The Other Side/Rise Of The Crow

It almost seems like none of us learned anything especially me. If there's one thing I should've learned from my last job it's that a friend can turn into an enemy really quickly in Goliath. Jack and Sachi are outside in the lobby while I stay in the bedroom to make sure that Layla and Mari are okay. From what the doctor told us Layla will be fine by tomorrow and Mari should be waking up very soon.

All of a sudden I hear the door to bedroom open.

"Crow… You know I can stay here and watch them so you can get some sleep! I know you're tired man!" Jack insists as he sits next to me on the side of their beds.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm not leaving until both of them wake up." I reply as I can feel my body needs rest.

"Ugh damnit! Sometimes you're even more stubborn than I am you know that? Get some rest we had to fight a pack of demiwolves that almost killed all of us! I think you deserve a nap at the very least!" Jack commands as he picks me up like a child.

"Hey! Put me down! I wanna stay in here!" I yell as Jack kicks me out of the bedroom and closes the door.

"Shut it! I'm not tryna hear that crap! Get some sleep!" Jack answers his voice full of annoyance.

"Ugh, that jerk! Treating me like a child… " I mutter as I walk to where Sachi is sleeping.

"Mmm… Crow is that you?" Sachi asks as she slowly wakes up.

"Sorry for waking you. Jack decided to kick me out of the bedroom for a bit." I reply as Sachi yawns and stretches her arms.

"No worries, I've gotten more than enough sleep now. You, on the other hand, need to get some rest! The doctor told us they'd be okay so let's just put our trust in him and be patient." Sachi suggests as I slump into a pretty comfy chair.

"I know… I just feel really guilty about how everything went down. It feels like it's my fault what happened. Mari got hurt because of me." I conclude.

"Crow, you know that's not true. We all made a decision to do this job as a party, every time we're on the battlefield Mari also knows the risks that come with it. You can't blame yourself for something we couldn't have seen coming. They blindsided us plain and simple, we'll just have to come up with a better strategy next time." Sachi tells me as it's clear she's trying to cheer me up.

"Yeah… We'll do better next time." I respond reluctantly.

"Just let your mind rest! Get some sleep and think about all of that later." Sachi commands.

"Yes Ma'am!" I joke as I imitate a soldier's salute.

I slowly fall out of consciousness and finally manage to get some sleep. All of a sudden, I feel someone shaking me.

"Crow, wake up!" Jack says as he's shaking me awake.

"Ugh, where'd Sachi go?" I ask as I hold my head.

"She went to the market to get some food for all of us! She'll be back." Jack confirms.

"How long was I out?" I ask.

"About 5 hours, come into the bedroom they're both awake!" Jake tells me as I rush into the room.

"Layla! Mari?" I ask as both of them smile lightly at me.

"Sheesh, someone was worried about us!" Layla teases as she slowly drinks tea.

"Jack told us you weren't trying to fall asleep until we woke up! You're just as stubborn as ever aren't you?" Mari asks as she's also drinking tea.

"Couldn't help it! Things got pretty dicey back there." I reply as everyone got quiet.

"Well, we've solved one piece of the puzzle. Rena is clearly a major player in Silver Fang. It seems they use these parties to recruit more members to their cause and also turn them into demiwolves." Layla ponders as she blows her hot tea.

"If that's the case then we have a real problem on our hands don't we?" Jack asks.

"Yeah, it's not looking good. Rena actually told me they have another base somewhere else but she wasn't really specific. Wouldn't it be best to tell Master Elyon what's going on? If Silver Fang keeps recruiting at the school their numbers are only going to grow." I suggest as everyone starts thinking really hard.

"That might not be a good idea, he may start interrogating innocent students and the mayhem that would cause around the school could be irreparable. The student body is already split on the issue and if we let him know that Silver Fang has some members attending the Academy he's going to lose it." Layla insists as we all nod our heads in agreement.

"Mari? You've been really quiet this whole time. You don't have anything to say?" I ask as Mari lets out a huge sigh.

"Actually could you two leave for a minute? I'd like to talk to Crow alone." Mari asks bluntly.

"Sure, I'm already cleared to go so I'll be waiting outside. Come on Jack, let's give them some privacy!" Layla orders as she pulls him out of the room.

"Relax, I'm coming!" Jack snaps back.

Mari and I stare at each other for a long time as our last fight seems to have formed a rift between us. Should I just extend the olive branch? I don't want it to be like this anymore.

"Let's stop being weird. Come, sit next to my bed Crow." Mari commands as I slowly walk over to her bedside and sit down.

"Listen Mari… I'm–" I say, as she shushes me with her finger.

"No, let me go first… I'm sorry for being so mean to you Crow and saying those horrible things. You really didn't deserve it and I was being a selfish brat." Mari apologizes as she gently grabs my hand.

"It's okay, you made a pretty good point. I'm sorry too. The fact of the matter is, I only saw the version of you I made in my head. I guess my parents are still haunting me even in my new life. I should've been more considerate of your feelings. More importantly, I should've trusted your judgment on Rena, I let my emotions cloud my own judgment. Huh, Mari?" I respond as Mari starts crying.

"Please don't apologize… I took out my frustrations from my old life on you when you're one of the only people who ever truly had my back and cared about me. When I thought I was at death's door after that demiwolf wounded me, there you were picking me up and trying to save my life… Even though I was right about Rena what I did was disgusting and held back everyone in the group. I got jealous and tried to spite so you'd feel as bad as I did. I really am the worst!" Mari yells as I pull her in and hug her.

"Stop it! No you're not! We may all look like Frodians now but the truth is we're all still weak and feeble humans. We aren't perfect and it really just can't be helped. At the end of the day, I'm just glad you're okay!" I reassure as we both look deeply into each other's eyes.

"Crow... " Mari says as we both hold each other our faces getting closer and closer.

Out of nowhere the door slams open.

"Food's here! Sachi got all of us some steak! Oh crap, did I interrupt something?" Jack shouts as he completely ruins the moment.

"Umm, no! We were just talking!" I reply as I wink at Mari.

"Yep, he's right! Everything's good here!" Mari asserts as her beautiful smile finally returns.

"Glad to hear it." Sachi says as she smiles too.

We spend the next hour or so eating and chatting before we decide to focus back in on the job.

"So what's is our next move? We know about our enemies but what do we do about them?" Jack asks.

"I have no clue. It's hard to figure out what's the right direction to go in." Layla sighs as she seems very frustrated.

"Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a guild handle this? We really don't know enough about this struggle to put an end to it only in a week." Sachi suggests.

"But is giving up really the best option? We were the ones to find out who Silver Fang was, something tells me we're really close to the truth." Mari chimes in.

"What do you think Crow?" Layla asks as everyone darts their eyes at me expecting an answer.

"There's one big thing we still haven't figured out. Sure, what Silver Fang is doing is definitely despicable but it makes you wonder just what are the nobles doing that's making them this angry? I doubt they'd kill these people over something petty it just doesn't make sense!" I wonder as everyone got really quiet.

"That's true, Rena is not the type to murder for no reason. We need to figure out what's going on with the nobles next! In the meantime, everyone needs to keep their eyes and ears peeled for anything Silver Fang-related as well. Once we know what's going on both sides, then we can have a better idea of what will be the best resolution." Layla commands as we all seem to be in agreement.

"Understood!" We all say in unison.

My party seems to be back on track after a little road bump. Hopefully, we can put an end to this conflict before more lives are lost.