"That's worse!" Derek threw his arms up. "You've eaten six hours of work!"
Kaelen blinked. "It's not that much…"
Neal, still quiet, just lowered his head. "We lost an entire section."
Then Kaelen turned to Alira.
Even after everything that had happened… Even after the brutal battle, the healing, the trauma...
She had never once looked at him with hatred.
That was until now.
Her gaze was flat. Disappointed. Disgusted.
It hit harder than a sword to the chest.
Kaelen took a step back, hand still on his mouth. "Wait, why are you all looking at me like that?! What did I do?!"
"You're the worst," she said coldly.
"…The what?"
Kaelen looked around helplessly. "Am I seriously the villain for eating dirt now?!"
Nobody answered.
He sighed and flopped down on the ground with a long groan, defeated.
"I'm gonna go find more snacks."
But in the next moment, Kaelen blinked.
"…Wait. What is this?"
He froze mid-chew.
