14 Strange Little Girl

"Solis! Solis! They're right behind us!" Ad panicked as he alerted his brother of the impending danger.

The wyverns had caught up to Depravity and were giving chase. Some of them fired their beams as the wyverns tried to bite at their feet. Solis tried quickly to think of a solution to their problem and he didn't have much time. Out of desperation, he yelled out an absurd solution.

"We split up!"

""""What?!"""" Kalamati, Lunis, Fera, and Ad screamed.

"That monster right there," he pointed at Depravity, "is here for the Suns! You guys will all go to Japan while we take that thing's attention!"

Solis tossed Elise to Lunis who quickly tried to argue.

"But Solis--!"

"GO! Don't make me force you!"

Ad, Fera, Muun, Lunis, and Elise split off from Kalamati, Tenacity, and Solis. To help them escape, the Suns fired into the water. A massive pillar of ocean water erupted and disorientated the wyverns, but some managed to stay on the heels of escapees. Solis wasn't too worried since he knew they could at least handle a few wyverns. As Depravity broke through the pillar of water, Solis knew his hunch was correct. They took a sharp right and sped up to Mach two. Kalamati looked behind and saw that Depravity was still on their tails.

"Solis he's right behind us!"

"Good! Let's take this guy down."

Solis outstretched his wings and slowed down. Depravity tried to bite him but Tenacity thrust his elbow into his throat. This knocked him out of the air and he started plummeting toward the water. Depravity repositioned himself in time but Kalamati was there in front of him. She flew right behind him and used her whips to tie up his wings. He started to free fall again so Solis and Tenacity took the opportunity to attack. Solis kept pummeling Depravity's face while his cousin kept doing body blows. Some of their attacks were actually doing damage to Depravity so it infuriated him.

"Drakon Ars 18: Expulsion!"

"Magic?!" Wondered Solis.

A weird wave of energy exploded from Depravity's body and knocked away the Suns. Depravity opened his mouth and let out a crimson-colored beam, which managed to hit Solis's shoulder. He screamed as he felt the skin on his shoulder melt and grasped it tightly. Tenacity's face contorted as he became enraged so he flew at Depravity.

"Tenacity, no!" Kalamati called to him.

Depravity saw through Tenacity's intentions and effortlessly swatted him out of the air. His consciousness left him as he was sent flying toward the water. Kalamati swooped in and caught him in her arms.

"K-Kalamati, we need to run."

Solis shakily hovered beside Kalamati.

"Solis, I don't think you can in that condition."

Blood dripped off of his left fingers tips as they hovered over the ocean.

"I won't be running. I'll occupy Depravity while you make a run for it. Go to Hong Kong, I'll meet you there."

Kalamati nodded and started flying. Solis turned around and came face to face with Depravity. His gargantuan figure overshadowed Solis and with every beat of his wings, strong winds came flying at Solis.

"Hehehe. You must be 'Aurelios' right? Aka the 'Strongest Arcana?'" Depravity taunted.

"Before I send you flying, tell me what you are."

Solis completely avoided answering Depravity's questions and asked him one instead.

"Me? What am I? That isn't something a bug like you needs to know."

Depravity growled at Solis and prepared to attack.

"That isn't the answer I wanted to hear."

Since Depravity was being hard, Solis resorted to reading his mind instead. His consciousness invaded Depravity and he tried searching through his memories. He was instantly bombarded with scrambled memories and emotions, which he couldn't handle. His own mind started to hurt and he was forced to retreat but he was able to make out a prominent word from Depravity's memories. Once his consciousness returned, he couldn't help but be shocked.

"What did you do to me!?!?"

Depravity clutched his head and stumbled back.

"Y-you're a Drakon?"

Solis looked at him in disbelief and couldn't believe what he just said.

"How do you know that?! I'll kill you for this!"

Depravity brought his hand down but a bright light blinded him for a second. The next moment, Depravity felt something hard. Something heavy hit his chest. It was a feeling he had only experienced once and it was when he sparred with his friend, Anacite. Whatever hit him, it felt like a mountain was pressed down onto his chest. Once the light was gone, he found himself miles away and back on Oculi Nebul's beaches. The air hadn't returned to his lungs yet and he passed out before he could process what had happened to him.

