The room was silent as Ryke walked in. Drisnae sat quietly to the side. Maximus and Caius both conversed in the corner. Kievra and Ofrir cleaned and managed their weapons. Only Lycus and Ravi were missing. While everyone’s eyes landed on him, his own landed on the doorway obscured by curtains; emanating a thick smell of medicinal herbs and alcohol.

Caius did his best to smile and approached Ryke, hugging the boy tight; a sentiment he returned. They had only known each other for half a year but they had built a blooming friendship in that time, something reinforced by life and death. Not only Caius, but the lack of any single one of them would be felt deeply. He still saw the vague phantom of Sol from the corner of his eyes sometimes. Smiling brightly only to be pierced through and turned into a bloody mist.

After a few moments, the hug calmed his anxiety and he went throughout the room. Maximus and Ofrir received a hug each, Kievra a firm nod. Drisnae was offered a hug, but Ryke didn’t want to force anything in her state and left her be. Finally, when his nerves were calmed, he looked back at Caius expectantly. Ryke didn’t want to enter that room without some expectation of what he’d see. The look Caius returned was not one he enjoyed.

“How is he?”

“The Augur came in and stabilised his wounds. Healing isn’t restoration, though.”

“Restoration.”

“His arm. It’s..”

Ryke felt his heart drop, even the circular shape beneath his Aurelius Flame grew unsteady briefly and his face paled. Yet, the boy did his best to keep a calm face. Caius knew better, saw the way his eyes changed, but no one said a word.

“How?”

“While we were leaving, he ‘convinced’ us all that you were dead. At some point.. He left without any of us knowing. I don’t even know how he did it. He was running with us and then he just silently disappeared. A few hours later, we found him rushing out of the Mist with you over his shoulder. His arm was already gone.”

“.. and Ravi?”

Ryke asked, trying his best to muster up some urgency so as to appear he cared about the twin’s disappearance; though he could hardly even convince himself of that. It was obvious what he prioritised. The rest could only be thankful he even tried. Drisnae didn’t seem to notice, simply speaking her mind when her brother was mentioned. Her voice was devoid of emotion and her eyes lightless like a husk.

“As we returned to the camp, we heard a boom from the den’s entrance. Ravi was worried about you all so he convinced me to return.. We met a devil there. I ran to camp while he lured it away.”

For us.. Ryke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Knowing that made him feel shitty, but it also allowed his heart to open up a little and worry about his other companion instead. Hopefully he was still alive. Somehow. Somewhere.

“Are you injured?”

“Me? No-

“Just really, really fucking angry.”

----------------------------------------

Ryke stood next to the bed, calmly looking at the boy lying within the covers. His long brown hair often tied back was left to freely hang down and his eyes were shut and Lycus’ bronze skin took on an unnatural pale that he assumed was from blood loss. His torso was covered in bite marks, scratches and bruises that seemed weeks old but he knew from Caius they were merely a day old. Silently thanking Ikeros in his heart, his golden eyes finally fell on the empty space where the boy’s right arm used to be.

“He’s going to wake up, right?” Caius stood next to the doorway and nodded. “Soon.”

“Soon?”

“Ikeros said by the end of the night. Most likely earlier.”

“.. I’ll wait then.”

Hours passed by and only Ofrir remained in the room with Ryke, a sight that confused him a little. He had never noticed a friendship between the two but that didn’t make him doubt his motives. He was not all-seeing. If anything, that just proved he wasn’t paying enough attention to his friend. His friends. Eventually an effort to make small-talk was made.

Apparently the duo had bonded during training. Lycus first wanted help with the spear but, upon Ofrir’s insistence, switched to a sword. The two would spar often whenever Ryke wasn’t around and had even taken to taking their days off together- whereas Ryke always trained no matter how free he was. The conversation led him to appreciating Ofrir more but it reminded him twice more just how negligent he had been before they descended into Aenebra.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Did.. you really toss him into a well?”

Ryke smiled wryly and rubbed the back of his head, avoiding Ofrir’s curious gaze as he tried to figure out how to spin the story. Eventually he decided to just tell the truth.

“It’s how we met, yes.”

“How you met?”

