[center][color=CFD3C6][img]https://i.imgur.com/QxwohJt.png[/img][/color][/center]

[color=CFD3C6]"Uhuh..."[/color] Rurik mumbled almost drunkenly as Bak picked him up and thanked him. He was still processing the fact that he'd somehow survived. Things went very quickly after that. A strange, blood-soaked... girl? Showed up and healed them all. Her body was certainly feminine enough anyway.

Well, he was never one to say no to an easy solution.

He managed to get himself put back down and clenched his formerly injured fist-

[color=CFD3C6]". . . ow."[/color] He clenched his teeth. OK, so it was still kinda sore.

Around then, David offered to teleport them out of there.

[color=CFD3C6]"Great idea. This place sucks,"[/color] Rurik said plainly.

"Not so fast," Alto interrupted.

[color=CFD3C6]"Wait, did he really just say-"[/color]

"One of your... associates tried to kill me. Not only that, you two helped him escape afterwards. I think you should stay..." Alto narrowed his eyes.

[color=CFD3C6]"Are you still hung up on that?"[/color] Rurik's shoulders sagged tiredly. Alto's scowl only deepened in response. Rurik took a step toward the luminous boy, but not before shooting a "look" Dart's way, silently urging him to do whatever it was he did. [color=CFD3C6]"Look, Alto... it's just... have you ever considered that if you weren't such a prick, people wouldn't try to kill you?"[/color]

The audacity of his suggestion actually seemed to give Alto pause, if only to try and comprehend the fact that he'd actually just said that.

"You know very well I did nothing to provoke that."

[color=CFD3C6]"Ehhhh, didn't you though?"[/color] Rurik, however, was committed to the act.

Alto crossed his arms. "I don't have to prove anything to you."

[color=CFD3C6]"I don't know, you [i]are[/i] trying to detain me."[/color]

"Regardless of his motivations, he-" Alto stopped and pinched this bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. His ribs were aching and this was not what he wanted to be dealing with right now.

[color=CFD3C6]"And come to think of it, Vittorio is the only one who tried to kill you and he's not here. We however saved you, so even if we were guilty, which is still up for debate, aren't we even now?[/color]

"That's... not... how that works." Alto spoke slowly, trying not to lose his cool.

[color=CFD3C6]"Come on, all's well that ends well, right?"[/color] Rurik threw on an exaggerated smile.

"He has a point. We were all allies in the end, weren't we?" King spoke up. "And you can hardly blame them for trying to save their comrade."

"Please stay out of this," a now very tight lipped Alto responded.

Rurik, thankful for the extra distraction, was really hoping that Dart was about ready to go by now. He was running out of ways to be annoying.

Well, not really, but there was no way Alto would let him keep this up for much longer.