Rafael did not appear for training. He was always on time before, but almost an hour later on this particular day, he was nowhere to be seen. Helare kept shooting glances towards his rest area, but Filoria doubted the princess was going to make the first move here.

Collab was annoyingly nonchalant about it all. He was busy reaming out some new recruits of mixed origins. Some Burned, a few demons and other tribes. The few Ma'la in the crowd of trainees were typically looking down their noses at the others but Collab seemed wholly unwilling to keep such people in his ranks.

As a result over the past hour, the numbers of Ma'la in the group shrunk to an unbelievable minority. Apparently, Collab was subscribing to a new mentality among warriors. Race did not matter. Nor even ability or birthright. What mattered was the amount of work one was able and willing to put in.

And in his beginning remarks, he referenced the princess and her work ethic. She had improved drastically. Helare had gone red from the attention, but she hadn't stopped grinning. And working, drilling with the special spear that Rafael had gifted her.

"So in the end, you're all the same!" Collab announced. "You all were once as tiny as pups and were pushed out of piss holes. That's all the proof we need we are all people. And as long as you can think, learn, you can become a warrior. Well, I still believe you need to be a wee bit stronger than ants, but hey, I can get you to that level."

He finished with his usual cruel smirk. Only this time it also contained a hint of mercy. He was scared of what he was going to do to these recruits. There was also a bit of excitement as he tried out a new training method.

Almost one and a half hours later, Filoria started to get worried. She planned not to let Rafael out of her sight, and she had not.

She only stopped watching him when there were less than a few minutes to their daily training. Could he have known she was watching? Could he have still gone through with his plan in the short amount of time she'd left him alone.

Helare looked angry now, looking towards the path the boy usually took to get here, but she was still going on with her drills.

What kind of love was that? Obviously the damn princess was as worried as Filoria, but she was not going to do anything? Damn coward!

Collab was free, standing with his hands leisurely folded over his chest. He watched his newest recruits train with rapt attention. Occasionally, he'd throw a cruel remark or other, but otherwise he was content to just watch. In just one hour, he had the children master the first of many drills they were going to be doing for months. Along with conditioning exercises of course.

She approached him, not allowing herself anytime to think things through.

"Hey, Collab!" she snapped.

He turned to her with downward curled lips and an annoyed frown.

She found herself wishing she could retreat. That stare had been the thing of her nightmares for years.

"Rafael didn't come for training today. And you just what?! Moved on to training kids?"

She had had to dig deep to throw that statement out there.

The man only blinked at her in confusion, then his displeasure turned into a nod of approval. Apparently, she'd done something worthy of his approval at last.

She would have killed to get such a response before, but there were more important matters now.

"I'm indeed concerned," the man commented. "I do know Rafael is still in the camp though, if that is what you're worried about."

Filoria struggled to stiffle a leaping celebration. Rafael was still in the camp. That was truly good news. She didn't know why she was overjoyed about it.

"However, he did not come to train with me today," Collab continued. "I doubt he is okay, but what can I do about it?"

Filoria found her pleasure turning to anger. Collab had always been there. In fact, he was more like a father to her then her real hero of a father. He was a father figure to many, as people in his type of profession often were. For him to have no way to help a child he suspected was suffering was beyond disappointing.

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"I know what you are thinking," Collab preempted her. "But I have come to the conclusion there is not much I or anyone can do. I've formed a new philosophy after watching and training with the boy for a few weeks. Even if he managed to have a breakthrough just yesterday, I doubt he would choose not to continue trying to improve. And I hope you know that in terms of natural ability, we are nowhere close to him. He doesn't need to, but he still breaks his back trying to improve.

"How extreme must be a situation that he would choose not to train? I think it might be beyond us this time, girl. Well, most of us."

He was looking at a still drilling Helare when he finished.

Filoria tensed as she looked at the sweating woman who was supposed to be her boss. She felt her nails start to dig into the palms of her tightly fisted hands. Then she relaxed, let her fists unfurl, and took a deep breath.

It couldn't be helped that Helare was closer to the boy than she was. Still, she could blame the princess for it internally.

