When I hit the wall the first time, I thought my new friends would die.
'What if I prevented that.' I thought to myself with an odd clarity. 'If I had more power I could do that.'
During my internal musings, I felt Nymphadora desperately healing me, while Nick went all-out and attacked the Orc.
By the time Nick had been smacked into a wall, I felt a the activation of a new skill.
I tried to stand up, and to my shock I was able to. As if to spite my broken bones, I felt my muscles realign my bones and force them into place.
And by the saints, it HURT.
Steadying myself, I stood tall and shouted at the Orc at the top of my lungs.
I saw the Orc turn towards me, ignoring Atlas who was right in front of it and charge me.
Bracing for impact, I hoped to last more than one blow. To my dismay, I couldn't and smashed into the wall again.
Only this time the Orc didn't change targets.
This wasn't a brush that was easily healed by Nymphadora. This is me staring death directly in the face.
I grinned. I'd die protecting those I could consider friends, despite not knowing them for very long.
"I made a mistake." I said, hoping the others could hear me. "I should never have brought us here."
I closed my eyes, still smiling, and waited for the finishing blow.
It never came.
I opened my eyes to see the face of Nymphadora examining me with concern.
"Wait what?" I was struck dumb. "Where did the Orc go?"
Nymphadora moved out of my line of sight and I saw a massive charred corpse.
"I thought Nick was incapacitated." I said. "Oh yeah you have fire too."
I raised my broken arms and pulled her into a hug.
"Thanks for not abandoning me." I said. I meant it. I had never had anyone that would stick with me like my new teammates did. Everyone I had ever known would abandon me as soon as I outlived my usefullness as a meat shield.
She returned the hug. "And I thank you for ensuring our entire party's survival." She said, healing me through touch.
I wasn't going to ask what had triggered her breakthrough. That was normally kept to one's self. What triggered someone's breakthrough could be used against someone if it was a person.
She told me anyway. "My breakthrough was triggered by you." She whispered. "Seeing you act so selflessly for our sake, going so far as to give us your food. I have never met a man as kindhearted and good as you."
I smiled again. "Our little band of misfits." I laughed, before quickly stopping because it hurt.
She stopped me from moving. "I might not have much mana left, but you're not getting up until I use the rest of it to heal you." She said to me firmly.
"What about Nick?" I asked.
He waved from over Nymphadora's shoulder.
"Oh there he is." I said, feeling my wounds a little bit less.
"Thank you, captain obvious." Atlas said from my left. "I want to thank you."
"Why would you thank me?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"Dude." Nick said. "You saved all of our lives and you didn't expect us to say THANKS?"
"I did what any good teammate would." I protested. I didn't feel like I deserved any thanks.
"Well, If you don't want thanks for saving our lives, I'll thank you for giving me food." Atlas said.
"Same here." Nick said. "And I'm sorry for being so cold to you before."
As I lay there, I suddenly had the feeling that I finally belonged somewhere.
My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Nymphadora collapsing on me from mana exhaustion.
"Let's rest here for now." I said, putting an arm around Nymphadora's shoulders. "Should we try and find my pack? It's got food in it.
Nick laughed. "Only if you eat your whole portion." He said.
They all laughed together, partially from relief and partially from adrenaline still pumping through their veins.
'Yep. I truly belong with these people." I thought as I slipped into unconsciousness.