"Why are we not helping them?" Elysia asked. Her voice was sharp and annoyed—the kind of sharp that said she already knew the answer and asked it anyway.
Ash stayed silent for a beat, then muttered under his breath, "If they can handle it, isn't that fine? But if they're about to die, we'll jump in."
Elysia tilted her head sharply toward him, brow twitching. He caught it from the corner of his eye and quickly said, "Don't move—someone might noti—"
BAAM!!
A clean hit landed right on the top of his head.
Ash nearly leapt out of his skin. His entire body flinched, but he held himself back—barely.
"The hell, Elysia?!" he whisper-yelled, voice riding the wave between panic and rage,"They'll notice us if you keep doing that!"
"And you..." she growled, her eyes burning into him, "You've gone completely back to your old self. I thought maybe—just maybe—you had grown a little, but no. You're the same infuriating idiot as always."
