5. Setting Up Camp
After their meeting with Pegasus, they had only the brief walk back to the beach to discuss the implications amongst themselves because when they arrived, everyone else was already cleaning up their empty or mostly-empty MRE packs and breaking off to do the tasks that had been assigned to them before lunch.
"We should split up into pairs to look for water," Tristan suggested. "Serenity, why don't you and I go west into the woods?"
Téa couldn't help but smile at Tristan's ploy to get Serenity alone. Joey noticed, too, and looked none too happy about it, but Mai immediately distracted him.
"Joey and I can head south," she suggested, taking his arm and quite pointedly dragging him away from his sister.
"Okay, I'm coming," he grumbled, shooting a final look of warning to Tristan, who already had his back turned and was heading off with Serenity. Turning back to Mai, Joey asked, "So, how exactly do we find water?"
She gave an exaggerated sigh of exasperation as they headed off. "Did you learn nothing about the wilderness after Duelist Kingdom? Look for signs of animals or birds. They'd need fresh water to drink."
"Well excuse me for being a city boy!"
Téa looked at Yugi and smiled. "It's good to see them back to normal after so long," she said, and he nodded in agreement.
"Well, we can go that way," Rebecca said to Yugi, pointing toward the woods in the opposite direction Joey and Mai had just headed. She still looked sullen.
Téa fumed. She is so just pushing his buttons….
Yugi looked torn. He obviously was still feeling a little protective of Téa after their close call.
"Hey Becky," Duke said, sweeping in and clapping an arm around Rebecca's shoulder to steer her away from Yugi and Téa, saving Yugi from having to choose between the two girls, "why don't you come with me?" He gave Yugi and Téa a smirk that made Téa feel self-conscious.
"Duke—" Rebecca started to protest, but he cut her off.
"Come on, Becks, I want to spend some one-on-one time with you, you know, checking up on exactly what is going on with a certain black-haired rich boy."
"Uh… okay, I guess," Rebecca said, perking up a bit. "Okay, Duke, let's go."
"Have fun, you two!" Duke called over his shoulder, giving them a wave then mouthing Yugi's girl to Téa as he and Rebecca disappeared into the trees.
Téa scowled at him then deadpanned, "Well, that was subtle. Think our secret's out?"
Yugi gave her a sly yet embarrassed grin. "I think maybe you kissing me on the beach in front of everyone just might have given them a clue. Although to hear Joey tell it, the only people who hadn't already figured it out were you and me."
Téa thought of Duke's "Yugi's girl"and Serenity telling her how "obvious"it was to everyone else. "Uh, yeah, that's the story I've been getting, too."
"So," he said, "water."
"Right," she replied. "I guess we go that way," she pointed.
"Looks rocky," Yugi said dubiously.
"Yeah, that's what we get for choosing last."
Yugi nodded and fell into step beside her.
"You sure you okay?" he asked her. "You really scared me back there."
"Mm hmm," she nodded. Heck, it was almost worth it if it finally got her some time alone with Yugi, although she immediately felt guilty for thinking that way.
He slipped his hand into hers as they walked, picking their way over the rocks and into the trees.
"Duke would pick the more level ground," Téa grumbled.
"He probably figured we owed it to him for taking Rebecca."
"Good point," Téa grinned.
"Hey Téa, I'm sorry about that, by the way. I know I've been with her all morning and everything, and I really wanted to talk with you, but I think the ship sinking really freaked her out and I feel responsible…."
Téa wondered if he meant responsible for Rebecca or for the ship sinking. Probably a little of both, she thought with an inward sigh. "It's okay, Yugi, I understand," she told him.
She fell silent again as her mind drifted to the night before. "Hey, can I ask you something?" she said, no longer able to keep her patience in check.
"Sure."
She chewed her lip apprehensively. "Did you really mean what you said on the ship?"
He grinned, his expression a combination of mischievousness and nervousness. "Let's see… I said a lot of things on the ship. I said I hadn't competed just for fun since the KC Grand Championship, and I meant that. Although I guess this tournament no longer qualifies, does it? Oh, I know! I called Weevil a cockroach at least twice, and I meant that."
She slapped his arm playfully. "Stop, you know what I mean!"
"I'm pretty sure I said 'wow' when I saw you in that fancy dress the first night. Definitely meant that."
