Ryker continued to shift his gaze, before looking at Eke.

"Hm. Never mind." he said.

"Let's just go." he told him.

"I get the feeling that the sooner we get back to the room, the better." he went on.

"I just hope I'm wrong."

"....yeah, I hope so." Ryker responded with a sigh.

"By the way, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"You ate quite a bit there." he said.

"Want me to carry you back?" he then asked with a light laugh.

"You gotta be feeling a bit sluggish and heavy." he chuckled.

"......" Ryker was silent as Eke regaled his story, before sighing quietly.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I see, I see." he said.

The next thing Eke knew, he was picked up by Ryker, and positioned on his back so that he was more easily carried.

"So." he said.

"What music did you listen to?" he asked.

"........" Ryker remained silent as he felt Eke's soft and rhythmic breathing.

He then paused for a moment, as he noticed some figures slowly following them.

'...damn it.' he cursed mentally.

'Not here. Not now.' he thought.

He then picked up the pace, trying to out-walk their stalkers, hoping to get away without conflict.

Ryker tried to pick up the pace even more, but their pursuers were catching up... and he swore he noticed gleans of metal in their hands.

Sharp metal.

As they got even closer, he felt the pain in his chest flare up once more.

"No... no, please..." he muttered.

When Eke awoke, he was in the bed in the room, but Ryker wasn't sleeping in his own bed. Instead, he was sitting on the edge of it, facing away from Eke, with his face buried in his hands.

He also seemed to remember having a bit of a nightmare that involved a monster trying to kidnap him... but it went away soon enough while he had slept earlier.

"........." Ryker was silent for a moment as he felt Eke's arms around his shoulders.

"Hey." he finally said, removing his hands from his face.

"Good morning." he greeted him, his voice a little on the hoarse side.

"Sleep well?" he asked him.

"Any issues or anything?" he asked further.

"Oh, it's still night?" Ryker asked.

"Guess I lost track of time." he said.

"......" he was then silent, biting his lip a little.

"...tends to happen when I lose control of myself." he admitted quietly.

"Pretty sure I beat 3 guys half to death earlier." he then said, before explaining the situation that had happened while Eke was asleep. How they had been attacked, but the shard took over, and how he'd literally kicked them into submission... and then some.

Ryker didn't do anything for another moment, before he lightly placed his own hands atop Eke's.

"...I'd rather you not owe me anything." he said.

"I'd... I'd like it if we could just... not worry about owing or anything like that." he said further.

"But... but yeah, I suppose they deserved it." he then admitted, referring to the gang from earlier.

"And you didn't even wake up during that scuffle, so I suppose it's all good." he then said with a light chuckle.

"Mm." Ryker mumbled.

"Yeah... yeah, I should." he agreed.

"You're right, I AM feeling pretty tired." he then admitted further, stretching out a little bit.

"I feel like I could sleep for days, actually." he told Eke.

"...doubt I will, though." he then laughed, as he kicked off his shoes against the nearby wall.

Ryker didn't seem to mind Eke playing his hair. In fact, it seemed to relax him.

"Mmm... good question." he responded.

"I remember this town has some touristy stuff to see." he said.

"We might stay and check them out." he said further.

"Or... we'll see..." he finished with a yawn.