"Neo, I never asked. What's Tow's obsession with cupcakes?" The older hunter didn't spare the beginner a second glance at the question. A comfortable silence surrounded the two most of their search. While it wasn't a surprise to Neo that Gin changed the topic from Nere, it did upset him a bit. They were a team and no matter what the circumstances, they were stronger together. Not that Nere was at the top of Neo's concerns but he knew no good would come from abandoning her. Neo knew if they were to return without Nere, Xeno would break down. In the lounge room, it wasn't hard to spot that Xeno was closer to Nere compared to Gin. But a curious thought struck Neo.

        If given the chance, would he choose Nere or Gin? Deep down, Neo already knew Xeno would pick his brother. I'd make the same choice. Deciding to entertain his companion for a bit, Neo finally turned to the teen.

        "What do you mean?" Neo asked.

        "When we first crashed into you outside the office-" Gin started, his footsteps picking up so that he could walk side by side with his companion, rather than behind. 

        Which you still have yet to apologize for, Neo thought. Running into Tow outside the office was the only reason Neo had paid them so much attention, to begin with. At first, he thought they were just rowdy kids playing a game with no consideration for those around them. They had a goal in mind and they weren't letting anything get in the way of that. It was the same mindset Gin was looking for in Nere before they got sent to their exam.

        "Tow had a meltdown over a cupcake. Why're they-" Gin's questioning came to a quick stop when Neo's laughter echoed through the tunnels, somehow sounding louder behind Gin. The younger hunter could tell it was a genuine laugh but something about it still felt off, shaky almost. 

        "It's not just cupcakes," Neo answered as the two approached another fork in the tunnel. The two paused, Gin looking to Neo for an answer. He noticed the frown Neo held as if he knew what awaited them at the end of each tunnel. There were three potential paths they could take, one already lit for them. To their right, darkness tempted them, faceless whispers giving empty promises on what could be at the end of the tunnel. Tearing his susceptible gaze from the nothingness, Gin looked back to Neo who was already continuing straight forward. Staying where he was, he studied the tunnels, trying to put together Neo's train of thought. "I know what you're thinking, she went this way."

        Neo's figure was slowly disappearing into the tunnel but Gin was still hesitant to follow. "Wait, are you sure she wouldn’t have gone towards the light?" Gin said, his voice shooting down each tunnel. Neo sighed softly but he knew he couldn't get angry with Gin. He was nowhere near as experienced as Neo but he was way too oblivious.

        "Trust me, that light wasn't there when she came this way. Come here."

        Gin hurried after his partner, stomping his fear out with each step. Gin came to an abrupt stop a few steps behind Neo who was crouched down. Slowly and reluctantly, Gin walked up to him. Neo was staring at the slimy substance that coated the tunnel, seeming to pour from every nook and cranny. "What is this- oh, dude! What're you doing?" Gin quickly jumped away in disgust as Neo dragged his middle fingers through the see-through slime. "That is disgusting! You don't even know what it is."

        Turning his head to the bugged-out hunter, Neo's frown still hadn't moved. "Whatever you do, no matter what happens, no matter where you are-" Neo picked himself up and walked over to Gin, holding his coated fingers to the young boy's covered face. "Do not get this in your mouth."

        "You know what it is?" Neo stepped away from Gin, wiping his fingers on his pants as he continued down the oozing tunnel.

        "It's Slima, the slime that covers-"

        "Sea Serpents." Neo glanced at the teen. "Yeah, Xeno told me a little bit about them. One tried to bite him when he and Nere were out adventuring." Neo could hear the resentment coursed through his words but he wasn't sure if Gin could. "But how did it get all over the entire tunnel?"

        "I guess he didn't tell you how big they can grow." Unsettlement filled the teen, his jitters were painfully noticeable. Neo snickered. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you want to turn back now?"

        "No! Of course not." Neo held the rest of his laughter to himself. "You didn't finish telling me about Tow and her cupcakes!"