After the great expulsion of Asteria, Solis wasn't feeling too good. With the remaining strength he had left, he tried to fly to Hong Kong. Solis gave one good flap of his wings and went straight for the Asian continent. A few hours later, Solis's consciousness continued to fade with each flap of his wings, until he couldn't flap them anymore. He wasn't even close to Hong Kong but he passed out mid-flight. He veered heavily off-course and barreled toward the northeastern part of China.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hebei, China, a peaceful and quiet area of the Asian continent that had the honor of being built near the Great Wall. It was a little after 12 in the evening and the province, for the most part, was asleep. The wildlife came alive as the humans went to sleep. A soft breeze came in with the sounds of small critters and mammals frolicked. One resident of Hebei was still awake, due to his insomnia, and was stargazing. He noticed a little speck in the sky and followed it with his eyes.

"Oh, that's an odd shooting star," he thought.

The speck kept falling and getting closer.

"Wait, is that going into the mountains?"

With a resounding boom, the unknown object hit the side of the mountain and caused trees, dirt, and rocks to go flying. The man quickly ran inside and hid under his covers and waited for the morning to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Light seeped through the leaves as the sun started to rise in the sky. This light found its way through Solis's eyelids and caused him to wake up. He tried raising his head but noticed the huge pile of dirt on it. He wiped it off and sat up while brushing off the areas of his body that were covered in dirt. As his body started waking up, Solis felt the urge to eat. After depleting his human tank of Asteria, he needed to consume things that contained it. He turned his head as he saw a small rodent pass through a thicket of bushes. Solis lunged at it and quickly devoured the rodent. Still not satiated, Solis spent a few minutes hunting and consuming food.

Once there was enough food in his stomach, he gave his attention to his injured shoulder. His Essence seeped out and crawled up his arms and over to the wound. He focused and tried to generate new skin and muscle but encountered a problem. Something was stopping the effects of his Essence and wouldn't allow his shoulder to heal. He tried harder but was still unable to repair his shoulder.

"The cause must've been Depravity's attack," he thought.

Unable to heal himself, Solis fashioned a make-shift bandage and wrapped his shoulder. His plan now was to head into Hebei and look for a medical professional that could help him. He tripped a few times on his way down since the crash left him a bit disorientated. One of his falls was bad enough to have sent him tumbling all the way down the mountain but at the base, he found himself near a road. Solis heard the sound of a car coming down the road and quickly stood up to hitch a ride. The car didn't slow down and passed by Solis, and he gave up on his attempt at getting a ride. He followed the direction the car went and followed the road into the city. While he walked, a good samaritan stopped their car to help him out. The young lady spoke to Solis in a language he couldn't speak but he quickly fixed that.

"--ung man...Young man? You look hurt. Would you like me to take you to a hospital?"

Solis nodded and the lady unlocked the door behind her, which was where Solis decided to sit. The lady was courteous enough to not pry into Solis's personal matters and stayed silent. The buildings whizzed past them as the lady continued to go into the city. Soon, the forest scenery switched as it was replaced with multiple and identical buildings. The lady pulled her car into a dirty alleyway and stopped suddenly. She got out of her car and asked that Solis get out too. She walked down a set of steps that led into a shady-looking building and Solis was hesitant to follow.

A hand from inside yanked Solis and he fell onto his injured shoulder and winced in pain. Then, a single light was turned on and gave the small room a soft glow. After he recovered from falling, he surveyed the room. He saw multiple cages lining the walls and they contained, what seemed to be, people. The lady, who Solis thought was nice, took a spot next to a group of burly men. With the apparent signs in front of him, he knew that he was dealing with human traffickers.

"Just my luck," he thought to himself.

First, he had to deal with the injury Depravity had given him. Next, he passed out, mid-flight, and crashed into the side of the mountain. Then, he had to deal with the slight headache he had, and now, he had involved himself with human traffickers.

"I found this foreigner in the mountains, he looks to be a good age for work don't you think?"

The woman looked at a little chubby man, who emerged from behind them, and discussed what they were going to do with Solis. They spoke in whispers but Solis could still tell what they were talking about. Apparently, they settled on making him a slave of some corporate big-wig and a "play-thing", Solis didn't know what exactly that meant.

"Put him on his feet! Boss wants to properly evaluate the boy!" Ordered one of the burly men.

Two of his associates walked over to Solis and picked him aggressively. He, again, winced in pain as their lack of discretion agitated his wound.

The man to Solis's right spoke up, "Uh, Boss, the boy's shoulder doesn't look too well."