"Better," she replied, smiling despite her own nervousness, "but still not what I'm talking about. I mean, I can understand if you didn't… if you just… you know, got caught up in the heat of the moment—"
He stopped walking and took her by the shoulders, turning her to face him. "Téa, stop," he said, his voice solemn. "I meant it." His eyes met hers, completely serious now. "I love you. I've loved you for pretty much ever."
She closed her eyes took a deep breath as the words sunk in.
"Does that freak you out?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied automatically, opening her eyes, but when she saw the look of disappointment on his face, she quickly added, "No! I mean, yes, but in a good way."
"Okaaay," Yugi said, taking his hands off his shoulders and crossing his arms, bemused.
"It's just that this is so surreal." She explained. "Everything's been so weird since graduation. I really felt bad about saying what I said to you, the timing being what it was. It was so selfish of me to dump all that on you."
He looked taken aback by this. "What are you talking about? I'm grateful for you being honest with me. If you hadn't, I don't think I could have ever been honest with myself about how I feel about you."
"Still, the way things were so confused because of Atem and then you remembering his memories… you didn't need the complication of my feelings mixed in with everything else."
"That wasn't your fault! How were you supposed to know that was going to happen?"
"It doesn't matter that I didn't know that was coming. What I did know was that you were dealing with Atem being gone and I only thought about how I felt about all that and dumping that on you when neither one of us was in a position to deal with it, either emotionally or logistically, was unfair. And then Joey went off on me for trying to push what I wanted you having Atem's memories to mean—"
"Wait a second," Yugi interrupted, looking irritated. "Joey went off on you? He had no right to do that! And since when do you listen to Joey anyway?"
"No, he was right about this. I wanted so much for you to be the person I—" She stopped short, unsure how to finish the sentence. "I wanted you to be who I wanted you to be, with all the qualities that make you you in my eyes. It wasn't fair."
"Téa, we've already had this conversation."
"I know, I'm not trying to rehash it, I'm trying to explain what I've been feeling the past two years. I was embarrassed, Yugi, and I was upset with myself and I didn't feel like I'd been a very good friend, so when I went to New York, I tried to put it behind me. I tried to just be your friend and sit back and let you figure out who you are. Those guys I went out with in New York? That was me trying to convince myself what I felt for you was just a high school crush, just like you said. But do you know why none of them ever lasted? It was always because of you. We'd go out and it would be fun and everything, but as soon as I got home I'd be on the computer checking my e-mail for something from you. And then you said you were leaving Cairo for six months and we couldn't even e-mail anymore; God Yugi, I was devastated. I don't think since I met you I've gone six hours without talking to you. I couldn't imagine six months without you in my life, even if it was only text on a screen."
She looked at him and her heart squeezed in her chest as she realized how much she loved him. She loved the way his eyes could look so open and innocent one second and so intense and arresting the next. She loved that he was so diffident and timid and so gregarious all at once. She loved the way his friends meant so much to him and how he fought so hard to always do the right thing. She loved those graceful, slender hands and she even loved his stupid, ridiculous hair and the way the blond locks in front framed his face. She found herself reaching for it again like she had last night, brushing it tenderly back from his eyes before cupping his cheek in her hand.
"Everything was so confused when we left Domino, I didn't really know what it is I felt, but I tried to get over it because I thought that's what would be best," she continued. "But I couldn't get over you, Yugi, not even six thousand miles away. The more I tried, the more I fell in love with you instead." He closed his eyes as she said this and she stroked his cheek with her thumb. "So hearing you say you love me too? Yeah, that freaks me out. A lot."
"Téa," he murmured, blushing, and then she was kissing him. It was like last night, an overwhelming feeling that everything in her life had been leading to this one moment where there was only him—her oldest and best friend, her protector and the one she protected—and he loved her. She wanted to scream and laugh and cry all at once but couldn't do any of it because she was lost in his kiss and didn't ever want to be found again.
"We're… supposed to be… looking… for water…" he said breathlessly between kisses, but made no real effort to actually stop.
"Who needs… water?" she asked, as breathless as he was.
They kissed a while longer, it seemed like hours or days, maybe, but when his lips reluctantly left hers it wasn't enough. Thankfully, he didn't pull back completely but instead rested his forehead against hers.
"I love you so much," he breathed. "How did I ever survive the last two years without you?"
She felt a thrill at his first statement until reality came crashing back in at his second. "I don't know, but we'll have to do it again, won't we? What with you in America and me in Japan."
