Broken Bird

None of this was meant to go this way. Everything got out of hand so quickly, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, no matter how hard I tried.
 
It started when me and Saib noticed that Arthom was not on the preplanned escape route. Fearing the worst - and Saib noticed wanting to deal with Arthom’s grumpy side if he was fine - I gave the crystal cache we had to Saib while I retreated to follow up on Arthom.
 
I noticed the crashed wreckage of the Gleam Pod, and perched up on the roof to see spot Arthom, in a massive lizard form, tearing at a Samurai Leishu and the kid Leishu from earlier. I fired two arrows at the Samurai, a glancing deflection and a a direct hit in the eye, which was starting to become my signature move.
 
Suddenly the kid teleported behind me and and shoves me off of the roof! I luckily manage to stabilise myself instead of crashing into the ground, and float back up to try and hit the Samurai again.
 
Out of nowhere, Gurval grabbed both the child and another Leishu, and notices me floating nearby. After a small discussion about the situation, Arthom suddenly rips the Leishu Samurai in half in front of us. Talu, Lucid, Gurval and myself can only watch in horror at the scene in front of us, as Arthom unleashes his wrath on the assailant.
 
Of course, now is when Ko Rava, of all people, arrives, and shoves Arthom and Talu to the ground with a wind rune. She begins screaming at us, saying we killed her sister (I didn’t know she had siblings?) and wanted us all dead, before escorting the other two Leishu away on her own.
 
Yet again, I’m left feeling hurt and betrayed by someone I thought was a close friend, on two fronts. Arthom let loose his aggression out of nowhere, and Ko was not only in the city, but working for the Yakuza the whole time? And never let me or anyone else know or help? I was literally streets over from where she was, and she never reached out to any of us. Whatever small feeling I had left for our group is left shattered to pieces, how ironic that Lucid and Talu, the two I never really trusted, were the only ones to not break my trust.
 
Not only that, but Ko’s situation reminded me heavily of the reason I joined the guild in the first place - to protect my brother. Without that, I would never have gotten to know Saib, or visit Zyniii, or even meet the Misfits. Maybe none of this would have happened if I let my brother face the wrath of the guild himself.
 
In my lonely stupor, I rush away from the scene to deal with my emotions myself. Gurval managed to catch up to me, and convinced me to at least leave a line of communication open with Ko. I go back to our hideout with him, tear the last page of my Ko location notes, and leave a message saying “My condolences. Let me know if you need anything.” With a drawing of myself. I attach this to a bag containing the kid’s shurikens, and leave it where Gurval said Ko lived. A gesture I doubt Ko will even remember, but at least I tried.
 
As I returned to our other hideout, I realised Saib had no idea what had happened this night. He could tell something was off - he always could - so I explained the situation. And I told him the truth. The whole truth. I don’t know why I did, or if it was a good idea. But I was so tired of running, so tired of being betrayed, so tired of being alone. He told me afterwards to get some rest while he processed things, and I found sleep came surprisingly quickly.