He gave a respectful smile and nod when she accepted, though her demeanour change had been a bit sudden and he was a bit wary. But after seeing her acts of kindness earlier for some of the folks on their route, it was probably nothing he decided and he relaxed. She did seem a little shaky still, but he figured it would pass, he’d shown her that Vordun was perfectly harmless and docile, right? He’d shown there was nothing to fear, and Vordun was a kind, friendly soul. When she asked where they were going, he didn’t seem to give it much thought. “Honestly, after the scare we gave you on accident, I feel like it’s only right that you-”

Caius had forgotten his biggest rule: Never let your guard down. The strike caught him unawares, and if not for the protective armored layers his attire afforded, he would have doubled over then and there and hit the ground. But that didn't mean the strike didn't hurt. It certainly stunned him and he slumped a bit. By the time he was able to bring his head back up, she had already taken off running, screaming about how he had a dragon. Vordun let out an incensed roar, and Caius placed a hand on his head to calm him down. "It's minor, Vordun" Caius responded bluntly, his voice a bit strained as he tried to get back his bearings. He didn't follow, there was no need or reason to. He couldn't deny being upset. He was hurt, very hurt by what had happened and it the anguish was written all over his face. He was a bit half and half on the why. He was upset that he'd made the wrong decision and hurt someone that way - as she was clearly still terrified by Vordun and his method for trying to fix that hadn’t worked. But he was also offended that she had, even after Vordun had shown he was more than just a monster, she had just decided he was some vicious scary monster and deceived him and attacked anyway. That wasn't right in his eyes, for Vordun had done her no wrong. Even the enraged roar after the fact had only been because she had attacked, he had been completely docile otherwise.

This had been easier, once. Caius used to never care about this. There were clients, and there were people trying to kill Caius who he was to kill before they killed him. That was it. That was all. Now things were… Complicated. And things like this, that he still couldn’t find a way to be prepared for… They hurt worse than anything he’d ever experienced before.

But as he watched her go, he knew there was nothing he could do about it. Some people were just like that. Vordun let out a concerned whimper toward Caius, perhaps a bit offended himself that she had treated Vordun like an animal. Or at least Caius had guessed. He had recently begun to realize that Vordun had far more intelligent capabilities than he had thought, and he understood more than Caius had initially figured. He knew this the hard way as Vordun had gotten very upset when Caius referred to him as a "flying monster" at one point, some time ago. He had been more careful since then about the dragon's feelings. Vordun was a living, intelligent being and didn't deserve to be treated this way.

Granted, Caius had been the one to get hit. And while he would forgive the strike, she had done it in insult of Vordun, and that was something he would not forget anytime soon. Nor forgive.

The whole experience had left Caius in a very foul mood, though he did still reach up to scratch behind Vordun's ear to cheer him up. Caius perked up his head, and let out a resigned sigh.

"You can come out. I know you're there. Your stealth needs work. Stop dragging your feet, it immediately gives away your position. I'd hoped she would have taught you that by now."

Gods above, he was starting to sound like Celes. He turned and watched as the recruit from before would walk out from behind a bush.

He had tears in his eyes.

"Leader! I'm... I'm... I'm so, so, so, so, so, so very sorry!"

Caius let out an exhale. As much as he wanted to say something, at the end of the day this wasn't the kid's fault.

"I-I-I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I didn't-I never thought they would-"

Caius shook his head and gently pressed the flowers into the man's hands. He'd almost dropped them when she struck him, but he'd managed to preserve them.

"It's not your fault. It's mine. I let my guard down."

"Boss, I... I can't accept these. I have no right to confess with these after what you just went through to-"

"Make it worth it."

"Huh?"

Getting his bearings, Caius managed a gentle smile.

"If you want to make it up to me, then you need to believe in your own capabilities, and if this is how you want to confess whatever it is you're trying to? Then do it and do it right. I'll be happy so long as I know you tried."

"But... What if I fail? Is there anything else I can do? I mean, you're you, and that girl just..."

Caius shrugged. He knew he needed to be calm with all this. His own failure had hurt the kid's confidence, it hit him then. He refused to have that. Celes would never let herself falter in front of the recruits. She understood how important keeping one's head held high was. And Caius knew he needed to apply that too. Celes would never allow herself to be a liability to the recruits and neither could he. "Be yourself. If it works, it works. If not... Well, I may not understand the purpose of such formality for confessing how one feels for a person, but I suppose if that person likes you for you... It's all the better. If they don't, then they're not compatible with how you do things. Just as she wasn't compatible with how I do things. So long as you shoot your best shot with these flowers... I won't judge for how the result goes. Your courage will make me proud either way."

To Caius' surprise, this made the recruit start tearing up even more, until he started wailing. The mercenary was utterly confused at the display, and tilted his head.

"Did I say something wrong? My apologies for-"

"No!"

The recruit wiped his face as he looked up at Caius.

"I just... Thank you. Thank you so much for being there. I'm happy I joined. I'll fight hard and make sure you don't regret what you've done, Boss!"

"Caius."

"Huh?"

"Please, this "Leader" and "Boss" stuff isn't for me. Please call me Caius."

"Of course, Caius. Thank you."

Caius managed a smile. "I never did get your name, did I? You're one of Celes' recruits, that much I know. What's your name, kid?"

"Sami. It's Sami."

"I'm happy to be working with you, Sami. Now go. You got this. Be confident. Walk with your head held high. But never let your guard down."

"I will!"

With that, Caius nodded his head as he and Vordun took their leave. Once his expression couldn't be seen though, his smile began to fade as thoughts flooded him of what had happened. For all that had been his fault and her fault, something about all of that had prompted him to give that last bit of advice. Those last words that were so out of character for who Caius had become as of late.

Never let your guard down.

This woman had reminded him of that lesson and he would remember it well from here on. Nobody would cause him to drop his guard like that again. For better, or for worse. In Caius' eyes, it was a practical improvement, to better protect himself. But in truth... His real journey had taken a long and harsh step back, more than he knew.

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