Chapter 92:Communication is key.
Chapter 92: 92:Communication is key.
The checkpoint cafeteria overlooked the northern wall. It wasn’t particularly luxurious.
Long steel tables filled the room, contractors coming and going with trays of hot meals while the afternoon sun filtered through reinforced windows.
Outside, patrol vehicles entered and departed in an orderly rhythm, each heading toward another Green Zone sector.
Silver chose a table near the window because he could see every entrance, old habits refused to die.
Ravenna noticed but didn’t comment; instead, she placed two trays on the table before sitting opposite him.
The meal was simple; rice, preserved vegetables, roasted meat from a common Tier One herbivore, and hot tea.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable.
Both were simply enjoying the rare luxury of eating without listening for claws scraping against concrete or waiting for something to leap out of the shadows.
Eventually, Ravenna broke the silence.
"I’ve been thinking about what happened back there."
Silver looked up from his tea.
"So have I."
She rested her chopsticks across the tray.
"I made several mistakes."
"So did I."
She shook her head.
"You first."
Silver smiled slightly.
"Trying to negotiate who gets blamed?"
"I’m serious."
"So am I."
He leaned back in his chair, his expression becoming thoughtful.
"When I was younger..." he began carefully, choosing his words, "someone taught me that after every battle, whether you win or lose, you should ask one question."
"What question?"
"’Why did I survive?’"
Ravenna frowned.
"Not ’How did I win?’"
Silver shook his head.
"No. Winning can make you complacent. Surviving forces you to look for the mistakes that nearly killed you."
She considered that for a long moment.
"...I like that way of thinking."
He nodded once.
"So... why do you think we survived?"
Ravenna didn’t answer immediately. She looked down at her untouched tea before speaking.
"Luck."
"Partly."
"The assassin missed my throat because you threw yourself in front of me."
Silver gave a small nod.
"What else?"
She sighed.
"The strength contractor lost control, he became emotional after his partner died and stopped fighting intelligently."
Silver smiled faintly.
"I agree."
She looked back at him.
"But if he hadn’t..."
She didn’t finish the sentence, she didn’t need to. They both knew. If that man had remained calm, neither of them would be sitting here now.
Silver took another sip of tea before speaking.
"My turn."
Ravenna folded her arms.
"I’m listening."
"We lost control of the battlefield."
She blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"We allowed our attention to leave our own opponents."
He reached for a napkin and placed two pepper packets on it.
"Let’s say this one is you."
He pointed to the first packet.
"And this one is me."
He placed the second beside it, then he picked up two chopsticks.
"These are the assassins."
He positioned one chopstick opposite each packet.
"At the start of the fight, everything was fine. You fought the strength contractor and I fought the speed contractor. Our responsibilities were clear."
Ravenna nodded.
"Right."
Silver moved one chopstick closer to her pepper packet.
"What happened next?"
She immediately understood.
"I looked at your fight."
"Exactly."
He moved the other chopstick.
"And I looked at yours."
They were quiet for several seconds then Ravenna sighed.
"...We stopped fighting our own battles."
Silver nodded.
"The moment we started worrying more about each other than about the enemy, our formation collapsed."
She frowned.
"But that’s natural."
"It is."
"But battle doesn’t care what’s natural." His voice remained calm. "If the assassin had been half a second faster... You would’ve died. If the strength contractor had noticed me looking away... You would’ve died."
She rubbed her forehead.
"...I hate that you’re right."
Silver laughed softly.
"I hate it too."
She looked at him across the table.
"When I saw that knife flying toward me... I froze. I didn’t even think, my first instinct wasn’t to dodge; It was wondering whether you had seen it."
Silver was silent. She continued.
"When you got stabbed... I stopped paying attention to my own opponent. I only wanted to reach you."
She looked down at her hands.
"If he’d attacked again instead of charging wildly... I’d be dead."
Silver didn’t argue because she was correct. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"I wasn’t any better."
She looked up.
"When I saw your shoulder dislocate, I forgot about the assassin. My entire focus shifted to getting him away from you."
He let out a quiet breath.
"That’s when he threw the knife."
The realization settled heavily between them, neither of them had lost because they were weak; they had almost died because they cared.
Ravenna laughed bitterly.
"That’s a ridiculous weakness."
"It is."
"And it’s probably one of the most dangerous ones," Ravenna continued.
Silver nodded.
"Especially for partners."
She stared at him.
"...Partners."
He smiled.
"We are, aren’t we?"
A small smile appeared on her own face.
"...I suppose we are."
The word felt surprisingly natural. Silver rested his elbows on the table.
"So we fix it."
Ravenna raised an eyebrow.
"How?"
"Not by pretending we won’t worry, we will, we’re human."
She nodded slowly.
"So what do we do instead?"
"We make rules."
She leaned forward.
"I’m listening."
Silver held up one finger.
"First rule; if one of us is fighting someone, the other doesn’t interfere unless asked."
She thought about it.
"What if you’re losing?"
"Then I ask."
"And if I don’t ask?"
"I trust that you know what you’re doing."
She was quiet.
Trust.
It sounded simple but on a battlefield, it could mean betting your life on another person.
"I can agree to that."
Silver held up a second finger.
"Second rule; no heroic sacrifices."
Ravenna immediately frowned.
"You literally took a knife for me today."
"I know. I’m saying I shouldn’t have."
She stared at him.
"What?"
"I protected you emotionally, not tactically. If I’d killed the assassin one second earlier, the knife would’ve never been thrown."
She opened her mouth to argue then closed it again. He was right, again.
Silver continued.
"I don’t want either of us making decisions because we’re afraid of losing the other. I want us making decisions that increase the chances of both of us surviving."
She slowly nodded.
"...That’s harder."
"It is."
"But it’s also smarter."
Silence returned. This time, it was thoughtful rather than heavy. Ravenna picked up her cup of tea.
"You know, I’ve always hunted alone."
Silver looked at her.
"I noticed."
"I never had to think about another person’s position. If I wanted to charge... I charged. If I wanted to retreat... I retreated."
"But now..." she smiled sheepishly. "I have to think about someone else."
Silver chuckled.
"I’ve got the same problem."
"You?"
"I spent years relying only on myself."
He didn’t elaborate, he couldn’t, not without revealing too much about the life he’d left behind.
"But I think..."
He looked out the window toward the checkpoint walls.
"...learning to trust someone in battle might be harder than learning a new skill."
Ravenna followed his gaze.
"I think you’re right."
For the first time since they’d met, the conversation wasn’t about beasts, hunting, or survival. It was about becoming something neither of them had ever been before.
Not just stronger contractors but a real team.