Raven woke up with his whole body feeling like it was being cooked alive.
Every part of his body burned quite literally.
"Explain yourself."
He scrambled backwards as quickly as he could, putting space between himself and Reo.
Reo's cool and detached look did little to ease Raven's mind.
"Burn Salve."
Reo said, picking up the jar and tossing it towards him.
'Oh, right. I almost fried myself to death.'
The memory hit him.
He had tried to use Lightning Strike to hit the monster when he got the chance, however, the skill he had been charging up for turned into something more rewarding, but more punishing too. His own lightning fried him.
Raven caught the jar, wincing as he grabbed it.
"What should I do with this?"
"To heal your burns."
Raven studied the jar in silence, suspicion gnawed at him.
"Rub it all over your body, it will heal the burns you have."
Reo explained.
Raven said nothing, he just quietly examined the jar.
After a long minute, he opened it and scooped it onto his metal fingers.
"Should I rub it all over, or swallow?"
Raven asked.
"Rub it all over for the best effect."
Raven wordlessly nodded at Reo's words.
'Do I trust him?'
Reo, the very same person whom he had fought on his first day of work, the very brother of the first person he had beat up in this world, and the very same person that had watched him fight a beast without even bothering to interfere.
And now, as he woke up, the same guy had stuck the salve into his mouth as if he was forcing something else down there.
The answer was quite simple:
No.
'But do I have to trust him?'
He didn't have to trust Reo. He had to trust the product.
Raven rubbed it all over his forearm.
The reaction was immediate. Steam hissed as it rose, the sound was sharp, sounding like water on hot iron.
"...."
"That's how it heals."
Reo explained, his tone flat.
His arm tingled.
It didn't hurt at all as the steam rose.
He stared at his arm for moments. Long moments.
Then, the blackened skin peeled away in flakes of ash, the ruined flesh smoothed over before his eyes.
'It worked.'
The burns that seemed like they were going to stay with him for the rest of his life were gone.
He didn't waste any more time.
Raven quickly found an alley and pulled his clothes off.
He rubbed it all over; his head, shoulder, legs, back and every other part of his body.
The process repeated, white steam, the tingling sensation, then the miracle of fresh skin replacing his charred ruin.
By the time he was done, the jar was nearly empty, but his skin looked untouched.
He wore his scorched clothing and went back up to meet Reo.
"Thank you."
Raven said, tossing the jar over to Reo.
Reo wordlessly caught the jar, then tossed it back to him.
"Take it."
"Thank you."
"What do you expect me to do with an empty jar?"
Raven caught it again, a bit awkwardly, and found out that it didn't fit into what remained of his pockets.
Hence, he had to carry it in his arms.
'How did this thing even survive?'
Raven patted his charred clothes.
'My hair too.'
He didn't know in the least how either survived. He knew that under more normal circumstances, he would be walking up bare for the world to see.
"Standard PRU uniform for rookies aren't very durable."
He explained, noticing Raven staring burnt uniform.
'I was wondering on why it was durable, not why it wasn't.'
"Guess I should be grateful."
Raven muttered.
"Don't be."
Reo turned and began walking away.
He leaped onto the opposite building, landing on it quite easily.
Raven jumped, following him.
"We'll be splitting up to cover more ground during patrols to save more time."
Reo said.
Under normal conditions, hearing such sudden words would have prompted a response from Raven. Like what would he do if he encountered such a beast again.
"Are beasts rare?"
So he did.
According to what he understood by Nyx's words, seeing beasts on patrol should be rare.
But his experience today made him unsure of that.
"....Why are you asking that?" Reo asked. "Are you scared of them now or what?"
"Just curious."
Raven answered honestly.
"They're rare."
'So I thought right, everything was just a coincide.'
The rest of the journey consisted of jumping, scaling high buildings, jumping down from them, and repeat.
Raven understood why he had to jump from building to building since it was a patrol, but considering that he didn't they weren't even looking around.
He would rather much walk back to the PRU headquarters.
Jumping was only so entertaining. For him now, it just felt repetitive.
By the time they reached the PRU building, the tall building that towered over others, it's insignia catching the fading light.
"Head to Ms. Nyx's office to report."
"Where are you going?"
Raven asked his partner.
"Stairs."
Reo gave a thin smirk.
'Stairs, I didn't even know those still existed.'
Clearly his mind had cropped them out of the picture ever since he saw the elevator.
Raven shook his head as he walked into the elevator.
As soon as he stepped in, someone else came in as well.
'Leo.'
'Where did he even come out from?'
He could have sworn that he didn't see the boy at all.
Raven ignored him and tapped the button on the elevator.
"....Sorry."
The voice came breaking the silence.
"It's fine."
Raven replied.
'Like I'd believe you.'
"Just tell me one thing. Your full name is Leonardo, so what's your brother's?"
"...."
"Is it something like Reonardo, or maybe Reogen?"