Every step was heavier than the last. Blaine carried on hard, but even Bartholomew was at his limit. The slight breeze they could feel suggested it was a warm winter day outside. The worms ooze kept the walls of the cave bright, even though it was now dead. There were a lot of sharp stones getting stuck in Beatrrix’s paw pads and between his toes. 

Bartholomew hadn’t said a word to him since they killed the worm. He followed right beside Blaine, leaving Beatrix in the back. 

“Hey guys! I still have my pemmican in my bag! We should eat!” Beatrix exclaimed. 

“Not hungry,” Bartholomew said flatly. 

“We should all eat, I forgot you still had some,” Blaine said. Bartholomew stood still as Blaine and Beatrix sat down together, “Bartholomew, come eat,” Blaine demanded. 

“Whatever,” He took a bit from Beatrix and started eating it slowly. “It’s better than I thought!” 

“Well, you should thank Beatrix for saving it for us,” Blaine hinted with a raised eyebrow. 

Bartholomew rolled his eyes. 

Blaine sighed, “Okay, well we should continue following the cave, I can tell which tunnels to turn into because of the wind. We should be out soon,”

“When was the last time we slept?” Beatrix mumbled. 

Blaine looked at Beatrix, defeated, sad, lonely, and tired, then looked at Bartholomew. “Sure, why don’t we sleep now. I will wake you up when it’s time to keep going. You can rest for a while,” 

Beatrix smiled, “Oh thank you! I think we’ve been walking for days!” Beatrix layed down right there and closed his eyes. 

A long time later, Beatrix was fast asleep, and Blaine woke Bartholomew up. 

“What…? It can’t be time to go already?” he grumbled.

“No, just come talk to me for a bit and then you can sleep more,” Blaine whispered. Bartholomew got up and followed Blaine away from Beatrix. 

“What is it?” he yawned.

“You know what it is,” Blaine said sternly. 

“Uh…no I don’t. I haven’t done anything wrong,” Bartholomew immediately started getting defensive. 

“Why are you avoiding Beatrix?”

“I’m not. I’ve been with him this whole time, not my fault he’s not a conversationalist,” he rolled his eyes. 

“No, but you haven’t even been looking at him, or responding to him, you act like you hate him,” he pressed. 

“I don’t act like I hate him!” He yelled. 

“SH…! Don’t wake him up! And yeah you are, you’re going to make him think you don’t like him,” 

“Well, sorry if I don’t want to be friends with a whining mutt!” he growled. 

“What in the name of the Tengoku is wrong with you? What are you talking about?” Blaine whispered harshly. 

“He ran as soon as you actually needed our help! He would have let me die there! He is just a scaredy cat! He’s so childish! He can’t even protect himself!” Bartholomew broke with anger. 

“Nothings changed,” Blaine said.

“What?” 

“Nothing is different from now and then,” 

“Of course something’s changed! He ran away and would have left us to die!”

“But he was always scared. He was never a brave hero. He’s anxious, he’s terrified of new things. We are the first people teaching him to be brave, how to fight,” Blaine tried to calm him down. 

“Well, yeah! He was never a fighter…But he would never have left someone to die!” Bartholomew continued to push. 

“You never saw him make the choice until now, and you weren’t ready for it. How can you expect him to risk his life for you, when he-”

“Because I would die for him!” he cried. His words echoed through the cave, the two of them were silent for a moment. 

“I don’t think he understands those feelings yet,” Blaine whispered. 

“Will he come home with us? After the journey?” Bartholomew’s voice shook.

“No…but don’t tell him,” Blaine said. 

Bartholomew sobbed, choked on his breath, and got snot all over the ground. He whipped his nose and heaved himself up. He walked to Beatrix and dropped down beside him. He shoved his face into Beatrix’s soft coat, and cried until he fell asleep.