"You must be Crash," Damian smirked as he lazily stretched his body on the couch. "I've heard quite a bit about you already."
His seeming lack of concern immediately put Crash and his compatriots off. Nervosity increased, which the four friends quickly translated into increased aggression. Yet, Crash remained impressively calm.
"Well, I've heard nothing about you," Crash growled with narrowed eyes. "And people in a silk-coded getup like yours are nothing but trouble, one hundred per cent of the time."
"Crash! He's a good person!" Tilly yelled from the sidelines in a panic. She knew her brother could be protective, but she'd never expected he'd react like this to a person who'd only ever helped them. Unfortunately, she was being held back by a stern Aurora.
"Hehe, I'm really not, Tilly," Damian chuckled gently, seemingly comfortable on the couch despite being threatened with a gun. "But thanks for the vote of confidence."
"Real nice of you to admit," Crash scoffed before waving his gun towards the exit. "Now, let's go! We're gonna take a walk."
"Crash, no!" Tilly exclaimed with wide eyes, knowing perfectly well what would happen. "I don't care what he says! He's been nothing but decent and polite! He even gave me meds! My slaglung has completely disappeared, and so have my welts and rashes! I'm completely healthy, Crash!"
Crash blinked and couldn't help but glance at Tilly with wide eyes. He had thought she looked surprisingly healthy earlier. Unable to stop himself, he continued his gaze to his mother, next to Tilly.
Aurora shrugged wryly. "She's not wrong… That man offered the meds to me first because of my cough, but I obviously didn't trust him, so this silly girl swallowed it before I could stop her to prove it was safe."
She looked at her daughter with a concerned frown. "So far, it doesn't seem to have done anything but heal her..." she claimed, despite the worried frown on her brow.
"That— That was still very reckless, T-Rex," Crash muttered. Despite having turned towards his mother and sister now, he continued keeping one eye trained on Damian, but his feelings had become a little complicated now.
On the one hand, if Tilly truly was completely healed with no strings attached, then he owed Damian a debt he might never be able to repay. On the other, who knew what else those meds had done beneath the skin?
"Yeah, well, it worked!" Tilly pouted stubbornly, arms crossed in front of her chest. "I'm fine, and Damian even gave the meds to Mom as well!" She glanced at Aurora, her pout turning into a bright smile. "She won't have to die!"
"You have them as well?" Crash blinked and asked his mother.
Wryly, Aurora nodded and produced the crimson pill she'd kept in her pocket. "I haven't taken it yet, but yes…"
Crash looked at it intensely but then shook his head. "I don't recognize it…"
He glanced at his friends. They were all still gathered around the couch with knives and tyre irons raised to threaten Damian, but when they looked at the crimson pill, they could only shrug helplessly. "Never seen it before, Crash," Echo said.
With a complicated expression, Crash turned back to Damian, who'd simply been waiting patiently, seemingly very relaxed. His hands were entwined and resting on his chest, his head rested on a ratty pillow, and his feet, casually crossed, on the other side. "What is it?" he asked tersely.
"Who knows?" Damian chuckled and shrugged. "I might even be my blood for all you know. Isn't the important thing that it works?"
"No, the important thing is what else it does," Crash snarled angrily. He wasn't sure how to feel right now. His sister had always been an excellent judge of character, so perhaps it really was just medicine? But could he afford to make that assumption?
Years of living in Slagfall told him no…
Before Damian could answer, Crash seemed to make a decision. His face tensed, and his eyes became hard again. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. If you truly healed her, you have my eternal gratitude, but it doesn't change anything. I need to protect my family, and leaving you alive is a risk I can't afford. Who knows who you might be connected to?"
Once again, he waved his gun at the door. "Now walk! I don't want to have to do this in front of Tilly!" Instantly, his friends tensed and readied their makeshift weapons with threatening glares focused on Damian.
"Big brother! Please! Don't!" Tilly pleaded desperately. "He was good to us, and I was the one who invited him in! Are you going to make me live with that?!"
Crash flinched and gulped. "I— I have to, T-Rex… I know he may have seemed harmless, but…" He shook his head. "Anyway, it's not your fault! This is my burden! We can only trust ourselves, and I'll do what I must to protect you and Mom! Even if you hate me for it…"
"I'd never hate you, big brother…" Tilly squeaked in a broken voice, her eyes showing unshed tears. "But you're wrong… And we'll both have to live with that if you go through with this…"
Crash's resolve was shaken. "I—"
"Alright, that's enough," Damian sighed casually. "It was entertaining before, but I'm not looking to bring harm to your relationship as siblings."
Finally, Damian moved. Sitting up on the couch, he stretched his body, and then jumped to his feet. All the while, Crash and his friends surprisingly made no moves at all.
"I do appreciate your support, Tilly," he smiled gently at the young girl. "But you really should be a little more careful in who you bring home. I have no intention of harming anyone, but I easily could have."
"What do you… mean? And what's happened to Crash?" Tilly asked with wide eyes focused on her brother. The young man's gun was still aimed at the couch, even as Damian stood next to him. His eyes were wide, and his body trembled, but he didn't move, and neither did his friends. They didn't even speak, yet their eyes showed panic.
"Hmm? Oh, he's fine," Damian chuckled and turned to put a hand on Crash's shoulder. "To be honest, you impress me, Crash. You have the determination and resolve to protect your family. Although, you really should have been a little more subtle with it."
He shook his head helplessly. "You can't just protect their physical wellbeing, Crash!" he exclaimed, as if lecturing him. "You have to pretend you're letting me go and then kill me anyway because otherwise, you're doing almost as much damage to your little sister as I could have!"
"H— Hey! D— Don't tell him to lie to me!" Tilly pouted indignantly, arms crossed.
"Tilly, shut up," Aurora growled, her body tenser than it'd ever been before. Protectively, she stepped in front of her daughter. "Don't harm them, Damian," she pleaded grimly. "Please…"
Finally, she had confirmation… that they were dealing with a myst wielder.