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Silas strides through the forest behind the BC Sol buildings, the peace of the area only doing a little to improve his mood. Valt and Kit had gotten into an argument during lunch over...he can't even remember. Something stupid, and yet almost everyone else in the dining hall had decided to get involved. It had just been on the brink of turning into a full-on shouting match before he'd left. He was glad to be on the team, really, but some of these people could be such dumbasses sometimes. No, 'sometimes' is too generous of an assessment.
The wind tousles his hair, and he lets himself take a moment to appreciate the fact that it's the only sound he can hear. It's no wonder Free spends so much time out here, especially with teammates like these.
As he gets his first glimpse of the stone platform through the trees, he frowns slightly. It doesn't look like anyone's there. He changes his path as he gets closer so he can circle the stadium. There's movement in the trees across from where he's standing, and he can't help but freeze. It's stupid, it's not like this is Free's spot and nobody else's. But it's not Free slipping through the trees, it's a deer. The one who always seemed to be hanging around him like it was his animal sidekick or something. As Silas circles closer to the stadium, it keeps moving forward, mirroring his movements until it stops next to the stone platform.
There. He spots a patch of yellowish-orange, resting on the ground just next to the stadium.
He weaves through the trees, calling out to Free as he does. "Hey, wake up! We're battling!"
Free doesn't stir.
"I know you can hear me!"
The deer tilts its head, in almost the same way Free always does.
As he gets closer, his eyebrows furrow in confusion. Free's curled up in a fetal position, Fafnir clutched loosely in one hand. His launcher is lying on the ground, just next to his other hand. His eyes are shut, but the expression on his face doesn't make it look like he's just asleep. The way his eyebrows are drawn together, his mouth in a small frown...he looks like he's in pain.
Silas' pace quickens without him making the conscious decision to. "Free?"
He does respond this time, but by curling inward a little more and giving a small whine of pain. He cups the side of his head with his free hand. No, it's not just that. He's covering his ear.
Silas feels a slight pang of guilt, crouching down next to the other boy. He drops his voice to just above a whisper. "What happened?" Free slowly lifts the hand the hand that's covering his ear, slightly extending one finger to point at his head. "Headache?" Free's nod is small, as if any kind of movement will make the pain worse. It would have been easy to miss if Silas hadn't been paying attention.
He stands back up. "I'll get Kris."
"M'fine," Free mumbles, so quiet Silas can barely hear.
"Are you-" Silas stops himself when he realizes his voice is rising. He drops it back to his previous whisper, though it's hard to keep it that way. "Are you seriously going to do this now?"
There's no response from Free, verbal or physical.
"What, are you just planning to sleep it off out here?"
Free's shoulders lift slightly in a shrug, what Silas guesses is his way of saying, Guess so.
"How comfy is the ground? Besides, what if it starts to rain?"
"Wh' d'you care?"
Silas doesn't answer. Why does he care? Obviously it would be a pretty shitty thing to do, leaving someone clearly in pain on their own with no one to help them. But somehow, because it's Free, there's more to it than that. Pretty much everyone in BC Sol, in the world, has put Free up on a pedestal. People love to talk about how strong he is, how he's practically unstoppable. Invincible. And here he is, curled up on the ground in obvious pain, but still insisting he's fine. How much has the public's view of him influenced how he views himself? Has that become the standard he holds himself to? He's more than capable of meeting and surpassing people's expectations of him, Silas knows. He's seen it firsthand. But he shouldn't need to be meeting those standards every second of every day. He should be allowed to be vulnerable. He is allowed. Free knows that, doesn't he?
He settles for responding with, "I'm not letting you die of pneumonia before I defeat you in battle." Free responds with a quiet huff that Silas is pretty sure is his version of a laugh.
He puts his hands on his hips. "If you don't want me to get Kris, you can come back with me."
Free doesn't respond.
Silas turns around. "Have it your way." He's only taken a few steps before he hears a groan of effort come from behind him, followed by a sharp hiss of pain. He turns back to see that Free is now sitting up, but he's holding his head in his hands. Fafnir has fallen to the ground, forgotten for the moment. As he watches, Free crumples back down to his original position. A stab of sympathy makes its way through Silas' chest as he returns to the other boy's side. "I guess walking back is out of the question?"