"No," he whispered, silencing her with one more kiss before he pulled back to look at her, both hands cradling her face. "I wanna be where you are. I'll go back to Domino until we can both get student visas—"
"Yugi, you can't put school aside for me," she protested.
"Yes, I can. For years you've put stuff on hold for me, to come support me. You'd saved since forever to go study dancing in New York and then used the money so you and Joey and Tristan could come with me to Egypt."
"And then my dad paid for me to go to New York anyway," she pointed out. "Yugi, you have to go to school in America, you know you do. Besides, if what Pegasus told us is true, you know you should be in California where you can help put a stop to all this."
He shook his head. "I just… I wanna help you make your dreams come true."
"But I don't even know what my dreams are right now, Yugi. The only dream I ever had was dancing, and now that I know it isn't what I thought it was, I don't know what my new dream is." She paused as an idea occurred to her. "You know what I really want? I want to go to San Francisco and help fight whoever wants to open the Shadow Realm. I want to make a difference, not just on the sidelines. I want to do something about this. But I'm not a duelist. I can't fight the way you do, so you have to. You can't come back to Domino just for me and not do this. You know you can't."
He sighed, leaning his forehead against hers again. "You're right. I know you're right. But all I want is to be with you."
"I wanna be with you, too," she told him. "But you know, we'll figure it out. I can probably get another student visa next year, or maybe if I'm lucky, by spring semester, and then I can come to San Francisco too and help out. And in the meantime, even if we're not in the same place for a little while, we'll still be together, right?"
"Together. I like the sound of that." He pulled back and his eyes met hers. "Téa, you… this… this is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I want you to know that."
That warmed her all over. "Yeah, me too," she said, then added with a wry smile, "Well, I could do without the whole ship sinking thing."
He grinned at her and she wanted to kiss him again, almost ached to, but she knew they had a job to do. "I guess the water isn't going to find itself," she said with about as much enthusiasm as she might have for leaving a warm fireplace to go out into a downpour.
"No, I guess not," he agreed with the same lack of enthusiasm. "Better get to it, then." Taking her hand once more, they continued walking up over the rocks into the trees.
When they all made it back to the little beach it was nearly dinnertime and everyone was starving. Mako, as Mai expected he would, had caught a ridiculous amount of fish so they wouldn't have to eat the MREs again. He and some of the others had already cleaned and skewered them on sticks and were roasting them over a campfire that had been built at the base of the cliffs on the northwest end of the beach farthest away from where the landslide had wrecked their path back to where the rest of their shipmates were marooned. Rex and Weevil's group had also found plenty of edible plants and berries to add to the meal, although Mai was fairly certain neither Rex nor Weevil had actually contributed to the haul. Mai, feeling charitable, even passed around her backpack to everyone and shared from her private stash of candy bars, trail mix, and granola bars—well most of her stash, anyway. She did have a few things she was hoarding because they were too good to pass on. But the simple act of sharing her food brought back fond memories of how she'd first become friends with Joey and his gang at Duelist Kingdom.
The cliffs around the campfire were dotted with caves of varying sizes. There was enough room in the caves to shelter all thirty-eight of them. Another fire burned on the other end of the beach, that one primarily to be used to signal planes or ships.
Mai and Joey had found a stream not too far south of the beach where there was plenty of fresh water. Kaiba's group, in addition to finding the caves they could use as shelter, had explored the whole northeast section of the island. It did, indeed, seem to be completely cut off from the rest of the island by the ring of cliffs, although if it became absolutely necessary to get back, they could probably make it over the bluffs on the west side. There seemed to be plenty of caves in that direction, and even more past the stream to the south if the need for finding new shelter arose.
By the time dinner had been prepared, the mood among the thirty-eight passengers and crew in their small group was fairly upbeat as they gathered around the fire. Although they were shipwrecked and stranded on an island in the North Pacific, separated from the rest of their shipmates with no idea of their exact location and where the temperature ranged from just above freezing to around fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit, they had managed in just one day to make a rather comfortable camp. They were alive, they weren't all cramped in lifeboats on the ocean, they still had plenty of fish thanks to Mako Tsunami, they had water and shelter, and they all were even warming to the idea of continuing with the tournament the next day right here on their little private beach.
Even Pegasus's so called "Shadow Duelists" were all in rather good spirits despite what he had told them. After they'd spent some time mulling over his story, it seemed pointless to worry and continuing with the tournament seemed harmless enough. All things told, the atmosphere around the campfires, while falling short of festive, perhaps, was at least optimistic as they ate fish and enjoyed the fire under the slate gray sky.
