Title: Building Bonds
Summary: It can be hard to be surrounded be people of fame and note-worthy talent. Especially if those people are already good friends. Anna has discovered this, and it places strain on her place in the party.
Rating: T
Warnings: Minor spoilers for EBF4, blood, mild sexual themes
Genre: Hurt/comfort, friendship
World: EBF4


Anna sat on the opposite side of the fire from Lance, Matt, and Natalie. They were in the middle of Lankyroot, and on their way to Goldenbrick. The ranger was quietly attaching a new bowstring to her weapon and listening to the other three joking on the far side of the fire. She glanced up and set her repaired weapon to the side and watched them.

Matt was currently attempting to balance three unopened beer cans on his forehead. Lance was periodically messing his friend's balance up by flicking bits of food at him. Natalie was laughing as she watched their antics. Every little while, she would say something that made both men crack up. They were relaxed, cheerful, and completely oblivious to the fourth person in their party. Not even once did they look over at her.

Anna let out a quiet sigh and shrugged to herself. It wasn't a surprise, really. The three had been traveling and fighting together for three or four years now. It made sense that they had formed a tightknit group. She had only been with them for three weeks, and she didn't think they trusted her all that much. With a small frown, she wondered if she would ever be as close as they were. She doubted it.

They seemed to innately know when something was wrong with another member, and were swift at solving whatever that problem was. They never really had to talk in combat to take a foe down. Instead, they worked with swift and lethal efficiency that showed exactly how they had saved the world several times. It was stunning to watch them work, but also a little disheartening. She could take down the same foes, but it was harder, and often required the aid of one of the others; it was never as efficient, either. Sometimes, she wondered if they thought of this quest as a baby-sitting job.

Another round of laughs from across the fire had Anna standing up. She needed to get away for a little while, maybe hunt some monsters or practice her archery. Brooding over how well other people got along was not healthy and likely to breed some serious discontent. She announced that she was heading off for a little while, and slipped away from the campsite, unnoticed by the other three joking and laughing. Bitterly, she wondered if they even cared.

OOOOOO

Natalie had tears running down her face from laughter. Matt had finally gotten the beer cans balanced only to have Lance throw a grape at him. The swordsman bounced the cans off his head, caught the grape in his mouth and started juggling, smirking at Lance all the while. The gunner's face was disappointed, but he shrugged and clapped at the impressive act as Matt set the cans down.

"Might have to send him to join the circus," Lance smirked.

Natalie laughed harder, "He'd eat the animals."

Matt chuckled, "Can't argue with that. Besides, I'd suck at the tight-rope. Balance is Anna's thing. Right, Anna?" He frowned when she didn't reply, and glanced over to see if she had fallen asleep.

That was when they realized the ranger's absence. The other three jolted when they saw her bedroll and the discarded bowstring, but no Anna. They exchanged glances of surprise, thinking that it was strange that she hadn't told them she was heading out. Matt mused that he thought they should have heard her go, but Lance refuted that. Anna was a hunter, and if she could slip right up behind an animal without it hearing her in a dead-silent forest, then slipping off from three humans who were making a lot of noise was child's play. Natalie eyed the abandoned bedroll.

"Why'd she not say anything, though?" she wondered.

Matt shrugged, "Maybe she expects to be back shortly. It's not like she needs us to defend her when nature calls."

Lance nodded with a disgruntled frown, "True, but you'd think she'd at least mention it."

"And since when do any of us ever mention the call of nature?" Matt asked with an arched brow.

Natalie huffed, "Can we stop talking about nature's calling now?" She snorted at the huffs of laughter the two men gave, "So give her ten minutes, and then go find her?"

The two men nodded and went back to joking and playing with their food. Natalie shot another glance at Anna's bedroll with a small frown. It was weird that the ranger had just up and left. Normally, she was the one who demanded they stick together in the wilderness. They didn't even know how long ago the ranger had left. Finally, she shrugged and rejoined Matt and Lance in the conversation.

Ten minutes came and went with no sign of Anna. Lance grunted and heaved himself to his feet, followed by Matt and Natalie. They stepped around the dwindling campfire and headed into the trees past Anna's bedroll. Soon, they were surrounded by thick trees and carefully picking their way through the gloom. There were frequent rustles in the bushes on either side, but nothing ever came out to attack them.

