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The battle on the Rift had been hard-fought, but in the end, the red flags were burned and Shen and Zed were left recovering far away from their Nexus, in a distant jungle removed from the battle-torn paths.
The two sat away from a fire where the rest of their ragtag team huddled, sharing a moment under the stars in the comforting shadows.
"Are you going to rest?" Zed asked his dearest friend, once his bitterest enemy. It wasn't too long ago they were at each other's throats. Now they fought for the same cause with the same ideals--finally, there was something they agreed on.
Still, there were cuts that ran deep beneath their flesh; memories and hurt feelings still burned their hearts, even though they had addressed them more than once.
"I don't need it," Shen replied. His mask lay off to his right, but he still wore his armor, always ready to protect himself and the ones he cared about.
"Sleep gives you energy," Zed pressed. "Strength."
"I have plenty of that."
"You were hurt pretty badly today."
"I'm fine. You've hurt me worse before." Shen glanced at Zed and realized his words cut deeper than he intended. "...Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
The master of shadows stared at his friend for a long moment, then eventually lost his eyes in the forest ahead, falling silent.
Shen felt a pang of guilt in his heart. "Zed, I'm sorry," he muttered, his eyes not leaving the man's head. He had forgotten how difficult today's fight on the Rift had been for the assassin. Zed had lost lane horribly, and the rest of their team had blamed him for the ultimate destruction of their Nexus. "Today was just rough. I'm not coming across well."
Zed was still silent. Shen wondered what the man was thinking about. Did it have anything to do with their former rivalry? Despite the frustration he still felt about it all, Shen knew Zed still felt guilty for the lies he had told him.
Although Shen hadn't fully processed everything, Zed had told him everything about what had happened to his father and why he had killed him. He still wasn't sure he fully believed Zed, but Zed insisted that it was the truth. That he was done lying. That was almost a year ago, but Zed had begun to prove himself quickly, and continued to every chance he got.
He even took Shen to the place he had done it. Eventually.
He had shown the man everything, and even gone so far as to expose his own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the Temple of the Jagged Knife just to prove his loyalty.
"Usan... please." Shen noticed a slight shift in Zed's expression as be continued. "I was referring to our spars," Shen persisted. "And... okay, I'll admit it: our argument in the jungle. But I didn't mean anything else by it." Really, he didn't care about the argument over whether they should take the Rift Herald. He just wanted to make sure Zed didn't think he was mad about deeper issues.
Zed's hair practically glowed under the light of the full moon, white and beautiful like snow. With a quiet sigh, he dipped his head back and looked over at his friend. "It's fine. It's whatever. We'll win next time."
Shen's expression softened, and he nodded, looking away and closing his eyes as he started to meditate. The two sat in silence and simply enjoyed the peace for several minutes, ruminating over what had happened that day. Although Shen was wide awake, a quick glance to his right told him Zed was very much the opposite.
And then the assassin placed his head on Shen's shoulder and closed his eyes. It was the first time he had ever done so since they were kids, but Shen did everything he could to act like it was normal. It did make his eyes snap open, though. "Are you actually going to listen to me next time?" Zed asked, but his tone, albeit tired, was playful.
"Yes. We can take the Rift Herald as soon as you're ready." Shen managed to tear his gaze away from Zed's hair and looked back up at the stars. "You usually carry anyway."