For Mai, however, the evening was nothing short of euphoric.
She had worried about the reception she would receive from Joey's friends when they had first caught up with them after their talk morning, but for the most part they accepted her presence with little fanfare as if she had always been among them. Serenity was the only exception, and her greeting had been much more enthusiastic. Even Tristan, the one she'd worried most about, seemed to tolerate her presence with no animosity, although how much of that was the rapport they'd developed from working together to free Joey from the ship's gymnasium and how much of it was fear of getting on Serenity's bad side again she didn't know. Either way, he was pleasant enough to her and that was all she could ask for.
As for Yugi and Téa, by dinnertime they were so chummy with each other she wasn't even sure they noticed her at all. Normally that kind of thing would make her nauseous, but she was in such a good mood that as long as they didn't drift anywhere close to the realm of baby talk or pet names, she was inclined to cut them some slack. Truth be told, she was happy for them. Hell, she was just happy in general. Joey was back in her life and nothing, not being shipwrecked, not Pegasus's bizarre story or even the specter of the Shadow Realm could ruin her good spirits tonight.
After dinner, several people drifted off toward the caves to catch up on the sleep they had all missed the night before while others stayed and enjoyed the fire. Mai, who was reluctant to go to sleep, was glad that Joey and his friends—her friends, too, she reminded herself—all opted to stay. They all talked together for a while, then Joey, Tristan, and Duke tore Yugi away from Téa for "male bonding," which meant the poor kid was probably going to get worked over for details about Téa. Mai stayed at the fire and talked with Téa and Serenity while their friend Rebecca sat a ways off with Mokuba Kaiba. For someone sitting next to the hottest catch of the under-eighteen set, Mai thought she looked rather forlorn.
"Is she okay?" Mai asked the other two, indicating Rebecca with a jerk of her head. "I don't know her well, but she always struck me as pretty spunky. She looks awfully quiet over there with Mokuba."
Serenity and Téa regarded the pair of teenagers for a moment. "Well it was a pretty scary night last night," Téa said.
Mai raised her eyebrow at the irritation she heard in Téa's voice, but instead of commenting on it, said, "I saw her in California so I know she's seen worse." Then she mentally kicked herself for reminding them of California. However, if they noticed, they didn't say anything.
"Yeah, that's what I keep thinking, too," Téa agreed, still talking about Rebecca. "She's been acting kinda strange since we got here."
"She's probably jealous," Serenity grinned, nudging Téa. "Joey said she used to have a huge crush on Yugi. And speaking of," she added, hunching close to Téa and speaking quietly, "the boys are gone, so spill. Don't leave anything out."
Apparently Yugi wasn't the only one who was going to get pumped for details.
Téa looked rather embarrassed by this and Mai realized that while Serenity saw her as just one of the gang, perhaps Téa wasn't entirely comfortable sharing in her presence. "Why don't I let you two girls talk," she said, starting to get up from the rock where she was sitting, but Téa put a hand on her arm to stop her.
"It's okay, Mai, you don't have to go. Actually, I'm really glad you're here."
Mai smiled, touched by the gesture of friendship on Téa's part.
To Serenity, Téa answered, "There's nothing really to tell. We talked and you were right."
This clearly wasn't a good enough answer for Serenity. "Oh come on! Sunday night you were hysterical and you avoided him all day Monday, then this morning you practically attacked him on the beach. I want to know how we got from Point A to Point B."
Mai cocked her head, curious. This was getting interesting.
"I told you, we talked and sorted everything out," Téa insisted,
"And?"
"And what?"
Serenity groaned in exasperation. "Did you tell him you love him?"
Mai leaned toward Téa and folded her hands under her chin. "Ooh, do tell, Téa," she said, although she could tell by Téa's expression what the answer was.
"Okay, yeah, I did."
"And?" Serenity prompted. "What did he say?"
"Actually, he said it first," Téa beamed despite her embarrassment.
Serenity squealed and Mai jumped back, startled. "Oh, Téa, this is huge," Serenity gushed, "Huge! I told you! I knew he was in love with you! I'm so happy he finally got up the courage to tell you!"
"Yeah, last night. And then the ship blew up. Literally seconds later, like it was just waiting for the right moment. 'I love you.' BOOM!"
