( Zero’s glare told Satoru pretty much everything she wasn’t saying out loud Satoru caught the message and, for once, didn’t push back. Whatever was going on between Zero and Mikhail clearly wasn’t something she wanted him stepping into... even if Satoru still wasn’t convinced Mikhail was anywhere near as fine as he kept insisting ) 𝕾𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖚 𝕲𝖔𝖏𝖔: “ ...Alright... message received... I’ll stay out of that one... ” ( Satoru’s attention shifted toward Cent once the cave was mentioned A place to stop for a while honestly sounded like the smartest thing anybody had suggested yet, especially if Mikhail needed time to recover before they headed anywhere more dangerous Satoru did have to suppress a laugh at the whole “disciple of my caliber” comment though ) 𝕾𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖚 𝕲𝖔𝖏𝖔: “ ...A damp cave...? Damn, Cent... I’ll make sure nobody tells the historians about this terrible blow to your dignity... ” ( Satoru slipped both hands into his pockets, the teasing fading as quickly as it came when Zero asked whether the cave could actually fit a dragon That was... admittedly a detail Satoru hadn’t expected to become relevant today ) 𝕾𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖚 𝕲𝖔𝖏𝖔: “ ...You know... hearing ‘he might have to tuck his wings in’ said this casually is still gonna take me a minute to get used to... ” ( Cent started off toward the cave with Zero following, and Satoru fell in a short distance behind them Satoru didn’t crowd Mikhail or bring the injury up again. Zero had made her position pretty clear, and Satoru wasn’t interested in turning concern into an argument just for the sake of proving a point Still... Satoru kept an occasional eye in Mikhail’s direction while they moved Just in case ) ( The walk also gave Satoru a chance to think about what Zero had actually agreed to Only a little while Which meant this wasn’t really a proper stop so much as everybody collectively admitting they needed to breathe before moving again ) 𝕾𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖚 𝕲𝖔𝖏𝖔: “ ...For what it’s worth... stopping for a bit is probably the right call... ” ( Satoru glanced toward Zero while continuing west with the group ) 𝕾𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖚 𝕲𝖔𝖏𝖔: “ ...Nobody’s gonna be much use at this Shrine of Seas if we arrive already running on fumes... ” ( Satoru let that sit rather than immediately turning it into another interrogation The questions were still there, obviously A whole pile of them But the cave was ahead, Mikhail needed rest whether he wanted to admit it or not, and Zero already looked like she’d had enough people testing her patience for one afternoon Satoru could wait ) 𝕾𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖚 𝕲𝖔𝖏𝖔: “ ...Come on... let’s see if Cent’s luxury accommodations actually fit the dragon first... ”