The sky had already changed hue when Strax took flight again, his white wings cutting through the air with a more controlled rhythm this time, no longer driven by the urgency of combat, but by a silent caution that hung over them all. His colossal body served as a stable support as he carried the three of them, creating a kind of makeshift refuge in the middle of the open vastness, where the wind was still strong, but not hostile. Still, the atmosphere between them was different—denser, more attentive, as if any word could touch something too fragile to be ignored.

Ouroboros sat closer to the base of Strax's neck, her knees slightly bent, her restless fingers moving almost compulsively against her own leg, as if she needed some kind of physical anchor to keep her mind steady. Her eyes weren't completely focused on anything specific—sometimes on the horizon, sometimes on her own hands—and her breathing still carried small, subtle, but perceptible irregularities for those who knew her well enough. She didn't just seem tired. She seemed… shaken.

Tiamat observed this for a few seconds before finally moving a little closer, sitting beside her with a less abrupt movement than usual, as if deliberately avoiding any action that might pressure her more than necessary. Her gaze fell directly on Ouroboros, firm but not aggressive, carrying an unusual attention, more careful than incisive.

"Do you know what happened to you?" Tiamat asked, her voice lower than normal, still direct, but without the confrontational weight that usually accompanied it. It wasn't an accusation. It was an attempt to understand.

Ouroboros didn't answer immediately.

Her fingers continued moving for a few seconds, tracing nonexistent patterns against her own skin, as if trying to organize something that wouldn't let itself be organized. She swallowed hard, her jaw tensing slightly before finally speaking.

"No," she said, her voice lower, more restrained, carrying evident frustration. She looked away for a moment, as if she had difficulty even sustaining her own answer. "I… I don't know."

There was a short, heavy pause.

She continued.

"It was as if…" her voice faltered for a second, and her fingers tightened slightly on her own leg before resuming that restless movement. "As if something had taken over my body."

The silence around them intensified.

Scarlett, who was a few inches behind, kept her gaze fixed on her, without interrupting, without rushing, just absorbing each word with a cold and precise attention.

Ouroboros took a deep breath before continuing, her eyes now more closed, as if reliving fragments of what had happened.

"I was still there," she said, more slowly now. "I could see… I could feel… but I couldn't stop."

Her fingers trembled slightly.

"I tried," she added, this time with more force, as if she needed it to be understood. "I really tried."

The frustration in her voice wasn't performative.

It was real.

Raw.

And it carried something deeper than simple failure.

"But it was like… like every move was already decided before I even thought about it," she continued, slightly clenching her teeth. "Like I was trapped watching… while something used my body."

Tiamat remained silent for a few seconds after that, absorbing not only the words, but the tone, the way they were spoken, the subtle signs that indicated this wasn't exaggeration or confusion—it was a real, concrete, and profoundly wrong experience.

She then ran a hand slowly through her hair, glancing at the horizon for a moment before speaking.

"I've never seen anything like this before," she said, with rare sincerity, without trying to soften or adapt her response. "Not even close."

Her eyes returned to Ouroboros.

"And I've lived long enough to have seen almost everything," she added, with a slight exhalation through her nose, more reflective than ironic.

Scarlett nodded slightly, still with her arms resting on her legs as she leaned forward a little more, joining the conversation without breaking the established rhythm.

"People like us aren't easy to control," she said, her voice calm but laden with firm logic. "Even when there's external interference… there's still resistance."

She tilted her head slightly, analyzing Ouroboros more deeply.

"But that…" she continued, pausing briefly, as if choosing her words carefully. "It didn't seem like resistance being overcome."

Another pause.

"It seemed… you were disconnected."

Ouroboros didn't respond immediately.

But her fingers paused for a second.

Just a second.

Before they started moving again.

"That's how it seemed," she murmured, almost to herself.

Strax, who until then had remained silent, maintaining steady flight while listening to every word, finally spoke, his deep voice echoing softly in the air around them, firm but not heavy.

"Strange things always happen to us," he said, without diverting his attention from the path ahead, but clearly present in the conversation. There was an almost ironic tone there, but not enough to diminish the seriousness of the moment.

He paused briefly.

"But this…" he continued, slightly lower. "This was different."

His wings beat at a steady rhythm, slightly adjusting his altitude as he maintained control of the trajectory.

"So from now on," he added, "we'll pay more attention." It wasn't given as a rigid order.

But as a decision.

Clear.

Shared.

"Especially you," he finished, now with a slight weight directed at him, but without accusation.

Ouroboros let out a small sigh at hearing that, her shoulders relaxing just a little, as if a part of her accepted that vigilance without resistance.

"I know," she said, still softly. "I would pay attention too… if it were anyone else."

There was a slight trace of humor there.

Weak.

But present.

And, perhaps because of that—

More human.

Tiamat let out a small sound through her nose, something close to a restrained laugh, crossing her arms as she looked ahead again.

