Rift

Chapter 3: Stay Like This

Cree snorts and cocks a brow at Colin. "Look who's talkin', gearbox. I swear, back in Aramora we couldn't go five feet without hearing the name of the 'great Colin Lee'. You're givin' Regan shit for being famous, when you're right up there with him," he rolls his eyes and takes a drink of his whiskey.

Colin eyes him quizzically. "I... am?"

"Yes! I think there are even a few bard songs composed about you!" Regan points at him with his fork before taking another bite and then a sip of his own wine.

Cree clears his throat and narrows his eyes at Regan.

"Um... Weren't you working on a song about him?"

Regan coughs and laughs nervously, throwing a pillow at him that Cree swiftly catches and glares at him with a huff.

Colin turns his curious gaze back onto Regan. "Oh really?" he teases. Regan chuckles and scratches the back of his neck.

"Give me a break, you saved my family!" he takes another drink. "Come to think of it, I think I still have that lute you gave me. It's back in Sage, of course, but I kept it nonetheless! Had I known we'd be going to a fantasy continent, I would have brought it with!"

Edith guzzles down an ungodly amount of chocolate milk. "How did that even happen? How do you just 'wind up' on another continent?"

Cree glares at her. "You tell us, miss 'oh let's just stay past the timer and magically poof to another continent and let everyone think we're dead'."

"You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope not a chance."

"Great..." Edith mumbles.

Regan sighs. "We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. We had only one lead and that was the rifts, so we followed it to Aramora before even knowing what we'd be walking into. However, I don't regret it one bit. We set out to find you both, and in the end, it worked out," he smiles at the two SRL.

Colin runs his finger around the rim of his wine glass. He feels the question of Sara nagging in his mind, but he resists his curiosity so as to not dampen the mood. He hasn't seen Edith this happy in what feels like forever. Best to not waste it.

"Well, whatever the case, I'm glad you two made it out in one piece," Edith says sweetly and takes a large bite of spaghetti, then her eyes land on Regan. Specifically, on his cheek.

How didn't she notice that thick scar before? She supposes she was just too delirious with ecstasy over seeing them again that she wasn't able to process it, but now that she's gotten a moment to breathe, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

She gasps and moves over to him as quickly as she can to run her thumb over the length of the scar. "Regan! What the hell happened? Where did you get this scar? Who hurt you?"

Regan laughs nervously once again and clears his throat, shaking his head out of her hand to take another drink from his wine glass.

"Ah, well, you see... About that," he bites his lip. "Um... Aramora was just... It was dangerous! So many things happening so quickly, one tends to lose track over the small details! There was that run-in with those Latyrs! Maybe they—"

"It was me," Cree interrupts.

Edith freezes and slowly looks back at him. "...What?"

Regan sighs and gently grabs Edith's wrist, looking past her over at Cree.

"You don't have to..." he says softly, shaking his head.

Cree takes a deep breath and looks down. "No, Regan... It's okay. I was... stupid, then."