He wished he could take his statement back. He thought it would relinquish whatever hold this hell hole had upon them. Sadly, it did nothing of the sort. 

Each breath was stiff as his body protested the movement. His heart beating in his ears threatened to make him go deaf. Every time he moved Jax had to clench his jaw shut, forcing the teeth to grind together to prevent him from screaming in agony. 

It would only get worse until they found a way out. Jax thought, resting his hands on his knees while he was bent over trying to catch his breath. He could feel his body tremble, lurching with every breath. Jax covered his mouth as a cough decided to destroy his throat. He probably inhaled some dust by accident. Yea… that had to be it. 

The fit had him looking up to find his savior quiet, but intense gaze upon him. A worried glint overtook Ravin’s features. Jax pushed back his pain, for what was maybe the millionth time that day, and stood straight. Hoping the dark atmosphere would hide the pain from his face.

Ravin turned away, unconvinced, continuing to follow the passageway they’d found. It reminded Ravin of an old mining rig. It couldn’t be though because most of the mines to the east were shut down. The shafts either collapsed internally or were blocked off, aka the entrances were bombed shut. 

Which is impossible for a mine shaft to be this far east… Unless they used a cave system when they had begun mining. It would’ve been less work for them and easy to cover up should the mine have collapsed. Ravin mentally shook his head. Either way they weren’t meant to be down here. 

Which is going to make getting out of here that much harder. It had been several hours since they had ventured away from the alcove. They hadn’t stopped for a break. Ravin could wait a few more hours before he would need to, he could go the entire day without a break if he was honest. The boy couldn’t. Jax had to be running on fumes. 

Ravin slowed his pace to better match the kids. His stride is a tad larger than Jaxs’. He noticed the boy was struggling to keep up. It wasn’t long till he slowed to a stop. It was as good a spot as any. Jax looked at him confused. 

“Rest kid. There’s a long journey ahead of us,” Ravin said, leaning against a wall. He combed through a pouch hanging off his belt while Jax got situated on the floor. His feet thanked him for the relief. 

Jax closed his eyes resting his head back on the hard stone wall. He stayed like that until a hand lightly tapped his shoulder. He blinked blearily at it then up at its owner. It took him longer than it should have to realize he was being handed something. Ravin clutched the fabric of a small bag, lowering it down to Jax’s level. 

The boy peered up, intrigued, taking the pouch, and opening it. His eyes widened in forgotten hunger. Jax looked to Ravin for permission, who nodded towards the bag, then dug into the small palm full of food he was given. 

Jax sighed in happiness. The taste burst in his mouth; it was much better than the grey tasteless mush they’d been given at Isendeare. After two bites, Jax broke his rations down the middle the best he could and handed the uneaten half to Ravin. 

Ravin’s eyes widened at the sight. He shook his head and gently lowered the boy’s outstretched arm. Silently giving him the freedom to eat the stale piece of bread. 

Jax glared up at the elder, or his version of a glare. It was more of an angry pout in Ravin’s opinion. The boy stuffed his portion into his mouth and then grabbed Ravin’s arm, pressing the bread into his palm before curling his fingers over Ravins’ to close his hand. The boy pushed his hand back towards him making sure it stayed there before he pulled his own back. 

His ember eyes crinkled on the edges. His lips threatened to curve having been caught off guard by the bith’s stubbornness. The sudden courage diminished the instant Jax relinquished his arm. The bith broke first, shifting his gaze to the floor like he had been doing for most of the day. The soft sound of crunching filled the stunned silence. 

He took a bite of the bread, watching the tense muscles ease and an almost pleased look cross the kid’s face. It didn’t stay long for the look turned into a slight grimace. The kid no doubt tried to swallow the dry toast. Ravin counted himself lucky to catch sight of the nearing smile. 

Ravin noisily ate the next few bites while silently opening the pouch that held their rations. He dropped the rest in the pouch with a second thought. Reattaching it to his belt seemed to be the easiest thing he could do. The hardest part was not actively listening to the kid’s growling stomach begging for food. 

He wasn’t anticipating having to fight his own instincts. He wasn’t expecting a lot of things. A gut feeling told him it would only get worse. 

There was always the calm before the storm.