Put back together

21. Before we leave

Patton bit his lip.

It was a good question.

They had barely been here for a few minutes when they had been attacked and he didn't want to find out what other kinds of monsters lived here.

Behind him the curtain closed and a glance in the direction told him that Virgil was gone again.

"Neither of you can fight and I can't protect both of you on my own. Especially not against things that can regenerate their limbs," Roman muttered, more thinking out loud than actively talking to either Patton or Logan.

"Except if we had someone who knew their weaknesses," Logan added.

"And where would we get-," Roman stopped himself. "Oooh. You mean..."

He trailed off and turned towards the curtain.

The realisation what - or rather who - he was talking about hit Patton and he could feel the hairs at the back of his neck stand up.

"Precisely," Logan confirmed. "Think about it; if anyone knows these Islands and the creatures inhabiting them, it's him. Plus, he has proven yesterday that magic is highly affective against these monsters. If we could convince him to come with us, we'd have a much better chance to survive this. And I believe all of us want that."

He pushed up his glasses waiting for the other two to respond.

Patton bit his lip.
What Logan said was true, of course it was, but he still couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that bloomed in his stomach at just the thought of being close to Virgil for a long time.
Staying in this cave for one night was one thing, actually traveling with a mage as their only guide something entirely different. Something a lot scarier.
The things he had been told about mages echoed through his head.
They were dangerous, unpredictable.
You couldn't trust them.
Just because Virgil hadn't done anything to them yet, didn't mean he wouldn't do so in the future, if he got the chance.

"I guess your right," Roman spoke and pulled Patton out of his thoughts, "but how should we do that? Convince him, I mean. He didn't seem to thrilled to even let us stay here so what could possibly make him come with us?"

That was another good question.

Part of Patton was glad about the chance that Virgil wouldn't come with them, the other listed off the facts Logan had stated earlier.

"I'm not sure, but we can at least ask, can't we?," Logan said. "If he says no, we can think of something."

With that he stood up and crossed the distance to the curtain with a few large strides only to hesitate.

Roman stood up as well and Patton followed their lead.

"What's wrong, kiddo?," Patton asked at Logan's hesitance.

The librarian slowly turned around and shot him a confused look.

"'Kiddo'? I believe we are about the same age, so why would you call me kiddo?"

Patton felt heat creep up his cheeks and ears.

"I- I'm sorry. It's an old habit. I didn't mean to, I swear!," he sputtered out.

Logan still looked confused.

"There is no need to apologize, Patton. I was merely wondering why you would call me a pet name, usually reserved for children."

He looked slightly amused.

"He called me 'kiddo', too, a while ago," Roman spoke up.

"I just usually rather spend time with children and it's kinda become a habit," Patton could still feel the blush burning on his cheeks.