The first three days of the journey through the wasteland had blurred into a monotonous haze of gray dust, heavy silence, and aching muscles.
By the time twilight painted the sky in deep shades of purple, the ruins of Kota's childhood estate had long since vanished beneath the horizon. Leiya finally called for a stop near a cluster of jagged boulders.
She dropped her heavy pack onto the dry earth and wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
"It's been three days since we left the ruins," Leiya said, letting out a weary breath. "We camp here. It's getting late."
Kota froze for a brief moment. A familiar, suffocating pressure bloomed beneath his collarbone. Hot, heavy, and unrelenting. His jaw tightened.
"Yeah… set up camp," Kota replied flatly, his voice completely detached. "I'm going on ahead to scout."
"Scout what?" Leiya asked, her tone sharp with annoyance.
Kota didn't answer. He didn't even glance at her.
Mira stepped forward immediately, her small face filled with eager concern. "I can come with you."
"Alone," Kota said coldly, cutting her off. His voice left no room for argument. Without another word, he turned his back on them and walked into the deepening shadows of the wasteland.
Leiya watched his retreating figure, a heavy sigh slipping from her lips. "Please don't go too far!" she called after him.
There was no response. The shadows swallowed him whole.
Unseen by the others, Jaeger's silent silhouette had already melted into the brush, following a parallel path to watch over him.
Back at the budding campfire, Mira stood frozen, staring at the empty space where Kota had been.
"Why does he have to be so mean?" she muttered, sitting down heavily and dusting off her hands. "I was only trying to help."
Leiya walked over and placed a gentle hand on Mira's shoulder.
"It's not you, Mira," Leiya said softly. "It's him." She paused, her voice growing quieter.
"Today is his birthday."
Mira blinked, clearly surprised. "His birthday?"
"I'm surprised he's even walking or talking right now," Leiya admitted, her gaze drifting toward the dark woods. "Usually around this time… he looks absolutely terrible."
"Does it have something to do with what happened at the ruins?" Mira asked, reaching into her pack for the hard bread.
Leiya nodded, her expression heavy.
"Those violent outbursts he suffers are always worse around his birthday. Every year, the flare ups hit harder. They push him right to his limit."
"I just wish he wasn't so stubborn about doing everything alone," Mira sighed, tearing off a piece of hard bread with her teeth.
"None of us can fix that for him," Leiya replied, her voice dropping into a quiet, serious tone. "Even with me here… he's always chosen to carry everything by himself."
"He'll sort it out," Thorne grunted, tossing a handful of dry kindling into the firepit. "Worrying won't change anything."
"I hate this," Mira groaned, rubbing her sore calves. "Traveling on foot for days is miserable."
"It's how we have to move out here," Thorne shrugged, leaning back against his pack. "We keep moving, or Kota will leave us behind."
"I don't want to keep moving like this," Mira said with a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looked across the fire.
"Do you think the place we're heading to might offer us a carriage or steeds once we arrive?"
"Steeds?" Thorne chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Don't count on anyone handing out favors to travelers coming out of the wastes."
"They might, if they look kindly on our business," Leiya said, adjusting her seat against a flat boulder. "But don't hold your breath for a royal carriage, Mira."
"A carriage with heavy iron wheels would still be better than walking," Mira murmured, prodding a burning stick into the embers. "Even a basic cart would save us from all this dust."
"A cart needs a clear path," Thorne replied, closing his eyes. "And the paths out here are broken."
"Still… a fresh mount would make the next stretch bearable," Mira muttered. "Anything is better than walking until our boots fall apart."
"We'll see what the kingdom has to offer when we get there," Leiya murmured, staring into the dying coals as the camp slowly settled for the night.

In the trees, Kota kept walking.
The voice started to speak in a calming, low and amused tone
"Boy. You feel it, don't you."
Kota didn't answer.
"The date. The weight under the bone. The same pressure every year."
His hand pressed harder against his collarbone.
"You think scouting will outrun a birthday," the voice said. "It won't."
"Shut up," Kota said.
"Thank you for leaving the girl behind. She asks too many questions and I think there's something fishy about that girl and her brother."
Kota kept his pace even. "She was just trying to help."
"She was trying to be close to you," the voice said, turning cold. "We can't do close."