Tom was glad that the sounds of battle were coming from behind them, and not from in front. He supposed he should have felt bad, leaving his fellow Dianitee's to fight off the Ianitee soldiers. At least he was helping someone. Said someone had an arm over his shoulders, using Tom to steady himself as he limped. They were making good progress. At this rate, Rupert could be safely behind Ianitee lines and Tom could be at the main temple before sundown. Things were looking up, for the most part. Tom shifted Rupert's arm slightly, so that he could be more balanced. Without his other eye, it was proving to be slightly harder for him to walk in a straight line.

Pulling Rupert into an abandoned house, Tom helped him sit down, letting him rest for a bit. They still had some way to go before Tom could safely let Rupert go. Letting his head rest against the wall, Tom let out a breath. If Dianite caught them right now, both of them would be killed on the spot. Well, maybe not himself. Dianite would want to properly punish him, before he killed him. If he even killed him. Maybe he would... No, Tom didn't want to think about that right now. Rupert's eye was closed, and Tom would have thought him asleep had, he not known otherwise. After a couple more minutes, Tom reached down and gently shook Rupert's shoulder. He hated having to wake him up, but they needed to move. The sounds of the battle were somewhat closer than they had been, and Tom didn't want to get caught up in the mayhem.

"C'mon Rupert. We've gotta go." He murmured, watching as Rupert groaned and opened his eye. Grasping his forearms, Tom helped Rupert to his feet, steadying him as he stood up. Tom wrapped his arm back around Rupert's waist, and Rupert clung tightly to Tom's shoulders. They slowly walked down the cobble streets, taking back alleys and all of the shortcuts that Tom remembered. His heart was pounding in his ears. Tom was afraid. Afraid for Rupert, for himself, for Katherine and Jordan. Trying to calm himself down, he took in a few deep breaths. If Rupert had noticed the way Tom had squeezed him closer, he certainly didn't say anything about it.

The sounds of the battle grew distant as they trudged forwards. For once, Tom was glad that Furia had trained their soldiers so much. Fights between them and Ianitee soldiers lasted longer, and it gave him more time to help Rupert escape. Of course, it also meant that the soldiers got more injured, but Tom only felt slightly guilty about that. Rupert had started walking better since they had continued. He was slowly regaining his strength albeit very slowly. But it was something, and Tom was pleased at the progress he was making.

A sudden sound from up ahead of them caused Tom to almost push Rupert over in his haste. He quickly pulled the two of them behind a crumbling wall, hoping that whatever or whoever had made the sound wasn't hostile. Tom's mouth formed a thin line as the person approached. He nearly forgot to breathe when the footsteps reached their hiding spot. Slowly, Tom's hand slid around the hilt of his sword. If they were hostile, he would try his best to defend Rupert. He could only hope that the person wouldn't attack the two of them on sight.

They waited for what seemed like hours, sitting in the dirt and rubble as silent as they could be. As the footsteps started to draw away, Tom let out a quiet sigh of relief. He watched as Rupert swallowed harshly, his eyes shut tight. Making sure that the person was well and truly gone, Tom stood, pulling Rupert with him. They needed to get out of here. Fast.

-

Rupert's face twisted into a scowl as Tom helped him sit down on a log. They were well outside of the city, quite close to where the Ianitee's had set up camp. From here, Tom could see the purple banners billowing in the wind. He tried to calm himself down. Rupert would be fine. He was near safety. Gods, why was he such a mess today? Rupert must have noticed the way Tom's hands were shaking, as he tugged Tom down to sit beside him.

"I'll be fine, Tom." Rupert murmured, slinging an arm around Tom's shoulders. Tom practically fell against him, letting his head rest on Rupert's shoulder. "Tom, it'll be okay." Tom nodded, swallowing and closing his eyes. Rupert would be fine. Everyone would be fine.

"Alright," Tom said after a few moments, ignoring the way his voice cracked, "I... I should go." Rupert patted Tom on the back, letting him stand. "Hey." Tom grinned at him, his eyes sad. "Keep yourself safe, alright?" Chuckling, Rupert nodded.

"Only if you do the same." A real smile spread across Tom's face this time, and he barked out a laugh. They stood awkwardly for a moment, before Rupert spoke up. "You know, Tom..." Glancing at him, Tom gave him a curious look. "I'm fine with you dating Kathy," At that, a flush blossomed across Tom's face, making the tips of his ears turn pink. "She's her own person, and while I've got the ability to not like the person she does, she can make her own decisions. And I'm glad she chose you." Tom looked at the ground, embarrassment written all over his face. Rupert smiled, reaching a hand out to clap Tom on the shoulder. "You're a good man, Tom."

