Closing his eyes, Kael lost himself in trying to understand what he was feeling. Soon his back started to feel almost warm from what the mana was doing, and, while not sure how, he was certain that something was happening in his body. Deep in focus, he observed the stream of mana and how it moved until he felt the source of said mana disappear all of a sudden.

Opening his eyes again, he saw that Martin was now sitting with his back against the wall, looking at him. "Thank you." The words felt strange. It had been a long time since he not only said these words but meant it too. He could not be sure what would have happened to him had Martin left, but waking up alive and relatively well seemed unlikely.

"I'm Kael by the way. Nice to meet you." He said, extending his right hand slowly. The movement did not hurt as he had expected but was quite strenuous for his tender muscles non the less. Moments passed, and the intended recipient of his handshake showed no sign of reacting. "Call me old-fashioned, but a real greeting, especially with someone that saved your life, requieres a handshake at the very least, right?"

„Ah, ah yes, no problem, haha. Ah! I'm sorry for what he did to you, you only tried to help me, I just did what was right.“ His reaction was quite funny as he scrambled a little extending his hand. Before Kael could shake his hand, Martin suddenly took his hand back and wiped it off on his jacket.

Only after he was sure that his hand was clean did he shake Kael's hand. A handshake could say a lot about a person. Or, that was what his father had said once. For the first time in his life, Kael could understand that sentiment. Martin's hand was trembling and so light that Kael only knew the other hand was in his through its warmth.

The last few hours must have taken a lot out of him, Kael thought. Remembering the injuries on his face made Kael appreciate the help and dedication he had shown even more. Had he even thought about healing himself? "Now that we have officially met and shaken hands, I am Kael, nice to meet you.“

Martin looked stunned for a moment before a slight tint of red appeared on his face. "The name is Martin. Nice to meet you too." - "Well then Martin, while the ground is certainly better than being dead, thank you for that again btw, could you help me up? I think I have been laying in this damp and dirty alley for long enough. Wouldn't you say?"

"Haha sure. Give me a second." Martin answered and reached out to him. With his help, Kael quickly got back onto his feet. Rubbing whatever dirt he could off his clothes, he turned to Martin again, and, after testing his healed body for a while, they slowly began to move away from the alley.

Avoiding the shards of glass from the broken lamp that had once been the only source of light, they soon exited the damp confines.

Once they were standing on the lit street, he looked at Martin again. His uniform, the same burgundy, black combo, was ragged and in disarray. Short black hair topped a round face. Pain and exhaustion were written all over his body. The sunken cheeks, pale skin, and wounds on his face made him look absolutely exhausted. Bright, deep blue, they looked tired too, but there was something else present.

Behind the exhaustion, there was a quiet power, only held at bay by the strength of his convictions and character. Back straight, eyes clear, Martin looked like Kael imagined battle-hardened soldiers to look like coming back from a won battle. Tired, exhausted, in pain, but proud of what he had accomplished. The boy was clearly exhausted and properly hurt too. But the strength he showed to look past all of that and focus on what he thought was significant was something Kael respected a lot.

They slowly began to walk in the direction of the nearest subway entrance, quiet and in their own thoughts for the moment. Once they reached the, at least comparatively, more populated parts of the city, Kael suddenly thought of something he had not thought about in a long, long time.

"So, what now? Where do you live? Is it on one of the night lines? Oh, by the way, are your parents ok with you being out so late?" It took a second for his question to sink in and Martin to react. When he did, Kael could not stop himself from laughing out loud. The look of satisfaction and pride present on his face since Kael woke up slowly vanished. Instead, it was replaced by one of terror. He met Martins wide eyes and heard him whisper: "Oh my god. NO! What am I going to do? They will ground me for eternity!"

He could not stop himself. Kael laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes when he heard Martins exclamation. The look of betrayal Martin sent him only made him laugh harder. A good minute of constant laughter, fueled by Martin's occasional grumbling about disrespecting the healer, ended with both of them laughing together. It had been a long time since Kael had laughed without care, and he only now realized how much he had missed it.

"Haha! Well then. We better get you back home so you can get started early. Where do you live anyway?“ - „Fuck! Don't remind me... I guess you are right though.“ Despite the looming threat of detention, they were still smiling while they walked. Public transit was already in night mode and would only service the line they would have to take once an hour. Not wanting to wait for the subway, they decided to simply walk there. Kael had not heard of the street, but he had been in the general area before. It would take them about half an hour to forty-five minutes on foot to get there. With nothing much to do as they placed one foot in front of the other, they began to talk.