" What the fuck is wrong with you, man?"

Ian punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. He hadn't expected it.

" ...What do you mean?" he asked, nursing it.

" You just fucked around on the library girl and broke her heart! That's not like you!" Ian yelled down at him. His gaze darkened. " You haven't been acting much like you ever since that old geezer came around. Always shut up somewhere with old books or out in the woods doing weird shit. What's up with that?"

" ... I'm sorry, Ian," he said, sitting up. " I didn't realize how much I'd changed. I just... wanted to get serious about my studies."

" Well, don't be such a dick about it!"

" ... I'm going to go back to the knights' Order in the spring," Henry said. " I want to send the money from my salary back so my mother can afford her medicine."

Ian's condemnative glare softened, and he looked down, kicking his foot against the dirt.

" ... I'm sorry, man," he said after a moment, awkward. " I know it's tough on you."

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