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Following the short-lived praise he received from Etoile, Zestasia had been flying on a high - a high that kept him mostly out of the conversation that went down. He heard them speak words about “orders” and “lines” and something about Strategy.

Honestly, Zestasia couldn’t care less about most of what they were talking about, but that’s because he was too hungry to think straight. 

Okay, that’s not true. 

Zestasia could hold onto a thought or two and if directed to do something, he’d do it without question.

[i]That’s[/i] what he was too hungry to do: 

Protest.

As the group walked deeper into the forest, he was reminded of his master, Anatoli Solis. 

About a year before his master was taken from him, the two of them would often take a break from training and go to the forest near where they lived. It wasn’t anything like this depressing patch of greenery. It was beautiful and rich with fluorescent scents: irises and daisies, roses and sunflowers -- all of them filling the air with a pleasant aroma. Even though bees frequented the area, shockingly enough, they weren’t the types to be instant pricks. That and Anatoli would blast them if they came near him or Zestasia.

And remembering that came rich with sounds of his master being taken away. By the inquisitors. Or those who worked for them. Hell if he knew, but they were responsible for it. And no matter how many new friends Zestasia made, no matter their story - or hell, even being reunited with his brother -- there was always a part of his soul that couldn’t let go of that.

[color=E3485D]“Watch for the vines!”[/color]

[color=goldenrod]”Huh?”[/color]

Pythia's sharp tone brought Zestasia out of his own thoughts and he shook his head.

With just enough time on his side, Zestasia managed to evade the killer vine that came for him by jumping to the side. He couldn’t help but notice how Clara wasn’t so lucky as he was sent flying.

Worried, he wanted to help her out, but it seemed like Etoile had not only beat him to the punch, but she seemed to be in good hands.

Zestasia evaded another vine that came for him on the side, but he kept dividing his attention to where everyone else was, trying to pinpoint where his brother was, where Pythia was. And then he went back to Clara.

IT was a habit he should break, but unable to maintain his focus, especially in a life-or-death situation was always something Anatoli tried to help him improve. But right now wasn’t the time to focus on that. Or maybe it was and Zes was too worried for Clara.

So, with the right intention behind it, his blue eyes met where Etoile and Clara were, but this time he didn’t focus on to see if Clara had gotten hit or if she was injured. No, there was something that caught his immediate attention.

[color=daa520]“Wait…”[/color] His became dry and hoarse all of a sudden and his heart was pounding increasingly fast. [color=daa520]“But that’s--”[/color]
[h3][sub][b][i]WHAM![/i][/b][/sub][/h3]
Zestasia was suddenly hit on his side by one of the God-forsaken vines, sending him rolling around in the grass, crashing hard into a tree. Through a hail mary or something, Zestasia directed whatever ignis ether he could into his back moments before the point of impact, which thankfully cushioned it for him, but that didn’t mean he came away from it unharmed.

[color=daa520]“Yeah, that’s gonna hurt later on,”[/color] he muttered, slowly getting himself up. His back felt sore and every joint in his body had that feeling of when you sit or lay down for too long and it gets all tense.

As he stood up, even though the backdrop of the battle [i]should[/i] have his full attention, the blond teen couldn’t bring himself to look anywhere but the armor Etoile had on. That armor with that specific design has haunted his nightmares for over ten years. The memories of seeing men and women arrive at his master’s shop, taking him away has been an image that’s haunted him since. 

But why was Etoile wearing it? What could she possibly benefit from wearing their armor? 

Zestasia didn’t know what her reason could be. And all he could see was red. “This is your doing, isn’t it?” He heard himself say and couldn’t stop. [color=daa520]“You’re planning on delivering us to the Inquisitors, aren't you?”[/color] Zestasia tightened his fists, gathering his ether as blind rage made way for hysteria -- or at least he wanted to, but, goddamn it. He probably had a few bruised ribs and one of the people he thought he was running away from the inquisitors from may very well be one. To top it all off, there was hardly enough sunlight for him to help in any significant way. [color=daa520]“Goddamn it all! We're all gonna die, aren't we? Yeah, we're totally going to die.”[/color] 

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