You both stink!

"You have had your jest now! Open your eyes Robbin!" Aes pleaded, his eyes watering.

"Did something happen handsome guy?" Morgan asked echoing through the chamber. Though she had the view of all below, what she lacked was the understanding to match it.

"Something's wrong with my friend! He will not wake!" Aes stated as his incessant shaking did nothing for Robbin.

"What!? Hold on I'm coming down." Morgan said as she made a short chant. Her gem glowed a vibrant violet before words orbited her. The words dissolved to manifest a bubble around her as she floated down into the pit.

As she touched the ground beside the two men; the bubble popped. She now stood besides Aes as he did every action he could fathom to wake his friend. In her experienced eyes though; the deathly pallor of Robbin was all she needed to know.

"Please Morgan! There must be something you can do! There has already been enough death today!" Aes pleas changed person from Robbin to Morgan.

To an esteemed Witch like Morgan; She watched this scene unfold many times before.

Denial.

Aes' friend had already met his demise. Aes was the only one not privy to that fact. That was not quite it though. Aes knew but he could not accept that outcome.

Unbeknownst to Aes; this had been Morgan greatest weakness. Despite her jagged exterior she could never stop herself from trying to pry away another soul from death's grasp.

 "Move aside handsome guy. Let me inspect him." She calmly remarked in a matter of fact way indicating the numerous times she dealt dancing on the razors edge between life and death.

Aes did as she asked, giving way for her. He could only pace anxiously around the pit a small bit away; awaiting her verdict.

Morgan placed her head on Robbins chest, there was no heart beat. She only displayed a frustrated scowl as she started another incant with all the standard fare one would come to expect from the chanting.

This time the words scrolled up her glasses like an animated list as she fixed her look at Robbin; she slowly read through the information then it scrolled down to reveal more. She adjusted her glasses before letting out a click of her tongue in her frustration.

"I'm sorry handsome guy. He has perished. There isn't much I can do for him now." Morgan just came right out and said for lack of a better way to break the news to Aes.

Aes did not answer at first. He simply wore a stunned expression of disbelief on his face as if someone just slapped him across the face.

"See!? This is why I hate Men! Their desire to be heroes! To go off in search of glory or prestige or whatever and when they invariably meet their ends... couldn't they spare even a thought for those they leave behind!?" Morgan ranted venting out her frustration. 

She expected Aes to grow irate with her as most did when she proved useless in their eyes.

"He...perished?" Aes said showing no signs of anger; at least not at Morgan. 

Instead he wore a guilt ridden face as he slowly came to terms with what happened to his friend.

His guilt was filled to the brim already but this event proved it's tipping point.

He smashed a fist into the eye of the manticore as the eye burst covering his hand in a gooey substance.

"Abominable creature! If not for you I would have seen to him sooner!" Aes angrily shouted venting out his own failures.

Aes then walked past Morgan to deliver a punch into the nearby wall; the wall breaking apart upon the impact. 

"The gods make a mockery of me, surely! Have I not done enough!? Have I not suffered enough!? Why grant me the clarity of virtue only to prevent me from acting on it! Once more another suffers in my stead. Just as before! Do you hear me you foul deities!? If you desire my end with such fervor then take me and right my wrongs with it!" He continued showing no signs of stopping.

"It's my fault! I should not have left him alone! It's all my fault!"

"There is one thing I can still try. It's risky though, a single mistake could put me in just as much trouble as your friend is in." Morgan offered.

She would have preferred to avoid that method but she could not bear to watch her savior tear himself apart like this. She was in his shoes once upon a time and the act of watching him brought back some painful memories for her.

"If there is anything you can do, please do it. I will forever be in your debt. He's...my only friend." Aes said composing himself enough to form a sensible sentence.

"Very well then. First I need you to turn around." Morgan stated seriously.

"Huh? Turn around?" Aes verbalized slightly puzzled.

"Yes turn around! I can't do it if you're watching! It's embarrassing!" Morgan once again iterated.

Aes did as she said. He could hear her making the chanting sound she always had when incanting a spell.

The next thing that reached his ears was the burst then subsequent crackle of flames. 

