Cassian sat still while Lumine stripped off what was left of his ruined armor, her movents sharp and irritated. She worked carefully despite herself, clearly trying not to hurt him.
"You can just tear it off," Cassian said lightly. "I won’t feel it."
She froze, then looked up at him, fury flashing in her eyes."Then next ti don’t wear armor at all," she snapped. "If you don’t feel it and it just heals anyway."
She cut away the last strap around his waist, the leather soaked through with blood and torn flesh—most of it his. That only made her angrier. She knew getting hurt in battle was normal. What she couldn’t stand was how Cassian let himself get hit, stepping into attacks he could’ve dodged just to finish an enemy faster.
Cassian followed her out of the tent, looking helpless."It’s just how I fight," he said quietly. "I can’t help it. And it’s not like I feel it—the wounds seal up in seconds."
Lumine didn’t slow down.
"That’s not the point," she muttered, clearly still furious, even if she didn’t say the rest out loud.
Lumine stopped, still visibly angry, then turned back toward him."I know," she said, jaw tight. "But it still looks bad and..." She trailed off, hesitating, her expression turning troubled. "...and I feel guilty that I can’t help you more."
Cassian blinked, genuinely surprised. She was looking down now, shoulders slightly hunched. He stepped closer, smiling softly, cupped her face between his palms, and gently lifted her head until she had to et his eyes.
"You helped plenty," he said. "You killed that mage, didn’t you? And you stopped the others from piling on too."
"I only killed the mage because you distracted him," she replied quickly. Then she paused, lips twitching, and added with a small smile, "And the follow-up attack..."
She sighed, then finally admitted it."Alright. I guess I did help you a bit."
"Yeah... you did. And so did the others," Cassian added with a small smile. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
She smiled back—but the anger was gone now, replaced by sothing firr, more resolved."That’s still not enough," she said quietly. "I’m going to get stronger. Wanni will too. All of us will." Her eyes hardened. "I won’t let those cultists take any more of my friends’ lives."
Cassian felt a knot tighten in his chest. He knew exactly who she was thinking about. He didn’t argue—just nodded, guilt sitting heavy as he replied,"Do that. Get stronger. Just... don’t be reckless and throw your life away. There are people on the other side far stronger than us. Let strong people from our side handle them. Pick battles you actually have a chance of winning."
She clearly didn’t like hearing that, but he ant it. Against Circle Warriors, normal fighters weren’t much more than targets—and he didn’t want Lumine anywhere near that kind of slaughter.
Lumine clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed, but she didn’t pull away."I know," she said. "I’m not stupid. I’m not planning to charge a Circle Warrior head-on like so idiot."
She looked at him again—really looked this ti. The half-healed cuts, the faint red haze still clinging to him, the way his posture hadn’t fully relaxed even now.
"But you," she continued, poking his chest with a finger, "you fight like dying is optional. Like it doesn’t matter."
Cassian exhaled slowly. "For ... it kind of is."
"That doesn’t make it easier to watch," she shot back. Then her voice softened. "Every ti you rush ahead, I keep thinking—what if this ti your healing doesn’t keep up?"
He didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, he reached up and rested his forehead against hers."I’ll be more careful," he said, not promising what he couldn’t fully keep. "At least... I’ll try."
She huffed, clearly unconvinced, but didn’t push him away."Try harder," she muttered.
Nearby, Wanni cleared her throat loudly. "Hate to break the mont, but if you two are done emotionally bleeding on each other, we’re being reassigned."
Shera walked up a mont later, her hamr slung over one shoulder."Right flank’s pulling back farther," she said calmly. "Orlando wants the reserves ready in case they push again tonight."
Her eyes flicked down Cassian, taking in his current, very unfinished state. One brow lifted."And put so damn clothes on. Commander Naset’s looking for you."
Cassian gave a quick nod and slipped into the tent to get dressed.
As soon as he was gone, Shera turned to Lumine. Lumine, now very aware of herself, looked suddenly embarrassed. The tension broke when Shera grinned, clearly amused.
"Honestly," Shera said with a light shrug, "watching you two get all soft like that is making jealous. I want a boyfriend too."
"Yeah..." Wanni chid in dramatically, clutching her chest like she was on the verge of tears. "Sotis it makes feel so lonely. I almost start hating you two for being in love."
She sniffed loudly, then pointed at Lumine."I want soone to love too... Lumine, find one."
Lumine’s face went red instantly, practically glowing. "W–what? That’s not my job!"
Both won burst out laughing and closed in on her, clearly enjoying themselves. Lumine huffed, quickening her pace to escape them.
"Stop making fun of !" she snapped, flustered. "You two are so an."
Their laughter followed her all the way down the line, cutting through the weight of the battle with sothing warm and human.
Cassian ducked back into the tent and started pulling on a fresh shirt, movents slower now that the adrenaline was fading. Dried blood cracked on his skin as the fabric slid over it, the sll of iron still clinging no matter how much he wiped.
As he buckled his belt, his thoughts drifted back to Naset.
’Why now?’
He’d already handed over everything he had—cult numbers, locations, ranks, movent patterns, even the long-range communication line. There wasn’t much left to squeeze out of him unless Naset suspected he was holding sothing back... or unless sothing new had co up.
Cassian frowned, tightening the straps of his armor.
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