"Theo," Rainier hisses.

He doesn't look back, so she trails after him. "Theo," she calls again, more urgently.

This time, he pauses and turns around. He's–closed off, like he was when they first met, like he still is around anyone who isn't her. There's a dangerous edge in his sickly yellow eyes, but he doesn't stop her as she steps towards him and puts her hands on his shoulders. He doesn't reply either. All he does is stare.

Rainier stares back, searching for the right words. Finally, she asks, "Why do you think I stayed with you?"

"You needed me," he says coldly. "I kept you alive. Else, you would have finished turning."

She chuckles. The sound is tinged with desperation and a hint of anger. "You wanna know what I learned? That night they tossed me in that dungeon and locked you in the tower?" Without waiting for a response, she continues sharply, "I didn't finish turning. I don't think I ever will. Whatever you did to me, it's permanent."

Theo flinches like he's been punched. "You... It was still beneficial to travel with me. I can do things that you can't."

Rainier huffs out something between a laugh and a sigh. "Christ's sake, Theo. Of course it was beneficial. To have someone I trusted watching my back, helping me out. To be able to confide in someone and know that he wouldn't use it against me."

He clearly isn't picking up what she's putting down. That's alright. She softens her voice as she tells him, "We were friends. Still are."

She only has a moment to catch the tears gathering in Theo's eyes before he rips himself from her grasp, sprinting off into the darkness.