“Sorry, Jon,” Hector said, his tone softening. “We don’t negotiate with… villains.”

He turned to Jon. “And you shouldn’t be doing this. You’re not in the King’s Guard yet, and-”

“I’m protecting you,” Jon said.

“What?” Hector looked at him curiously. “Jon… I don’t need protecting…”

“You don’t,” Jon said. “But I still want to protect you.”

“I want to protect you, too,” Hector said. “We’ll protect each other then.”

Jon nodded.

Hector took a seat next to him, and they waited there, side by side.

“You can go inside, you know?” Hector said.

“Nope,” Jon responded.

“Right.”

After a long time of sitting, Mallory, Stewart, and Helia came out.

“Are you winning your staring contest with the forest?” Mallory asked.

“...I’m just anxious,” Hector said.

“Well, you got the crud beat out of you, and you should be sleeping,” Mallory said.

“No,” Hector said. “I-”

“That girl,” Mallory said, “had the strength of your father. She really beat you.”

“She doesn’t hit like my father,” Hector said. “She was weaker.”

“Macy can make stronger hits,” Mallory said, “but those are single hits. And your father has never actually hit you full force. He’s always controlled his hits.”

“I’m so grateful…” Hector said sarcastically.

“Come on inside, guys,” Helia said. “Get some rest. Today was stressful.”

“I can’t sleep knowing there’s an assault on the rise,” Hector replied. “No. There’s too much light in the day knowing that I could do something about it.”

“That’s why you get rest!” Helia said. “Come on!”

Hector grunted.

“Jon?”

Jon grunted as well.

“...Hector, Tallow’s gonna do sparring with your sword inside.”

“She better not!” Hector stood up. “I’ll head straight inside. Hold the fort, Jon?”

Jon grunted.

Hector stood up and went back into the house. Helia followed after him.

“Jon, you can come in, too,” Stewart said. “I’ll keep the fort down.”

Jon grunted again.

“Hey, look,” Mallory said, “Mercy’s trying to flag down a signal to her Dad. Do you want to help find her?”

“Sure,” Jon said.

“She’s around the back of the house,” Mallory explained.

“I’ll keep watch,” Stewart said.

“...We’ll keep watch,” Mallory said. “Go on.”

“Okay.” Jon stood up and walked around to the back of the house.

He didn’t see Mercy right away, so he went further and further.

Eventually, something told him to look up, so he did.

The was some crackling of wood, and Mercy slid down a nearby tree and landed next to Jon.

“Hi, Jon!” she said. “It’s all fine.”

“It is?” Jon asked.

She nodded.

“They know we’re gonna take an extra day or two. So…”

She shrugged. “We have the time we need to not get killed. Or get killed, you know.”

Jon nodded. He didn't understand why the Highlander clan was so understanding, but he was sure happy that they were. It felt good knowing that they weren’t alone.

“...they want us to figure it ourselves,” Mercy added.

“Yep.” Jon nodded. He understood.

Mercy grabbed his wrist.

“Thanks, Jon. I hope… I don’t know what to hope…”

“Me neither.” Jon shrugged.

She smiled. “Jon…”

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. This time, the hug felt different.

She held him for a while. Her body pressed close against his, and he wrapped her arms around her back to keep her close.

She felt warm, and he didn't want to let her go. He often felt protected by Mercy, but here, he felt a new sense of guard that he wanted to stay in.

They pulled their faces away from their shoulders, but held on with their arms, looking into each other faces.

“Rememeber when I said I wanted to leave before I did something stupid?” she said. “Like, before all of this started?”

“...Yeah?” Jon said.

His heart was pumping fast in his chest, and yet, he felt completely calm. It was almost like being in battle, but there was no fight.

“Are you… okay?” Jon asked.

Mercy blushed. “You mean, my heart? Yeah...I just… I just wanted to say that… I might want to make that mistake now.”

Jon didn't know how to respond. What could he say? He didn't want Mercy to make a mistake, but if she was gonna do it anyway, then it would be safer to do it around him.

He also wondered what type of decision constituted as making a mistake on purpose.

“I wouldn’t rush into any hasty decisions if I was you.”

Mercy and Jon broke out of their trance to see Hector behind them.

“What do you know about what I get to decide,” Mercy said, being defensive.

“It’s my job,” Hector said.

“...Huh?” Mercy lost all sense of aggression.

“Delivering you, you know? Making sure you don’t run away? If you ran away now… I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Mercy sighed. “Hector, you come in at the worst times! And I’m not gonna run away!”

