“Oh I know what they’d do. I’ve been told multiple times how they will summon me back from the seven hells with a blood ritual to murder me themselves for getting myself killed,” Kire muttered. And by ‘they’, it was mostly Janes. She was silent afterward though, the point hitting home. It was rather hypocritical of her to admonish his sulking, given everything that she had done, herself. It seemed that both of them really did have an awful knack for punishing themselves in different yet very parallel ways. 

Her gaze then fell to the hand he had extended to her. She hesitated for a moment, though not for the same reasons she had the first time, her expression hiding that she was surprised that he offered it. Kire nodded and took it, though she was careful not to pull too much, given the state of him. “Gavin’s face was pretty funny when we Shadow-Walked, wasn’t it?” she snickered, right before Ruli took them back near the cavern entrance. 

For his part, Gavin had taken Envy’s suggestions to rest and get used to the place to heart. He only spent a brief time in the caverns themselves for now, having had his fill of caves and being cooped up inside, though he did note that it was very, very different from the blood-stained mines. Though he had been pretending under orders to be a lord’s ward, Gavin would trade all that finery for the simple but homey meal he found in the kitchen. And [i]coffee![/i] He barely had any in Cordon in all his time there. As he ate, he found he couldn’t contain the grin that would randomly break from his face. [i]Free.[/i] So this was what that had felt like. 

He slept well last night, then the next day woke up late, thankful that he hadn’t had any nightmares, and explored the surrounding area. He had vague memories of growing up surrounded by woodland, but this would be the first time he would be able to explore forests. He was still not confident enough to explore too far on his own, so he went back to the caverns to rest. Not once had he taken the dragon knife off his person. When he walked back in, he was just in time to see Ruli and Kire. Her appearance still made his heart jump, but it was a momentary knee-jerk reaction. “There is breakfast,” he said lamely, still not quite sure what he was to them, how they felt about him. 
“You look well,” Kire remarked, then noting the knife at his hip. “Have you eaten?” Gavin nodded. “Alright. I’ll talk to you later today, if you don’t mind.” Gavin shook his head. 

Kire glanced at Ruli, then back at the young man. He seemed to her in turns both someone who had experienced a lot for his age and like a lost child. [i]Breakfast first.[/i]