Just as they reached the building, however, the door burst open in front of them. The faintest tremor of the earth beneath them told Oren who it was before the djinn appeared in the doorway, irritation rolling off him in waves. Sia had detailed the first day's events to him that night, shooting Aaramis venomous glances every time she brought up something particularly egotistical he'd done. Oren had been happy to let her blow off steam, but he couldn't help but wonder if she'd been exaggerating the man's abilities – because who could do that kind of magic, with that kind of ease?

Okay, no exaggeration necessary, Oren thought, eyeing the djinn warily as the earth once again settled.

Aaramis' eyes landed on their group as he stopped outside the house. Or it was more accurate to say his eyes found Rae and Inan – Oren and Ilias might as well have been rocks on the side of the road for all Aaramis seemed to give a shit about them. "They're inside with the brat. From what I can tell, he's mostly fine. But I can't be sure since they fucking kicked me out."

Oren nearly snorted at that, but a look from Ilias drained the amusement from his expression. Right. Wouldn't be smart to go provoking the djinn capable of dropping the earth out from beneath Oren's feet. He'd save the snide remarks for later, when he was out of the proverbial firing range.

Rae's eyes bounced from Aaramis to Inan. "Do you want to check on him?"

Inan thought for a moment, but ultimately shook his head.

Oren, meanwhile, dropped his magic the moment Gideon exited the house, a moment or two after Aaramis. The vibrations were silenced instantly, thank the gods.

Gideon made his way over to where Oren and Ilias stood, dispelling his own magic as he went. "Cross is fine," he said. It wasn't news – the brat couldn't have been Cross, given that Aaramis was pissed he hadn't been able to stay with him. "Exhausted, but not injured. Atlas was infected from a bite, but the cleric here took care of the worst of it, I'm guessing. He looked to be on the mend from what I saw of him."

"That's... good?" Ilias offered, hesitant.

"So we're here for nothing?" Oren hissed, shoulders slumping. He'd gotten worked up, and for what? No one was even remotely dying, apparently.

"Not nothing," Gideon replied, his voice threaded with that endless well of patience Cross never tired of testing. "Sia's going to help with the last of the cleansing, otherwise I doubt she'd be inside still. And it's good we know what's going on. We only have two more days to complete the job and we'll be down a man now."

Great. That meant the rest of them would be picking up the slack. And by the rest of them, Oren meant Gideon and Sia, because gods knew he and Ilias weren't going to be any help if one of the heavy hitters was out of commission. Unless someone wanted bait. And if that was the case, that same person was going to get one of Oren's feet up their ass.

"We'll still hold up our part," Rae cut in, drawing the group's attention. She tilted her head in Aaramis' direction, and, well, given his thunderous expression and clenched fists, Oren could see how he might be willing to go on a lizard hunting spree, all on his lonesome. At least the gods-damned ground wasn't shaking anymore. "Aaramis can handle a group himself." She caught Gideon's eye. "Do we know what happened?"

"The cleric asked us to leave before I could get Cross to tell us anything," Gideon replied. "But they must've been overwhelmed. They hadn't had any trouble before now, at least nothing Cross mentioned."

"As long as he's going to be alright, the why of it doesn't really matter to me," Inan said, offering a slight smile. "I'll have to thank Cross for bringing him back.

Rae nodded her agreement. "We owe him one, that's for certain." She paused, looking as though she wanted to say something else, then evidently changed her mind and settled on, "I'm glad they're both okay."

"I'm sure Cross will be happy enough knowing Atlas will be alright," Gideon said.

"Should give us his part of the reward," Oren muttered beneath his breath. Ilias, the only one close enough to hear him, shot him a wide-eyed look, to which Oren rolled his eyes and waved him off. Of course he wouldn't actually ask for that, but it would be nice. And if not his whole portion than to compensate for the two days he'd be out of action.

Gideon would skewer him with the pointed end of his bow if he caught wind of Oren's thoughts, which was threat enough to smooth the annoyance from his face as best he could.

Rae hummed, her eyes flicking Oren's way. He avoided eye contact, crossing his arms and angling him away. She couldn't have heard that, unless she was fae... oh gods, was she fae? Inhuman traits didn't always present themselves as physical features, or they were hidden – Oren was proof of that. Shit. He'd have to watch what he said around her from now on.

"I suppose, if you think he'll turn down the offer, something else can be worked out," Rae announced brightly. "Not money" – Gods-fucking-damn it, she was fae, wasn't she? – "but maybe something more useful. For example...you're entering the games, right?"

Rae stuck a hand into her pocket, rooting around for something as she approached the gathered Roses. Oren pointedly looked away from her, wincing, but he couldn't help but sneak glances as she skipped right up to Ilias. Metal flashed between her fingers as she offered something to Ilias. It looked familiar – a talisman, maybe?

"I'm sure this could help. I've other magic items at home, but those will have to wait until we meet there. I was given this on our last job--but, I haven't bothered to contract with it just yet. My other spirits do enough, as I'm sure Oren can attest."

Ilias' hand reflexively closed around the object (definitely a talisman, if that was his reaction) before he made a quiet noise of surprise and shoved it back into Rae's hands.