This last sound made audible to him could not be called a sound. Sound was too rough of a description for the beauty of something that stirred his heart so.

She sang a song that captured the feeling of melancholy, yearning and loss. At least that was how it made him feel. The words she spoke as she sang the song were in a language he could not recognize.

As the song had drew to a close, he could hear the fizzling out of the flame on flesh. The sound of the surreptitious end of the art.

"It's done. Phew! To say that was taxing would be an understatement!" Morgan decreed the exhaustion audible in her voice. Her moving from a kneeled position beside Robbin into a slumped back one on her bottom. Letting out a long sigh.

Aes turned to see the cinders of blue flames leave her hands, finding their home in Robbin instead before she moved to rest. He made an anxious approach to Robbin as if moving too quickly would somehow undo what she had done for him.

It was like she performed a miracle. He watched as Robbins lidded eyes showed movement again. Slowly but surely, Robbin's eyes opened to see Aes once more.

At this point Aes could not hold back his tears any longer as they fell regardless of any further resistance he put forth.

"Aes...?" Robbin returned to voice.

"I'm here my friend. I have not gone anywhere." Aes stated fighting through his tears.

"I had the strangest dream Aes. I saw Shadow, we were in a lush green land without end. There were so many apple trees. When I reached out to him he galloped away from me. He had buddies now, imagine that! That's when I heard the most beautiful song...  

…are you crying?" Robbin described before noticing Aes odd demeanor.

"Huh? No of course not! There was something in my eye is all." Aes deflected as he turned away to hide himself; wiping away the tears on his arm in the process.

"You definitely are! I can hear you sniffle from here!" Robbin replied.

"I do not know what you mean." Aes answered back.

"What a touching reunion! You better thank me! That was no simple magic trick I performed! I didn't do it for free either, I will have you know!" Morgan interrupted.

Aes walked up to her, knelt down beside her, matching his gaze to hers.

"What? did I say something-" before she could finish he wrapped her arms around her; pulling her into a deep hug.

"From the bottom of my heart. I, Thank you! I will do anything you require of me. There is no ask that will be too high. You can not know how deeply your kindness has moved me." Aes declared holding her close.

Morgan looked as if she was lost for a moment. Her cheeks growing warm on his touch, her eyes darted around the chamber whilst she tried to figure out where to leave her hands.

She let Aes embrace her for a bit longer than she should have before she pushed him off.

"Okay I get it! Get off already!" She protested blushing a little.

"Wait... anything anything?" she continued.

"Anything." he replied seriously.

"Any...thing." She spoke mostly to herself this time as her imagination ran wild. Her face reddening as she sneaked a glimpse at his armors codpiece. 

"Ahem. Yes, well. I require an escort through the undermountain to the city of Eversun, for reasons of my own. It has become abundantly clear that I could use the aid in a pinch. I will allow the two of you to escort me." As Morgan voiced her repayment as she regained her composure.

"Very well, lead the way. Isn't that right Robbin?" Aes asked as if the question had an answer.

"Who is this perverted hag Aes?" Robbin blurted out flippantly.

"Watch who you call old, peasant! I just saved your life! Be more grateful. Be more like handsome- hold a moment his name is Aes? ah~ such a lovely name to go with his strong arms! NO! You can't do this to yourself again Morgan! Control yourself!" Morgan initiated angrily however pausing briefly to swoon only to result in her returning to anger, this time at herself.

"She's the one that saved you Robbin." Aes happily admitted.

"Great, now I have one more person I owe. Gotta admit, I don't think I mind it. Being alive and all. Alright then, I'll tag along. Lead the way." Putting two and two together quickly, Robbin gave his consent.

"Hold on a moment, before we do. We'll need to make a detour on the way." Morgan stated as she held out an open palm in a wait gesture to the both of them.

"A detour? Do we really have the time for it?" Aes ignorantly replied.

"I refuse to travel with company smelling like a barn yard! When was the last time the two of you bathed!?" She said admonishing the two of them as she covered her nose.

The two men looked at one another mimicking each others movements. They both brought their respective noses down to to smell their own armpits before chuckling to each other. Each realizing how true her statements were.

"You both stink! Your stenches combined could wake the dead!"