Episode Three, Part 1:
Sol

Careless to the pair of guards that were hurrying after him, Wynn marched into what he had just been informed was the Sovereigns' Quarters - meaning no one like him was supposed to be permitted entry inside. But regardless of what the rules were, Wynn knew Sol was somewhere inside, and he was eager to begin his training. 

"Riverly?" He called out, not knowing where to start looking. He was met straight away with an open living section - a couple of couches surrounding an abused coffee table, and multiple doors leading off a hallway across from him. Initially determined to head into each room, Wynn stopped himself when he noticed a wide staircase leading down to what he assumed was a basement area and wondered if she was hiding down there. 

"River?" He called her name again, sensing more commotion behind him as presumably more guards tried to figure out how to handle the unarmed and unskilled person forcing entry into the Sovereigns' Quarters, and what his intentions were. 

Once down in the basement area, Wynn was somewhat shocked to see how big the place was, certain that the lower floor alone was bigger than his entire Bunker. 

He glanced up and down the hallway debating where to start until he heard distant grunts and what sounded like repetitive punching coming from a nearby room. He followed the noise and made his way inside, stepping into a worn-out gym area, filled with rusty, workout machines - some of which appeared to be homemade. 

He recognized Dreea in the corner who was working her way through a set of weights; a boy closer to his age, or perhaps a little younger, with dirty blonde hair and beads of sweat coating his forehead as he used the shoulder press machine, and finally, Sol. She was in the corner, beating her arms continuously into a punching bag. Unlike the other two, she didn't care enough to turn around and see what the commotion was, or why the door had suddenly burst open with a mass of people following inside; perhaps, in some unprecedented way, she already knew it was Wynn. 

"Hey! You're not allowed in here," Dreea called, dropping her weights and stopping to see how Wynn would respond. 

But he ignored her, barely a sigh of annoyance escaping him, and continued walking until he reached Sol's side. All the guards who had followed after him spared glances at Dreea as if asking her what to do, but even she wasn't sure how to handle Wynn. 

With a smug look on her face, or perhaps an egotistical, self-righteous pride, Sol kept her eyes on her punching bag, enjoying that everyone - especially Wynn - was waiting on her. 

"I'm ready," he said. 

Sol gave a couple of more punches to emphasize her strength before grabbing onto the bag and bringing it to rest. She let out a heavy breath and then finally gave Wynn her attention. 

"I want to learn how to fight." 

"You and half the people at Basilisk," she muttered, already turning back to the punching bag and continuing her workout. However, with his frustrations growing by the second, Wynn was determined to be heard. He grabbed a hold of the bag, bringing it to a halt just as Sol had done moments ago, and watched as her punch drew flat. 

"Listen, Wynn," she sighed. "If you want to learn how to fight, you have to go to the classes. And if you want the privilege of being trained by one of us in this room - the upcoming Sovereigns - then you need to earn it." 

Wynn chewed bitterly on his lip and glanced over at Dreea and the boy - who he now knew to be one of the select few preparing to take leadership of the clan. 

"We're staying alert to the situation regarding the other people from your Bunker and when it's the right time to do so, we will consider our options at bringing them here, but-" 

"Consider?" Wynn scoffed. "You're just going to 'consider' the life of my parents? Or my sister - who has never been on the ground before, by the way. Did you consider any of that before you invaded my home, or did you just care about your own power?" 

"Riverly, let the guards take him out," Dreea interrupted, not tolerating seeing her friend taking any more of Wynn's spite. 

"It's okay," Sol answered. "I can deal with him myself. Guards - you can leave." 

The cluster of guards hesitated for a moment before all backing down and eventually vacating the room, leaving just Wynn, Sol, and the other two upcoming Sovereigns. 

"Dreea, Kodiak, can you guys give us a minute?" Sol asked, not breaking her eyes away from Wynn. 

He watched, a little uncomfortable at Sol's persistent stare on him, as Dreea and the boy - who he now knew to be Kodiak - left the room. 

"I didn't want to say this to you in front of a crowd, but you need to tone down your expectations." 

"What?" Wynn felt his chest twinge already, even without knowing what she was implying. 

"About your family," Sol said. "I'm sorry about what happened to you brother out there, but there's a high likelihood that the same happened to the rest of the people from your Bunker. I can't guarantee either way, but you need to prepare yourself for that being the outcome. I know you have a younger brother who's here at camp; perhaps you need to accept the reality so that you can be there for him." 

Taking a step backwards, Wynn couldn't contain the bitterness emerging out of him. "Don't talk to me about Quill," he said. "Not when you're the reason he may have lost everything else. I just want to get him and the rest of us back with our family, and you said the only way I can try is by making sure I'm trained enough to leave camp, but you won't train me." 

"It would take years to get you anywhere close to being safe out there. You see all those guards that just followed you in here? Guess how long they've been training for." 

"I got past them, didn't I?" 

He was infuriating to her and Sol knew he could tell. "Probably because they know you're not a threat." 

There. Now she was even. 

"I don't get it," Wynn threw his hands up. "If you hate me so much, why do you insist on keeping me here? Why not let me go out there and do whatever I want; wind up dead, for all you care. Why won't you let me go?" He had no clue what his new world needed from him, or who he had to be to find his family but he had a feeling that he couldn't find those answers without Sol; a feeling that felt so wrong and so right at the same time, so much that he nearly despised it. 

"Because I invaded your Bunker for a reason, dumbass. Now you're my responsibility. At least, according to my father, you are." 

Wynn didn't know what to say. He let a few moments pass by and Sol returned her attention back to the punching bag, seeingly fueld by more rage than before, but it wasn't long before he once again interruptted and this time, stepped in front of the bag before she could take another swing. 

"Dammit, Wynn! Could you stop doing that?" 

"I won't stop," Wynn said. "I won't stop pestering you, or forcing my way into the Quarters, or doing what it takes to find my family. You said I'm your responsibility, but my family is mine. So whatever danger you think I'm putting myself in, that's fine. I'm up for it. Just teach me." 

Sol peeled off her boxing gloves and disregarded them at her feet. She breathed out, staring at Wynn with a frown etched deep into her features as she tried to figure him out. 

"You're going to teach me how to fight." 

"I'm going to actually fight you if you don't stop harassing me."  

Wynn held his hands up in surrender, knowing that she probably meant it. He turned his left hand around, still holding it up, hoping she would catch on as he lowered his other hand in front of her. 

Sol's eyes scanned the marking she had made on his skin; her debt. 

"You got me on the ground. Now you have to teach me how to live on it." 

Three // Part One
Wynn had no clue what his new world needed from him.

Ahh, I love how much they annoy each other at the moment, but I don't feel like that's a strong enough word. It's really fun to explore the imbalance in their relationship and how they're both tied to each other at the moment!

13/08/22.