Syrus was confused, not quite sure what just happened, but he counted his blessings that it ended with that.

He couldn't really think on it much anyhow as he was hauled back to where Aaron was.

From there, things really wouldn't be looking up for either of them until nightfall.

Well into the night, actually, and while Syrus couldn't necessarily sleep, both his mind and his body were worn. He couldn't help but doze off into a shallow sleep, Aaron watching over him as he had done so.

He wasn't sure how long he had been in that shallow, sleep like state, but there came a point where he heard noise...A commotion of sorts?? He wasn't sure, but regardless, Syrus opened his eyes, wondering what was going on...But as soon as he did, his eyes were immediately covered, a crashing sound echoing in the distance.

Even as his eyes were covered, he saw a bright flash of light past the back of his eyelids.

This light...It really could have only been one thing; a Lumos Stone.

As the name implied, it was a stone, that when broken against something, gave off an intensive light throughout a given range. The ranges and intensities varied too, depending on the size of the stone. They were incredibly hard to come by, a precious item, really. Syrus had one, maybe two.

But this one...Well, only one person came to mind, and it was just as they did, that Syrus felt someone tug at his arm, urging him to his feet and to run...And Syrus didn't really consider refusing, letting himself get tugged along, the sounds of commotions growing farther and farther away.

After enough time passed, he wouldn't hear any of them at all. Rather, the roaring sound of water reached his ears.

Were they back at the Falls?? Syrus dared to open his eyes, making out not one, but two silhouettes just ahead of them...One of them belonging to Cai, just as he thought.

None of them spoke a word until they were well away from the camp and deep into the forest.

"You really saved us back there..." Syrus spoke up once they stopped to take a rest, having made plenty of distance by then, and it didn't seem as though they had been followed either.

He was dripping with sweat from running such a long distance, and he couldn't resist the urge to reach up and rub some of it off of his forehead...Before realizing he was still cuffed. They had run all the way from the camp without stopping, after all.

"Come here." Cai suddenly spoke up, amber eyes fixated on him as he gestured for Syrus to come over, fishing out a set of keys from his pocket that he'd snatched from one of the guards.

And with a click, the cuffs fell off, Syrus instinctively rubbing them afterwards. They were both a bit raw and chaffed from the constant rubbing of the crude cuffs, his jaw too, but the discomfort was only just that. It didn't seem like there was any long term damage he needed to worry about.

"...How in the world am I going to explain this to my old man...?" He muttered out loud, already worried about how things would go. Rather, he was pretty sure he'd never hear the end of it. Maybe it'd have been better if he met his end back there, because at this right, he was going to meet it the moment he got back home.

Better to not think of it for now, he thought.

His gaze trailed off towards Aaron, who also had his cuffs undone by Cai...But it was just as they fell to the ground with a dull thud...That something unexpected happened.

Out of the blue, Cai suddenly pulled his arm back, balling his hand into a fist, and socked Aaron square in the cheek with enough force to send him flying back a bit.

Understandably, Aaron was incredibly startled and confused, pressing one hand against his already swelling cheek.

"Cai, what the hell-?!"

"You blasted fool!" Cai rose his voice, enraged as he looked down at Aaron, who was even more startled by the way he rose his voice...It was Cai. He never showed so much outward emotion. "Stick to the plans!! That's our basic, number one rule, isn't it??! But you had to have extra bravado and rush ahead yourself??!! Well look where that got you!!" He hissed, clearly restraining himself from throwing another punch.

"I-I just..." Aaron began in protest, but it was weak, at best, and he immediately faltered long before he could finish.

Rather...He knew his own folly. He couldn't blame Cai for being so angry with him.

"Not only did you put yourself at risk, but Syrus too! Syrus!! Did you forget what we swore that day?!? Or are you that daft??!?!"

"I wouldn't ever forget that." Aaron interjected, furious that Cai would even dare to accuse him of forgetting something so incredibly important to the two of them.

Syrus...Was at a loss for words, not sure how to handle this escalation. Aaron and Cai never really saw eye to eye, but they never went at eachother like this...On top of that, he had no idea what this 'oath' they spoke about was either.

Just what was he supposed to do about such a situation??

"H-Hey now. Let's take a moment and calm down, alright??"

He interjected, slipping in between the two in hopes of derailing the feud.

"I'm alright...We're alright, so everything's good, right?" He laughed, looking between the two of them, but...The two simply stared eachother down for several moments before Cai finally let out a heavy sigh, turning his gaze away.

"If something like this happens again, I won't let it go so easily." He frowned, turning his back. "If you really meant it, don't let it happen a second time."

Aaron glared daggers at Cai's back, probably with enough force to burn holes through it, if that were possible, but he eventually backed down. Having no rebuttal, he simply pushed himself to his feet, brushing himself off.

"Let's go." Cai nodded, jerking his head in the direction of where the city would have been as he looked over at Syrus, who was still at a bit of a loss, but...Regardless, it wouldn't be good to dawdle around here for long.

The sooner they could make it back to the city, the better...Or so Syrus would have liked to think, but he would have quite a bit of explaining to do when he got home.

He certainly wasn't looking forward to it, not in the slightest.