Then, they heard a familiar sound; the thrumming-thwack of an arrow being fired. They exchanged glances of concern and began moving as quickly as possible. The sound stopped abruptly when they drew close to its location. Matt pushed through a bush and stepped into a clearing. He cocked his head in confusion at the sight of dozens of arrows lodged into a tree and glanced around for Anna.

Lance moved forwards to inspect the arrows and gave a low, impressed whistle at how close the arrows were to each other. One spot had been hit in the exact same place four times. It was marksmanship of the highest caliber, and he realized he'd never know just how accurate Anna could be. He knew she was accurate, but four arrows in the exact same spot was insanity. On top of that, he knew she could shoot incredibly quickly. It made for a deadly combination. He stepped back and glanced around. Clearly, Anna had come out here to practice her skills, but she was nowhere to be seen now.

"Hey, Anna?" Natalie called. She listened to the echo of her own voice and frowned when there was no reply. The mage glanced back at her friends, "She should have heard that if she was here not two minutes ago."

Matt nodded with a frown, "Do you think she's ignoring us?"

Lance grunted, "She'd better not be. I don't want to spend the entire night scouring the jungle, looking for her."

Unbeknownst to them, the ranger was standing on a thick branch over their heads, watching them. She had climbed the tree upon hearing crashes in the foliage, thinking some monster was coming to inspect the sounds of her practicing. Instead, the very people she had come out her to avoid had pushed out of the bushes. She didn't want to talk to them yet; she still had some things she needed to work through. Though she did feel a little guilty that she had interrupted their fun, she knew they would go back to it in a little while when they got sick of looking for her. Finally, the three grouped up and left the clearing.

Anna listened to them calling her name again, but remained silent. She felt a small twinge of hurt as she heard Lance grousing to Matt, but pushed it aside. It was nothing new, they usually complained about the things she said and did. Anna raised her bow from where she was perched on the branch and took another shot at the tree. The dull thud of an arrow slamming home rang through the trees again and was followed in rapid succession by two more.

The ranger dropped out of the tree and headed over to her target. She lifted one hand and ran it down the bark past the arrows lodged in the wood with a small frown on her face. Her hand dropped to her side and clenched into a fist. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the three arrows lodged halfway into the wood just a few centimeters apart. It still wasn't accurate enough. Lance could slam two bullets home in the exact same place. Natalie didn't need to worry about accuracy when her attacks exploded. Matt could probably slice the whole damn tree in half.

Anna turned to slump down against the base of the tree. She looked up at the dark sky through the branches and let the tears in her eyes drip down her cheeks. If it weren't for the fact that she needed to retrieve the jewels, she'd just head home now. The others were more than capable of handling the fight on their own. If anything, she was slowing them down. She wondered if she could persuade them to drop the jewels off at their rightful altars when they got them. They knew how dangerous the objects were now, so she doubted they'd keep them. Although maybe they would; they probably still thought that the jewels would sell for a pretty gold.

There was another loud rustle, and Anna dismally looked up, expecting to see the three coming back to check the sounds of her archery. Instead, her eyes fell on a Large Veggie Slime. With a sigh, she stood up and launched a Spark Arrow at the monster. The stun enchantment let her also snap of a Combo Shot. The creature made a strange popping noise as it died. Behind the slime was an Earth Golem. Anna's eyes widened. That wasn't a monster she wanted to fight on her own.

Still, she had chosen to come out here and had ignored the others when they came looking for her. Now she got to reap the consequences of her actions. Anna's face set in a determined glare and she snapped off an Aqua Arrow and immediately threw herself to the side as spires of earth formed around her feet. She felt one tear a cut in her leg and let out a hiss as she launched a Frost Arrow. The water spread across the monster froze solid, giving Anna the opportunity to slam it with another Aqua Arrow. The monster groaned and collapsed into pieces.

Anna lowered her weapon and knelt down to check the wound on her leg. That was when the earth erupted around her again. She let out a choked gasp as stone dug into her stomach. With a cough that splattered blood on the ground, she looked up to see a second Earth Golem had been behind the first. Anna shakily stood up and lifted her bow. A magic wind surged around her as she drew her arrow back as far as it could possibly go. With a surge of power, the arrow flashed through the air, blasting straight through the golem, blowing it to pieces. The arrow kept going through the trees past the monster, tearing branches and vines off with crashes and cracks. There were no more monsters behind the golem.

