Several hours later.
The Sanctuary gates remained busy as always. Large transport convoys arrived regularly, supply vehicles entered and contractors who hunted during the night departed.
Everything moved with organized efficiency.
Ravenna stood among a gathering crowd near one of the public observation platforms. It wasn’t directly at the gates since that would be strange, suspicious, and embarrassing. Instead, she stood nearby, which was entirely coincidental, of course.
Mallory remained beside her looking increasingly amused.
"You know this is worse."
Ravenna frowned.
"What is?"
"If you waited directly at the gates, at least you’d be honest."
"I am not waiting."
The maid looked around. The platform overlooked the main arrival route where every returning contractor would pass through it.
"...Sure."
Ravenna refused to acknowledge that.
Ti passed slowly, the evening sun finally settled and the floodlights were turned on.
Golden light painted portions of the Sanctuary walls as people ca and went. Conversations and laughter drifted through the crowds.
The atmosphere felt oddly festive. Returning rookie expeditions always attracted attention.
Families waited.
Friends waited.
ntors waited.
Everyone wanted to see who ca back and who didn’t. The reality of the wasteland remained cruel. Not every na on the departure roster returned ho.
Ravenna found herself watching the arrivals more carefully than intended.
One convoy entered.
Not him.
Another followed.
Still nothing.
Then the third transport rolled through the gates. The crowd stirred as cheers from the remaining families filled the gates. Several families rushed forward imdiately.
Returning rookies began climbing down. So were injured and so were exhausted. Most looked older than when they left.
Ravenna scanned the crowd automatically then found Silver. For a mont she almost didn’t recognize him. His clothes were damaged with several visible bandages wrapped around portions of his body. Dried blood stained parts of his jacket and he looked exhausted.
Ravenna blinked.
The reality before her felt strange. Until now Silver existed mostly as awkward mories. Seeing him like this, actually injured and returning from danger made everything more real.
Mallory spoke quietly.
"He looks awful."
Ravenna nodded.
"He does," she said looking him up and down, "... Did he always look that tall though?"
Mallory groaned.
"Oh, we’re back to this."
Ravenna ignored her.
Below, Silver exchanged a few words with several people then gradually drifted away from the celebratory family crowds.
Ravenna noticed sothing extrely small then, it was easy for most to miss. Nobody was waiting for him. So people did approach, but they seed more like acquaintances or curious observers, and then they left.
Eventually, Silver was left standing alone in the crowd and in deep thought. His expression remained calm through all that, yet sothing about it felt familiar. He was a person accustod to being left alone.
The realization unsettled her slightly. She understood that feeling more than she wanted to. Before she realized what she was doing her feet moved.
Mallory stared at her for a mont.
"...Lady Ravenna?"
Too late.
She was already walking towards him. Silver seed to have finished his thinking process since he turned to leave, completely unaware.
Ravenna hesitated once then called out.
"Hey, Silver!"
The na carried surprisingly far. Several nearby people looked over.
Silver stopped imdiately. For a second he seed confused then he turned.
Grey eyes t dark ones across the crowded street and for perhaps the first ti since arriving at the Sanctuary Silver genuinely looked surprised. It was like the possibility hadn’t even occurred to him, he truly hadn’t expected anyone to call his na.
The expression lasted only a mont. Then sothing softer appeared underneath but briefly. A tiny spark of happiness. And suddenly Ravenna found herself oddly glad she’d co.
For a few seconds after Ravenna called his na, neither of them moved. The crowd continued flowing around them yet sohow the noise faded into the background.
Silver simply stared at her.
Ravenna imdiately regretted everything since she now actually had to speak first. Calling soone’s na confidently and then having no follow-up plan turned out to be a terrible strategy.
She should have prepared sothing. A greeting, a conversation starter, or a reason. Anything would have been better but instead, she embarrassed herself further.
"Hi."
The word escaped before she could stop it.
Silver blinked.
"...Hi?"
Wonderful, an excellent start. Two intellectual giants eting for the first ti.
Ravenna resisted the urge to walk away while Silver looked equally uncomfortable which sohow made things worse... or better.
She wasn’t sure. Neither seed particularly skilled at this. For a mont they simply stood there looking at each other. Silver had not expected to et her at all, he was completely blindsided.
Then Ravenna noticed his injuries again. Now that he stood closer, they were impossible to ignore. He had bandages, bruising and there was stiffness hidden beneath his movents. Even his face looked slightly paler than before.
The Sanctuary lights revealed details that the distance had hidden. Silver looked like soone who had been hit by a car and sohow survived, which was probably an accurate comparison.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Are you okay? You’re injured."
Silver imdiately looked away. A suspicious reaction.
"I’m fine."
Ravenna stared, then looked directly at the bandage visible near his collar then at another around his wrist, then at the torn jacket and back at him.
"..."
"..."
"Silver," she called in a sickly sweet voice.
"Yes?"
"You’re not okay at all. You look like soone threw you down a valley."
Which was technically accurate. Silver coughed.
"It wasn’t that deep."
Ravenna’s expression beca completely flat.
"You actually fell down one."
"...Maybe."
"Oh my god. That was supposed to be a joke. "
Beside her, Mallory covered her face. Silver looked slightly embarrassed which was sohow amusing.
The rumors always described him as so arrogant young master. Yet every interaction she’d had with him felt like speaking to a particularly intelligent disaster.
Ravenna folded her arms.
"How badly are you hurt?"
"It’s fine."
"How badly?"
"It’s mostly healed."
That wasn’t an answer she wanted. Ravenna took a step forward. Silver took one backward instinctively.
She stopped.
He stopped.
The two stared at each other.
"...Did you just retreat?"
"No."
"You literally moved backwards, I could see that."
"I was adjusting my balance."
She chuckled at the absurdity before her. He was the one who ca to her, not the other way around.
"Are you scared of ?"
Silver looked offended.
"No. I’ve fought far stronger beasts."
"So, I frightened you then?"
"... Different kind of dangers."
The maid made a choking sound behind them. Ravenna almost laughed; instead, she pointed down the street.
"Co on."
Silver blinked.
"Where?"
"The pharmacy."
His confusion beca visible imdiately.
"Why?"
This ti Ravenna looked genuinely confused.
"Because you’re injured."
"I already have dicine."
"Clearly it isn’t working."
"It is working."
"You look terrible."
Silver opened his mouth then closed it again. Unfortunately, she had a point, the military-issued recovery pills worked but slowly.
Most rookie treatnts prioritized keeping contractors alive until they reached proper facilities.
He had wanted to purchase another capsule from the system when he got back to the sanctuary.
He didn’t want to heal too fast especially with the other Contractors present to compare in injuries. Not everyone wouldn’t care as Shawn had if he magically got better. In the Sanctuary he could just say he went to a healer.
Ravenna pointed again.
"Pharmacy."
Silver sighed.
"It’s really unnecessary."
"You gave points, it doesn’t hurt to use them."
"That was different."
"How?"
"It’s ant for your own use..."
Ravenna imdiately started walking clearly expecting him to follow. Silver watched her go, looked around then sighed again. Sohow he’d lost and he wasn’t entirely sure how.
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