"Ehh, that won't be our problem. Once our client buys him it'll be his, just make sure to dress him up to hide that fact," said the chubby man.

The men beside Solis started moving him to the door at the back, and that was where he spent the next few hours. During that time, the traffickers cleaned up Solis's look, albeit done in a rough manner. Once they were done, they dressed him in a plain, white top and gave him some patchy, green shorts to wear. They were back in the room full of cages and that was where the men put Solis onto his knees and place some handcuffs on him.

"Stay still and don't cause me any trouble, foreigner, my client will be here soon."

The chubby man raised Solis's chin and looked him dead in the eyes. The man turned around when he heard the door behind them being opened.

"Ahh, it's him!"

He walked over to the suave man in a white tuxedo and shook his hand.

"Mr. Wang, you're here right on time!"

"Of course I would be. Now, show me this 'brown-skinned foreigner' you called me over for."

"Of course! Of course!"

He turned to his men and commanded, "Bring him over here!"

Solis was picked up and thrown at Mr. Wang's feet. He stood up, while clutching his shoulder, and looked up at the tall man. Mr. Wang inspected Solis's face and wiped away some of his hair that covered his face.

"Not bad, I'll take him."

"Very good, sir!" The chubby man exclaimed.

"My men will give you the money once I leave."

Mr. Wang dragged Solis by his handcuffs and led him up the stairs. A man in a black tuxedo and shades passed them with a big suitcase, Solis knew it was full of money, and went down into the room. Mr. Wang pushed him into a limo and he fell onto the limo's floor.

"Could these people stop pushing me? My shoulder won't stop throbbing," he thought to himself.

He got onto his knees and tried to find a seat. The passenger door of the limo closed as Mr. Wang got in.

"Go back home, we're done here," he commanded his driver.

The limo lurched forward and Solis fell back down on his shoulder once again. He clenched his teeth as his shoulder hit the floor.

"Daddy! Please be careful, you hurt the merchandise we just bought!"

Solis looked up to see that the owner of the voice was a young, blonde teen. Her long, blonde hair sat on her shoulders, while some of it was held back by a purple hairclip. She used her amber eyes to examine Solis. She had curvy hips for her age, while her chest...left a lot to be desired. A mole sat under the corner of her right eye gave her the look of an innocent, young girl. At the front, Mr. Wang started berating his driver with insults. The girl tried to help Solis up but he denied her efforts as he pulled his arm away from her grasp. He gave her a look of resentment as he sat himself down on the seats.

"Hey! That was rude, I'll have you know that I'm your master starting today and you should never treat your master that way! Especially since I am a lady!"

Solis made no remark and just looked at the girl.

"Hmph! You don't seem to have any manners. Not a problem! I'll just have to teach you. First, you should at least introduce yourself to a maiden such as I."

Solis ignored her request and turned his head to look out the window.

"The silent type are we? Fine, I shall go first then. My name is Lyra Wang or Wang Lyra."

"Wang?" Solis spoke for the first time since their time meeting.

"So you can speak!" Lyra shouted in joy.

While she celebrated the fact her slave could talk, Solis was thinking over why her last name was Wang. If it was, then she is related to the man who bought him. He looked at her again and realized why they looked different. The conclusion Solis came to was that her mother must've been of a different ethnicity than her father. Hence, the blonde hair she had, compared to her father's black hair.

"Hey, if you can talk, why don't you tell me your name?"

Now that they were in closer proximity, Solis couldn't help but feel a strange and familiar power from her. He couldn't quite place his tongue on it, but he knew the feeling from somewhere.

"Are you listening, slave? I asked you for a name. That is unless you want me to call you 'slave' from now on."

Her comment ticked him off slightly so he gave her his name.

"Solis."

A simple one-worded was all he needed to give.

"Hmm, so 'sun' is in your name. Your name is very exotic, I like it."

The more Lyra talked, the more Solis thought of her as a weird person. Then, out of the blue, Solis hit her with a question.

"Why did your father buy me? What am I here for?"

She stopped talking for a moment but then said, "You shouldn't ask a maiden such sensitive questions, you brute!"

Lyra tried to slap Solis but he caught her hand with his uninjured one. As he shoved her away, his left contact fell out of his eye. He reached down to pick it up but Lyra came in and kicked it away, her means of payback apparently. Solis looked up at the bratty girl with angry eyes and stood back up. Lyra was paralyzed as she witnessed the true color of his eyes.

