Mountains and Buffalo.

Chapter 22: Happy Pals.

I was set beside a wall. It took all of my will not to pass out immediately. I gave myself a minute to breathe and relax. I caught a glimpse of my legs. They were thankfully still in one piece, but several parts of my skin were charred. I put great care into the potion Juke fed me, so my wounds would heal just fine. I thanked my past self for making it pain-numbing as well.

Though my legs were fine, too much of them were exposed to the outside world. To put it bluntly, I needed a new pair of pants. I would've ordinarily been embarrassed, but I had bigger fish to fry.

Juke took a seat beside me while panting, taking his helmet off, and wiping the sweat off his brow.

"I ain't ever ran that fast before shit."

We took a minute to get ourselves situated. I looked up at the sky, taking deep breaths.

"I wish... I packed an energy potion."

"Ya know how to make one?"

"...No, I'm just thinking of coffee."

He clicked his tongue in disappointment. I made a mental note to check if things such as energy potions truly existed later.

"Are you two feeling well? I'm assuming a fight broke out."

The man I recognized but forgot the name of walked up to us with an impassive face, making me wonder if he asked how we were only for formalities.

"We're doin' fine. Thanks for helpin' us."

"Sure thing," Pars interjected with a gentle smile.

"So, Kenny, right? care to explain what happened?"

Pars took a seat on the pavement, and the man beside him followed.

"Uh... well-"

"Before all that, how about ya two introduce yerselves? It's obvious Kenny met ya, but I hate to be left in the dark."

"Ah, of course!"

Pars rubbed the back of his head.

"The name's Pars. This grumpy fellow is Dave. Nice to meet you, uh,"

"Juke."

I weakly snapped my fingers, almost admonishing myself for forgetting a name like Dave.

"Juke. That's an odd name. Where do you come from?"

"That ain't important right now. Since Kenny looks like he's gonna drop dead any minute, I'll do all the explaining."

Juke gave me a sidelong wink. I gave him a fragile thumbs-up, whispering a thanks.

"To make a long story short, we were tryin' to escape the city. Found out that these Hard-Bringer bastards really want our heads in particular, so much so that the Harbinger lady camped the stables and attacked us. That's who we were runnin' from."

"You fought directly with the Harbinger? You two are pretty impressive," Pars replied.

"Nah, ya should've seen it. We were getting tossed around like she was playing ball. Seriously, just look at Kenny."

They all diverted their gazes to me. I felt more inclined to correct Juke than to get embarrassed.

"I did this to myself, though."

"I ain't sweating the details here, kid."

"You're just lying to them, though."

He simply shrugged. I realized that I was just sweating details. It didn't matter why, the point was that I became injured because of the fight.

"What Juke's saying is right, though. We weren't on the brink of death or anything, but we weren't making her feel threatened, let's just say."

"I gotcha," Pars replied. He seemed to be mulling over something Juke had said. I used the window of downtime to close my eyes and lean my head against the wall.

"Why were you two targeted in particular?"

Dave spoke up. My rest was short-lived, but I wasn't particularly miffed about it.

"From what that mop-haired guy from earlier was sayin'," Juke started, "It's probably because of the mission we're on. They ain't cottoning to our mission, which I can't disclose for legal reasons, but jokes on 'em, we already did it!"

"Your mission," Pars asked, "Wait, you were also tasked with delivering the letter?"

The silence that ensued was awkward and oppressive.

"Kenny, who the hell is this guy?"

"O-Oh, well, he's one of the people who helped Rover and me deliver the letter."

"Ah, I thought he was some bad news. Well, even if ya were, yer helping us is enough to let it slide."

"I'm flattered."

"Nah, but ya really gave me a scare, goodness."

Juke grabbed his chest and took an elongated, heavy breath, continuing the conversation once he assuaged himself.

"Well, like I said, the mission's already over. Ya think if I tell the Hard-Bringer folk that they'll give us a slap on the wrist?"

"..."

Pars didn't respond to Juke's playful inquiry. Dave had an even graver expression than before. Their faces were solemn in a way that radiated pity, and it was only exacerbated by Pars' pinching of his nose and subsequent sighing.

"Just to make sure, your guys' mission was to deliver the letter, right? The letter in question had to be delivered to the Pillar of Foreign Communications?"

"...I don't like where this is goin'."

Juke voiced my thoughts exactly. I nodded along to his questioning, which Pars took as a cue to continue.

"You're right not to like it, because I'm about to drop the worst news you've heard all week: all of the Pillars have been subjugated by Hard-Bringer."

"...The hell does that mean?"

"That means that the letter that Kenny and Rover delivered hasn't been, and most likely, won't be sent out."

Pars articulated himself with a constant emphasis. Every word dropped heavily, and their meaning struck harsher with his heavy voice. My eyes widened. A cavity formed in my gut. I wanted him to repeat himself, only to be sure that I heard what he said, but the thought of it being reaffirmed was too frightening for me to try.

"Ya gotta be kidding me, man."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not."

"Haaaa... shit."

Juke leaned back against the wall and stared at the sky. All things considered, he was taking it pretty well. I thought it was ridiculous. I couldn't see inside him, sure, but I was astonished by how all that was invoked from his was a simple sigh. My feelings turned mixed.

"What does that mean for us," I asked.

"Considering how you two were being attacked for just embarking on the mission," " Dave responded, "they'd likely destroy it once they find it."

"So we're working against the clock is what yer saying?"

I was bemused by Juke's wording, but outright shocked when I saw him stand up and stretch his hands.

"I think I get the gist of it," he said, "If we wanna see the mission through, then we gotta kick these Hard-Bringer bastards out, yeah?"

"I guess so," Pars replied, "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Yer gonna have to do some more explainin' of course, but if yer already forming a group to counterattack, I'm all in."

"W-Wait," I said, "Hold on, give me a moment to think about this"

I put my head in my hands. The state of affairs moved too fast for my fatigued body and mind. I was certain that, if I just came out of a good rest, I'd be able to think more clearly, but I didn't, so I couldn't, and it frustrated me, it frustrated me endlessly. Then there was the idea of doing this– for some reason, I sat on the fence. I couldn't say yes to the proposal, but I wanted to accept, yet I couldn't make a declaration.