        "Alright, alright. Just keep your voice down. Have you ever heard about the Chaosvale Catastrophe?" Out of the corner of his eye, Neo could see Gin's head had turned. Even though he couldn't see his eyes, it was very clear Gin was staring as if he'd just met a celebrity. "I'll take your silence as a yes."

        "What? Of course, I know about the catastrophe! I read about it in the paper when I was younger but we never got any in-depth details. You were part-"

        "Yeah," Neo answered quicker than he meant. It was a painful event to hear about from others, to read about in papers and reports but to live it was a whole other feeling. No one could ever forget what happened, no matter how much some of them wanted to. "Tow's brother started the... Rebellion, if you will. Rufo and I worked in the same sector until something changed and everyone was moved around."

        "What happened?" Neo shrugged his shoulders even though he had a good idea.

         "We still don't know to this day. But after it did, Rufo, Tow, Rethe, and I were working the same sector at least five times a week. There weren't as many details in the paper because the Hunter Representatives were concerned about alarming the public," he answered. 

        A gentle scoff left Gin as the two slowed down a bit. They both took mental notice about how the tunnel became thinner, the slow drips of the Slima getting thicker and closer. "Yeah because a slave encampment isn't alarming but the slaves escaping is." Neo spared a glance at the kid beside him. There was an unidentifiable feeling in the pit of his chest, a mix of sorrow and relief that made his heart skip every other beat.

        "Well, our best guess was that Hunter Representative's death had something to do with our sector change. If they left us where we were, you and I wouldn't be walking this tunnel right now." Gin knew exactly what death Neo was referring to. That Hunter Representative was Nere's mother. Her mother's death was the reason the three of them met. With her only reason to live being snatched away, Nere fell into a dark place. No longer going to the mines to see the glowing bugs, Nere remained in her village. Instead, the bridge connecting her village to the one beside it became her new spot. Beneath flowed a narrow river surrounded by broken rocks and cliffs. In a few cracks, Nere could spot tiny birds nest. Seeing the difference between an animal and a monster firsthand always helped ground herself. It always got her gears running.

        "How could something so small, gentle, and free-willing co-exist with beasts that want nothing but to cause chaos and destruction?"

        Until it didn't. As she expected, there came a day where the birds' nest no longer made her think. She didn't care anymore. Her new focus was the water under her dangling feet. She wondered how it felt.

        Is it cold?

        What animals live in it?

        What monsters are hiding?

        It became her new way of seeing everything. If you can find the beauty, then the beast shouldn't be too far. Curiosity in the child only grew as time passed and nothing new happened in her village. People came and they left, they'd stop and they'd stare and they'd wait for the child of the murdered hunter representative to show her face again. They waited for her to come to them.

        For once she just wanted someone to find her.

        "Hey! Are you okay? The water's super-duper cold, don't fall! I don't think I'm fast enough to catch you but I'll try!" Nere's gaze broke from the enchanting flows below her and immediately started searching for the source of the new voice. At first, she thought it was a guardian angel. But she soon spotted two little boys running at full speed to the bridge, to her.

        The one in the back had short dreads that just barely showed his chin but no other part of his face. The mere volume and amount were enough to shield his entire head. He was smaller than the one in front of him so Nere assumed he was the younger one of the group. "Is she deaf?" he yelled. 

        "HEY! ARE YOU OKAY-"

        "Yelling louder won't make a difference if she can't hear you at all!" The one in the front slowed down as they got closer, the look of realization on his face. Though Nere couldn't tell what it was he realized. Did he recognize her? The two boys stopped beside the girl sitting on the railing of the bridge. She couldn't look away from the taller one's stare.

        He's concerned...? No... Is he?

        The boy waved in front of her face before dramatically dragging out his lips to repeat what he tried to yell again. "I'm not deaf," she answered, which shocked the boys. "And I'm okay... Now."