No answer, but it doesn't matter. Of course, this raises the question of how Free's going to get back to the dorms. He'd said he wasn't going to get Kris, but maybe she'd know what to do...
Wait. Free was pretty slender, wasn't he? How hard would it be for Silas to carry him back? There's still some time before lunch ends, if they're quick enough they can be back before training starts again. He grabs Fafnir and Free's launcher, tucking them back into Free's belt. "Are you good with me carrying you back?" It takes a moment, but Free gives a small nod. "Okay. I'm gonna try and get my arms under you."
Free shifts so he's lying on his back, grimacing a little. Silas starts maneuvering his arms underneath Free's shoulders and the small of his back. It's not too difficult, but lifting him is going to be the trickiest part. Plus, there's the added task of trying to make this as smooth as possible so he doesn't cause Free any extra pain.
"I'm gonna lift you now. I'll try and be gentle, 'kay?" Free gives another miniscule nod. "One...two...three." Free isn't exactly light, but he's not heavy either. He's a manageable weight, in any case. Once they're both off the ground, Free curls in towards Silas' stomach. In response, he adjusts his arm so he can support Free's head better. The deer, who'd been standing there watching the whole ordeal, gives him one last look before it strides back off into the trees.
The journey back is quiet, but not awkwardly so. If the motion of Silas' walking is making Free's head hurt any more than it already is, he doesn't complain. Finally, the dorms come into view. Free curls up just a little more when Silas steps from the shade of the forest into the sun.
"We're close," Silas whispers. They don't run into anyone on their way to the dorms' entrance. It isn't until they get there that Silas realizes he'd forgotten to take into account how they were going to get inside. Neither of his hands are available to get the door.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spots movement. His first instinct is to move around the building in case it's a person, so they can't see him bridal-carrying Free. If it is a person, though, they could help him get the door. He can only hope it's not Valt. Or Cuza. Or Kit. Or-
It turns out to be Shasa, coming from the direction of the dining hall. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d left because she’d gotten tired of the team’s arguing too. He’s trying to figure out how to get her attention - he can’t really wave, or yell - when she happens to glance in their direction. It’s a bit hard to tell at this distance, but he thinks she looks confused. Whatever, she’s one of the more sane people on this team. She won’t get too weird about this. He hopes.
She opens her mouth like she wants to speak, but closes it when she gets a better look at Free. “What happened?” she whispers.
“Headache,” Silas answers, the volume of his voice matching hers. “Migraine, I think.”
“Should I get Kris?”
“I think he’s asleep. If he’s not better when he wakes up, then we’ll get her.” He inclines his head towards the dorm entrance. “You mind?”
Shasa nods, pulling the door all the way open. With Free, they’re too wide to go straight through the door, so Silas has to maneuver through sideways. Once Shasa’s through, he realizes there’s another problem. “Do you know which room is his?”
Shasa frowns, shaking her head. They think for a few moments, wondering if maybe now’s the time to get Kris, before they hear a sleepy mumble. “S’on the top.”
Both their gazes land on Free, who’s still curled up with his eyes closed. “The top floor?” Shasa asks, her voice even quieter than a whisper.
“Mm. At the end.”
Shasa and Silas exchange a glance, before wordlessly making their way to a staircase and starting to climb. It’s difficult to keep Free from jostling about, but finally they reach the top floor.
“This one?” Silas asks, nodding his head at the door they’ve come out in front of.
“Mm. S’unlocked.”
Silas and Shasa exchange glances again, but silently agree that now isn’t the best time to lecture Free on the importance of locking one's doors. Shasa pushes open the door, letting Silas through.
“Thanks. You can go, I got him.” Shasa gives him a nod before letting the door close, presumably heading off to where she'd been going before she'd run into Silas and Free.
Silas sets Free down on the perfectly made bed. He wonders if Free's used it since he’d started living here, or if he really does sleep in the forest. He shakes out his arms, trying to get some feeling back in them. Free shifts onto his side, curling up into the same position he’d been in when Silas had found him.
He feels like he should say something. Maybe offer to get him water, or tell him not to do anything stupid like go back out to keep training. He settles for saying nothing, just heading back into the hallway.
“Thanks.”
He doesn’t turn around, but before he leaves he says, “You owe me a battle.”
If he had looked back, he might have seen Free break into a small smile.