October 18, 1999 — Outskirts of Eva — Zone 47

  "Dad, did mom already leave?" Sarah, who just woke up, arrives in the kitchen still with her eyes narrowed with sleep.

  "Yes! She has a meeting at the guild and then an important excavation." Júlio is sitting with his legs crossed, wearing a white robe and reading a newspaper while drinking coffee.

  "So can you sign this authorization for me?" She places a long sheet of paper horizontally on the table for him and sits on a chair to accompany him with the coffee.

  After leaving the newspaper and the cup on the table, he takes the paper and begins to read it silently. Meanwhile, Sarah, who is sitting with one leg folded, rolls up one of the sleeves of her long gray shirt and prepares to start filling a cup for herself.

  "You were selected for a special test?"

  "From what I understood, since my grades are very good, the hunters guild selected me to accompany one of their internal evaluations as part of the school's practical test." She pauses her speech to blow over the coffee and then speaks again. "Bernardo is going too, so I ended up accepting."

  "Your mother told me that you are undecided about which path to take." He leaves the paper on the table and picks up the cup again to drink a little more.

  First she pouts to the side with her mouth and then answers.

  "You know, I don't feel attracted to these guild things." She lets the words come out and mix with the steam that comes from the cup and gets lost in the environment slightly illuminated by the light of the star king that enters through a window.

  "And what attracts you?" Now he holds the cup with both hands and looks at her directly.

  She drinks a little coffee first, takes a deep sigh while looking at the light wood of the rounded table and then turns her gaze to him.

  "I like to live the moment! What will happen? I don't know! I just want to be alive here and now." She diverts her gaze from him to the window and to the wall outside where the owl usually lands. "Maybe I will like some guild in the future, or not, I will only know when the time comes."

  Júlio gets lost in thoughts for a moment while looking at her messy black hair.

  "When the time comes, make sure to choose something that pushes you forward. Don't forget that this world is cruel, and you have potential to stand out in whatever you choose. Rejecting that would be a waste." He first speaks while looking at her, but soon goes looking for his newspaper while sitting sideways in the chair again. "Get me a pencil."

  She observes him for a few moments after he has already finished speaking, then stands up and takes a pencil that stays on the table in the living room and returns handing it to him. Already with free hands and sitting again, she picks up the cup again now already warmer and drinks everything at once, which makes her open her eyes wide.

  "Here it is!" He extends his hand to deliver the signed paper. "Hurry up or you will be late." Júlio releases the words into the air while already returning to read the newspaper.

  Sarah turns to a wall that has a clock hanging and definitively wakes up when she sees that she is a few minutes late from her normal routine. Then she stands up and runs down the corridor with steps so heavy that it draws a slight laugh from Júlio.

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  Not even ten minutes pass and she is already leaving through the living room door after shouting a rushed goodbye to her father. Wearing the school uniform, but the male version, she grabs the bicycle and begins to accelerate as if she were in a race.

  A few minutes after she has left, Júlio goes to the living room and picks up the telephone, then dials some numbers and waits a little.

  "Yes, it's me! I have a request." He pauses his speech for a few seconds to listen and then continues. "It's about the goods, I need you to take a certain care with one of them."

  The conversation continues for a few minutes, then he returns to the kitchen and to his newspaper.

  At school

  Sarah arrived right when the bell rings, there is almost no one left in the courtyard, so she heads to the principal's office and delivers the paper with the signature and goes to the classroom. After apologizing for the delay, she enters and upon seeing Marcela, makes a grimace while approaching the desk. Immediately after sitting she feels a light slap on the back of her neck, when she throws a look over her shoulder to her friend, she sees her with a silly smile on her face and cannot resist and smiles too.

  The classes pass and soon the end of the school day arrives, but Sarah is called for a meeting with Bernardo and the other students who will take the special test of the hunters guild.

  "Now that you are all here, I want to introduce Miriane, she will accompany us tomorrow in the observation." Miguel finishes his speech looking at his guild companion.

  "Nice to meet you!" She waves her hand with a gentle smile on her face. "As he said, I will accompany you tomorrow. I hope you can take advantage of this experience to understand what you will find ahead if you really want to become hunters."

  "Since you are the ones who had the best grades in the year in the practices, you will not need to go through a traditional evaluation. But do not be mistaken, you will still be evaluated by me and by her all the time. It is also worth noting that, even being only a distant observation, you will still need to choose some equipment to use, it will be made available by the guild." He pauses his speech and looks at each of them who observe him attentively. "Be prepared and attentive at all times, you never know when something may happen."

  "Teacher!" Bernardo raises his hand.

  "Go ahead!" Miguel and the others turn their attention to him.

  "Is there a real possibility that we will have to use them?"

  "Yes! We will accompany a Neophyte, he will hunt a wild boar that has been causing damage in the plantations of a village north of the great forest. It is a very calm region in general, but there is always the possibility that we will be attacked, or need to act in some situation." Miguel finishes explaining while already standing up.

  "Just emphasizing, there is still time to rethink. If you do not appear tomorrow morning at the guild, we will consider it as withdrawal, of course this will cause exclusion from the internship program. But after you graduate you will still be able to join the guild like anyone." Miriane also leaves her remarks while already standing.

  "Well! That's it, you are dismissed, see you tomorrow!" Miguel releases them with his gaze turned to the closed door.

  After everyone has left the room, Miguel and Miriane are sitting facing each other drinking coffee in rustic wooden cups.

  "What was that?" Miriane asks while looking attentively at him.

  "You managed to notice?"

  "Who do you think I am?" She diverts her gaze to the door and then returns it to the mug and the little coffee that is still inside it. "The moment she stepped into the room, she not only observed every corner of the place but probably mapped it completely. I also felt like I was being watched by a predator."

  "In the first practical test I applied to her, while I was explaining the rules, I felt exactly like that." He gets lost with his gaze turned to the mug on the small table between them. "Most people don't notice, but she already has a very imposing aura."

  "That girl is already far above the level of a Neophyte, or Trailblazer." Miriane takes the opportunity to finish what remained of the coffee in the mug and sigh a little.

  "I would say she is already at sentinel level, and ready to take the evaluation for shadow hunter." He laughs for a moment and lets his body relax back on the sofa.

  "Her name is Sarah correct?" Miriane observes him nod positively. "How can someone of that age be at such a superior level? Are you sure she did not go through any awakening as well?"

  "As far as I know, she is a girl with a normal life, without traumas or anything like that." He explains his thoughts while looking at her. "I have never seen her parents to know if it is something from the family, but I heard that her mother is part of the archaeologists guild."

  "In any case, she has potential! She would be a great reinforcement for the guild." Miriane begins to stand up while finishing speaking. "I will get going, I need to apply a theoretical test at my school."

  "Good work, and see you tomorrow." Miguel says goodbye to her while still sitting and thoughtful.