Several days had passed with Axis barely saying a word as he brooded over his mistakes, and once again the small group had set up camp. Firewood awaited a flame while the tent patiently stood by for the night, and the forest whispered to the breeze with attentive melodies. It was a quiet moment of contemplation for Allura while she sat on the ground with her map in her lap and Rune upon her shoulders. Her eyes wandered over the familiar depictions, eyeing landmarks in an attempt to determine where they were.

“Axis,” she called out, looking to find him slumped against yet another tree with another broody look plastered on his face, “Is there anywhere you want to go?” she pressed, and he merely grumbled in response, “Okay then… What about you Flora?”

“I dunno,” she hummed, “Why don’t we go somewhere you wanna?”

“I just like to wander… I don’t like sitting still,” Allura breathed before looking to the sky. “I’m going to go for a walk.”

“That’s all we do,” Axis gruffed.

“Then what do you suggest?” she questioned sharply.

“Fuck if I know,” he spat back, and she sighed in exasperation.

“Potty mouth!” Flora hissed.

“Fuck off.”

“Allura!” Flora began to whine, but only silence found her in the unexpected absence of Allura.

-

One step after another, rhythmic and familiar was the skill without thought as Allura wandered further than her feet. Past the trees and beneath their canopy she moved through the world deafened yet listening, blind but seeing. She roamed through her thoughts until a sight of water greeted her, flowing over smooth rocks and forgotten pebbles. Her mind barely paid tribute as she began to parallel it, walking with the water as its empty companion.

“Ehnh?”

“I’m ok Rune,” she assured the sloth before silence was gently restored, and she continued her walk. Shortly after, she found a town built along the stream, and her eyes widened. Allura hurried her way back to camp, gathering her two friends and all of their belongings before they made their way to the town. Allura led while Axis lagged a few feet behind the girls. He pulled his hood over his head, and Allura glanced back at him before slowing her pace to walk beside him.

“It’ll be ok,” Allura assured him in a whisper. “I got you,” she promised while taking his hand in hers, and he flinched.

“I-I thought you were mad,” he muttered while cautiously looking at her.

“I was, but making sure you’re ok is more important,” she spoke with a soft smile, making him blush as she looked to Flora who was in front of them, hopping from one stone to the next on the cobbled street. “Just stay calm, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered while looking away.

The town was quiet and small, but many stone buildings lined its cobblestoned streets that twisted and turned throughout it, creating back streets and alleyways. Eventually, the group made it to the market where several vendors stood behind their wares. Allura was quick to find and make deals while leaving Rune in Flora’s and Axis’s care. It was not long before she finished her trading with a slight smile from the coin she had earned. She turned on her heel with silent plans starting to find her, but they quickly vanished as she barely managed to stop herself from running into the person standing directly behind her.

“Sorry, I wasn’t-” her apology halted with instantaneous questions as she met Axis’s gaze, “What are you doing here? Where’s Flora and Rune?”

“In a tree,” he mumbled while nodding in their direction, and at the edge of the market, Allura could make out the two laying upon a branch like lazy cats. “Did you get everything?”

“I just sold the pelts,” Allura hummed. “I got a little more than I expected, so I was going to get some sweets,” she revealed with a soft smile as Axis grunted in response. “Do you have a favorite?” she pressed, and he looked off to the side in thought.

“Dragon Cakes,” Axis mumbled, and Allura’s smile grew.

“Then I’ll go get some. There’s a bakery up the street,” she revealed as his surprise grew his eyes. “Just go make sure Rune and Flora don’t fall out of the tree!” she chimed, and she hurried her way down the street while Axis watched her.

‘I don’t understand her…’ he thought silently to himself, and he started to return to Flora and Rune, but in an attempt to steal a final glance, he saw nothing. She was gone.

~

Allura left Axis, and she began making her way down the street to the bakery until a rough grip snatched her arm, yanking her into an alleyway, and her back was slammed into the wall.

“What th-” a heavy hand clamped over her mouth, and she felt the cold steel of a blade pressing against her throat before she fell still.

“Don’t struggle,” her attacker warned as she glared at the masked man, unable to make out any discernible features about him. “Just give me all your-”

Her knee shattered his demand as she rammed it into his family jewels, and he collapsed to the ground with a squeaking groan.

Her haste was a mistake.

An accomplice quickly shoved her back against the wall, and he slammed his fist into her gut. Allura crumpled forward with a gasping yelp before he struck her once more in the head, sending her to the ground.

~

Axis furrowed his brows before quickly following Allura’s path, and a pained cry claimed his attention. His blood ran cold, and he froze in place. Flames flickered as his sanity was thrown against the wall. His breath was lost in the disbelief as they struck his peace, and Allura fell. An inferno ignited, and his teeth threatened to crack under his rage as he stormed towards the offender. Never hotter, his flames turned white, and his fury would be nigh impossible to sate.

