I pulled Tael out onto the cobblestone road of Ruks. The vagrants on the street watched us as we moved. Their eyes assessed our value as if they were predators watching their prey.
"What do you need to talk about now?" Tael tried to wrest his arm from my grip, but his strength proved insufficient.
"Simply put, I need to make sure you're ready for this." I stared deeply into his eyes as I spoke.
Tael struggled to maintain eye contact with me as he continued struggling against my grasp.
"K-Kenji, I'm fine!" He insisted. Erana walked up behind me as she looked towards Tael.
"Tael-san, you left us for three weeks based upon your own feelings." Erana's eyes were half open, as if she was frustrated. "We can't trust you to follow through anymore."
"Erana too…" He muttered as he slowly stopped resisting me. I looked around to watch the people that continued to leer.
