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He is, once again, too late. The air hangs dense with ash and the smell of cooking, burning meat.
"K—" the name sticks in his throat as he coughs. "Kai!"
His scream echoes even in the deafened air.
"… Rus… ?"
"Kai!" He rushes to his master friend beloved, shoving aside wreckage.
"Rusty… you're still… alive…"
"No, don't leave me—"
"You'll… be okay…"
"What worth is a guard without his ward?" He demands. What worth am I without you?
"All the use in the world," and his tender smile softens as his eyes dull.
And the world dies quietly in his arms.