“Lycus was a rather spoiled brat when we were kids and, well, I didn’t take much kindly to it so..”

“So you almost drowned him.”

“I pulled him out!”

“Almost drowned him.”

“He could swim by the third time..”

“And you became friends how?”

“Well, our fathers met to discuss it and forced us to make up. I apologised for using brute force and he apologised for thinking he was better because he was ‘well off’. After that, we kinda just rubbed off on eachother..

“I became more of a brute and he became more of a gentleman.” A familiar voice rang out, prompting both Ryke and Ofrir to shoot up out of their seats and look at the source. They saw Lycus spitting out his own hair and doing his best to pull it out of his mouth with one arm.

“Lycus-” Ofrir spoke quietly but was cut off, as Ryke made it clear he had no qualms in rushing towards his injured friend and wrapping him in a bear hug; only releasing the boy after he felt some heavy slaps to his back. The poor victim struggled to breath within Ryke’s arms and had nearly turned blue by the time he was freed.

“Thank the Mother you’re awake..”

“I needed the nap.” Lycus grumbled, only to lower his head at Ryke’s gaze. The young Centurion was clearly not in the mood, Ryke’s voice unusually stern. “Why’d you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Save me?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“You could have died!”

“And you wouldn’t have done the same thing?”

“Yes but I’m-”

“The leader, yes. And?

“It’s not your job to risk your life for mine.”

Lycus shrugged. Ryke stared at him, baffled at the boy’s audacity. He couldn’t win the argument if Lycus simply didn’t argue. Was it even an argument? Should he not be thankful? He was. Maybe he wouldn’t be anything but thankful if it wasn’t for..

“It’s fine. We’re Centurions, remember?” Lycus smiled up at him from his medical bed, waving his hand in front of Ryke’s face. “Sacrifices must be made sometimes. Isn’t that right, Mr. Let Me Stay Behind to Die Alone?”

“I-”

“Almost gave up your life for all of ours. I think an arm is a good trade on my part. Dad would be proud of such a good business deal.” Lycus grinned at him and Ryke grinned back, but he couldn’t help but feel the guilt gnawing away at him from the inside. He couldn’t understand how the other boy was so happy about it. He hadn’t even said anything about the arm.

“Lycus.. Thank you.”

“A thank you! I even got a bonus. I really did make a good trade huh?” Lycus beamed still, looking at the silent Ofrir as if asking for support which he received in the form of a helpless nod. The conversation was even turned back on Ryke as Lycus interrogated him about his injuries, only assured that everything was okay after an hour of explanation. He wasn’t happy that there was permanent sequelae from the Ignar Peonies, but Ryke was overall unaffected both long-term and short-term.

The young boy seemed unaffected completely by the dismemberment other than not wanting to mention how it happened and he even seemed incredibly proud of it, forcing Ryke to thank him several times until he felt like throwing him in another well. If it wasn’t for the fact he was unsure the boy could swim now, he probably would have.

Eventually Ryke and Ofrir left the medical ward when Lycus fell asleep, nodded to each other and went their separate ways. It was good knowing they were such good friends and Ryke felt some relief knowing Lycus had someone else to talk to, though he made a mental note to make time to train with them. He couldn’t keep holing up on his own.

When he returned to his room he was met with another surprise- the Shie were brought back and promptly shoved into his dorm. Fromir sat there quietly like a stone while the multiple cat-like creatures lay huddled around it contently. The Taura was nearly the size of an average tiger and took up as much room as the bed did, and Ryke felt- saw that its vitality had actually begun to match his, equal to a Centurion nearly at the peak of the Ignitio Realm.

Was it because of the Shie? Did it eat something? No one really told Ryke about Fromir beyond that it was a Taura and the stone creature communicated little beyond the small mannerisms and movements that Ryke put a lot of effort into learning. Now his little friend had even caught up to him. He could only smile gently as he cuddled up to the Taura, prompting the cohort of creatures to dart awake and promptly climb onto him. Only Fromir remained seated, just opening its stone eyes and looking at him momentarily. After a nod, it put its head back down to the floor and returned to ‘sleep’. As he was surrounded by the half a dozen tiny lives and his closest companion, the boy relaxed; drifting off to sleep. The sound of the tide grew stronger.