Their return was greeted by the guards, who questioned them and quickly called for a medic. Lance, the guard on duty, diligently handled the paperwork and reports before directing his focus to assisting the four in need.
They were standing by the gate of the city, with Elfie and Eos being escorted to a healer's tent. The night air was crisp, even though their senses were still dulled by the smell of iron and dust. Raynar and Millie were requested to rest and stay for a bit for questioning, which the two complied with.
Lance, the person in charge of this cleanup, approached Alric, "Great work, boy. The Handler has quite a reputation; even our knights hesitate to clean out her base."
Alric nodded in acknowledgement; anyone would. After fighting someone like that, he realized that just his strength alone won't take him far. With something more surmountable than being a knight, he realized just how weak he truly was.
Lance gave Alric a supportive pat on the shoulder, then turned away to tend to the two civilians himself, showing no interest in engaging with the others.
Alric scanned the area in a haze. Cherry and Eos were nowhere to be seen. They went to a healer to get the Aetheric Beast's Aether out of their system. Raynar seems to be okay with his head injury being mostly healed. He had Millie sitting on top of his lap while he hugged her. For whose comfort that hug was for was far beyond Alric, but both of them needed it.
Elfie was sitting on the edge of the caravan's stairs, staring into the distance. She seemed pensive, her eyes deep like the sky itself. Alric approached her, and she didn't even acknowledge him.
"Elfie."
"Huh?"
She looked up, eyes still distant, and seemed in pain. Hurting Cherry really shook her, despite her exterior. She hugged her free arm, throwing away her gaze from Alric to the side in shame.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, tightening her grip on her sleeve.
Alric was conflicted. On one hand, if not for her, the four of them would probably be wolf chow by now. On the other hand, she hurt Cherry. Bad. Although a part of him thought that the man deserved it, seeing him actually get messed up that badly left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Elfie, listen, accidents happen-"
"They aren't supposed to! Not when it's magic of this caliber-" Elfie snapped.
"Not when I—Not when I'm the one casting them. Destruction is my forte! What would I be if I can't even focus my spells like an amateur?" Elfie's frustration spilled out as she continued lashing out, while Alric simply stood by to listen to his new friend. She truly didn't mean to harm Cherry despite their relationship.
Alric took a seat next to her and also looked up to reminisce, "I've always been stronger than the kids at the orphanage, and one time I hurt one of them when we got a little rough."
Elfie listened closely, nodding and signaling Alric to continue his story, "Even now, I never forgave myself for it, but he did."
"He told me that accidents happen, and with power like mine, it would be a waste if I didn't use it. The nuns also told me I had a responsibility for my gifts, because without it I'd be the same as a mosquito, not a bee."
"Come again?"
"Mosquitoes and bees can both fly; both have that power. But one is hated while the other is loved, do you know why that is?"
"Because one makes honey while the other one is annoying as hell."
Alric nodded, and Elfie let out a laugh. "It's all on how you use it," he finished.
Elfie nodded and got up. She looked to be calmer now. "Thanks." That was all she said before she left Alric on his own.
Alric also got up to check on Millie and Raynar. The two wanted to leave as soon as they got there, but once they were safe, all the adrenaline left their body. Now they're just waiting for Lance to finish questioning.
"Should I tell Fiola you two are okay? She's been worried sick."
Raynar was in thought but shook his head and decided against it, "You've done so much for us already. I'm sorry to Fiola, but I think she can be worried for another 30 minutes," He sheepishly laughed to himself.
"I do feel bad, but I can't impose any more on the four of you. Especially not when I can't give you money. I heard about your debt."
"Ah, that. You don't need to worry about money, we can do it for free-"
"No, you can't," Raynar said in a serious and final tone.
He gently lifted Millie from his lap, stood up, walked over to Alric, and whispered in his ear.
"What?! I couldn't possibly-"
"Yes. You. Could." Raynar accented every word.
"You will. Please, you'd be doing me a favor."
"I understand, I'll tell the others of your generosity!"
"Hahaha! No need to be so modest, visit the shop sometime, I got myself a good spot in the shopping district, Raynar's General Goods!"
The two shared a bit more pleasantries before Lance returned for questioning. Alric bid the two farewell and came to the healer's tent to check on their injured comrades.
"What's up, big guy?" Cherry said with a cast on his right arm.
Eos was still sleeping; his breathing was so still it seemed like he was a corpse. His pale white complexion didn't help either. Cherry noticed Alric staring at Eos, "He's fine. I was freaked too when I saw it, but he's alive."
Alric nodded and sat down at one of the free seats. He glanced at Cherry's shoulder, noting the scar—a mark of his failure. Guilt tightened his jaw. Had he been present, he would have finished his spell. Would that have turned the tide against the Mistress? He would never know. What he does know is that his friend is hurt because of him.
"This wasn't your fault, you know." Cherry consoled. "Another one of our 'friends' did this." He snied.
Alric sighed. There it was. If their relationship was rocky before, now it was in the mud. How does he even begin to explain to him that Elfie didn't mean it? Even if she doesn't, would that be enough for him to accept her apology?
"She doesn't mean it. She's distraught about all this, too."
"Pfft, sure she is. With how much we've been fighting and how high her nose is, I'm pretty sure she enjoyed tearing me to shreds."
"She doesn't." Frustration edging his voice, "Look, nothing I say will get to you, so please just talk to her when this is all done. We all need to settle this, right?"
Cherry shrugged his good shoulder. "Sure, sure, let's see what she has to say about how lousy I was at the fight," he said drily.
"You talked to Raynar? Bet he's not gonna pay us anything, huh? And even if he did, you'd probably refuse it anyway."
Alric exhaled sharply, pride swelling in his chest. "Actually, I got us a caravan!"