"I-I didn't realize you had such magnificent eyes."

"And you shouldn't have," said Solis.

He picked up his contact and attempted to put it back in. He tried to use his left hand, but it was shaky and it hurt to lift it up. When Lyra realized what he was trying to do, she went over to him, took his contact, and tossed it out of the window.

"Why did you do that?!"

Solis was in disbelief as he saw his contact fly back in the wind.

With an oddly shaky voice, Lyra told him, "Y-you are to never hide those eyes of yours, a-alright? I-I own you and your body a-and those eyes of yours are a trophy that is meant to be shown off."

Solis didn't understand her absurd motivation for throwing out his lenses, but he had enough of her antics. He found his seat again and decided to sleep, he wanted to at least rid of his headache.

"W-wait, please show me your eyes, Solis!" Lyra pleaded.

Solis shrouded himself in his Essence, which stopped Lyra from physically touching him. She began to panic and started clawing at Solis's invisible barrier.

"W-whatever this blue mist is, please remove it and let me see your eyes!"

He woke up with a jolt and looked at her.

"She can SEE my Essence clearly?"

At that point, there was no doubt that Lyra had supernatural blood in her. Solis invaded her mind and used his consciousness to make her pass out. Her body fell to the floor but he caught it just before it hit it. He looked at the strange girl and set her body on the seats. Solis sat across from her and just looked at her the rest of the way to Mr. Wang's property.

The limo pulled onto a gravel path and parked beside an antique-looking house. There were three different buildings, that were all connected to each other through a cement walkway, that made up Mr. Wang's property. The house had vibrant, red pillars holding up the curvy roofs that were lined with cement tiles. Artistic paper windows lined the exteriors of each building and varied in designs and color. The whole property was surrounded by a square, ten-foot-tall wall with a gate that led to the inside.

Mr. Wang was the first to get out and he went to the back of the limo to open the doors. Solis was able to wake Lyra back up before the doors opened.

"My sweet jade? We're back home."

"Already, Daddy?" She looked at Solis, "We must go now, Solis, I'll introduce you to your new home."

He slowly followed her out of the limo and stepped onto the gravel. The sounds of his feet walking across the gravel were the only thing Solis paid attention to as they walked onto the premises. They followed the cement walkways all the way to the building located at the top right corner of the property. Solis had a feeling that this building belonged to Lyra.

"Now that we're back, daddy has some business to attend to so I must go."

Mr. Wang bent down and kissed his daughter's forehead.

"I appreciate the gift, daddy! I love you!"

Lyra kissed her father's cheek before he straightened himself up.

"Of course, whatever my jade wants, she gets."

He tugged on the collar of his suit and walked away, but not before pulling Solis aside. Lyra went into her house and made plans to change her clothes. Outside, Mr. Wang had a few words of warning for Solis.

"Listen here, worm, you better listen to whatever my daughter asks you to do! Her heart was broken after her ex-boyfriend broke up with her and it hurt to see my jade cry. She asked for a comfort boy, so I decided to get her one and that happened to be you. You'll do your job properly and comfort her in whatever way possible, got that?"

Solis was unfazed by his warning and yanked his body away from his hands. He headed for the house when Mr. Wang tried to grab him again.

"How dare you--!"

Solis looked back at Mr. Wang with murderous eyes and forced him to stand down. He walked to Mr. Wang and made a demand of his own.

"I'm dealing with an injury I cannot repair on my own. Since you have enough money to afford a doctor, I want you to get me one."

Mr. Wang's pride called for him to fight back but something inside him told him to stay still because if he didn't, his intestines would become his house's newest decor. He gave Solis a nod and walked away.

"I want that doctor here in three hours, Mr. Wang, not a second less."

Mr. Wang took the request to heart and immediately started working on Solis's request. Solis walked into Lyra's house and took in the view. As expected of a girl that was born with a silver spoon, she had a lot of fancy furniture. Most of the inside had jade figures or statues spread throughout, which Solis found tacky. He made his way to the living and just took a seat on the sofa. Above him, he could hear the footsteps of Lyra as she rummaged in her room. Now that he had some time alone, he took the chance to take another nap, or so he wanted. His stomach growled and forced Solis to get up and start looking for food. He went into the kitchen and opened up Lyra's fridge and expected to see it full of food, but was sorely disappointed.

