'Remember guys, watch out for tripwires.' Mitch warned for the fifth time that hour. Jerome just rolled his eyes, falling back to Preston's side.

'He's such a dad,honestly.'

'I know, right?'

'Jerome, don't think I can't hear you. The cave echoes a bunch.'

'Yet you don't deny that I'm right.'

Lachlan smirked at his three friends from the rear, staying close to Vik's side incase anything else happened though. Totally not debating putting his arm around his shoulders or anything. Nope.

'Yo Vik, you alright?'

'Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just glad that I was standing where I was, though, otherwise I would definitely be dead. Sorry if I worried you guys.' The Boralinian muttered, rubbing his arms awkwardly as Mitch led them deeper into the caves. 'I wasn't actually going to say anything-'

'You would have died!'

Biting back a classical Vik Barn response of "yeah, and?" or "your point being?", the keeper nudged his friend and stared forwards. 'Yeah. Bit of a jag move on my half. Sorry.'

'Oi, the only one who's allowed to have self-worth issues here is me.'

'WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?' Preston screamed from the front of the pack, turning so quickly he could have probably snapped his neck while Lachlan winced.

'Right, forgot about that.'

'You come into the caves, disrespect my job- yet again- of being the Pack's lowest man of self esteem? The only job you're allowed to disrespect is Robert's.'

The prince pulled a face. 'I don't have a job, though.'

'Precisely.' He joined the three near the back, grinning and nudging his Candelian friend who seemed confused. 'You alright there, Rob? You've been out of it since the spawner.'

'Oh, yes, I'm fine. My eyes just hurt.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah.'

'Tripwire!' Mitch called. Everyone made sure to step over the practically invisible string, noting by the symbol to the side that it was an acid pit. Definitely not the best way to go out.

The pairs ended up talking amongst themselves, the occasional mob being slain and warning called out, but nothing too interesting. It was almost too dull; and the figure hadn't made another appearance yet, either.

'Wire!'

Maybe Preston was right. It's just the caves, and I'm pretty tired anyway.

'Vik? Vik. Vik!'

'Wha-'

He took another step forwards in a daze, and landed directly ontop of the tripwire. The Boralin froze, eyes widening behind his visor as Lachlan inhaled sharply.

'No. No, no no no.'

'...Guys?'

The ground beneath him began to shake, cracks opening up in the ground around him. It formed a makeshift circle, his eyes flickering to the corresponding symbol - Lava pit. He was going to die.

'I'm gonna die, aren't I?' Rocks fell, the cracks widening to around two feet wide as a tear fell from his eye. 'I-I-'

The separated chunk of rock shuddered, and was a second away from collapsing as he looked down.

'Sorry guys!'

One of the boys shot forwards, onto the circle, and was able to shove Vik off of the platform onto the other side of the caves. He shot a cheeky grin their way, and gave a mock salute.

...

Preston fell, so Vik could live. He didn't scream, didn't even make a sound, he just... Sank into the lava, like one would do when swimming.

Lachlan was the first to snap out of his shock, eyes widening as he made the risky jump to the other side of the hole. 'Vik? C'mon dude, talk to me. You're not dying on us just yet.'

He's a fire keeper. He has an immunity to fire, he'll have one to lava too, right? RIGHT?!

'Preston's dead.'

'Rob, we don't-' Jerome began, but the older keeper turned to glare at the Boralin.

'He's dead, because of, of him.' He spat, clenching his fists and jumping over the chasm before shoving Lachlan away.

'Rob, what the Hell?'

He grabbed the mocha-skinned teenager by the front of his shirt, lifting him up and slamming him into the nearest wall. 'Are you happy now, huh?! You've been planning this all along. I knew we should never have trusted you!'

'R-Rob, I didn't...'

'IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU!'

Lachlan's eyes narrowed, pushing himself up off of the ground and going to pull the two apart until the prince raised a fist. 'If you weren't here, Preston would be alive right now!'

Vik flinched, moving his own hands up in a feeble attempt to protect himself. The demon prodigy growled, dashing forwards and catching the fist before it could do any physical damage.

'Put him down. Now.'

'Why?! He killed Preston, he shouldn't even be-'

'Finish that sentence, I dare you, and I won't feel any remorse for my actions.' His tone was low, and it seemed to kick the prince's moral code into gear as he stepped back. Vik slid down the wall, shakily looking over to Mitch and Jerome as they made their way over.

'Jerome, buddy, get Vik away from them. I'll try and split them up.' The Candelian ordered, weaving his way in between the two while the bacca crouched down.
'Did he hurt you?'
'N-No.'
'Okay. Sorry if this hurts or anything.' Taking ahold of Vik's arms, he pulled the Boralin out and held him upright while he caught his balance.

It is my fault. If I wasn't here, Preston would be okay.
Lachlan tensed up as he heard the thought, the majority of his anger flooding away as he turned his back to the prince. 'Vik, if you weren't here, then at least one of us would have died already.'
If I wasn't here, you'd have a more reliable team mate.
'So what? We're a team, Vik, even if some don't agree with actions of others. That's bound to happen- We all have different views and personalities, it can't be perfect.'
'He's not wrong.' Jerome added. He still had to keep ahold of the keeper, noting how light he felt. Damn this kid needed to eat more.