The scent of burning flesh filled the air as Axis struck the aggressor. Twisted satisfaction tugged at his lips while the aggressor screamed in agony, igniting terror in Allura for his mind, but his onslaught was in its infancy. The flames danced in chaos around him claiming the first to harm his sanity, and pain screeched through the air

“Axis!” Allura called out, and his eyes instantly snapped to her as the accomplice managed to flee, and the attacker continued to scream.

The look in his eyes was not the Axis Allura knew.

“Axis… Please,” she pleaded as she struggled to her feet before reaching out to him.

He snatched her wrist, searing the flesh as he did, and she gritted her teeth with pain watering her eyes.

“You need to calm down,” she did her best to speak gently, but pain shook her voice, and his eyes widened with the grin vanishing. He came back. Instantly he released her, and his flames dispersed while tears quickly claimed his eyes. “It’s ok,” she continued to calm him, and he slowly reached towards her until his amulet fell from him.

He froze. Delicate wires that once held the amulet together had been destroyed in his unbridled anger. The peridots scattered across the ground, and his tears fell with them. He stared at each fallen piece as what he thought he could hold onto was shattered without a word. His tears threatened to become inconsolable as he clenched his teeth.

“Axis!” Allura cried out as he bolted. “Come back!” she nearly begged, but he was too far gone.

Allura leaned her back against the wall, and she slid down it in defeat, covering her bruised face while her head ached with a constant ringing. Her shoulders shook ever so slightly as tears began streaming down her face, and for a moment she allowed herself to break, but only for a moment.

A whisper of a minute passed along with another before the tears ceased, and she moved on to her knees. Slowly and carefully, she began collecting the scattered gems before stowing them in the safety of her pack.

“Ehnh!” Rune called out, and Allura looked to discover the sloth at the end of the alleyway, crawling towards her.

“Where’s Flora?” Allura pressed while moving to Rune, and she gingerly picked him up.

“Ehhnhhh,” he squeaked nervously while slowly reaching towards her face, gently brushing the bruise on her cheek.

“I’m fine,” Allura breathed, “But I’m worried about Axis…”

“RUNE!” Flora shouted as she came skidding around the corner. “There you are! I thought you were supposed to be slow!” she whined before gasping at Allura’s injury. “Are you ok?!”

“I’m fine, did you see Axis?” Allura pressed without hesitation, and Flora shook her head. “Come on, we gotta find him,” she stated while taking Flora’s hand and pulling her along without further words.

The silence was a heavy weight Flora did not wish to bear with the anxiety that filled her over Allura’s state. Step after step she obediently followed without question, watching Allura’s will drive them forward. Slowly Flora’s gaze sunk from the dark violet locks to the red, bubbled skin that covered Allura’s wrist, and questions rose with a greater pressure than the gravity of the silence.

“What happened?” Flora’s question was small, but the reaction that awaited the answer had the potential to be insurmountable as her shadows swirled beneath them with the thought of betrayal.

“Axis saved me, but he’s scared,” Allura answered, and Flora’s darkness swirled into confusion with a reluctant acceptance as they continued their path to find the fallen phoenix.

They had slipped away from the scorched scene before any others could arrive to find the ashes. Allura searched quiet streets and the near-empty tavern, but she had little hope that he would remain in the town, and so she led Flora out of the town to continue the search. Allura refused to pause with the rumors that followed their last separation scratching at the back of her mind.

The day dimmed as the sky grew dark under the night with one final guess remaining in Allura’s hope to find the teen. The girls trekked their way back to their previous night’s camp, and an easy breath found Allura. Golden locks shaggily curtained Axis’s face while he held his heavy head in his hands. He silently struggled in his spot with the tree against his back.

“Wait here,” Allura hummed softly while passing Rune to Flora, and she made her way to Axis. “I looked everywhere for you,” she spoke quietly as she sat with him.

“You shouldn’t have bothered,” he growled.

“If you really felt that way, why would you wait here?” Allura questioned while taking his hand in hers, and he abruptly pulled away with a glare.

“You’re a moron,” he attempted to deter her.

Allura gently pulled her knees to her chest while wrapping her arms around them, and resting her head on top.

“Why?!” he snapped, and she gazed at the ground before them. “Why did you look for me?!” he interrogated her, and she gently faced him.

“Why did you look for me?” she softly challenged him, and his eyes widened.

“I-I was…” his anger started to fail him with his glare falling softly to the ground, and embarrassment found his cheeks. “I was worried.”

“So was I.”

“Even though I hurt you?” he pressed in a meek voice.

“It’ll heal,” she assured him with a smile as he met her gaze, “What’s another scar anyways?”

Axis’s eyes widened with a blush burning over his cheeks in her honest empathy. Slowly, he reached out towards her, gently caressing the scar that resided near her eye, and his blush deepened before he pulled away.

“Not much of a scar,” he poorly masked his vulnerability while looking at the ground, and she stood up with a sigh.

“Come on,” she started, and he looked to her questionably, “Once we get the camp set up we can have some dragon cake.” Her smile was sweet and her offer more than he could have hoped for as she gave him his sanity.