“Really?” Hector looked hopeful. “I mean, I wouldn’t blame you if you would. Our lives suck. I mean-”

“Hector!” Mercy walked up to him and shoved him in the arm as she moved past.

“...did I say something?” Hector asked.

Jon shook his head.

“Just bad timing,” Jon said. He didn’t know what good timing was. He just repeated what Mercy said.

“Right…” Hector turned back to the house.

“...I suppose we should prepare for a siege,” Hector replied. “That seems to be the best way. I don’t wanna keep the Highlander clan waiting-”

“They’ll wait,” Jon said.

“...She spoke to them?” Hector asked. “Are they gonna help?”

“Nope,” Jonn said.

“Of course. Expected.” Hector crossed his arms. Jon noticed that ever since the fight, Hector hadn’t closed his jacket at all. Even his golden leg armor were just plain leggings now.

“Is your armor okay?” Jon asked him.

“Oh, yeah,” Hector said. “I guess I just never realized how stiff my movements were in it. I mean, my armor is really good, don’t get me wrong. And it has a perk where it never actually feels like I’m wearing it. Like a giant shirt, or something. Am I making sense, Jon?”

“Sure,” Jon replied. He just wanted a general sense of the armor.

“Well, anyways,” Hector continued, “even if it doesn’t necessarily restrict my movement…” He rubbed his collarbone.

“There is extra space that I haven’t been adjusting for. I’ve been doing everything on instinct, but I really should be practicing more.”

“Yep,” Jon said.

“Then again…” Hector frowned, “Will I have time to practice? What will I do?”

“When do you get married?” Jon asked.

“In a couple of weeks,” Hector said.

“Then used that... to practice.”

“Right… whatever time I have left…” Hector nodded. “Thanks, Jon. I’m gonna go start fortifying the nouse with Helia and her brother. Can you get Mallory?”

Jon nodded.

He left Hector and went back around the front of the house. Mallory was still sitting in the wagon.

Jon climbed up to the wagon and sat down next to him.

“You not ready to go inside yet?” Mallory asked.

“Nope,” Jon said. He was scared to see Tallow. Even though he was sure they were past things, he still felt bad.

“You know Tallow came out here, right?” Mallory asked.

“No,” Jon said. “She did?”

Mallory nodded.

“She told me what happened. About you stopping her from egging on that girl.”

“Oh.” Jon turned red.

“Yeah, she talked about cutting out your tongue,” Mallory continued. “But, honestly, I think she’s afraid of you hating her.”

“I don’t hate her,” Jon said.

“I know you don’t,” Mallory said. “It’s stressful. You were worried about Hector. I think Tallow was trying to stick up for him, but you know…”

“Yeah...” Jon nodded. “Bad timing.”

“...Tallow does have a point,” Mallory continued. “Look tough to scare off other people. It works. Mercy’s a good fighter, but she doesn’t put out good ‘leave me alone vibes.’ She probably doesn’t need to because she’s probably stronger than most people, but it means that she attracts a lot of trouble as well.”

“Yeah…” Jon felt bad for her. She probably didn’t want to have to worry about that.

“He thought about how he would respond.

“She’s… lonely,” Jon replied. “I think…she wants to be found.”

“Hmm…” Mallory nodded with a grimace. “Makes sense. Too bad for her being found is a bad thing.”

“You found her,” Jon said.

Mallory chuckled.

“You’re so positive, Jon. I’m glad we found you.”

Mallory frowned when he saw Jon’s own frown.

“Do you miss home?” Mallory sked.

“No,” Jon said. “I’m too… positive… I have to be… negative...”

“No, no, no,” Mallory sucked his teeth and shook his head. “We need you. We need you to be positive.”

Jon’s mouth tightened.

“I mean… we’re all hardasses around here, Jon. we’re all expected to act a certain way, and it’s annoying. Sometimes, that’s all we think there is to life. But there’s more. We know here’s more, and that’s why we get into this business.”

Mallory leaned back in the wagon. “Jon, we work to protect people like you. You remind us of that. Stops us from becoming cold-hearted bastards like some others.”

Like others?

“Jon, Mallory, it’s time to eat!” Hector said from the door. “Come on!”

“Already?” Mallory turned. “What about watch?”

“We’ll be fine if we're together,” Hector said. “Come on.”

He turned back around.

“Wait up!” Mallory said.

Hector stopped and looked over his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Mallory asked. “You took a beating.”

