Several hours later.

The Sanctuary gates remained busy as always. Large transport convoys arrived regularly, supply vehicles entered and contractors who hunted during the night departed.

Everything moved with organized efficiency.

Ravenna stood among a gathering crowd near one of the public observation platforms. It wasn’t directly at the gates since that would be strange, suspicious, and embarrassing. Instead, she stood nearby, which was entirely coincidental, of course.

Mallory remained beside her looking increasingly amused.

"You know this is worse."

Ravenna frowned.

"What is?"

"If you waited directly at the gates, at least you’d be honest."

"I am not waiting."

The maid looked around. The platform overlooked the main arrival route where every returning contractor would pass through it.

"...Sure."

Ravenna refused to acknowledge that.

Time passed slowly, the evening sun finally settled and the floodlights were turned on.

Golden light painted portions of the Sanctuary walls as people came and went. Conversations and laughter drifted through the crowds.

The atmosphere felt oddly festive. Returning rookie expeditions always attracted attention.

Families waited.

Friends waited.

Mentors waited.

Everyone wanted to see who came back and who didn’t. The reality of the wasteland remained cruel. Not every name on the departure roster returned home.

Ravenna found herself watching the arrivals more carefully than intended.

One convoy entered.

Not him.

Another followed.

Still nothing.

Then the third transport rolled through the gates. The crowd stirred as cheers from the remaining families filled the gates. Several families rushed forward immediately.

Returning rookies began climbing down. Some were injured and some were exhausted. Most looked older than when they left.

Ravenna scanned the crowd automatically then found Silver. For a moment she almost didn’t recognize him. His clothes were damaged with several visible bandages wrapped around portions of his body. Dried blood stained parts of his jacket and he looked exhausted.

Ravenna blinked.

The reality before her felt strange. Until now Silver existed mostly as awkward memories. Seeing him like this, actually injured and returning from danger made everything more real.

Mallory spoke quietly.

"He looks awful."

Ravenna nodded.

"He does," she said looking him up and down, "... Did he always look that tall though?"

Mallory groaned.

"Oh, we’re back to this."

Ravenna ignored her.

Below, Silver exchanged a few words with several people then gradually drifted away from the celebratory family crowds.

Ravenna noticed something extremely small then, it was easy for most to miss. Nobody was waiting for him. Some people did approach, but they seemed more like acquaintances or curious observers, and then they left.

Eventually, Silver was left standing alone in the crowd and in deep thought. His expression remained calm through all that, yet something about it felt familiar. He was a person accustomed to being left alone.

The realization unsettled her slightly. She understood that feeling more than she wanted to. Before she realized what she was doing her feet moved.

Mallory stared at her for a moment.

"...Lady Ravenna?"

Too late.

She was already walking towards him. Silver seemed to have finished his thinking process since he turned to leave, completely unaware.

Ravenna hesitated once then called out.

"Hey, Silver!"

The name carried surprisingly far. Several nearby people looked over.

Silver stopped immediately. For a second he seemed confused then he turned.

Grey eyes met dark ones across the crowded street and for perhaps the first time since arriving at the Sanctuary Silver genuinely looked surprised. It was like the possibility hadn’t even occurred to him, he truly hadn’t expected anyone to call his name.

The expression lasted only a moment. Then something softer appeared underneath but briefly. A tiny spark of happiness. And suddenly Ravenna found herself oddly glad she’d come.

For a few seconds after Ravenna called his name, neither of them moved. The crowd continued flowing around them yet somehow the noise faded into the background.

Silver simply stared at her.

Ravenna immediately regretted everything since she now actually had to speak first. Calling someone’s name confidently and then having no follow-up plan turned out to be a terrible strategy.

She should have prepared something. A greeting, a conversation starter, or a reason. Anything would have been better but instead, she embarrassed herself further.

"Hi."

The word escaped before she could stop it.

Silver blinked.

"...Hi?"

Wonderful, an excellent start. Two intellectual giants meeting for the first time.

Ravenna resisted the urge to walk away while Silver looked equally uncomfortable which somehow made things worse... or better.

She wasn’t sure. Neither seemed particularly skilled at this. For a moment they simply stood there looking at each other. Silver had not expected to meet her at all, he was completely blindsided.

Then Ravenna noticed his injuries again. Now that he stood closer, they were impossible to ignore. He had bandages, bruising and there was stiffness hidden beneath his movements. Even his face looked slightly paler than before.

The Sanctuary lights revealed details that the distance had hidden. Silver looked like someone who had been hit by a car and somehow survived, which was probably an accurate comparison.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Are you okay? You’re injured."

Silver immediately looked away. A suspicious reaction.

"I’m fine."

Ravenna stared, then looked directly at the bandage visible near his collar then at another around his wrist, then at the torn jacket and back at him.

"..."

"..."

"Silver," she called in a sickly sweet voice.

"Yes?"

"You’re not okay at all. You look like someone threw you down a valley."

Which was technically accurate. Silver coughed.

"It wasn’t that deep."

Ravenna’s expression became completely flat.

"You actually fell down one."

"...Maybe."

"Oh my god. That was supposed to be a joke. "

Beside her, Mallory covered her face. Silver looked slightly embarrassed which was somehow amusing.

The rumors always described him as some arrogant young master. Yet every interaction she’d had with him felt like speaking to a particularly intelligent disaster.

Ravenna folded her arms.

"How badly are you hurt?"

"It’s fine."

"How badly?"

"It’s mostly healed."

That wasn’t an answer she wanted. Ravenna took a step forward. Silver took one backward instinctively.

She stopped.

He stopped.

The two stared at each other.

"...Did you just retreat?"

"No."

"You literally moved backwards, I could see that."

"I was adjusting my balance."

She chuckled at the absurdity before her. He was the one who came to her, not the other way around.

"Are you scared of me?"

Silver looked offended.

"No. I’ve fought far stronger beasts."

"So, I frightened you then?"

"... Different kind of dangers."

The maid made a choking sound behind them. Ravenna almost laughed; instead, she pointed down the street.

"Come on."

Silver blinked.

"Where?"

"The pharmacy."

His confusion became visible immediately.

"Why?"

This time Ravenna looked genuinely confused.

"Because you’re injured."

"I already have medicine."

"Clearly it isn’t working."

"It is working."

"You look terrible." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Silver opened his mouth then closed it again. Unfortunately, she had a point, the military-issued recovery pills worked but slowly.

Most rookie treatments prioritized keeping contractors alive until they reached proper facilities.

He had wanted to purchase another capsule from the system when he got back to the sanctuary.

He didn’t want to heal too fast especially with the other Contractors present to compare in injuries. Not everyone wouldn’t care as Shawn had if he magically got better. In the Sanctuary he could just say he went to a healer.

Ravenna pointed again.

"Pharmacy."

Silver sighed.

"It’s really unnecessary."

"You gave me points, it doesn’t hurt to use them."

"That was different."

"How?"

"It’s meant for your own use..."

Ravenna immediately started walking clearly expecting him to follow. Silver watched her go, looked around then sighed again. Somehow he’d lost and he wasn’t entirely sure how.