T W O

.: 3rd person's POV:

Blinking, Jay stared at Claude with disbelief written all over her pale features while said male just stared at her, worried that he may have said something to make her look like as if she saw a ghost or something that she shouldn't have seen even if he just told her his name.

- Claude... That's a common name but... Why does he look so familiar? Even his friend, Dexter, looks terribly familiar...! What's happening?! -

"Hey... You sure that you're alright? We can go to the hospital to see if you broke a bone or two..."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Jay only nodded as she didn't trust her voice at the moment.

Dexter crooned as he remained perched on the girl's shoulder, head turning left and right while the other two started walking down the path - except that the raven-haired woman was limping, her other hand cradling her non-dominant one to her chest because of the ache.

- Ugh... Now that he mentions it... I did fall on my left side, crushing my left arm... I hope nothing's REALLY broken... Because that would literally suck -

Too deep into her thoughts, Jay crashed against the male's back with a groan as she rubbed her nose then looking around until her eyes landed on the back of Claude's head.

"Hey... What was that for...?"

When he didn't answer her, the girl peeked from behind to see what made him stop in his tracks only to muffle a squeak when she saw what it was.

- Is that... Is that a golem...?! Wait... It's also familiar but I can't pinpoint where I actually saw it... From a book maybe? Awe, is that its baby? -

Trying not to make a noise, the girl's maroon eyes moved to look at the brunette that was now looking at her making her tilt her head at him in curiosity but also embarrassment since he caught her staring.

"What? D-do I have something on my face?"

"Hm? Nah, was just thinking about something..."

"Oh, well, care to share?"

Chuckling, Claude turned to face the two golems that were quietly blocking their, supposed, path.

"I was thinking of slaying these two in order to get the buff but mostly to not consume too much mana-"

"What? But they didn't do anything! And what do you mean by buff? Are you drunk or something?"

The brunette blinked as he looked at the shorter female with widened eyes, his pointer finger lightly scratching at his cheek that turned pink.

"Uhm, yeah? I use mana in order to use one of my skills but it takes a lot of mana to use it... Wait, I'm not drunk! If I was you could have smelled the booze-stop looking at me like as if I was crazy! Just watch!"

"No! What if you get hurt!"

"Don't worry, I have the right equipment and enough firepower! Come on Dexter!"

- What... -

Her eyes widened when she saw Dexter pull some sort of blaster out of nowhere then jumped on Claude's shoulder as he, too, readied his blaster with a smirk.

"Let's get this started...!"

Grinning, the two started attacking the golems while Jay just stood there in worry but as soon as it started, it also ended with Claude laughing in victory while Dexter jumped on his shoulder.

"Nice job buddy! Remind me to give you your share later!"

The brunette then walked towards the battered female then patted her on the head only to chuckle in amusement when she smacked his hand away with a pout.

"Told you that we'll be fine...!"

"Alright, alright... Anyway, what's that purple symbol under your feet? What about those stones floating around you? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I also saw some sort of green orbs fall from that golem that you just... Uhm... Killed"

Rolling his amber eyes, Claude looked at the girl as he pointed at the symbol and stones.

"This is what I was telling you at first, the buff mostly for those who use mana, though I kind of forgot to tell you about the symbol appearing with the stones when you have obtained it from the monster... Oh well!"

Dexter then jumped onto the girl's shoulder again as he cooed at her as if to assure her that everything's fine making Claude grin and then turned his back at her, kneeling down with his hands behind him.

"Come on, I'll carry you since I don't want to further stress you nor open any of your wounds... Oh and this buff isn't unlimited so we better hurry"

Groaning, Jay limped towards the male and hesitated for a few seconds as her cheeks turned a bright red but soon wrapped her arms around his neck and let her body relax on his back, his arms hooking under her legs while his hands wrapped around her ankles.

Standing to his full height, the brunette turned his head to look at the girl who had her face buried on his shoulder, making the male snort in amusement.

"What? Never had a piggyback ride?"

Claude blinked when he saw her shake her head.

"N-no... I... Since nobody bothered to give me one... I just never asked... So yeah..."

"Oh... If you say so!"

- Man, this got awkward fast... -

The male thought as he started walking until it turned into jogging, frowning once in a while when he hears her groan in pain or discomfort but he didn't stop since she never told him to.

- I guess it's for the better... -

Was his thought as he used one of his skills once in a while since it took a few seconds for it to be used again.

The feeling of being weightless for a few seconds made the girl yelp in surprise but once she got used to it she would let out a hum or a giggle.

Claude's worry soon dissipated when he heard her, his frown soon turned into a wide grin as he, too, chuckled alongside the young woman while he continued on with the rhythm.

- At this rate, we'll reach the kingdom in no time...! -

"Hey, Claude...?"

"Hmm? What?"

"I... Uhm... Want to thank you... I mean... You could have just left me there but you didn't..."

Blinking, Claude processed what Jay said as he continued with his pace while his smile vanished and was replaced with a frown, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Well, why should I leave you? Is there a reason for me to leave you?"

"One, I'm a stranger... Two, you believed about me falling... You could have been at least suspicious of my sudden appearance... And I could have been a threat to the both of you"

"Hmm... You're right but how could I? You genuinely looked tired and scared when we found you! Also, how could you be a threat to us when you can't even walk right? Hell, you were even cradling your left arm to your chest!"

Jay bit her bottom lip as she mentally agreed to what the male said, squeezing her eyes shut when her left side and arm started to ache again but this time it was a lot more painful than last time.

Sensing her distress, Dexter poked his friend on the cheek then started "telling" Claude about something.

"Stop? Why should I stop? Is she uncomfortable or something?"

Even with the questions that he asked his companion, the taller male stopped as he turned his head to look at the raven-haired girl.

"You ok? Dexter told me that you looked like as if you were about to pass out? Did you get dizzy?"

"I-I... What? No! I just... My a-arm and side... It just... Hurts..."

Not being able to handle the pain anymore, Jay's eyes started drooping from her being too tired and pained thus making Claude panic.

"H-hey! Don't close your eyes! We'll be at the hospital wing before you know it...!"

He tried on reassuring the girl, most of all himself, with a grin but he could only hopelessly watch her eyes close shut and her grip around his neck loosen while Dexter let out panicked noises as he jumped on top of Claude's head.

Clicking his tongue, the thief turned his head back to look in front of him and resume on running but this time his pace was faster though he tried on not moving the girl too much while avoiding trees, branches, roots, rocks and holes.

- Let's hope that Rafaela is there... -

Was his last thought as he continued with his pace.