"That's enough."
Ling quoted him, the smile still on her lips, but her silver eyes now looked at him intently.
"If we go any further, we'll run into more beasts and even worse creatures. Stronger ones."
"And is that a problem?" she asked, with a faint provocation in her voice.
"We'll part ways here." Cairen's declaration came.
Ling's smile vanished. Her eyes narrowed, assessing him.
"Part ways? Why? We're doing well together, better than well," she said with slight surprise.
"I was with you because you know the forest much better than I do," he began to explain, his voice calm but with unshakable conviction.
"But now I've gotten used to it. The mist, the smell, the sounds. My spiritual sense has adapted. So I need to spend some time alone."
"If I don't put myself under pressure on my own, if I always have you as the front line to crush any obstacle, I won't learn how to handle real pressure nor understand my own limits."