“I’m fine-”

“Not just your body,” Mallory replied. “I know how you get about this stuff.”

“...Yeah… well?” Hector continued inside.

Jon and Mallory stood up and followed him.

In the house, Stewart and Helia were cooking at the stove. Tallow and Mercy were sitting down at the table.

Jon and Mallory joined the table while Hector walked around the inner wall, testing it by kicking it with his food

“I’m pretty sure your sister made things to take a beating,” Malloy said. “Sure you don’t wanna sit?”

“I know my sister has everything fortified,” Hector said. “Things need to be more useful than take a beating,” Hector muttered.

“He was talking about the house,” Tallow responded.

Hector grunted but continued inspecting the house.

“I think you did well,” Mercy said. “She wasn’t expecting-”

“But it wasn’t enough!” Hector yelled.

He sighed then continued patting down the interior of the house.

“...It’s not supposed to be easy,” Tallow said. “It’s supposed to be hard and excruciating.”

“What do you know?” Hector responded without looking back. “You can just-”

Tallow’s dagger flew past Hector’s face, digging into the wall.

Her foot was on the table, and her free hand was extended from just throwing the blade.

“Look at this!” she said, pointing to her sling. “I gotta wear my stupid weakness on my neck all goddam day! And do I complain? No! It’s not about how strong you are! It’s about completing the mission!”

She gestured to Jon.

“He was in a freggin’ wheelchair!” Tallow exclaimed. “And you sent him out to fight! You put your marriage on the line for a fight for the guy in a wheelchair!”

“That’s ‘cause Jon’s-”

“Strong?” Tallow asked. “No. Jon’s not strong. He’s normal. He’s a fighter! He’s devoted! He takes people’s shit and wears it on his head. But he’s not strong. Let, I would trust him to finish a mission over that bucket of dumbnuts Lester any day!”

Tallow pointed at Mercy. “Mercy lost. And she’s super-duper strong! Way stronger than Amalia was.”

“Don’t remind me,” Mercy said.

She pointed to Mallory. “He can’t go two steps without running out of breath having to keep up with you. You don’t ever notice it, but I do! It’s like he’s always gonna have a heart attack having to keep up with you!”

“Mallory,” Hector began, “I-”

“And I couldn’t win with my match without breaking my stupid arm!” Tallow interrupted. “But that doesn’t matter! I’m still here. Mallory is still breaking himself trying to keep up with you. Mercy doesn’t blame you for any of her failures. Jon-”

“What does that mean?” Hector yelled, more desperate than angry. “Why does everyone keep getting hurt around me!”

“It means we all have the same damn problem,” Tallow said pointedly. “It means we all have to deal with this shit. What does it mean to be strong? What does it mean to win? We don’t fucking know! We just get the tar knocked out of us over and over and over until one day you stand back up and you’re the one beating the tar out of someone. There’s no miracle solution or measure of strength. You get the job done! And every time you demean yourself, you demean every one of the sacrifices, every bit of hard work, every bit of failure that each and every one of us made to get to this point. You understand?”

Hector bit his lip. He clenched his fists and looked down at the floor, not saying anything for several minutes.

At this point, even Tallow was breathing hard, but she kept her foot high on the table, waiting for Hector to respond.

“You’re right…” Hector said. “The mission is to get everyone back home, and-”

“All of us!” Tallow replied.

“...We have a mission to get through,” Hector said. “We…”

He looked around. Everyone was regarding him, even Helia and Stewart, who had turned from their dinner.”

“Sit down, Hun,” Tallow said, “so we can eat, ya?”

“When you… take your foot… off the table…” Hector said sadly.

“Ever the hardass.” Tallow took her foot off the table and sat down in a huff.

Hector, after regarding his team some more, slowly walked up and took a seat at the table, and sat down.

He put his head in his arms, and his body began to shiver.

Is he… crying?

“I’m sorry… guys…” Hector said. “I…”

“Shush…” Helia came to Hector’s backpack and caressed him. “We know… it’s okay…”

Finally, Hector sat up and rubbed his eyes from whatever was leftover.

“Okay…” Hector said. “I don’t know how we’re doing it… but tomorrow, we’ll kick their asses. All of them. Whoever comes though. And we’ll do it together.”

Jon was intrigued by this emotionally vulnerable Hector. He really sounded like what he meant when he said it.

“I mean, we’ll probably end up splitting up during the fight ‘cause it gets hectic and stuff,” Tallow said. “But yeah together.”