He put on nice clothes and strapped his hammer to his belt. He took the ice packs off of his friend before leaving the room. He closed the door quietly and strolled down to the cafeteria for breakfast.
“What do you want today?” Kitsune asked. She had gone so extreme with her café that all the cooks and waitresses had uniforms.
“Toast and bacon” Oliver replied. She raced away with her pen and paper. He found Brook, Karen, and Sean and sat with them.
“I’m on guard duty today, after I eat I’m going down to the main gate with the archers and the other guards” brook announced.
“Did you beat up john?” he asked.
“James walked right up to him and kicked him in the jackpot” she replied and took a swig of orange juice.
“It’s actually better to hit people in the throat” Karen informed.
“Where did you learn that?” Sean asked.
“TV” she answered.
“What’s that?” Oliver asked.
“It’s another thing that the modern world has that Evergreen doesn’t. I can live without it though” she replied and dusted bagel crumbs off her jeans.
“I’m sick of people bullying us. I’ve seen men trying to order Evelyn around like she was their personal servant. It was disgusting. A woman also told her that she didn’t belong in the world or something like that. Now John is picking on us for going on a mission. We are supposed to be a team. An army” he snapped.
“Instead it’s like high school all over again” Karen muttered. “Another thing you don’t have” she added to confused faces.
“Evelyn passed out and really got hurt. I was blasted off the treadmill” he snarled.
“I’m surprised Evergreen has treadmills” Karen said.
“We only accept modern world technology and advancements when it comes to clothes and workout equipment” Sean replied. Brook finished her food, got up, and left with a wave. “I’m so excited to do guard duty” she shouted in the hallway.
“Don’t die” Oliver yelled hoping to get a couple of laughs. He succeeded.
He finished his food and left the table to go check on Evelyn.
She was sitting at the table in the apartment, rubbing her head and staring down.
“What’s wrong?” Oliver asked and pulled up a chair and sat with the chair backwards.
“How can I be this tough warrior if I pass out after a few sit ups and some jogging? I can’t even stand up to Wesley on my own” she wined; a tear fell down her face. He moved his chair closer and pulled her against him. She tried to leave but he pulled her down.
“You have to TALK about things like this Evelyn. You can’t just leave” he scolded gently. “It wasn’t a few sit ups tough. It was five hundred. And we did a lot of running. I was falling asleep and was… shot off” he added upliftingly.
“But you didn’t get knocked out or pass out. You started to fall asleep. I staggered and crashed into a bunch of weights. Even after you flew off the treadmill you didn’t go unconscious” she snapped and balled her fists.
“I think I was blacking out but when you fell I jolted right back up. I knew I had to get you home. I think part of the reason you blacked out was because of shock, fear, or just the sight of seeing your friend hurt” he explained.
“But that makes me weak! In the final battle I’ll be seeing people I know die. They’ll be all kinds of fear and shock and I’ve seen you get hurt before” she yelled.
“Keep calm” he soothed. “This time you were dehydrated and exhausted” he replied.
“If my ally did that to me then what do you think the other army will do to me?” she hissed.
“But you have fought soldiers of the other army” he pointed out.
“Then what’s my problem?” she asked.
“I think because it was an ally that you felt like you couldn’t fight back to him. Maybe it was sympathy since he had an eye patch” he suggested.
“What about Wesley and blacking out?” she asked.
“Same thing goes for Wesley. He’s your ally and you didn’t want to hurt him. Plus you’ve gotten tremendously better and not hitting people. As for me, when you saw me hurt before I was kind of a jerk to you. I wouldn’t let you be my friend but now we are… Now that you know that I care for you might have a different view of me. I’m your first friend. I was the one who helped you threw your anger issues and held your hand when you got uncomfortable or scared. I got chu” he explained. More tears ran down her face and she hugged him. The hug lasted for over a minute before the pair separated. Evelyn whipped her face and but on a brave smile.
“Thank you Ollie” she purred.
“I’ll always be here for you. I got your back” he replied.
“I’m cold” she said and rubbed her arms.
“I’ll light a fire” he answered. He found the fire place and was greatly relieved to see wood.
“I wish I had a lighter” he said. “Do you know if we have one here?” he asked.
“The only place I remember seeing one was at your house” she replied.
“Maybe it’s time for a little quest” he suggested.
“For a one time fire” Evelyn said sarcastically.
“We can get more than that at my place. You and Bruce dragged me out before I got a chance to pack” he said.
“Okay” Evelyn answered. “When do we leave?” she asked.
“Right now. We can get ready quickly” he replied. “We can talk on the way and learn each other’s backstories” he suggested. Oliver rummaged around the room for a bag and found one of Evelyn’s; she had another one to use. He grabbed extra clothes, weapons, and Evelyn went down to Kitsune for some food and drinks to bring. After Evelyn returned they finished packing.
“What are we going to say to my dad?” she asked.
“We don’t have to tell him” Oliver answered with a swish of his hand.
“Then we’ll get in trouble” she wined.
“We’ll be fine” he finished. The pair hurried through the castle and managed to get through the exit without being seen. They dashed along a dirt path, covered by trees, and reached the Evergreen forest. Huge green trees towered over them at every angle.
“It’s so beautiful” Evelyn said, mystified. Their first mission was about to begin.
