They'd decided to make camp for the night, so Caaliey headed to the forest to find some firewood. She used the time to ponder her situation.
I didn't really mean what I said yesterday… But Gel'll tell them that I'm fine, so I don't have to worry about that. But I'm sure Tyren'll let me go along with him. After all… we're a good team…
She returned to the tents clutching the few sticks she'd bothered to gather in one hand. Tyren had finished re-bandaging the gaping slash down his leg, and was digging out the food from the packs. He'd tried to use his cure materia on the wound, albeit unsuccessfully. She figured it was because he'd been too weak at the time. For some reason, he hadn't allowed her to try with hers, and insisted on creating a crude bandage for it by ripping up a spare shirt. When she stamped her foot in annoyance and glared at him, he simply shrugged it off and gave her a roguish grin, picking up his pack and walking with a noticeable limp to where Qwark stood. Deciding not to press the issue any further, she simply mounted Qwark as well, and led him on. Now, she decided to give it another go. After starting up what could hardly be called a fire, she walked over to where he sat, polishing his sword.
"Ok, time to heal your leg properly."
He looked up, and rolled his eyes in a friendly way.
"It's best to leave things alone, sometimes. Just let it heal naturally. It shouldn't take more than a few days, anyway."
"Just let me use it. What's the worst that could happen?"
"I already tried using my own cure materia. And that healing wind from my yellow materia. Both didn't work. A night's sleep should do."
He swayed slightly as he spoke, and Caaliey was pretty sure that it was from the loss of blood. With one deft movement, she unsheathed her dagger and sliced through the material. Ignoring his protests, she placed her hand gently on his wound, and used the cure materia embedded in the armour on her wrist. They both looked away as the wound repaired itself, the ribbons of magic stitching together the torn muscle and flesh. When they looked back, all that was left was a superficial scratch, waiting for new skin to grow over the top.
With a wan smile, Tyren rose unsteadily.
"I think I'll be off to bed now – I'm not very hungry. I unpacked the food while you were gone, and it's right next to the packs. Night."
Before she could say anything, he headed to his pack to fetch his roll, and placed it beside the fire. She clenched her fists, and with great difficulty resisted the urge to yell insults at him. Not even a word of thanks. What an ungrateful jerk. I should just leave him now. No way I'm travelling round the world with someone like him.