October 18, 1999 — Outskirts of Eva — Zone 47
"Dad, has mom already left?" Sarah, who woke up recently, arrives in the kitchen still with her eyes narrowed from sleep.
"Yes! She has a meeting at the guild and then an important excavation." Júlio is sitting, 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 horizontally on the table for him and sits in a chair to accompany him at breakfast.
After leaving the newspaper and the cup on the table, he picks up the paper and begins to read mentally. 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 to blow over the coffee and then continues. "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 bit more.
First she makes a pout to the side with her mouth and then answers.
"You know, I do not 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 lit by the light of the king star that enters through a window.
"And what attracts you?" Now he holds the cup with both hands and looks directly at her.
She drinks a bit of coffee first, lets out a deep sigh while looking at the light wood of the rounded table and then turns her gaze back to him.
"I like to live the moment! What is going to happen? I do not know! I just want to be alive here and now."
She turns her gaze 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 thought for a moment while looking at her messy black hair.
"When the time comes, make sure to choose something that pushes you forward. Do not 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 looking at her, but soon reaches for his newspaper while turning sideways in the chair again. "Get me a pencil."
She watches him for a few moments after he has finished speaking, then gets up and takes a pencil that is on the living room table and returns, handing it to him. Now with free hands and sitting again, she picks up the cup that is now warmer and drinks it all at once, which makes her open her eyes wide.
"Here it is!" He extends his hand to hand over the signed paper. "Hurry up or you will be late."
Júlio throws the words into the air already going back to reading the newspaper.
Sarah turns to a wall that has a clock hanging and fully wakes up when she sees that she is a few minutes late in her routine. Then she gets up and runs down the corridor with steps so heavy that it draws a slight laugh from Júlio.
Not even ten minutes have passed and she is already leaving through the front door after shouting a rushed goodbye to her father. Wearing the school uniform, only the male version, she grabs the bicycle and begins to accelerate as if she were in a race.
A few minutes after she leaves, Júlio goes to the living room and picks up the phone, then dials some numbers and waits a bit.
"Yes! It is me! I have a request." He pauses for a few seconds to listen and then continues. "It is about the goods, I need you to take special 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 arrives just as the bell rings. Now there is almost no one left in the courtyard, so she heads to the principal's office to deliver the signed paper and goes to the classroom. After apologizing for the delay, she is allowed to enter, soon she spots Marcela, then makes a face while approaching the desk. Immediately after sitting down, she feels a light slap on the back of her head, when she throws a glance over her shoulder at her friend, she sees her with a silly smile on her face, she cannot resist and smiles as well.
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 Hunters' Guild test.
"Now that you are all here, I want to introduce Miriane, she will accompany us tomorrow in the observation." Miguel finishes speaking while 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 face if you really want to become hunters."
"Since you are the ones who had the best grades in the practical tests, you will not need to go through a traditional evaluation. But do not be fooled, 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 provided by the guild." He pauses and looks at each of them who watch him attentively. "Be prepared and attentive at all times, you never know when something might 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 to the crops of a village to the north of the great forest. It is a very calm region in general, but there is always the possibility of being attacked, or needing to act in some situation." Miguel finishes explaining already standing up.
"Just to emphasize, there is still time to reconsider. If you do not show up tomorrow morning at the guild, we will consider it as withdrawal, of course that will result in exclusion from the internship program. But after you graduate you will still be able to enter the guild like anyone else." Miriane also leaves her remarks already standing.
"Well! That is it, you are dismissed, see you tomorrow!" Miguel releases them with his gaze toward the closed door.
After everyone has left the room, Miguel and Miriane find themselves sitting facing each other and drinking coffee in rustic wooden cups.
"What was that?" Miriane asks, looking at him attentively.
"You managed to notice?"
"Who do you think I am?" She looks away toward the door and then back to the mug and the little coffee 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 explaining the rules, I felt exactly like that." He gets lost with his gaze toward the mug on the small table between them. "Most do not 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 was left of the coffee and sigh a bit.
"I would say she is already at sentinel level, and ready to take the evaluation to become a shadow hunter."
He laughs for a moment and lets his body relax back on the sofa.
"Her name is Sarah, right?" Miriane watches him nod positively. "How can someone that age be at such a higher level? Are you sure she has not gone through an awakening as well?"
"As far as I know, she is a girl with a normal life, without traumas or anything like that." He explains 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."
"Either way, 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 while still seated and thoughtful.