"NO!" Serenity cried. "Oh my God, what awful timing!"
"No kidding," Téa agreed.
"Okay, I have to ask," Mai said, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. "How is it that you two are just getting together now? It was so obvious all the way back in Duelist Kingdom that you two had a crush on each other, and then I was sure you'd gotten together when I saw you on a date in Battle City."
"You went on a date in Battle City?" Serenity roared. "How did I not know this?"
Téa colored. "Because that wasn't—" She stopped short, as if deciding against whatever track she'd started down and began again. "I mean, it wasn't a date, not really," she said, flashing Mai an irritated look. "We were just friends, we hung out together a lot, that's all. What?" she asked, when Mai crossed her arms and gave her a skeptical look. "It isn't easy admitting a friend is something more to you," she argued, giving Mai a somewhat discerning glare.
"I wouldn't know," Mai said flatly, ignoring the raised eyebrows she got in return. Steering the topic back to Téa, she added, "And then he finally does admit it and the ship blows up."
"This is the story of our lives," Téa moaned.
Serenity still wasn't satisfied, so she tried again to get more details, but Téa turned the tables on her by asking her about Tristan and Duke. Serenity was spared from answering when they were interrupted.
"Everything all right with you ladies? You've all had enough to eat and drink and are staying warm?"
Mai looked up to find Evan standing above them, ostensibly fulfilling his duties as head of their little team, but it was Mai he was looking at. She felt a mixture of anger and guilt—more anger than guilt, though—wash over her.
"We're good, thanks," Téa said politely.
"Yes, thank you," Serenity added.
"You doing okay after almost going over that cliff?" he asked Téa.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Téa replied, blushing a little.
Evan turned to Mai. "And you're doing okay too?"
"Never better," she answered in her coolest tone. Serenity and Téa both gave her curious looks but she ignored them, staring resolutely into the fire. After a moment, Evan asked, "Miss Valentine, I was wondering if I might have a word with you."
This annoyed Mai and brought more curious looks from Téa and Serenity. Her impulse was to blow him off, but remembering Joey's accusation that she still had a tendency to run from her problems, she decided to face him head on. "Of course," she bristled, getting up from the rock to follow him a little ways away from the fire toward one of the caves.
"You made some new friends," he said conversationally.
"No, I renewed some old ones," she corrected curtly.
"Okaaaay, I get it, you're mad at me. Care to tell me why?"
She crossed her arms and looked him in the eye. "Because one of those old friends almost died last night because of you."
This seemed to rattle him. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Last night when you insisted the ship's gym was empty and wasn't worth checking? My friend was trapped in there."
He regained his composure as understanding dawned on him. "I see. The other guy, the one arguing with me on the stairs, he's also one of your 'old friends'?" He shook his head. "You conned me, didn't you? You were the distraction."
She shrugged. "You didn't leave me much choice. I have half a mind to sue the cruise line when we get back."
"I was doing my job, Mai. The whole Holiday Deck was unsafe and we did check for any passengers. It was supposed to be closed when the bomb went off anyway."
"That's another thing. I was in the weight room at two o'clock and it was not closed."
He frowned. "That's strange."
"But it doesn't matter. My friend told you he knew someone was down there. You should have at least checked it out."
He sighed. "You said you used to work on a cruise ship. Ever been through an emergency? People do crazy things. I was trying to keep him from going down to a level that was taking on water. That's my job. I'm really sorry your friend was down there and I'm glad you got him out. Even if you had to con me to do it."
She drummed her fingers on her arms irritably. Joey almost died. That fact diminished any others. But then, she was the last person to be in a position to judge anyone else. She had enough demons of her own. Exhaling slowly, she let it go. "Okay, fine."
He smiled and touched her shoulder. "Then you're not mad?"
"Yes, I am mad," she said, eyeing his hand on her shoulder, "but I'll get over it. And… you need to know, as much as I really appreciate how nice you've been and you've helped me out of a few really tight spots, I'm not looking for any kind of relationship right now."
"Well that's good, I was just hoping for a quick fling," he said with a salacious wink.
She narrowed her eyes and slapped his hand off her shoulder, to which he held up his hands defensively and said "Kidding! I'm just kidding!" When her expression didn't soften, he said, "I'm not looking for any kind of relationship right now either, okay? I'm here to do a job and that's all. If part of that job includes giving a beautiful woman a hand now and then, so much the better, but if you're all worried that you led me on and now I'm smitten, you can relax. And seriously, I was kidding before. You need to lighten up."