"Thanks." Tom mumbled, not even caring that his voice sounded watery. There was the sound of a distant explosion that made Tom turn to look back towards the city. He sighed, before looking back at Rupert with a soft smile. "I'll see you later." Rupert nodded, watching as he started to walk back.

"Good luck!" He called out, waving when Tom turned to grin at him. As he watched Tom walk away, Rupert felt a ball of worry forming. Tom would be alright. He'd have to be.

-

The sun was almost setting when Tom made it back to the city. He crept along the silent streets, jumping at shadows and distant sounds. Tom could only hope that Rupert had made it to the Ianitee camp, and was getting care. Rupert's wound needed someone much more skilled than himself, and he could only provide minimal care. All Tom could do was bandage him up and hope for the best. Well, now he'd be safe.

There was a noise from behind him, and Tom was just able to whip around and dodge the fireball that had been sent his way. Some purple haired woman was standing behind him, another fireball already forming in her hands. He stumbled backwards, hand grasping for his sword. Tom was just barely able to swing it out in time to deflect the next fireball, feeling the sweltering heat upon his face and arms. She snarled slightly, before casting out a few quick flames, which Tom ducked from. Moving forwards, Tom swung at the woman, who gracefully leapt backwards, two smaller fireballs in both her hands. Shit. Casting quickly, the purple-haired woman shot fireball after fireball at him, forcing Tom to duck and weave. He could feel sweat dripping down his face as he narrowly missed a flame that would have killed him instantly. Dianite was wrong. Metal armour was a bitch in this kind of heat, and Tom was starting to feel faint.

In his distraction, he missed the sight of a rather small fireball barreling towards him. Striking his left arm, he could feel it immediately eating away at his clothing under the armour, creeping up his shirt. Letting out a yelp, he dropped his sword to franticly pat at the flames, not even noticing the woman stalking closer towards him. His arm was so hot. He wondered briefly if the fire was magical or not, before realizing that the strange woman had moved towards him. Tom stumbled backwards, looking around frantically as the woman closed in. He raised his arms, trying to defend himself.

Suddenly, the woman stopped, her head cocked to the side, studying him with a curious expression. Tom's arms lowered somewhat, and he winced when he saw just how badly his arm was burnt. The fire had burned his sleeve to a crisp, and the skin underneath it was red and agitated. Tom swallowed harshly, forcing himself to look away. He would get it treated as soon as he could.

"You're Tom, aren't you?" The woman asked, squinting at him. Tom froze, fear creeping into his gut. How did she know his name?

"Who are you?" Tom said defensively, trying to mask how his voice shook slightly. The woman let out a huff, before diminishing the size of the flames in her hands until they disappeared.

"I'm Martha. Captain Capsize talked about you." Tom blinked at her. This woman, Martha, knew Katherine? "I'm sorry about your arm. If you'd like, I can hel-" Tom pulled his arm away from her, holding it close to his chest.

"No." Tom pushed down his fear, trying to calm himself down. She didn't mean to scare him. He knew that. "Sorry, but no thank you." Martha frowned but thankfully let him be, eyeing him with the same look his sister gave him after she realized how long he'd been working. If Dianite found out that he had helped Rupert, or that he had talked to Martha, he'd probably be punished. The injury was an easy excuse. "Dianite'll be able to trust that i was out fighting." Tom tried to explain to her. Martha nodded solemnly, before the crying of several horns sounded over the city. She looked backwards for a moment, before turning back to him.

"I'm sorry, but I must go." Her mouth twisted into a worried line as she glanced at his arm. "I'm sorry about your arm, truly, but I-"

"Don't worry about it." Tom waved it off with his good arm. "I can manage." Martha nodded at him.

"Goodbye." With that, Martha darted off, quickly disappearing behind the houses. Tom watched the space where she had been for a moment, before picking his sword up. He made sure that it was correctly fastened into his scabbard before he began his walk again. Hopefully, he would arrive quickly. The burning pain in his arm was beginning to dull, but a steady throbbing was building up in its stead. Tom quickened his pace. The sooner he got back to the temple, the better.

o k a y school is finally starting to calm down (except for the huge project i have to do that i haven't started whoops) hopefully i'll be able to write a few chapters over the break so that I can post them when things get busy :p

thanks for being patient :)