Nic was very confused. But he let Laurel do... whatever she was doing.

"We... can dance in the pool," Laurel explained in a whisper when she finally caught on.

Nic was still confused. They couldn't dance in the pool. It was physically impossible. But after another moment or two he sighed and started to give it a try.

It soon became obvious that Laurel was content with pressing close to him and swaying around a bit.

--

Wolfe finally went over to Raven and Toby, "We have to get going," he explained, "Sorry to cut the time short." Toby nodded.

Raven nodded, saying goodbye to Toby and thanking him for everything.

Toby told him to come back and visit, they hadn't even made a dent in Toby's large farmlands.

Wolfe started to lead Raven back down, "Did you like it?" he asked when they left the clearing.

"Yes," Raven said, not bothering to elaborate since Wolfe clearly wasn't interested.

"You still look tired," Wolfe commented.

Raven didn't reply.

Wolfe suddenly turned so quickly he almost bumped noses with Raven, "What's going on?" he demanded.

Raven seemed a little taken aback, taking a few steps backward. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You're acting... not like yourself," Wolfe stated.

"How so?" Raven asked.

"You're too tired and something is clearly wrong!" Wolfe decided.

"... I'm sorry," Raven told him.

"That's not what I want to hear," Wolfe whispered passionately.

"... What do you want to hear?" Raven asked quietly.

"What's going on?" Wolfe repeated.

Raven shook his head a little, still a little too stunned to think of anything to say.

Wolfe contined to stare at him, "Do guns affect you that much?" he suddenly asked, "Because I do not understand why you think I'm not capable of protecting you!"

"Wha-?" Raven asked, wondering where that came from. "No. No, I don't think that at all!"

"Then why are you forcing youselft to learn to fire a gun?" he demanded.

Raven took a moment to think through his response. "I... don't want you to worry about me when you're not around," he answered quietly.

Wolfe frowned, "But I'm worrying about you now."

Raven didn't say anything for awhile, but then he shook his head. "... I don't have a problem with learning," he reassured Wolfe quietly.

"Then why are you acting so weird?" Wolfe asked in a quietly voice.

Raven swallowed a little as he struggled to find the words. "I... It's just... taking me awhile to get used to," he decided.

Wolfe was silent for a long moment then he slowly nodded and turned. He resumed the lead.

Raven paused a moment, almost saying something more. But he stopped and started following him again. After about fifteen minutes, when there was a decent opportunity, he tried to grab Wolfe's hand.

Wolfe let him but seemed a little tense.

Raven didn't say anything as he kept walking.

Wolfe finally sighed and gave in, relaxing a little.

There wasn't a difference in Raven as they kept walking.

"...Why do you like me?" Wolfe suddenly asked.

Raven was silent for a moment before replying quietly, "You're a strong leader and very passionate person."

Wolfe was silent for awhile, "I'm... not very strong," he confessed quietly, not looking at Raven.

Raven didn't reply, not sure what to say.

"You're... much stronger than me," he added quietly.

Raven shook his head a little, weariness coming back.

"I could never have handled as gracefully as you did having your world be turned upside down," Wolfe explained quietly.