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They'd walked a little way when suddenly Jedediah's knees buckled slightly and Octavius reached instinctively to support him. Unexpectedly, the cowboy clung to him slightly. Still anxious about his recent encounter with the hourglass, Octavius asked worriedly, "Are you alright? Does anything hurt?" On first inspection, apart from a few bruises and scrapes, Jed had seemed unharmed - laughing in fact - but now he looked worryingly pale.
"I just feel a li'l funny, is all." Jed stood a little straighter, but Octavius could feel him trembling. "Actually... I think I might wanna sit down a moment."
Octavius helped him nearer to the wall where they would be in less danger of being stepped on, still watching anxiously as Jed sank to the floor, breathing quickly. Octavius, partially through a want to give him some space and partially from a desire to keep guard, should dishonourable characters want to mock Jedediah's sudden seeming weakness, strode forward a few paces and stands looking out onto the rest of the room. After a moment, he glanced over his shoulder. The cowboy was shaking, and Octavius changed his mind, heading back over to sit beside him.
The aftermath of battle. War-sickness. Octavius thought he might be beginning to understand Jed's sudden attack. He had seen it many times before after particularly close scrapes, often enough to feel a little guilty at having not expected this, and for dragging his friend into battle barely seconds after his ordeal had been over. Then again, he probably wouldn't have been able to prevent him from going in anyway. Jedediah Smith was no coward, Octavius thought with a little glow of pride, stealing a quick glance at his face - head tilted back against the wall, eyes closed, breathing measured.
There was silence for a while. Then, with another fleeting look, Octavius reached and took his hand comfortingly. The hand twitched awkwardly in his, as though in a half-hearted attempt to pull away, and Jed said around chattering teeth, "Naw man, don't make it weird." Octavius' heart twisted a little at this but he withdrew his hand.
"I apologise."
"Aw, Octy, don't be like that. I didn't mean - I just - y'know?"
Octavius nodded solemnly. "I understand."
Slowly, the trembling stopped, and raising his head from his knees, Jed blew out another long breath, slightly steadier this time.
"Do you feel better?" "...Yeah." Jed removed his hat and shook sand from his hair, dusting his hat clean of the stuff with a rueful grin. "Sorry 'bout that, partner. I dunno what came over me, I just... You probably think me a fair ninpinny getting so het up about a bit of sand."
"A bit of sand?! The monsters nearly drowned you in it! I thought your bravery was astounding."
"You did?" Jed sounded slightly cheered by this, so Octavius decided to amp it up a little. His praise would be true, every word, but he felt that grand gesticulations and a dramatic voice were probably in order for this particular moment.
"Of course I did! Superb, the way you handled the situation, bravery in the face of almost certain death - "
Jed actually laughed out loud at this, slapping his thigh gleefully. "Dang right! But then I knew you'd come and get me out. I wasn't worried, or nothin'."
They both knew he was bluffing. Neither mentioned it.
It was Jed who got to his feet first, holding out a hand to help Octavius up. When they were both standing, the Roman tried to pull his hand away, but Jed held it fast, grinning.
Together, they looked up the huge corridor. "We should attempt to rejoin with the others," Octavius murmured, a little daunted by the vast expanse of tiled floor at their feet.
"Yeah. Boy, we got a looong walk ahead of us."
Their hands remained linked tightly.