The first thing Arlo noticed when he came to was that every inch of his body hurt. The second was someone violently shaking his arm.
"Wake up already, you reckless moron!" Sari's voice rang sharp, though it wavered at the edges.
Arlo groaned, blinking his eyes open. Above him was Sari, glaring down at him with tear-streaked cheeks. She tried to look furious, but her lip trembled. Behind her, Tessa stood with arms crossed, but the rigid pose was betrayed by the way her fingers twisted at her sleeve hem.
Arlo squinted at them. "...Did we win?"
Instead of answering, Sari smacked him in the chest. "That's what you ask?! You almost got yourself squashed into paste! What if you stayed under there, huh? Who's supposed to—" She bit her lip, flustered.
"Supposed to what?" Arlo asked weakly.
Sari's face went red. "Supposed to carry all our stuff, obviously! You think I'm hauling around Tessa's stuff?! No way! You can't just die and leave me to become the pack mule!"
Arlo blinked, then cracked a pained grin. "...So I lived because you don't like heavy lifting. That's touching, really."
"D-Don't twist my words!" Sari stammered, whipping her head away.
Tessa finally stepped forward, voice crisp but shaking ever so slightly. "And you're still technically my assistant. If you died, who would mop the church floors? Who would polish the pews? I certainly don't have time for menial chores."
Arlo tilted his head at her, smirking. "So what you're saying is... you need me alive because otherwise the mop gets lonely."
Tessa's cheeks colored faintly. "D-Don't be absurd. It's simply about efficiency."
"Right," Arlo said. "Efficiency. Totally not because you two were crying over me."
Both girls shot back instantly:
"I was not crying!" Sari barked, wiping her face furiously.
"I had something in my eye," Tessa added stiffly.
Arlo chuckled hoarsely. "Yeah, sure. Dust in the middle of a collapsed dragon lair. Classic."
Sari crossed her arms and huffed. "You're lucky you woke up, or I'd... I'd have—"
"What? Buried me?" Arlo asked.
"No! ...I'd have hired some random villager to drag your corpse around!"
Tessa coughed delicately. "And I would have... reassigned another assistant. Possibly one less clumsy. Though, of course, they would not have understood my preferred mopping technique."
Arlo laughed harder despite the pain in his ribs. "Wow. I feel so valued. I'm basically a glorified broomstick with legs."
"Finally, you understand," Sari muttered, but her voice softened ever so slightly.
"Don't mistake our practicality for affection," Tessa added, kneeling beside him and letting her healing light run across his bruises. "You merely still serve a function."
"Right, right," Arlo said with a smirk. "Two totally cold, uncaring companions... who just so happen to be hovering over me like worried mothers."
Their cheeks flared red again.
"Shut up!" Sari snapped.
"Quiet, or I'll stop healing you," Tessa warned, though her magic didn't falter.
For a long moment, the three of them sat in that uneasy silence, broken only by Arlo's weak laughter.
Finally, Tessa's voice softened. "The dragon... is dead. Thanks to you. Reckless as you are."
Sari sniffed, swiping at her nose. "Yeah. Don't think we're grateful or anything... but you did save our hides. So... thanks. Idiot."
Arlo blinked, then smiled faintly. "...Guess I'm just too charming to kill off, huh?"
Sari groaned. "Ugh, I take it back. Can we put him back under the rocks?"
"Tempting," Tessa murmured, though her hand lingered on Arlo's arm as she finished healing him.
Arlo smirked. "You two are terrible liars."
Both girls turned away in perfect sync, muttering:
"Don't push it."
"Arrogant fool."
Despite the sharp words, Arlo felt something warm spark in his chest. No matter how much they denied it, they cared.
Finally, Tessa straightened. "We still need to locate the heirloom. Focus, both of you."
Sari pointed toward a faint golden glow deeper in the cavern. "Yeah, yeah. Let's grab the shiny thing and get out before this cave buries me again."
With Sari grumbling on one side and Tessa fussing silently on the other, Arlo managed to stand.
And together, the three of them pressed deeper into the ruins—dragging along their bickering, their banter, and their fragile relief that, somehow, they were all still alive.