Cease the Suffering - Etrian Odyssey II (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 24

AN: Thank you so much Irish_Moon_Dreamer and SakuraiYoake for reviewing the previous chapter! And I hope you have (had) a wonderful Christmas! I didn’t really, I’m afraid. I spent it in hospital…Yeah. That was fun. Anyway, there’s always next year!

Now, please read and enjoy!

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Chapter 24:

The hospital was unnervingly quiet. There were a few patients, mostly locals, with minor complaints of stomach-aches or back spasms. Hardly any explorers nor guards. Which was good and the numerous medical staff were grateful for some peace, but it was still unsettling. They were used to rushing around all day long, calmly but hastily attending to the most wounded.

Lynus was sitting in the meal room with Angie, the young blonde-haired woman sitting in one of those swirly chairs simply spinning around in a slow circle, looking quite bored. Fellow Medic, Darrell, was also there, having completed his rounds (a couple of times, actually) and was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee.

And Lynus was idly flipping through a medical book, resting his chin in his hand.

“Quiet day,” Darrell commented, taking a long sip of his drink.

Lynus nodded and flipped another page. “Yup.”

“Kinda unnerving, to be honest,” Darrell added.

“It is,” Lynus agreed, nodding his head again as he turned another page. “It’s also somewhat reassuring.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Darrell said as he put down his cup, peering at Lynus from over the top of his glasses. “Why does it appear that Simmons is afraid of you?”

Lynus lifted his head from his hand and blinked, somewhat confused. Simmons had no reason to be afraid of him. What did he mean?

But he soon recalled the events from yesterday; the labyrinth, Simmons suddenly attacking Axel for a battle, Axel beating the living snot out of Simmons, Jhon having to grab Simmons by the collar and dragging the withering mess to the hospital, Axel cursing the other Landsknecht’s name all afternoon.

Darrell must have been the one to assist Simmons yesterday.

“Ah, you mean yesterday?” Lynus said, a small smile of amusement gracing his lips. “It's not me he's afraid of, perse. It's Axel.”

Darrell nodded his head slowly, seeming to have figured it out himself. “Why?” He was still curious to hear more, though.

“Axel beat him up yesterday.”

Darrell blinked. “...Why?”

“Simmons attacked Axel in order to get a battle out of him,” Lynus explained, emitting a soft chuckle. He shouldn’t be finding it as amusing as he did. “But he happened to do with me nearby.”

The way Simmons appeared out of nowhere, swinging that axe of his was actually quite terrifying. Yet the way Axel had so easily reacted, not only protecting himself, but taking great care in keeping Lynus safe. It was astounding how quickly he was able to move and defend, responding to a danger that Lynus didn’t even sense.

It impressed him greatly.

“Axel is...protective of me, I suppose you could say.”

Darrell blinked again before giving a one-shoulder shrug and returning to his coffee. “...Fair enough,” he uttered before taking a sip.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, only it wasn’t completely silent. There was a soft scratching noise. It was low, almost impossible to hear under normal circumstances. But since the hospital was so quiet, with only a few patients bustling about; the noise was more notable.