The Hunters' Fate: Overcoming

Comfort (Stella)

"Do you remember that day when you walked on that treadmill?"

I look over at Z, who's standing in front of a dummy with a knife. He's been circling it for a bit, randomly dating in and jabbing at it. He hasn't talked the whole time we've been in here, and neither have I. His gaze is still locked on his opponent.

I'm currently trying to get my aim down, as I've kind of become rusty. There's a dummy in front of me, a few bullets scattered across his body. I smile at Z and Look back at my dummy. "I've walked on a treadmill dozens of times, Z, you'll have to be a bit more specific."

Z shakes his head. "No, I mean walking—walking. That day we first went to the Academy, you know? When I, like, accidentally insulted you."

"That most definitely was not an accident," I say to him.

"So you do remember," Z remarks.

"Okay, fine, let's say that I do remember. What's your point?"

"Well, on that day, I told you something like 'if you don't try something, you won't know you're good at it,' yeah?"

"Yeah," I say. "You then proceeded to stumble over your words, pronounce a music piece wrong, and then you insulted me like three separate times."

"That's not what I'm getting at." He runs toward the dummy again and jabs the knife into its abdomen. The fatal blow caused the dummy to shut down and fall to the floor. Z straightens up, turns to me, and flips the knife into his holster pocket. "The point I'm trying to make is that you took my advice. Whether you wanted to or not, you've gotten better, maybe even better than Milo. A whole lot better than me. But, most importantly, you're better than when you started. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm proud of you, Stella."

I smile. I put my gun down and look at him. "Thank you, Z. That really means a lot to me."

Z nods but has a skeptical look on his face. "Was that sarcasm?"

I shake my head. "For maybe the first time, no, it wasn't."

Z smiles. "Don't get cocky now, Starlight. You aren't that cool for not making a joke."

"I never said that," I say, raising my gun back up and aiming it. It lands true, right in the middle of the dummy's forehead. It shuts down and falls to the floor.

"Well, now you're just showing off," Z whispers.

Suddenly, the door to the training room crashes open. I jump and look over.

Mammon strides in, coming straight towards me. He has a blank expression on his face, but when he gets closer, I see a bit of sweat on his forehead.

"Stella," he greets me. "Can I pull you for a minute?"

I nod and turn to Z. "See you for dinner?"

Z gives me a thumbs up and turns back toward his dead dummy. I turn back toward Mammon and we make our way out.

"What's up?" I ask when we're outside.

"Lilith asked for you," he says, turning towards the staircase. "She said she wanted to ask you something."

Oh.

"Do you know what?" I ask him, following as he starts climbing to the next floor.

Mammon hesitates for a second, but eventually shakes his head ever so slightly. He gets to the top of the stairs and turns right, and I know exactly where he's going. To Lilith's room.

To say I'm scared isn't right. Maybe... apprehensive? No, that's too light. Probably some sort of anxiety.

I mean, Lilith wasn't responding to anybody, and she had to experience her brother's death. And all of a sudden she wants to see me? If anything, I'm the one she knows the least out of the four of us. I don't think I have anything to offer her, so why me?