It was with a slight note of conclusion that Abel bid Gren farewell.  “Celibate?”  he murmured to himself as he pulled out his scroll, fiddling with the buttons.  “Musta meant celebrate.”  He briefly considered what party supplies were the object of Gren's solo quest while the scroll booted up for the first time.  If it was alcohol, Abel would have none of it, but if the others felt like the situation warranted inebriation he guessed that he wouldn't stop them.  Not everyone was as straitlaced as he, and the last he had seen both Kuhaku and Sapphire, they had both been on stretchers.  Vague excuses swirled through his head that they might use for drinking—to relax, to forget about the pain.  When the faulty scroll finally sorted itself out, his inner musings vanished, and he stared intently at the tiny screen before scrolling over to the minimap tab and determining in exactly which way the medical ward lay.

A brisk pace and long strides meant that he arrived at the infirmary within thirty minutes.  It was situated separately from the rest of the academy.  The shattered moon was a little ways above the horizon, and the night blew cool and clear.  Beaming down upon everything from above, more so than the moon, was the warm green light after which Abel guessed Beacon was named.  Under normal circumstances, the night would have been young for him, but after the trials of today he was very weary.  After checking up on his teammates, he resolved as he navigated the last few meters to the infirmary, he would head straight back to the dorms to get some sleep.

With only two floors and eight rooms, the medical ward had little to hide from Abel, and he soon approached the single softly-lit room.  There was no sign of any nurses, which Abel decided was good; it meant that Kuhaku and Sapphire were stable, at least, if they were to be unattended.  Voices garbled by the door that separated team SASG revealed that at least one of them was awake.  Feeling familiar enough with those on the inside to not need to stand on ceremony, Abel opened the door somewhat loudly and waltzed right in.

Immediately he froze, suddenly aware of something wrong.  Both of them were standing, and in their hospital gowns they seemed strikingly smaller and less lively than in their clothes, somber-colored as they were.  That was not, however, what put Abel on guard; he could practically feel the tension and unhappiness emanating from them.  Sapphire in particular seemed standoffish, with her arms tucked against her.  In the poor light, the edges of her dark hair seemed blue, and the surprised, uninviting look in her eyes gave Abel the impression that he wasn't wanted here.  Perhaps nobody was.  But to turn around and waltz right back out would make him seem like a coward, and that was something he simply couldn't stomach.

“...hey there,” he managed after a few seconds, breaking the vile, awkward silence.  “Good to, uh, see you guys are okay.”  In fact, they looked quite terrible, but he hoped they knew he meant to reassure them.  He found himself looking at Kuhaku's snowy ears, and forced himself to look at each of his teammates' faces in turn.