Solis made his way back to the living room in a more irritated state. He hadn't recovered enough Asteria yet to fly, let alone fight again if he encountered Depravity. On top of that, he was hungry again and he badly wanted to eat. Luckily for him, his "master" found her way into the living room wearing an unnecessarily posh outfit. Her face lit up as she noticed Solis eyeing her so she did a little spin to please him.

"Tell me, do I not look absolutely gorgeous in this dress?"

She wanted Solis's approval so she did a few poses to show off her dress. Solis didn't care for her dress and wanted to satisfy his needs first.

"Hey, girl, ask your butlers, maids, servants, or whoever, to bring us food."

Lyra stopped spinning and started pouting, she was disappointed that he didn't give her any compliments.

"I will..."

"Great, get them here quickly."

"...Only if you tell me that I'm pretty," she added.

Solis's shoulders slumped at the thought of her deal. He needed the food and it wasn't like giving one teenage girl a compliment was going to kill him, so he gave in.

"Yes, master, you look absolutely stunning in that dress."

Lyra stood there, with her arms crossed, and gave Solis a look of dissatisfaction.

"I would like sincerity in your voice, Solis."

With an inaudible groan, Solis straightened his posture and put as much emotion, as he could, into his next words.

"Lyra, you're absolutely gorgeous in that dress."

Apparently, that amount of emotion would suffice as Lyra screamed happily and jumped onto Solis. He wondered why the girl was so infatuated with him as he tried to pry her off of him. Solis didn't really want to do it but he took control of her mind, once more, and looked for the answer himself.

Growing up, it seemed that Lyra was always in the spotlight even though, most of the time, she didn't want it. Being the daughter of such an important man, she was constantly approached by suitors and forced into many playdates with them. The children's parents both agreed it was to "make bonds stronger" between their businesses and to ultimately produce a "prodigal heir." Since she was an only child, she was lonely most of her life and due to this, had trouble making friends. Sure the suitors she was given could have been her friends but to her, they all felt fake. Even at her school, she could feel that her "friends" were only in it for her status.

Her situation never improved, even as she got older. There were many times she pleaded with her parents for a sibling, she would even take an adopted one, just someone she could spend time with. She didn't want maids, she didn't want butlers, and she didn't want suitors. Lyra just wanted a genuine friend, she just wanted someone she could feel like a normal child with. As her body and emotions began to mature, Lyra started seeing some of the boys at her school as attractive. The ways of love had never been taught to her because her parents were apparently "always busy" and rarely discussed those things with her. If she was ever upset, their tactic was to always shower with gifts but that never satisfied her.

One day, one of her classmates asked her out and she accepted wholeheartedly. She thought it was a chance for her to gain a friend, and to experience the meaning of love. Blinded by immature emotions, she was often taken advantage of by her first boyfriend and only realized it a year into their relationship. She quickly parted ways with him but would eventually meet more and continue having more relationships. In the end, they all ended the same, Lyra with her heart broken and her boyfriends quickly moving on. She was always left alone again. Fed up with all her failures, she resorted to just getting her own "toy" of sorts. Deep down in her heart though, Lyra just wanted to feel genuine love and to have a shoulder she could lean on. That seemed to be the reason she was so attached to Solis...he was her last chance at gaining a friend before her heart would shatter completely.

Solis's consciousness returned to him as he held Lyra's limp body in his arms. Now with a bit more care toward the girl, he got up and laid her out on the sofa across from him. As he looked at her rising and falling chest, he felt a bit of regret for acting so harshly toward her and not understanding the circumstances she was under. He never meant to, he was just never good with strangers and he was impatient to get back to his family. From now on though, he would be more proper with her. After a few more minutes, the effects of Solis's mind-jack wore off and she sat up. She looked at where she was in confusion, surely wondering how she got there, but quickly dismissed the matter. She walked over to Solis and took a seat beside him.

"To reward you for complimenting your beautiful master, I'll make sure to feed you well!"

She called out to her personal maids and asked them to bring them food. Before the maid could walk away, Solis made sure to tell her not to include any vegetables. The food arrived minutes later and the maids laid it out on the dinner table, where Solis and Lyra took their places. Lyra took the chair beside Solis but now he didn't mind.

"Lyra tell me, how old are you?"

"How haughty of you to speak to your master in such an informal tone! But if you wish to know, I am 14."

"You know, you don't need to talk so formally, Lyra, you can be comfortable around me."

"How brazen of you to suggest such a thing, need I remind you that you are--"

"Your friend, Lyra, I can be your friend."