With a shuddering, pained sigh, Anna lowered her weapon and pressed one hand to her stomach. She let out a gasp of pain and began stumbling back towards camp. Blood oozed from the wound to drip onto the ground as she staggered through the trees. Each step sent a flare of agony through her body, but she kept going. All the way, she berated herself for leaving her gear aside from her bow at camp.

Despite the agony she was in and the creeping dizziness, Anna made it to within sight of the camp. No one else was there. Tears filled Anna's eyes as she let out a low moan of pain and slumped to her knees and then her side. She was so close to her flute to heal herself. Slowly, her eyes began to slip shut as she listened to the suddenly loud pounding of her pulse in her ears. Distantly, she heard a shout and a scream, and pried her eyes open once more.

"Anna!" Natalie shrieked upon sight of the bloodied and dying ranger.

They had heard the crashing sound of Anna's Power Blast and went rushing towards it. To their shock, they found themselves back at the clearing they knew Anna had been practicing at. There were a few distinct changes to the scenery this time; namely, two dead golems and a thick trail of blood. They had set off at a sprint, following the blood as it headed back to their campsite. There, they had found Anna collapsed on the ground in a pool of her own blood.

The ranger let out the faintest of moans and began trying to push herself upright. Her hand slipped in her blood and she gave up. Lance sprinted forwards and rolled Anna over to reveal a massive gash in her stomach. Instantly, he ripped his jacket off and pressed it into the wound to staunch the flow while Natalie cast the strongest healing spell she possibly could. For a few tense seconds, nothing seemed to happen. Then, the wound sealed off, leaving a tear in the ranger's Green Dress, but smooth skin.

Natalie lowered her staff with a heavy sigh of relief, "She should be fine."

Lance pulled his jacket away and looked at it with a scowl. The camo green fabric was horribly stained and would be a complete nightmare to wash. It would probably be easier to just throw out and replace. "I'm going to kill her," he muttered as he tucked the shirt away.

"Right after you saved her?" Matt asked with a grin.

"That's the best time," Lance said.

Anna's head rolled to the side with a soft sigh before her eyes opened. She stared in front of her for a brief moment before her eyes widened with a gasp as her hand shot to her stomach. She jolted up when she felt no wound and realized Natalie must have healed her. The ranger flinched at the clearing of a throat and looked up with shadowed eyes.

Natalie was watching her with an irritated frown, "Want to tell us what you were doing besides dying?"

Lance nodded, "We have a lot of things we like to enjoy. Finding a vanished party member bleeding out is not one of those things."

Anna winced and looked away. "Nothing important," she mumbled.

Matt's eyebrows shot up, "It must have been something fairly important to make you head out alone without a word and ignore us when we're calling for you."

"I told you I was heading out to practice," Anna hissed in a bitter voice.

Her words took the other three by surprise, but her bitter tone did more. Anna had a lot of moods she swung in and out of, but they had never heard or seen one close to the anger simmering in her now. They exchanged glances, wondering what the problem was. Finally, Lance shrugged.

"Okay, so we didn't hear you," he said, "You could have made sure before going. One of us would have come with you."

Anna's eyes shot up to glare at Lance, and the rage in them actually made him step back. "Maybe I didn't want you guys there," she spat.

Matt and Natalie flinched and stared at her in shock. Matt opened his mouth to speak, but Anna swept on.

"Maybe I wanted some time alone. Maybe I wanted to be in a place where I felt comfortable and wanted. Maybe I wanted to prove to myself that I have good skills and am not a dead-weight," she hissed before letting out a bitter laugh. "I guess not; can't even go an hour without almost dying."

Lance shook his head, "You took down two golems by yourself. That's a tough feat, and practically impossible to do without being injured."

Matt nodded, "And what about going out into the woods to feel wanted. We want you here."

"Oh, yeah, I can really see that," Anna said with heavy sarcasm. "You don't talk to me, you don't see me; you didn't even hear me when I said I was heading out. You don't care that I'm there. And the worst part is that I can't even blame you. I get that your friends, and have been for a while. It's nice. I wish I had friends as good as you, but I don't."

The others were stunned into silence. Clearly, this was not a recent issue for Anna. She had to have been brooding over it for some time, silently hurting, and still managing to fool them with her usual attitude. The ranger heaved herself to her feet and moved to roll her bedroll up. She stuffed it away and started walking away. Matt sprang forwards to catch her by the wrist.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.