She bristled, then took a deep breath. "Whatever. Just so we're clear."
"Perfectly." He touched the brim of his hat. "Good evening, Miss Valentine," he said cordially, then walked away.
With a sigh of relief, Mai returned to the fire where Serenity and Téa were sitting and saw that the four guys were returning as well.
"You boys done working over poor Yugi?" she asked with a grin. Yugi blushed but looked none the worse for wear.
"We were just coming back to see if you ladies needed an escort to our deluxe accommodations," Duke answered. "'Cause we're all pretty beat and some of you are dueling tomorrow."
"Which cave are we supposed to be sleeping in anyway?" Tristan asked.
"Let's just all walk over there together," Téa suggested. Yugi was already back at her side.
As they walked down toward the cliffs, Mai pulled Joey back. "Hey Joey, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"I was curious. Why were you down in the gym last night anyway?"
"To play basketball. That's what you usually do on a basketball court, you know."
Mai ignored the sarcasm. "But why would you play basketball at two o'clock in the morning? Did someone suggest the idea to you or something?"
"That's kind of a weird question. Why would you think that?" he asked.
"Because one of the pursers told me the gym was supposed to close at one o'clock but it didn't. It seems a little odd, don't you think?"
His face darkened a bit. "Your purser friend Evan?"
She rolled her eyes and gave him a backhanded slap on the shoulder. "Would you stay on topic here? Isn't it strange that the gym never closed on the night you happened to go down there at two in the morning? It makes me wonder if someone didn't give you the idea."
His eyes widened as he saw where she was going. "You think maybe someone wanted me down there when the bombs went off?"
"Maybe."
He shook his head. "But no one gave me the idea. No one even knew I was there. I couldn't sleep so I got up to shoot some hoops. I do that when I'm frustrated."
"But what were you frustrated about? Rex Raptor maybe?"
"No," he said and she realized he was grinning and giving her a strange look.
"What?"
"I was frustrated with you.I really wanted to work things out with you and you'd just blown me off when I'd tried talking to you after that dinner thing Pegasus had in the Acropolis Club, remember?"
"Oh," she said, not sure how to respond to that. She remembered now that he had looked like he was trying to work through something that was bothering him. She'd even wondered if it had to do with her, but she'd not suspected then that it could possibly have been because he wanted to work things out. Okay, Mai, now look who needs to stay on topic, she scolded herself. "Then you don't think someone set you up?"
"I don't see how," he said. "But how about you, you were down there, too, right? You said you saw me."
"Yeah, but no one knew I was there either," she said, a sheepish smile spreading on her face. "I was there for pretty much the same reason you were, actually."
"You were frustrated with yourself for being such a royal pain too?" he said dryly.
"No, for not taking you down enough pegs, you pinhead," she shot back. "Which reminds me, when exactly will we get to duel each other? Because your ass is in serious need of some kicking, Joey Wheeler."
"Oh, I'd like to see you try!" he laughed haughtily.
"Just you wait. I have some new cards that can wipe out anything in that pathetic assortment of cards you so laughingly call a deck."
"Bring it on, baby, bring it on."
They started off after the others again and when they reached the cave where they would be sleeping, Joey looked around. "Uh… I'll be right back. Gotta use the little boy's tree."
"Yeah, thanks for sharing," she responded, wrinkling her nose as he went off in search of a secluded spot.
She started to go into the cave, but Tristan was waiting for her at the entrance. "Can I talk to you a second?"
"Uh, sure," she replied a little hesitantly. They stepped away from the cave opening together.
"I already thanked you for helping find Joey last night," Tristan began, "but I also want to apologize."
She sighed. "You don't have anything to apologize for, Tristan."
"Yeah, I do," he said. "I was really harsh that first night and I'm sorry. It's just, Joey is my best friend and I don't like seeing him get hurt."
"I know," she said. "I deserved it, Tristan, I get that."
"No, you didn't. I said you weren't a real friend, and you proved last night you are, so I guess I was wrong."
She only nodded, not sure what else to say.
"But Mai," he said, his eyes suddenly hard and his expression deadly serious. "Just don't hurt him again."
"Don't worry, my days of playing soul-stealing cards are over," she said as lightly as she could manage.
"It's not his soul I'm worried about," Tristan replied, then without elaborating, ducked into the cave, leaving her alone.