Refill the alcohol flasks. Check on the herbs, mix the ones necessary and put them in new containers. Always be prepared to treat someone at a moment's notice, was what his master used to tell him.

Or… more like beat into him. Old bastard…

He hated this part of the job. As the Blackstone Legion's best healer (if you were keen on listening to what these dumb soldiers would tell you), he was expected to move around a lot to various frontiers and battle's aftermaths, to try and save as many people as he possibly could. His warlord worked him to the bone, but as long as he could do his job he wasn't going to complain. Plus, he was kinda used to it at this point.

But, said warlord's decisions didn't always make sense. Not at first, at least.

Granted, it worked out this time around, but what compelled her to send reinforcements to an ally Legion in the form of only himself and a Warden was beyond him. Not that he doubted Skye's prowess, she was basically a one woman army, but he could very much empathize with the Conqueror at the gates of the Citadel, when the guy asked if all of it was a joke.

That facepalm was the most eloquent gesture he had ever seen.

Speaking of Conquerors…

He picked up a fresh flask of alcohol and a clean rag as his current patient tried and failed at setting up a joke.

One that he already heard on top of that. It wasn't funny the first time, it wasn't going to be funny the tenth.

In an ocean of strange happenings that had befallen him in this particular day, Stone the Conqueror was… an oddity all in himself.

He had always been told to be aware of Conquerors. They held no loyalty to no one, they were nothing more than particularly talented conscripted criminals. Diamonds in the rough, as they were usually defined, but still criminals.

He didn't particularly care. Criminal or not, a patient was a patient. Healing the injured was his duty after all. But…

This guy would and could give a lot of the veterans a severe case of "broken prejudices", as he liked to call them.

"... and so I went to the tavern's wench and told her: 'Well, it is a good thing that my nose is in this ale instead of your robes, otherwise this table would be flipped over, no arms needed'!"

He started laughing at that.

And for the first time in a very long time, Corvo had to almost physically keep himself from cringing out. It was kind of impressive, the young healer prided himself in his ability to control his emotions and expressions… and now this ability was being stretched veeeeeeeery thin.

But he succeeded, getting closer to the laughing man with, hopefully, a professional demeanor. Good thing that Skye was currently passed out in her tent, otherwise she would have been almost unbearably obnoxious about this interaction. Some small mercies here and there.

"Sir, if you could show me your injuries, please".

Stone finally stopped laughing, rolling up the fabric of his tunic on his left arm, showing a very nasty hole in his biceps.

Corvo prodded the wound lightly, so as to not hurt his patient.

"Looks deep, but fortunately not debilitating. You are very lucky sir, this could have been a lot worse…"

"That so kid? Well then, you should see what happened to the bitch that did this to me! She stood no chance!"

"A Valkyrie if I remember correctly. Skye really did a number on her, from what the soldiers were saying. A flawless fight from the looks of it".

Stone sputtered.

"W-What?! It wasn't the Warden that killed her! It was…"

Corvo sent him a particularly unimpressed look.

Stone slumped on his seat, defeated.

"Yeah, okay, she defeated the Valkyrie. Without taking a single hit on top of that! Kind of embarrassing for me…"

Corvo hummed lightly while he treated the stab wound. It sounded like the Conqueror's pride was a bit hurt. How unfortunate. Really, he was devastated by the news.

He gave a small sigh. As a healer he supposed that his patients mental health held some importance too, so he decided to throw Stone a bone.

"I also heard that you were the one directing the entire operation. Skye did as well as she did because you were guiding her, together with all the other soldiers. That's arguably more important than getting the final kill in my opinion".

That was… kinda of a half truth. Sure, the overall plan was Stone's, but the Warden had also made plenty of sound decisions all on her own. So… he could only hope that the woman would play along with his little white lie. She might, from what he had seen the two of them had hit it off fairly well, so she had a reason to want to raise up her new friend's spirit.

But she also might just deny everything just to mess with him and laugh at him later. Cheeky bastard seemed to have made it her mission to get a reaction out of him. She had not been successful up until now, but she was not giving up… disgracefully.

In any case, his comment seemed to do the trick, for the Conqueror let out another belly laugh.

"I guess you're right, kid! My expertise has probably been the key to our victory today! Who cares for one kill anyway, I can always get more in later battles!"

What confidence. He could only hope that the man was not talking out of his ass. For once.

Corvo finished applying the bandage to Stone's arm, carefully wrapping it tight, but not too tight. Wouldn't want to cut off the blood's flow.

"There you go sir, all patched up. You may go now, if you wish".

The man grinned and jumped off the makeshift bed, massaging his bicep.

"Many thanks to you kid! This feels a lot better already. I'll get out of your hair now, then. But I'm sure this won't be the last time we see each other".

Obviously. Morons like Stone were very much prone to getting hurt extremely often. He waved at the older man and turned around to clean everything up, but his patient wasn't done talking.

"One last thing, kid. Stop calling me 'sir'. It makes me feel old. I'll stop calling you 'kid' if you do".

Corvo hummed. Not the peak of professionalism, but he couldn't exactly flat out refuse a request from one of his charges.

"What should we call each other then?"

Stone smiled at that. Not that idiotic grin that he would often give, but a more honest and genuine smile.

"Well, I like to think that we are friends now. And friends call each other by their first name, right?"

Friends? They were?

Corvo blinked, not really understanding the jump in logic from healing to friendship. But it was also true that he was no expert in friendship, so maybe that's how it worked?

He had no idea. So, not willing to make things difficult for himself with topics that he didn't fully comprehend, he decided to go along with it and nodded at the Conqueror.

"If that is your wish, I have no complaints".

Stone's grin broadened.

"Excellent! You know, you are not that bad, healer. The Warden was right, it seems".

Skye had been talking about him?

Huh. Neat.

"I'll see you around then Corvo! I'll bring some ale with me next time!"

Wait wha…

He turned around to berate the man, that kind of alcohol was not permitted in a medical tent after all.

But he was too late, he was gone already. Shit, this could be a problem…

He sighed, but decided to let the matter go. Not like he could just leave…

Friends, mh?

It was definitely unprofessional. Healers didn't make friends with their patients. Or at least, that's what his master would often yell at him. By becoming friends with Stone he had indirectly disobeyed an order from the old son of a bitch.

Corvo's mouth stretched gently, pleased with the thought of his old teacher being defied.

The image alone was enough for him to confirm to himself that he had made the right choice.

He heard a crash from outside the tent, followed by shouting and a cursing voice that sounded like Stone's.

He facepalmed dejectedly. Never fucking mind…

Hello? Is this thing on?! It is? Noice.

And there we go, chapter two of AHO, from Corvo's point of view this time, featuring good old Stone.

As you have probably guessed by now, chapters are going to be short for this story, at least the first few of them, for the simple fact that it's almost a series of small events, following the game's story. And I also find these kinds of stories to be more easily digestible. There will be a more overarching plot later on, but it will be a while before we get there.

That's all folks! Ta-ta for now.