Anna shot him a look over her shoulder with dull, green eyes, "Away, what's it look like? I can't take it anymore. I know I'm strong, but I can't see it around you guys. And strength is all I really have anymore. I'll stop Godcat on my own. Thanks for your help up to now."

Matt held her back, "Why can't you see that you're strong?"

"Do I really need to spell it out?" Anna asked in a tired voice. She waved a hand at them before letting it limply fall by her side, "You guys are legends. Lance successfully took over most of the known world. You and Natalie managed to stop him. Together, you took down a chained god of destruction and death."

Lance spoke up quietly, "And yet, you took down Matt."

Anna waved her hand dismissively, "Only because I caught him by surprise and he was weighed down."

Natalie exchanged a worried glance with the gunner. They were going to lose this argument, and they knew it. Anna had several valid points. They had been excluding her, albeit, not on purpose. They were very strong, though she didn't quite seem to grasp that she was just as strong. Matt, however, wasn't quite ready to give up, though.

"Fight me, Anna," he said in a level voice. He met her eyes as she jerked around to stare at him in shock. "You say you aren't as strong as we are, and that you only beat me by surprise. Maybe that was why you won back then, but that won't be why you win now."

Natalie stepped forwards, "No, Matt. This isn't the way to solve the issue. Besides, you two could kill each other."

Matt shot her a look, "We'll lay some ground rules, don't worry. First: no potentially lethal or maiming strikes. Second: no inflicting status effects. That means no poison, no stunning, no freezing, and no burning. Third: we only fight until one of us is either disarmed, gives up, or takes five hits that draw blood. Agreed?"

Anna backed away and shook her head, "No. I won't fight you."

"And why not?" he asked.

"Look, even if we aren't really friends, I know you well enough that an armed match against you is not something I want to do," the ranger said.

Lance spoke up from where he was standing, "He listed the basic rules for when we spar, Anna. Matt knows what he's getting into, and Natalie is here to heal the both of you when it's over."

Anna glared, "It isn't going to be over because it isn't happening! I. Will. Not. Fight. You. Matt. Got it? My problem is not whether I can beat you or not, or how good my combat skills really are. It's a matter of feeling like I belong. I will never be a part of your team. You have your dynamics set, and I'm only here to retrieve Greenwood's jewel. Even if I were to stay until then, I'd be heading home after words."

She whipped around and made to stalk off, only to be stopped again by Matt. The ranger let out a snarl and jerked her arm free. She spun around and glared at him, her voice rising to a yell, "You don't need me here! You don't want me here! I don't want to be here! So let me go in peace!"

Matt had a hurt look in his eyes, but he merely said, "Fight me, Anna."

Anna let out a wordless shriek of frustration. She glared at the swordsman, "For the love of Godcat! Fine, I'll fight you, but I'm leaving after that!" She whirled and stomped to the far side of the clearing and drew her bow. "Ready," she snapped.

Matt nodded and walked to the other side. Lance and Natalie moved to stand by the fire to watch. The full moon washed the clearing in silver light. It flashed off of Matt's sword as he drew it, and glinted off of the head of the arrow Anna had laid against her bow.

"Ready," Matt said in a level voice, sword in hand.

Natalie glanced between them and called, "Go!"

Instantly, five arrows were in the air, headed for Matt. The swordsman's blade whirled, slashing them all out of the air. He lunged forwards to attack Anna, but found himself stumbling when a log burst out of the ground at his feet. He regained his footing in time to narrowly dodge another arrow. The fabric on his shirt ripped in its passing, but his skin remained untouched.

Matt ran in a random zig-zag towards Anna and brought his sword down towards her. She deflected his weapon with her bow and slashed him across the arm with an arrow. Matt pulled back with a hiss. He heard Lance call point to Anna. Still, a fierce smile spread across the swordsman's face. To his relief, a matching one was forming on Anna's. She back flipped out of his sword slash and danced back a few paces for more range.

"Do you know how many fights I had with Natalie when I first met her?" Matt asked as he ducked an arrow.

Anna frowned at the sudden question, "No, nor do I really see why that matters right now." She shot another arrow and felt a rush of satisfaction as it nicked Matt's thigh. Lance called out another point to her.

Matt retaliated by unleashing a Quick Slash on Anna, scoring a hit on her arm that Lance called out. "Dozens of fights. I didn't want her there at first; I did best on my own," Matt told Anna, "I was certain that a girl could never keep up with me, and would never be as strong. She was determined to prove me wrong. And she did."

