I find the two on top of a nearby hill. They both appear to be looking absently in the direction of the monster camp and casually shooting the shit. I breathe a quiet sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted to do was interrupt whatever idiotic emotions were certainly flying around while they reforged their friendship. Maybe Dean has been a loner forever and Rav being his first friend was a big deal, maybe it’s something else, I don’t know or care. I’ve taken exactly as many rage induced punches as I wanted. Part of me envies their bromance, but I’m pretty sure Rav would die for me anyway, so I can’t complain too much.

“I guess I’ll forgive you guys for sitting out on my meeting. I’ll have you know, it was riveting. I talked a lot.”

Dean awkwardly raises his hand in quiet greeting, which is leagues better than the usual glare, and Rav nods at me with a smile.

-”My most humble of apologies, my friend. There were urgent matters to attend to.”

I wave him away. “Yeah, yeah. I’m just messing with you. But, I’m still here to make sure you guys know what went down. Basically, we have people building base defences, and people who are going to train and bring in building materials. Tom and Marie are currently on the base defence, and everyone else is on offense. However, we have a problem: we have nowhere near enough people to take on the monster camp, even if we all get a ton stronger. Rav, I’d like you to be our envoy toward the other surviving humans that are strewn about. I’m sure they’d rather link up with us to survive instead of braving the nights as they have been. We can offer them food, safety, and, as soon as Tom gets up and running, equipment. Can you handle it?”

Rav regards my words carefully, thinking silently for a minute. Dean looks… uncertain.

-”I believe I can do that, ye-”

+”He can’t go alone. He’s strong, but he isn’t good enough to take on a pack of Carnine alone, and running away won’t-… sorry, I interrupted you there.” He starts to trail off, looking abashed.

-”It is of no issue; what you say is true. Though I could likely deal with any enemy attack if I spotted it far enough in advance, I have little recourse when it comes to retreat or close range combat.”

Dean looks straight at me. +”I’ll go with him.” He isn’t asking.

Ah, crap. I wanted him as part of the offense… but they’re right. Better to have Rav protected, and Dean will get combat experience defending him. Hopefully they’ll be able to round up a sizable number of people in a matter of days.

My turmoil must have shown on my face, because Dean’s eyes start to narrow slightly, as if daring me to tell him not to go.

“That’s… a good idea. Try to move as fast as you can while staying safe, and try to make it back to The Barrows every night. If you don’t return, we won’t know if you’re in trouble or safe somewhere else.”

Dean visibly relaxes at my words. I’m not interested in riling him back up so fast.

-”What does Nate think about this?” ...Fffffuuck.

“I haven’t seen him today. It seems unlike him to go off like that... Maybe he went to recruit on his own?”

Rav looks slightly fearful, and Dean shares the expression.

+”Let’s head out now, then. Maybe we’ll be able to find him.”

-”Our recruiting efforts would be dramatically bolstered with his assistance. Be safe, my friend, we will return by sundown.”

I really hope they bought my poker face.

“Good luck, and don’t die. Either of you.”

They started to leave, before Rav stopped suddenly and turned back. -”Oh, I had nearly forgotten. Here.” A small, bound booklet appears in his hand, extended towards me.

-”This contains some basic information on the runes that create magic. I finished memorizing it this morning. I hope it can be of some value to you.”

I look at the booklet, awestruck. Oh hell yes. Normally, studying is terrible, but studying in anticipation of magic? No problem.

“Thank-” They’re already gone, out of earshot, and I feel no need to shout after them.

---

He wasn’t such a bad guy. Anthony had his flaws, but… most people left when Dean got too close, and he had been afraid.

Just like everyone else, Dean couldn’t remember the specifics of the time before this hell had started, but he knew he hadn’t had many friends, and those he had been fortunate enough to find, he soon drove away. It wasn’t on purpose… he didn’t like people leaving, he just wanted someone else to care for him as much as he did for them. They all had other friends… they spared him a reasonable fraction of their time, but it was never enough. He would push for more, and he’d always push too hard. Then they would leave. He’d call, and they’d ignore it. He’d see posts on social media about them having fun after they’d told him they were too busy to hang out.

It hurt. The deep dread that would permeate his being, weighing him down… he couldn’t shake it on his own, so he would distract himself with a pain he could control.

He would go to the gym.

The dull, repetitive patterns, lifting, pushing, whatever. It was hypnotizing, and the searing pain from his muscles kept him from thinking too hard. Afterwards, he would be too tired to think, so he could pass out. The pain dread always came back in the morning, but… he did what he could. And he kept trying. He kept failing.

Until Rav. Dean had met Rav in the midst of the chaos of the first day. They had both responded to Nate’s rallying cry, along with many others who didn’t end up making it, and Dean had fended off the close attacks while Rav had weakened enemies at a range. They had been a team. A damn good one, at that. But Dean had messed up. He had strayed too far from Rav without even realizing it, and it wasn’t until his anguished cries snapped Dean out of his battle frenzy that he realized the cost of his actions.

Rav’s hand.

Dean had vowed never to forgive himself for his failure. Someone had finally trusted him with their life, and he had let him get hurt. Badly hurt. He wanted to make it up to Rav by keeping him safe, no matter what, and looking after everything he needed. Dean had stayed by his side, or nearby, ever since the accident. He was going to fulfill his obligation, and do his best to fix his error.

And then Anthony had come, waved his hand, and fixed it.

Dean grimaced. Ok, not like it was nothing, but he had fixed Rav’s hand. He had succeeded where Dean had been powerless. He had fulfilled Dean’s obligation.

His heart stilled roared in fury at the memory, but he knew he should be grateful. Knowing that, however, only made him more angry. Dean knew he was in the wrong.

He wished the others hadn’t watched. It was shameful for him to show such raw emotion to so many… and he didn’t really trust any of them. He feared how Nate’s opinion of him would change when he learned…

It didn’t matter, but it did. He couldn’t be mad at Anthony anymore, but he was. Dean felt like a walking contradiction, and he didn’t like it at all. Jogging with Rav was helping. He wanted to push harder, but he didn’t want Rav to feel like a burden, so he let Rav set the pace. It was slow, and that was fine. Dean smiled, but it didn’t reflect his feelings. He didn’t know a good face for ‘tangled up inside’. Anthony had given him what he wanted: a real apology and a chance to hit him. Anthony had also beaten him in a sword fight. How? How?! He had been useless only days ago, having mentioned nearly succumbing to rats! Then he went out and found a dungeon, and suddenly he’s comparable to Dean? His form was… poor, but that was to be expected. He claimed not to have the ‘Greatsword Proficiency’ skill, which… really bothered Dean. Dean was level five in that skill, and he’d lost to a weaker opponent in a duel? Dean believed Anthony had cheated, but he had no idea how a healer could have done that. Dean hadn’t been afflicted with status effects, and any mid-fight healing should have just prolonged the inevitable, but Anthony had gotten stronger as the fight went on! It was impossible. Absurd. And yet, it had happened.

He supposed he owed Anthony a bit of respect for winning. He supposed, maybe a bit more for not beating him to a bloody pulp after he-

Dean tripped slightly, and he frowned deeply. Rav took no notice.

-After his cheap shot. He’d attacked an opponent who had bested him and thrown down his weapon. He wasn’t proud of that. It hurt worse that Anthony didn’t get him back for it, not really.

Dean didn’t like feeling this way, but he firmly believed that spending some time with his best friend would make things better, and if they managed to get some people to join, he’d call it even.

At that, he almost smiled a real smile.