go from here?" she asked, and he glanced at her, sensing she was ready to move the conversation forward.

"Well, I haven't really acquired anything of value since I arrived in this world, so I'll be exploring to find some relics, if possible," he stated plainly.

"That's right. I was just thinking of finding a gift for my brother—" she said, then abruptly stared agape, realizing her blunder in bringing up family.

"Oh. You have a brother... good for you," was all Eliot said, though she caught a fleeting, 'hurtful' expression that crossed his face before he masked it.

"...Um, sorry for asking but, you don't have siblings?" she shifted a bit, now moving closer in a gesture of tentative comfort.

"I don't," he answered with a distinctly 'downcast' expression.

"So you're the only child?" Nora pressed softly.

"I don't like to talk about it," Eliot responded 'coldly,' immediately shutting down the topic.

"I'm sorry for—"

"Don't be sorry. Just, get some rest. Maybe we can find your friends tomorrow, and you'll be on your way," he said, then moved a respectable distance away from her to prepare for sleep.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." she whispered, her voice trailing off quietly as she simply watched him.

She sighed deeply, then grabbed a few more twigs and tossed them into the fire. Her mind spun in a whirlwind of thoughts, half about her friends and half about the strange, helpful man beside her.

After a while of simply gazing at the burning flames, Nora decided it was time to call it quits as well. She settled down, closed her eyes, and prepared for the day ahead.

Meanwhile, at the Academy...

"Alright, we have combat class in the next two hours. Maybe we can hang out in the city for a while," Tracy suggested, glancing at the others gathered in the Academy garden.

"That much time, huh? Well, anywhere but here. I'm game," Ashley quickly agreed.

"Lisandra?" Tracy looked over to the girl who was sitting on the mat with them.

"It better be something interesting," Lisandra replied, letting herself fall flat onto her back with a soft thud.

"Angelica?" Tracy turned to the girl who had Jason resting on her lap as she gently ran her hand through his hair.

"I don't mind," Angelica replied calmly. "...As long as Jay will accompany me," she added with a small, possessive smile.

"Tsk," Tracy clicked her tongue in annoyance. She felt powerless at the moment to interfere with Angelica's blatant display of affection toward Jason, as the younger girl had somehow outsmarted her and had leverage over her—something Tracy would rather die than let Jason find out about. That seemed to be the case for the other girls as well, as they had not tried to stop Angelica since that morning.

"Jay?" Tracy asked, turning to him.

"Sure, but... where's Anna again?" he asked with a frown, realizing he hadn't seen her since history lectures. In fact, for the past few days, it felt like she was actively avoiding him, which was truly strange. Annabelle? Avoiding him?

"I don't know," Ashley replied, frowning as well. "...She's been acting really strange lately; it's no longer funny. We have to find out what happened to her."

"You're right," Lisandra sat up, her tone serious. "She's always out of it, like she's constantly thinking about something heavy. I have tried my best to get her to talk, but she keeps saying she's okay."

"Are you surprised? Annabelle has always been as hard as a rock. If she doesn't want us to know what happened, then it doesn't matter if it would kill her; she won't spill," Tracy said, giving an irritated look, probably from some past experience dealing with Annabelle's stubbornness.

"Maybe she's with Jessica. Why do you always overthink the smallest things?" Angelica said casually, dismissing the worry.

"Jessica? Can you hear yourself? This is not the time for jokes Angelica," Ashley countered with a dry look.

She just shrugged.

"Sigh," Jason sighed, then stood up, sliding gently off Angelica's lap. "I'll fetch her."

....

...

..

.

Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.

Annabelle stared at the mirror across from her as droplets of water fell from her chin, courtesy of the thorough splashing she had just done to clear her mind.

"What's happening to me?" she held her hair and pulled lightly, tears suddenly trailing down her cheeks.

These days, she was a complete mess. The immediate, overwhelming waves of strong emotion that had occasionally assaulted her were now gone, but something else had taken root.

"Annabelle," she heard. She jolted, spinning around to find the one person she didn't want to see right now.

"Selene."

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