Micah gently squeezed his hand. "I promise I'm not mad at you, okay? I'm just... Shaken up. That thing was creepy."

"I know you're not mad at me." Ray says, squeezing back with a soft sigh. "It may be creepy and/or scary, it may be hard and stressful, and no matter how much I want to give up, I have to continue my work. Please don't come with me unless you are sure you can handle it."

"I'm coming with you. That's non-negotiable. No matter how much those creatures scare me, the idea of losing you scares me way more." Micah stopped, turning to look at Ray, looking completely serious.

Ray feels like arguing and demanding that Micah stay here but he knows he can't. He simply nods silently. If anything happened to Micah on their adventures outside of camp... Ray didn't know what he'd do. Blame himself for sure.

Micah smiled and continued walking, humming happily.

Ray listens and stays silent, not quite sure what to say and do as he continues to walk when Micah did.

They reached the mess hall and Micah hugged Ray. "See you after dinner- don't mess up your wing anymore, got it?"

"I won't try to." Ray says, gently hugging Micah back. He smiles at him when he breaks the hug and heads to where he usually ate at. Austyn was there, and he greets Ray and Micah with a cheery smile and wave.

Micah waved back, then went to the Demeter table. Janet was sitting in her usual seat, sipping a Kool-Aid. "Hi, Ray," she chirped. She seemed to have recovered from her earlier scare with the Kiadn.

"Hello, Janet. How do you do, Austyn?" Ray says as he sits down. He had left his jacket in the cabin when the Kiadn had attacked and he wished he had it now. If not to hide his wings and give him warmth, at least to be some sense of comfort.
"I'm doing great." Austyn says cheerfully.