"Great," she said. "So we're all suspicious of you together."

Scarlett didn't smile.

But her gaze softened slightly.

Strax didn't answer.

But his flight… became more stable. And for a moment—

The tension eased.

Not because the problem had been solved.

But because now—

It was shared.

And that… made a difference.

The wind continued to cut through the sky around them, but now there was something different about that makeshift formation on the back of a colossal white dragon…

…

[Two Hours Later…]

The sky no longer held the same open blue as before; now it slowly deepened into darker shades, the orange of dusk spreading across the horizon as shadows began to lengthen over the world below. Strax's flight hadn't diminished in intensity since they resumed their journey—on the contrary, he maintained a steady, almost stubborn pace, as if he had made a silent decision not to stop until he found a suitable place. Unlike the initial plan, there was no shift change, no intermediate rest, only the continuous beating of his wings cutting through the air for hours on end, sustained more by focus than by necessity.

Ouroboros remained silent for much of the journey.

His fingers still moved from time to time, but less than before, as if fatigue itself was slowly overcoming restlessness. Still, there was tension there—not just physical, but something deeper, something that didn't dissipate with time or rest. She avoided looking directly at others for long periods, keeping her gaze on the horizon or the clouds that slowly drifted by, as if trying to remain present through something external.

Tiamat and Scarlett exchanged glances more than once.

Neither said anything.

But both noticed.

Strax did too.

He didn't comment.

But he didn't need to.

When the city finally appeared on the horizon, it was already dark enough for the first lights to begin appearing, small luminous points scattered among buildings that grew in layers, surrounded by a discreet wall and enveloped by a dense forest that served as both protection and natural isolation. It wasn't a large city, nor particularly imposing—but it was alive, and, at that moment, it was exactly what they needed.

Strax didn't go directly to her.

Instead, he tilted his body slightly, reducing altitude as he steered his trajectory toward the surrounding forest, his wings gradually slowing until the sound of the wind ceased to be a constant roar and became just a whisper among the treetops. Even there, he remained cautious—a subtle layer of magic distorted the space around him, obscuring his presence, hiding his colossal silhouette from any casual glance that might be too attentive that night.

The landing was controlled.

Heavy.

But silent for his size.

The surrounding trees swayed with the contained impact, leaves detaching and swirling slowly in the air before falling onto the damp forest floor, where darkness was already beginning to dominate among the tall, dense trunks.

As soon as his paws touched the ground, Strax remained motionless for a few seconds, as if confirming that they were truly out of any line of sight, before finally relaxing his body and allowing the transformation to take place.

Light coursed through his scales. And then—

He returned to human form.

The silence of the forest seemed denser than the open sky.

Closer.

More real.

Ouroboros descended carefully, his movements still a little heavy, as if his body hadn't fully recovered from what had happened hours before. His feet touched the ground firmly, but there was a slight adjustment of balance immediately afterward, almost imperceptible—almost.

Strax saw it.

But he didn't comment.

Tiamat and Scarlett also descended soon after, both now more adapted to the change of pace, although their gaze still occasionally returned to Ouroboros, as if constantly checking if she was still… there.

Strax ran his hand through his hair for a moment, letting out a slight sigh before finally speaking, his voice lower now, adjusted to the more subdued atmosphere of the forest.

"Let's do this," he said, looking first at Tiamat and then at Scarlett, his tone direct, but without rigidity. "You two are going into town."

He paused briefly, just long enough to make sure they were both paying attention.

"See if there's anywhere we can spend the night," he continued, crossing his arms slightly as his gaze drifted momentarily to Ouroboros before returning to the two of them. "Something discreet."

Scarlett nodded almost immediately.

Without questioning.

Without hesitating.

"I'll take care of it," she said, already taking a half-step forward, as if ready to leave at that very moment.

Tiamat, on the other hand, kept her gaze on Strax for a second longer, analyzing not only what he said, but what he didn't say.

"You're going to keep her," she commented, more as a statement than a question.

Strax nodded slightly.

"Yes."

Simple.

Direct.

No justification.

But completely clear.

Tiamat glanced at Ouroboros for a moment, observing her silently, as if pondering something, before letting out a small sigh through her nose and shrugging slightly.

"Right," she said. "We won't be long."

Scarlett had already begun to move when Tiamat finished speaking, making her way through the trees with firm, silent steps, gradually disappearing towards the city, her presence dissolving into the natural darkness of the forest. Tiamat followed soon after, but before disappearing completely among the tree trunks, she cast one last glance at Ouroboros—quick, but significant—before vanishing as well.

And then—

There were two left.

Silence returned.

More closed now.

More intimate.

Strax didn't speak immediately.

He simply observed.

Ouroboros didn't say anything either.

His fingers moved slowly again, once more searching for some kind of rhythm, some kind of control, while his eyes fixed on the ground for a few seconds before finally lifting, meeting his.