"Uh, no, no, that's not—" The terror was radiating off Ilias in waves. His hands curled against his chest, which clearly wasn't enough for him, as he then stuffed them under his arms, like he was physically preventing himself from reaching out for the talisman again. "Um, uh, just— I don't need a reward! I haven't done... anything... it's Cross who..."

Gideon shifted closer to Ilias, putting himself between the stuttering redhead and Rae. "That's a very kind gesture," he said placidly, "but it's too much for us to accept. Ilias is right. If you do want to do something, it should be for Cross."

Oren, for his part, had no earthly idea what the fuck was going on. Contracts were rare, he knew that much; barely anyone had the talent for taming (or as Ilias would say, befriending) celestial beasts. That Rae had a beast's talisman without it being in a pact with her was... weird. Oren didn't discuss the specifics of his magic with Ilias much – beyond the few occasions he'd copied Ilias while he was summoning (which he never did on purpose, because it was a dick move to steal the guy's summons), he couldn't say he had much reason to be invested in any of it. And Ilias was paranoid by nature, he didn't need any convincing to assume everyone was out to get him. But maybe he had a reason to be suspicious of Rae's intentions here.

Why would she willingly give up such rare and powerful magic, to a man she'd never met before?

Rae tilted her head, her smile still broad and steady. "But, isn't helping anyone on your guild a way of helping him, if you think he won't accept the offer of a debt? After all, the tourney is a guild event. While the matches are individual, the initial part requires everyone to be at their best. Assisting you, here, would be helping him, no?"

That wouldn't get her anywhere, Oren knew, and from the way Gideon's expression almost imperceptibly hardened, he wasn't about to dismiss a chance to force Rae's hand, even if it wasn't necessarily information he wanted to disclose.

"Ilias won't be participating in the tourney unless someone gets injured," Gideon explained. "So, again, a kind gesture, but not one we can make use of." He paused, debating with himself, before adding, "And, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Ilias is... uncomfortable with the offer. Pushing it won't warm him up to the idea any."

Rae slowly slipped the talisman away, before nodding her understanding. "A shame, but I understand. I'll have to think longer on how to repay all of you."

Oren didn't trust the glint in Rae's eye, and he scooted back another few steps, snagging Ilias' arm to pull him along. Ilias didn't protest, though Oren did see his eyes drop to where Rae had stowed the talisman, and his throat bobbed as he swallowed. It wasn't temptation, Oren didn't think – it was that wariness that only ever subsided when Hawthorne was around.

Gideon smiled, pleased, but Oren caught the faintest edge to it that spoke volumes about how he was really feeling. He didn't get angry often, like Ilias, but Gideon wasn't actually a saint. They were lucky he was as deferential as he was, and not only because the rest of them were sorely lacking in the manners department. A truly angry Gideon was not something Oren had any interest in seeing.

Again.

"As I said, it should be for Cross," Gideon said, that carefully maintained patience undercut with a hint of steel. "Ask him, that'll keep you from having to stress over it. He'll likely take a meal, if anything."

That done, he turned to address Inan, as well. "We'll be going then, once Sia is finished. If you'd all rather stay with your teammate, we understand. We can handle ourselves for a day and then perhaps reconvene tomorrow."

Oren perked up at this. He would much rather spend the day with his guild mates than Rae and Inan; he could copy Sia, maybe, and help from the sidelines.

As if on cue, Sia stepped out from the healer's house at nearly the same time Gideon said her name.

"I'm here," she said, tucking her hands behind her back. "Atlas will be fine. The other cleric is finishing up now." Her eyes flickered to Aaramis. "And, if you're planning on staying, you should know she said he's not allowed back in." Her expression flickered with repressed amusement, and Oren bit his lip to stifle his own laugh. "I believe her exact words were that she doesn't tolerate people without respect. Or, something like that."

"Is Cross staying?" Gideon asked.

"You'd probably have to pry him off that Atlas guy with a crowbar."

"Oren," Gideon sighed, the warning much more potent this time, and Oren wrinkled his nose, annoyed, but he relented as he joined Sia, planting himself at her side in a way that said very clearly he would not be leaving it any time soon.

Sia swatted Oren's arm as he joined her, but otherwise relaxed with his presence. Her attention flicked to Gideon, pointedly avoiding the dirty look Aaramis was sending her.

"He'll be staying as pointless as it is. He'll probably be out before the guy wakes up."

"A day apart might do us some good," Inan agreed, his own reckless laughter far more audible despite the glower Aaramis graced him with. "When Atlas wakes up we'll see about heading out ourselves. Right, Rae?"

"Right. We'll be fine by ourselves for a day," she chirped.

"Then we'll see you all tomorrow for our last day on the job."

With that, Gideon beckoned the others to follow him and set off for the village entrance. Oren spared the other group a final, cautious glance as he walked away, once again grabbing Ilias to make sure he didn't get left behind. It had happened more than once, and avoiding the lecture he'd get from Gideon was worth the minimal effort it took to keep the redhead walking in step with them.

He figured they'd collect Cross on their way back into the village, if he wasn't already passed out in his room at the inn, which was another fixture of Cross' existence. Crashing after pushing himself to the point of magical exhaustion. He could spend the rest of the job comatose for all Oren cared; hell, they'd probably all be better off for it, that Atlas guy included.

Not that he'd voice that thought to anyone but Sia. But still. He thought it had some merit.