The Omaros East Clinic was a quaint place, its waiting room small, carpeted, with walls of warm-colored wood and matching chairs. And it was where Dubhan had waited for the past several hours, well into the late night. Belle rested her head on his lap, purring as Dubhan scratched behind her ears.

Dubhan was grateful for the company, and had otherwise been staring out into the dark street outside through the window most of this time. Periodically, he looked at the closed door on the other side of the room that led into the rest of the building. At times, the clinic was busy. Despite the term ‘clinic,’ the building and staff were fully prepared to act more as an emergency hospital given its location near the eastern side of Omaros and, thus, closer to the labyrinth.

Tonight, however, it was quiet. Dubhan was alone in the waiting room. He admitted to himself that less people in need of emergency care was a good thing, but it left him with far more silence than he would have preferred at the moment.

“I was supposed to keep him safe,” Dubhan said softly to the purring and oblivious saber tooth.

The door opened, revealing the hallway beyond and Rena. Dubhan lifted Belle’s head up from his lap and stood from his seat. “How is he?”

“He’ll be alright—“

The moment he heard those words, Dubhan asked, “Can I see him?”

Rena nodded. “He is awake right now, but he’ll need to rest so it’s better if it’s a short visit right now. Is that alright?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Rena led Dubhan towards one of the doors in the back of the clinic. “It was nice of you to stay.”

“Well, I could hardly just leave him…”

Rena opened the door, letting Dubhan into the small room and waiting outside herself. The roo was simple, with one cot and a bedside table, a chair across the room. Allouet lay in the cot, pale and too weak to sit up, one arm bandaged where the rafflesia had grabbed him, but he gave a small smile when he saw Dubhan.

“A-Allouet!” Dubhan raised his voice more than he’d meant to in his relief to see his friend even alive in the first place, rushing to the bedside. “Are you alright? How are you feeling?”

“I’m… I’m alright, Dubhan,” Allouet said, his voice quiet and raw.

Dubhan pulled the chair up to the cot to sit beside Allouet.

“I’m sorry that I… That I wasn’t able to be of more help…”

“What?” Dubhan shook his head. “Allouet, no, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the idiot that decided poisonous, freezing, plant monsters covered in thorns and teeth were a reasonable step up from woodflies and finding lost cats.”

“It was better than the furyhorn.” Allouet offered another smile with that comment as if he already sensed Dubhan’s thoughts over the whole thing. Dubhan appreciated that, but it only did so much to help.

“I’m… the one that failed you. I was supposed to protect you from that sort of thing, especially when it’s my idea to do something stupid. You said I was reliable, but…” Dubhan hesitated, but forced himself to say the rest. “I understand if you’d rather join a more capable guild. In fact, you probably should. There’s plenty of guilds in the city who actually know what they’re doing and won’t let things like this happen, and I won’t try to stop you.”

“Dubhan?” Allouet tried to push himself up in the bed before breaking into a coughing fit.

“Hey, hey, easy.” Dubhan placed a hand against Allouet’s shoulder and helped him up. “Easy, just… just breathe, alright?”

After a few moments, once Allouet’s coughing subsided, he returned a stern look to Dubhan. “I don’t want to hear that from you.”

“What—“

“I agreed… I agreed to join your guild by my own choice. Because I respect you, and I know I can trust you. I am fully aware of the labyrinth’s risks.”

“Well… I know that, Allouet, but—“

“You have your reasons for forming your own guild, do you not?”

Dubhan lowered his gaze to the floor. He wanted to answer that… but he failed to bring himself to.

“I do not need you to explain yourself. You can do so when you’re comfortable,” Allouet said. “But I do not want you to give up on this guild. And… And I do not want to give up on it either.”

“You’re sure?” Dubhan asked.

“Certain.” Allouet took a moment to catch his breath. He then reached out and ruffled a hand through Dubhan’s hair.

Dubhan leaned back out of Allouet’s reach, though he couldn’t help but laugh. “Hey, quit it, what are you doing?”

Allouet smirked. “Much better. It’s strange not to see a smile on your face. So long as I have a say in the matter, I intend to remain a part of your guild.”

Dubhan crossed his arms and sighed. “Fine, I get it. If you’re serious about this, I won’t stop you. I… Thanks, Allouet.”

“Of course, Dubhan.” Allouet looked around the room. “Now that I think of it, it’s also odd to see you without your scythe… Though I suppose that would be unfitting to bring into a clinic, wouldn’t it?”

“Wha—huh? Uh… Yeah! Yeah, exactly, so I, uh, it’s not with me right now, no.” In reality, Dubhan had completely forgotten he’d left his scythe on the ground in his hurry to rush Allouet out of the labyrinth. But, if he said that, he’d also be admitting the two of them were basically left without a proper defense on the trip back, so… He decided it was best not to bring that part up at the moment. “Anyway… I’m not supposed to stick around too long so you can sleep…”

“Oh…” Allouet nodded, though his face fell with disappointment. “You’re going to leave me here alone and bored?”

“Doctor’s orders,” Dubhan said with a shrug. “I can bring you a book tomorrow if you want. Hopefully you won’t have to stick around here too long, though.”

“I certainly hope not, but make it two, just in case. I tend to read quickly.”

“Gotcha.” Dubhan stood and made his way for the door. “Night, Allouet.”