She only attacked Rafael at their initial meeting because she was supposed to protect Helare from any unknowns. Yes, the only reason the boy wasn't as close to her as the stuck up princess was because of that mistake she'd committed what felt like ages ago now.

And if he hated her for almost killing him, then how come he'd forgiven and even gotten close to someone who would have caused him to commit suicide?

She shook her head. Shook the thoughts away. It seemed like Collab was really worried about the boy, but he had too much…respect, maybe, for the boy to try and impose himself on the situation. It was true only one person was close enough to the boy to try and find out what could be wrong.

"What?!" Helare asked.

That pleased and hopeful undertone in her voice annoyed Filoria. She was here on a mission, however, so she sighed internally and ploughed on.

"Something is wrong with the boy, according to Collab. We should find out what it is and how we can help him."

The princess looked away from Filoria. She seemed to be considering something, staring at her impressive looking spear. A reluctant smile formed on her face.

"He is still here," she said with a small, pleased, shaky breath.

Filoria wanted to kill her there and then. If she cared so much, why had she been willing to let him go in the first place? Because she was a bitch, that's why.

Filoria controlled herself. She watched the princess lead the way to Rafael's camp.

Everything in his personal area was calm, quiet. He had cleaned the forge area and put away his tools in a small shed he'd prepared for them off to the side. He'd polished the metal of the forge and organised his newest blades and hammers and axes in holders he'd purchased through Hestus.

It was a clean and organised area. And so too was the tiny dark tent he insisted on sleeping in even when the princess had offered bigger and better. It was like he was determined to be uncomfortable.

The room was tiny, and it was not hard to see the boy sitting cross legged on top of his sleeping furs. He sat and looked straight ahead. Straight at the light coming into his room from the outside, but he did not react to anything.

Both Filoria and the princess ahead of her froze in incomprehension. The look in his eyes scared her, Filoria had to admit.

He looked half dead. The two women shared a look, and somehow Filoria knew she had to leave them be.

She did not close the tent flap though, because she still wanted to watch. Helare sat down in front of the boy. She hadn't showered yet after her long exertion, so her sweat should have distracted the boy, but he barely seemed present.

Helare was trying to speak with him, but the boy did not respond. He was staring, but he was not seeing.

And then she touched him, touched his cheek, touched his forehead, touched his shirtless chest with the blue gem.

Filoria almost forgot her concern for the boy then, but she controlled herself at the last second.

Because he showed the first reaction to the princess just then. A stream of clear liquid flowed down his left eye. And then the other eyes too. Helare seemed frozen with her hand on the boy's chest.

She didn't know how or why, but the boy's escape from Primus had been foiled.

It was almost like he had no hope of ever leaving the planet anymore, and that was crushing him inside.

Yet for some reason, Filoria felt relief. He was not going to leave her. He was never going to leave her. She was still annoyed that Helare was standing between them though.

***

Helare thought Rafael's reaction was a bit extreme, but then again, what did she know really. At this point in her life, she wouldn't care if she left her family behind. She wouldn't care if she left Primus behind.

But if it had happened even a few weeks before this, she might have thought she still needed them. Not that she thought Rafael was like her and did not need his family, or that his family was neglectful. She did not know a lot about him. About his life, his old world which he so desperately wanted to go back to.

To her, Rafael had been this rock. Strong and immovable and always there since she'd discovered him. To see him breakdown the way he did was somewhat of a jolt.

He did not start breaking things like she thought he would. Instead tears streamed from his eyes as he silently wept.

Her hand was on the blue gem in the center of his chest, and there it froze as her brain tried to come to terms with what was happening.

She applied her coordination stat, but her findings were inconclusive.

Then his chest started to move as his body started to shake, to quake. His shoulders heaved and a broken, heartbreaking sound escaped his throat.

Helare watched him for a time, knowing not what to do. She went out of his tent and lowered the flap.

Filoria came to stand next to her and they both just quietly watched the tent inside which the sobs sounded. She stood there in one of her new training kits, soaked in sweat yet unable to care, shocked.

When the sobbing stopped, Helare opened the flap once more and pulled him up. He was heavy, but he did not resist her. He had returned to his half dead state.

Filoria helped, and together they led him away from the tiny tent toward Helare's spacious and opulent one. The one he had convalesced in before.

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