Chapter 57 Pity thanks

Chapter 57 Pity thanks

The air was tainted with the smell of burnt flesh as charred particles fell like snow flakes. Rylan laid unconscious, inches away from the damage he had inflicted unto the forest while Dravy had landed a few meters away, he would have been dead if he hadn't protected himself with Arkana at the very last second and even with that, the bones in both his hands had broken due to the sheer force of impact, the concussion sustained dizzied him but even with the mind numbing pain of his injuries he still dragged himself to where Rylan was laying.

He stared at Rylan's face for a few seconds, eyes close and gentle breaths leaving him, no noticeable bruises but Dravy could feel it, his presence had diminished to a level where by even though he was right in front of him, he still couldn't feel it, most likely the effect of using the Mothlight for that long, he was utterly and completely drained. Dravy pushed himself up, pain shooting through him as he lifted himself with his broken arm. "We did it." He said weakly, "You did i—" his words slurred and vision went black.

The second Maerik had received the notification, he'd given the order for the rest of the players to head back to the cabin then proceeded to sprint towards where he'd sensed the surge of Arkana from and found both Dravy and Rylan laying unconscious on the ground, panic erupted within him as he ran to them and crouched to their level, he placed a finger to both their neck to check their pulses and immediately exhaled with relief.

“Thank God.” He whispered quietly before standing up, he picked up their limp bodies gently and slung them over his shoulders as he began to run back to regroup with them. Eyes darting around cautiously for any beast that may have been lurking in the shadows cast by the trees or waiting to ambush now that he was no longer on his guard, but there were none, the forest had returned to its former state, no longer overwhelmed by the presence of blood thirty beast, Maerik turned back to look at the damage that had been caused by Rylan and something akin to fear with a mix of relief swept over him.

“Thank God you're on my side.” He said quietly.

Dravy opened his eyes to the familiar view of the cabins ceiling, a groan escaped him as he tried to stretch his sore limbs but stopped once he felt the pain shoot through him with unnerving intensity, he winced and retracted back onto the bed he'd been placed on, only now did he notice the bandages that had been wrapped around the majority of his body, he looked around the room and his eyes landed on Sandra as she looked out the window with a smile across her face.

“Sandy.” He called out weakly and she immediately snapped to him with a worried look on her face.

“D.” She squealed as she rushed to his side and hugged him, his pain filled groan escaped him and she immediately released him and pulled back. “Sorry, how're you feeling?”

“Like I was hit by a car.” He groaned. “Can I get some painkillers or something to numb this fucking pain.”

“I'm afraid not. Any more painkillers will do more harm than good.” She replied softly as she brushed away a stray strand of hair away from his face. “I'm sorry. Ok, I'll be right back. I need to go check on something. Will you be ok on your own?”

Dravy sighed weakly before turning to her and answering. “Yeah, Thanks sandy.”

“You're welcome.” She replied as she began to walk towards the door.

“How's Rylan?” The sudden question forced her to halt and turn back to him, her eyes veiled with worry but she forced a smile onto her lips.

“He's resting.” She replied vaguely then walked out and shut the door behind her.
Alone in the room he let out a breath, there was something she was obviously not telling him but he could do nothing about it, he couldn't even move from this godforsaken bed so he decided to close his eyes and at the very least try to rest but immediately his eyelids shut the flashes of him running through that path filled his mind, his heart beat sky rocketed as he thought back to the crocodile like beast jumping out, its jaws wide enough to consume him with a single bite then it all cleared as he remembered Rylan, the glow in those eyes as they hovered in the air watching everything else, the way his presence had shifted, Dravy didn't want to admit it, since their first meeting he'd wondered what it was that Maerik had seen in him to make him think Rylan was so important but now that he'd seen it with his own eyes, he wanted to reject it. He lifted up his hands, ignoring the tingling pain as he stared at the fabric wrapped around it, a thought formed.

“I need to be better. I need to be better than him.”
A click sounded and the door opened, Maerik walked in with an emphatic look on his face.

“How're you doing?” The question was soft.

“I'm good sir.” Dravy replied as he tried to push himself up so they could at least be at eye level but Maerik put a firm hand on his chest and stopped him.

“Don't stress yourself. I need you in top shape as soon as physically possible and for that to happen you need to rest and not overexert yourself.”

“Ohk sir.” He rested back and turned away, silence fell over them with the only sound being their gentle breaths until Maerik spoke.

“Thank you, for risking your life for the squad.”

Dravy shifted slightly before slowly turning to face him. “I didn't do it for accolades, I did it cause every single one of them would have done the same.”

A smile curved Maerik's lips as he nodded. “But—”

“And I didn't do anything.” Dravy interrupted. “All I did was run, Rylan was the one who did everything, so you should be having this conversation with him, not me.”

“Yiu running was an intricate part of the plan, it wouldn't have worked without you.”

Dravy's volume increased. “The plan didn't work, I fucked it up and Rylan bailed me out. I didn't do shit, all I was, was a fucking burden, so go have this conversation with him not me. I do not need your pity thanks sir.”

Maerik nodded quietly then stood to his feet and began to walk out but he stopped at the door and with his back turned to Dravy he began to talk. “We all had our backs to the wall, not me, not Yennifer, not a single one of us knew a way out of the situation we were in. Regardless of the outcome, you put your life on the line for us and for that, I give you love.”
The click of the door closing sounded and once again he'd been left alone in the room, he had no words as he covered his eyes to mask the tears that streamed down the side of his face.