Zelo curled up into a ball and breathed slowly. The forest was not friendly to anybody in the night.

"Want some fire?" Chanyeol asked beside him. He extended a hand with a small flame in his palm. 

Zelo shook his head feverently and sidled into the tree behind him. There were traces of his breath lingering in the air. 

"You're shivering like crazy." Chanyeol commented, "Here."

Chanyeol's long limbs collected a cluster of leaves and branches close to the tree. Slowly, he drew some heat from his body and conjured a small steady flame. The leaves crackled as the flames it's dead skin. Zelo wordlessly looked away but his body betrayed him and moved closer.

"Thanks so much for before. I don't think I could've gotten out of there as easily without your help. There were quite a number of them. Your marksmanship is excellent. Where did you learn?"

"My brother taught me." He snapped.

Unfazed, Chanyeol moved closer to the young Matoki. Exposed skin felt the cool Earth and sent tingling shots throughout his lean body. His light grey shirt was already a mess of dirt, holes and burns. 

"Cool. What's your brother's name?"

"Youngguk. He's a captain." Zelo happily replied. For a split second, he had forgotten his distaste for Exotics.

"Captain? Sounds all high and mighty."

Zelo didn't reply anymore. He was angry that he had allowed himself to be put in this situation. He was separated from his crew and stuck with an Exotic. The day was proving to be even more of a drag than when there was nothing to do.

Admittedly, the fight earlier had served it's purpose in exciting him. However, before it could reach a of bullets and beams and fire, the Exotic had dragged him away. Zelo had never run away from a fight before. Especially not one that he purposefully ran into. His dignity was hurt and his patience was wearing thin.

"We're really lucky to have escaped, eh?" Chanyeol said, paying no mind to Zelo's mood. 

"That wasn"t escaping. That was running away. Lucky? More like cowards." Zelo snarled. 

"Woah, I wouldn't call living being cowards." Chanyeol perked an eyebrow at him in amusement. 

"I would've been able to take them on." He grumbled. 

"Guns blazing and all I bet."

"Just because you can't fight, it doesn't mean I can't." Zelo retorted back and abruptly stood.

He was getting angry now. This clueless Exotic is questioning my skill. Me, who graduated a year early and got put into one of the best, absolute, perfect platoons of Matoki. He thought. If there was one thing Zelo hated, it was underestimation.

"Calm down. Nobody said anything about that." Chanyeol began to latch onto the mood, "You're getting worked up over nothing."

"Huh, that's typical." Zelo scoffed and started to walk away from his annoyance. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chanyeol followed without his usual smile.

Zelo ignored his question and delved deeper into the forest. He didn't have the same telepathy as his crew members yet since his ears hadn't developed fully. They were a bright blue colour to start and would turn darker until it was near black, as did every Matoki. There were rare ones that turned lighter till white, like Daehyun. Regardless, he tried to reach his mind out to s and,as much as he hesistated, to his brother. Soft static entered his mind. Nothing.

"-I asked you a question." The deep voice interrupted his thoughts. Chanyeol spun the tall 17 year-old Matoki around and narrowed his wide eyes. 

Zelo shook off his hand and threw him a look of distaste. His automatic night vision clearly outlined Chanyeol's confusion. It stayed true to his expectations- Exotics are clueless. 

"Of course war is nothing for you. You never need to get your own hands dirty and just rely on your hocus pocus. You guys act like you're taking the 'high road' when you're just scared to get hurt. Well, I'm not, so you can just sit on your pretty tricks, kid."

"Kid? I'm older than you." Chanyeol said through gritted teeth, "And you know nothing about how Exotics work."

"I know you have a superiority problem and that sums it all." Zelo stated.

"Superiority problem?"

"Leave it to you guys to forget already."

Chanyeol's expression stayed puzzled as he tried to solve Zelo's words. Zelo glared at him before exploding.

"The War of 24 Years! We asked for back up and how long did it take for the Exotics to show up? Just because we aren't as 'important' as you are!" Zelo yelled in frustration.

"That wasn't the reason." Chanyeol reasoned back, too calmly for Zelo's taste. It was still there; the feeling that he felt Exotics were unstained and perfect. 

"Oh, save your excuses! It took your government months to finally deploy a unit to aid us in the War and what did we get? 6 units. 6 units with 10 Exotics. That's sixty people expected to help us defend against 60000! Don't tell me that wasn't because you guys thought 60 of your oh-so-powerful Exotics would be enough. Do you know how many people died within those months of waiting!"

"That's war. There will always be-"

"My parents DIED in that war!" Zelo screeched.

The words echoed off as they were spoken. It hit the air like a harsh slap of water and stung even more. He didn't care at this point. He had long embraced the fact and used it to train himself. The harsh critics, the sympathetic rumours and fake comforts only fueled his determination to be strong. He would avenge his parents one way or another. He would fight. 

"I'm sorry for your loss." Chanyeol whispered barely audibly.

"I don't need your sympathy. I'm strong. I'm not 5 anymore.  I know what happened. I can take care of myself in a little fight So spare me the speech. I don't need you to protect me." He said quietly. The adrenaline subsided and the lone forest seemed to loom higher above them. 

There was a heavy silence that felt like rain. Zelo could feel his face cooling from the diffusing anger. He matched Chanyeol's height and size but he had much more intensity. Pent up hatred bubbled deep in the pits of his stomach. Unconsciously, he was itching for a fight to happen. He felt like punching something to relieve the knot in his throat. His hand curled around his trigger. He was ready to draw his gun if need be. However, Chanyeol's stare glazed over and turned from offense to pity. Zelo's mind reeled back and he sharply exhaled. This was an unexpected move.

Chanyeol relaxed his shoulders and his furrowed eye brows. He blinked a couple times and slowly breathed to slow down his speeding pulse. He squarely looked at the prickly Matoki and spoke in his gravest voice before walking away. 

"Who are you really talking to right now?"