Looky! Another chapter! (Yes, I'm trying to get into the habit of putting ANs.) To everyone who's said or thought "Poor Teo"… Yeah, that's about right. ^^'

You can actually blame Zomz (my main reader on dA) for that one. She came up with the idea.

*Bee*

I sprinted down the ramp, skidded to a stop, and dropped to my knees next to the boy laying on the ground.

"Are you okay?" I asked emotionlessly, using my sleeve to wipe some of the blood off of his forehead.

He groaned and turned a little bit on his side, his eyes still squeezed shut.

I took that as a yes.

"Why'd you do it?" I asked, involuntarily but gently brushing his hair from his face.

"What do you mean?" he grumbled.

"You rolled down a steep ramp at a hundred miles an hour without checking your breaks first." My hand kept lightly stroking his forehead, tracing around the gash. I really wasn't meaning to do it.

"Better than doing it with The Duke," he said, words still too soft and slightly slurred with pain and dizziness.

So he'd tried something to make sure it was relatively safe and had gotten hurt. Spirits, how many times had I done something like that for the same kid?

"Guess we're more alike than I thought," I said quietly.

"Mm," he muttered in agreement. His eyes opened and drifted to my hand. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Huh?" I asked, confused. I followed his eyes and realized what he meant. "Oh, sorry!" I quickly took it off and nervously ran it though my hair. "Parental instinct."

"Mm." His eyes closed again. "You realize The Duke's right behind you, right?"

I blinked, surprised, and glanced back. Sure enough, the helmeted demon was right there.

"Hey," I said kindly, seeing the worry on his face.

"Hi," he said nervously. "I-is he gonna be okay?"

I nodded, smiling softly. "He'll be fine. A little bruised and in need of wood for some repairs, but fine."

He sighed with relief, then opened his mouth to say something.

"You know it wasn't your fault, right?" I asked before he could.

"I-I know…" he trailed off, looking at the ground.

"Good," I lightly, trying to brighten up. "Hey, where are Longshot and Haru?"

He pointed to the ridge, not really looking up.

I followed his finger and saw Longshot watching us, his concern masked, and Haru standing next to him, seemingly still in shock. I locked on the former and gave him a small thumbs-up.

He nodded in acknowledgement, his shoulders relaxing being the only clue that his thoughts changed at all.

I turned back to Teo. "So, Flyboy, what say you we get you up on your wheels and wrap up that cut?"

He groaned. "Fine."

I smiled a little and switched positions so my right leg was bent and balancing on my toes and my left knee was pulled up to my chest. I slid the injured boy out of the surprisingly intact chair, righted it, slid my arms under his knees and shoulder blades, picked him up, and set him down in the slightly splintered wood.

He looked over at me, his eyes half open. "You're strong."

I shrugged. "Eight years of living in the forest, fending for myself and fifty other kids."

(Sixty,) a voice in my head corrected.

I stiffened, shocked, turned back toward the ridge, and glared at my best friend, who tried not to smile. I noticed The Duke was now standing next to him.

"Sixty," I said through my teeth.

I turned back to the boy in the chair, who was looking at me rather skeptically.

"I'm not crazy, I swear," I muttered. I took the grips of his usually self-driven mode of transportation. "And I'm pushing you back up."

He nodded slightly in agreement and leaned back against the wood. And he was supposed to be the youthful, optimistic one.

"That bad, huh?" I asked, amused, not moving.

"Shut up and push," he said quietly, half asleep.

I laughed and did as he said.