Lyra's body relaxed as she listened to what Solis said. Slowly, the regal persona she had made started to crumble beneath Solis's benevolence.

"R-really? Y-you mean it? You'll be my friend?"

She looked into his eyes with tears building up. To show her that he wasn't lying, he took out the other contact and let her see his true golden eyes. Flecks of gold seemed to come out of his eyes every time he blinked and Lyra thought it was the prettiest thing she had ever seen.

"I'll start again from the beginning, properly this time. My name is Solis Arcana and I wouldn't mind being your friend, Lyra Wang."

Lyra scooted her chair closer and snuggled up next to him like a small puppy. Her tears began streaming down her face as she finally achieved a life-long goal of hers. Finally, she had it...she had a real friend and there was no mistaking it.

Before she could cry any harder, Solis said, "I think it's about time we take in this food, as friends, don't you think?"

She looked up at her new friend and told replied, "Y-yeah, we should!"

"Now she sounds like a girl her age should," Solis told himself.

As they ate, Solis's insatiable appetite brought a smile to Lyra's face. He scarfed down huge slabs of meat effortlessly as his new friend laughed at how messy his mouth would get. Lyra would try to converse with Solis but his mouth was often full of food, she didn't mind though because she knew he was listening. Solis watched as her mannerisms resembled how his sister acted when she was younger and it made him feel more protective of her like she had become his new little sister. This made him want to help her out even more but he knew that he couldn't stay too long. Once that doctor came to patch him up, he would leave for Hong Kong.

The next three hours flew by and by the end of it, the doctor Solis requested was there. The doctor allowed himself in and walked over to Solis and asked if he was the person that needed treatment. He agreed and let the doctor inspect his injury. Since the proper care was not done immediately after Solis sustained the injury, the doctor had trouble cleaning the wound and making sure it wasn't infected. Solis reassured the doctor and asked him to just do what he could with the equipment he had on hand. After his treatment was finished, he told the doctor that he would "take it from there."

Now that he had more energy, Solis was able to overpower whatever spell Depravity used to stop him from healing and completely repaired his shoulder. The doctor watched in disbelief as Solis's skin went from being flaky to being completely smooth. Solis acted swiftly and manipulated the doctor's memories of what just happened. He walked out of the house with no memory of Solis. Lyra was there too to watch but he didn't wipe her memory since he felt he would regret it.

"What did you just do? W-was that some type of magic?"

"Not magic, something else entirely."

Solis got up from the table and started toward the door and Lyra began to panic.

"H-hey you're not leaving are you?"

Solis looked back at scared maiden.

"I am, I have somewhere to be."

"NO! Wait, not yet, you're not allowed to leave!"

Lyra hugged Solis's arm and tried dragging him back inside.

"I-I'm your master remember? S-so you have to listen to what I say, and I don't want you to go!"

Solis sighed and put a hand on the young girl's head.

"I have to, Lyra, my family needs me."

"No! They don't! You're better off with me!"

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes again.

"You're my friend, so you belong to me! P-please don't go, Solis, I-I don't want to be lonely again."

It pained him to see her cry since he thought of her like a little sister, but he knew he had a real one waiting for him. Before he left, he would, at least, tell her where he was going.

"Alright, Lyra, I'll tell you where I'm going at least. I'll be in Hong Kong, and if you manage to find me, I'll take you out to eat."

"NO! NO! NO!"

"You've forced my hand, Lyra, I really must go now."

He yanked himself away from her but she tried grabbing him again.

"I won't stop being your friend though, don't forget that, Lyra."

He told her those few words before he put her to sleep.

Before she passed out completely, she was able to say, "Solis, don't leave, please...my heart won't take it..."

Her body completely relaxed and went limp. Solis put her on a nearby sofa and then left. He burst out the doors of her house. He sniffed the air a few times and caught Tenacity's scent. From there, he would let his nose guide him to his friends. He did a 180 and hopped over the walls that surrounded the property and ran full speed to Hong Kong.

An hour after Solis left, Lyra woke up from her forced slumber. The first thing she did was look around her house for Solis but failed to find him. She started bawling as she felt lonely again but a fire in her had been lit and she ceased her tears. Now, she was determined to find her friend and to be with him once again. Lyra called for her dad, told him to book a flight to Hong Kong, and to not ask any questions. There was no way she was going to lose sight of her first true friend.