"Good for her," Anna muttered. She didn't see why she was suddenly getting a backstory from him.

Matt nodded as he made to run towards Anna with his sword overhead. "It was good for her, and for me. She's one of my best friends now," he agreed.

He brought his sword down at the same moment Anna released another arrow. They each scored a hit, bringing Anna up to three points, and Matt up to two. A barrier of logs sprang up, separating Anna from Matt. By the time the swordsman cut the obstructions down, Anna was several yards away with an arrow already off. Matt rolled to the side and listened to the arrow slam into a tree behind him.

"I didn't have nearly as many fights with Lance," Matt told her as he slammed his sword into the ground for a Quake attack. He watched Anna lightly ride the spikes of earth, allowing them to catapult her. She flipped to land a short distance away. "Natalie, however, had tons of issues with Lance," he went on as another arrow flashed past, catching his uninjured arm. A fourth point went to Anna.

"Oh, really? I can't imagine why," Anna said sarcastically, earning a snort from Natalie that made her grin.

Matt nodded and lunged in with a stab that grazed Anna's side, earning him a third point. "Oh, yes. He made fun of her chest, he mocked her magic, he randomly groped her," Matt listed with a grin, "And then he got set on fire, and that was the end of that. Well, mostly." He grunted as he slashed horizontally at Anna, barely nicking her wrist, but drawing the blood for his fourth point.

Anna rolled her eyes, but a grin tugged at her lips. She lunged at Matt with the speed of a viper while he was recovering from his slash, and stabbed an arrow into his leg. She pulled back before the head of the arrow went too far. The point was her fifth and won her the match. She lowered her bow and grinned as Lance and Natalie clapped. Matt planted his sword in the ground and used it to keep his weight off his injured leg until Natalie had healed both of them. Then he stepped forwards and shook Anna's hand.

"Good match," he said with an easy grin. "You're free to go now."

Lance's and Natalie's jaws dropped. But to their surprise and relief, Anna shook her head. Matt merely nodded as though he had expected her response.

"No, you're right Matt. It takes time to build friendship," Anna said in a quiet voice. "Maybe now that my problem is in the open, I can work past it."

Matt shook his head and gestured to include all of them, "We will work past it. You're right that we were ignoring you. It wasn't on purpose, but it has been happening. You're a member of the team, and, whether you think so or not, you're already our friend."

Lance grunted and looked over at Anna, "That was a good match; very nice use of attacking magic to distract. I'll have to see if any of mine will work like that." He glanced at Matt and added, "You should probably also know that Matt only spars with his friends."

Natalie nodded, "It's true. I'm glad you're staying, Anna. I'd miss having another girl around for once. No more wandering off alone, please? Make sure we know that you're going. And don't bottle up problems like that."

Anna smiled and nodded. She followed the others back to the campfire and sat down on her bed roll. To her confusion, Natalie flopped next to her with a brush. The mage worked to undo her orange hair from its pony tail and began brushing it out. As she brushed, she chatted with Anna random things like her favorite foods, an idea for a new magic attack, and help with braiding her hair.

At first, Anna felt awkward. She was used to being left to her own devices. But soon, she was talking about the same things and giggling. Matt and Lance sat on the other side of the fire, cleaning their weapons and watching the two women. Lance glanced at Matt.

"Well handled, Matt," he murmured.

Matt shrugged and sheathed his sword, "It was nothing too special. Just my usual 'fight until things are better or deader.'"

Lance smirked, "Well this would definitely be better. I hope it'll stay better. Keep looking up, I guess."

"Why are we looking up?" Anna asked.

"To check out your assets, duh," Lance said with a smirk and a pointed glance at her chest. He snickered at her mortified expression, "This is great, now I have two women to hit on."

Anna and Natalie spluttered with red cheeks. They exchanged glances and nods. Ten seconds later, and Lance had a perfect outline of his body made of arrows and ice spikes. He yelped his surrender and muttered about insane females as he moved free for the attacks. He flopped onto his bedroll and gave them a sleepy goodnight. Soon, Anna and Natalie followed his example. Matt remained sitting up for a moment, watching his sleeping teammates with a grin.

"It's good to have friends," he thought as he lied down.

Soon, he was asleep as well.


A/N: Just another random idea that popped into my mind. I know that in-game, Anna is more upset by Natalie's chest size, but oh well. Let me know what you all think of it!