As soon as the man in the tree made his move, Quest's arrow was flying. The only thing preventing the arrow from thudding right into the man was a fresh burst of pain from Quest's wound, causing his aim to be thrown off. Instead of hitting the man, the arrow thudded into the base of the tree next to him. Cursing under his breath, Quest pulled another arrow from his quiver and nocked it, aiming it at the man that was now on the ground, approaching him. Another surge of pain reminded Quest of the situation he was in. Seeing the load that the man carried with him, Quest's eyes widened in alarm. The sight managed to make Quest even more untrusting towards the figure before him, it was only bandits that could obtain such a load, from years of bloodshed and thievery. And besides, he must be some kind of mutant superstar to be jumping across trees carrying that kind of load.

And that's when Quest's resolve broke. The accumulated horrors of the night, of meeting a stranger, and of everything that had happened in the last few months had finally caught onto him. He just wanted to get away, curl up in a corner and shut the cruel world around him away. Performing an act of cowardice that he would never forgive himself for, Quest turned and ran. His bow fumbled out of his shaky grasp, and Quest left that behind, too. It didn't matter anymore, he just needed to get away. Quest was weak from his wounds and fatigue, and he didn't get far before his body gave out from underneath him. Falling to his knees, Quest made no attempt to stand. The boy heard a sob escape from his lips, and his hands flew up to cover his mouth. He would not cry, no matter what happened, he wouldn't cry. Quest felt tears poke out from eyes, and he stubbornly blinked them away. This wasn't how it was meant to be, but now that he thought about it, this wasn't how the world was meant to be either.