'Yeah, yeah, "personality", that doesn't change what just happened!' Rob snapped, practically steaming from the ears as Lachlan narrowed his eyes. 'Why did you bother coming along, Vik?! First you hurt Lachlan, now you-'

'Robert, that's enough.' Seto warned. Of course he'd been watching them, incase anything did go wrong. 'You're scaring your teammates, one of which I've had to teleport out because of what the lava was doing. This exercise is over, I'm teleporting everyone back to the castle.'
'Seto! Surely you agree-'
'Enough.' The sorcerer spoke coldly, eyes flashing violet with hostility. 'You and I are going to talk when we get back. Everyone else, head to the lounge or your dorms.'

Lachlan, can you... Nevermind

Go ahead Vik. What do you need?

Would it be okay if I, if you... Can you stay with me today?

Sure. Are you okay to walk?

'Jerome, can I-I go to, go to Lachlan?'
'Oh! Yeah, right. Sorry.' The bacca let go, with Vik taking a few shaky steps before practically collapsing into Lachlan's arms.

'Hey.'

'H-Hi.'

Seto's magic took ahold of the pair, as well as the others, and took them back to the castle. They ended up in one of those protective hug positions, but you try telling me that neither of them minded. Realizing how far away they were, the Astralan smirked and let go for a moment to turn around.

'Get on my back. I'm carrying you.'

'You really don't have to.' Shut up Vik, he's giving you the opportunity so take it!

'It's either that, or I carry you like a damsel in distress.'

I literally don't deserve him as a friend. 'Piggyback's fine, thanks.'

Once situated in the position, Lachlan craned his neck back and muttered, 'Of course you do. Don't think badly about yourself, please.'

Damnit. 'I can't help it.'

'What, too weak to even stand now?' Rob observed sourly, arms crossed as he glared specifically at the keeper. 'Lachlan, I don't like you being around him. You're not safe.'

'Rob, technically I can't die yet, and I'm the only one who can withstand his ability. I'm the safest one here, and I'm not just talking about what Vik can do.' The prodigy began, his tone almost challenging the prince to a fight until Vik moved his head down to his ear.

'Not here, not now. Please don't fight.'

Lachlan hesitated at first, keeping his own glare locked onto the brunet across the room, but decided it wasn't worth it after Vik asked again. 'I'm not dealing with this today. Rob? Grow up.'

Thank you.

If you hadn't been here, things would be different, but I don't want you getting hurt. I can take him.

Don't. I don't want you getting hurt Lachlan.

...Fine. Want to go to our room for a bit?

Yeah, okay.

Lachlan was trying not to shake at how close they were, him being able to feel the warmth from the keeper, but tensed up when he buried his head into the back of Lachlan's neck.

'Are you alright?'

'Mhm. Tired.'

'It'll be good for you to get some rest, honestly. I've noticed you haven't been sleeping well recently.'

Nightmares. Monsters. Other stuff. 'I do get enough- Do you watch me sleep or something?'

'It became a habit of mine to only sleep when my friends were asleep. It made protecting them easier, and it meant there was always someone there if they needed to talk.' He didn't mention that he'd heard the thought, turning the corner that lead to their room and nudging the door open with his foot. 'Think of all the time's I've woken you up obscenely late.'

'Why, though?'

'You... would be panicking in your sleep. Like the dream was affecting you. You sound scared, so I wake you up.'

'Do I say anything?'

You scream. You cry. You beg for them not to kill him. 'Nothing really. You said something about cows in a pen once, but that's about it.'

Vik seemed relieved at this, sliding down onto his bed as the "demon" flopped back onto his own. 'Hey, do you think Preston's okay? Seto did say that the lava was affecting him or something.'

'Hopefully. It was a smart move though, I mean, I was gonna tackle you out before he reminded me that he should be immune to fire damage,' The blond shrugged. 'Besides, he's determined. He should be fine... Or turned back into a mutant.'

'So we might not be able to touch him?'

'Maybe not,but we can hope for the best.'

'Mm...'

The room was silent for a few minutes. The prodigy lifted his head and looked over after a while, smiling softly as he saw the Boralin snuggled up in a bunch of blankets, appearing to be dead asleep with soft puffs of breaths emitting from his mouth.

Cute- Oh, no, not this again. Remember what happened last time.

But look at him! He's adorable. And how you were reacting earlier, feeling him against you-

Shush.

Yeah, if it wasn't obvious; Lachlan was in love. Normally he would tell Rob about it, but what with the recent occurrence and who it involved? Not a chance. He did want to tell someone though,or he'd probably end up blurting it out to Vik.

He wasn't really that close to Mitch or Jerome, though they did have their moments, and Vik and Rob were both off the list for obvious reasons. He wasn't that close to anyone from the other team either, and the only one he really wanted to tell was most likely unconscious at this point.

Might not be.

Good point. Go find him.

Pushing himself from the bed, the Astralan stretched and quietly changed shirts before walking out the door. He took one look back, and smirked, before shutting the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QOTC - How tired are you?
AOTC - Extremely