"I thought you guys had gotten lost in there or something." Zeke admitted, speaking up first.

"Time was almost up, I was about to head in there myself to look for you two." Tobul said.

"Sorry it took so long. Looks like everyone is okay." I said as I walked up to the group.

"I told you they were going to be just fine. See?" Yura told Tobul after standing up from leaning against a nearby tree.

"I was beginning to think that a daemon had shown up and started giving you two a hard time, but it turns out you were just taking a leisurely stroll in a dark and creepy cave. Can't say that's my first option for a date but... You do you." Elea said which caught me off guard with Prompto standing next to me.

"Which part of 'this is a rescue' mission do you not understand?" I asked, walking up to Elea.

"Oh I understand. Completely. Rescuing the captain from boredom seems like tough work for sure." Elea answered with a thumbs up which didn't help my embarrassment.

"You know what? I'm just going to ignore you now." I said before walking off towards the trucks and check on everyone, not willing to show my reddened face to them.

"You mean, you two aren't... Oh..." Zeke asked Prompto, pointing between the two of us with his hand.

"We aren't what?" He asked, not understanding what the conversation was about.

"Nah, nothing at all. Forget about these two idiots, they just don't happen to have a filter on them. It's not something you should worry about." Yura answered in place of Zeke, putting a hand over his mouth before he could answer.

"Wait... You mean?... N- no! It's not like that." Prompto said while waving his hands in front of him, feeling his face become warm at the suggestion. "I mean, me and Alexus? No way. We're two different people."

"And here I thought things were finally going to get a move on. Huh... Guess I was wrong." Elea said as she walked off.

"Wrong? About what?" Prompto asked Elea, making her turn and walk backwards as she answered.

"She looks happier by your side. That's all I can say." Elea said with a wink, turning back around to follow Alexus towards the trucks, where the rest of the Glaives and Hunters were waiting for them to return.

"Look, don't worry about what Elea said too much. She's younger. Because of that fact alone, sometimes she can be out of line with the things she says to people." Yura said when he walked up to Prompto before leaving to regroup at the trucks with Tobul walking beside him.

"Was it okay for Elea to say something like that? I mean, wouldn't Alexus get mad if she heard something like that?" Tobul asked Yura.

"It's too late, looks like she's already mad." Zeke said with a short laugh, walking alongside the others.

Standing alone by himself, Prompto began to think about those words for a moment before he started making his way where everyone was.

"She's 'happier?... By my side'? What's that supposed to mean?" He asked himself out loud, trying to make sense of the comment from Elea while scratching the back of his head in his confusion.

When he reached the trucks where everyone was, he was quickly surrounded by the others who were worried about his disappearance.

"Captain! You're okay!" Dianna said.

"We heard what happened! You took on that dangerous demon horde all by yourself so you wouldn't put the rest of us in danger. I didn't know you were so strong!" Miles said.

"Are you okay? You're not seriously hurt or anything, are you?" Delilah asked, ready to use her healing spell on him.

"Thank you for saving us back there. I owe you one. I was able to bring Annie back with me. She's safe." Talcott said, walking up to him to thank him. "She's resting right now, but I'll let her know you made it back safe and sound later on when she wakes up."

"We only made it out of there alive because you did your best and protected us all." Dianna said.

"Hey, it wasn't anything that special. I'll be okay, I promise. It's not that bad." Prompto said letting Delilah heal his shoulder, not used to this kind of attention as he spoke to the excited crowd. "I was just doing my job as a Hunter."

"What happened out there?" Gutsco asked, wanting more details.

"There was a Nidus. I decided to go out with a few of the others to destroy it. It wasn't until I found it with my team and took care of it that things could finally calm down. After destroying it, the daemon horde was weakened. That's why there were so many in the first place, and it was big enough to block the road. We needed to get rid of that thing before we could move on ahead. It got tough later when the big daemon who was protecting the nearby cave appeared." Prompto answered.

As he spoke, he caught sight of Alexus behind the crowd of people who were surrounding him before continuing on.

"Still, I don't want you guys to follow in my example. We fight together as a team, so don't go running off on your own like I did. It was a risk I shouldn't have taken. I'm alright, but that doesn't mean it was okay of me to do. What I'm trying to say is, well, I'm sorry I made all of you worry so much." He finished, bowing his head slightly which made the group of people go silent.

After a short moment like that, Prompto slowly looked up and made eye contact with Alexus who didn't expect him to say something like that. She mouthed a clear "thank you" to him with a small smile in appreciation to which he nodded in her direction to let her know he understood her a little more. After telling him a little bit of her past to him earlier, he respected her even more than he did before.

Twitch: Enrita11

June 13th, 2022