The three of them remained there for a long while.
A few minutes turned into half an hour.
Half an hour stretched into an hour.
Finally, Aren stood up and looked at the two of them.
"Thank you," he said.
Kira looked up at him, surprised. Thanking them, for what?
"What for?" Aiden asked, pushing himself up as well.
"I don't think I would've survived the Trial without you," Aren said honestly. "Your help, both of you, you helped me through it."
He had never really had people willing to risk their lives for him. Not truly. So the two standing before him now were different. Special. Time and time again, they had fought beside him. With him.
Kira rose to her feet as well. "Then we should be the ones thanking you," she said. "No matter how you look at it, your influence was what carried us through."
Aren smiled faintly. "We all helped each other. That's the truth."
"So… where do we go now?" Aiden asked.
Before Aren could answer, footsteps echoed from somewhere downhill.
