Sage lowered the nocked bow to her side, and Noah released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Levy let his hands fall as well, not even bothering to retrieve the blade still buried upright in the floor.
Noah decided to let the tension breathe. Though Sage had said they were fine, it wouldn't have been strange for her to remain wary of them. After all, they were two complete strangers who had just broken into her apartment.
The silence stretched for a moment—maybe two—before a muffled scream suddenly pulled all three of their attention toward the hallway. Noah's eyes shifted toward a door situated between two others, both parallel to one another.
"Was that the 'struggle'?"
Both Noah and Sage turned toward Levy. He subconsciously stepped back beneath their combined gaze.
"What?"
Before either of them could answer, the sound came again.
"Stay here."
Sage started toward the door.
Noah caught her attention. "You're going in alone?"
"That's kinda how they got there in the first place."
Sage kept walking down the hall, brushing the question off as she approached the door. Levy leaned toward Noah and jabbed him lightly in the ribs with his elbow. He jerked at the motion.
"That's her, right?"
Noah glanced at him.
"The archer from the quest."
Noah nodded, making no effort to hide it. "Yeah."
He bent down and picked up his spear from the floor, then followed behind Sage. Levy quickly grabbed his knife as well, falling in beside Noah as they trailed a few steps behind her.
Sage was only a few steps from the door when Levy spoke up.
"Just so we're safe... nothing or no one in there has a gun, right?"
Noah face-palmed. Sage stopped and slowly turned her head toward him. She rolled her eyes. Levy cocked his brows.
"Tweedledee and Tweedledum."
He blinked.
"If he had access to a gun, don't you think the roles would've been reversed?"
Levy considered that for a moment. Noah shook his head, suppressing a laugh as Sage turned back toward the door.
"What are you laughing about? You're Tweedledum, bud." Levy said. He gave him the bird with a little extra pizzazz.
Levy gave it right back.
Sage's hand settled around the handle. The muffled voice came again from the other side. It was deep and muddled. Was it because it was behind a closed door? The two weren't sure.
She looked back at the two boys.
"Stay behind me."
Noah fixed his grip on the spear, and Levy did the same.
"Got it."
Their voices merged consequently.
The handle slowly turned under Sage's pressure. The door swung open, and a cool draft escaped, carrying with it the faint smell of copper and linen.
Noah's eyes swept across the room. Posters of artists from the '90s and various rock bands covered the walls, while the bed was neatly made and the floor appeared freshly swept. Everything was clean and orderly.
If it weren't for the blood dripping from the man's nose and onto the otherwise clean floor, the room could've passed for any ordinary bedroom.
He lay on the floor near the foot of the bed, one arm twisted awkwardly beneath him. A thin trail of blood had already reached his upper lip, with another drop falling onto the hardwood.
The man's eyes widened. Whether it was from seeing his captor or from seeing potential help was unknown. But it was paired with another scream—muffled by the black piece of cloth tied across his lips.
"Holy shit..."
The words slipped out before Levy could stop them.
Sage stepped into the room and lowered her bow slightly. She hesitated once again before facing the two.
"He tried to rob me."
The man began to squirm in his bindings, muffled screams echoing from his throat. One glance from Sage silenced him.
Levy's eyes shifted from Sage to the man on the floor. "He just... walked in?"
"Yup, just waltzed on in," she exaggerated. "Kind of like you two."
"Well, hold on a second, we had a perfectly good reason for waltzing in."
Sage's gaze fell on Levy, masked in curiosity. "Oh yeah? And what was that? You heard a sound and wanted to check it out? Yeah, nine times out of ten, you two would've been goners if they wanted you gone."
"And that one was me being generous," she added.
Levy's mouth opened, but nothing came out. He glanced toward Noah as if expecting him to defend them, only to find Noah studying the floor.
"She's got a point," Noah admitted.
Levy's head snapped toward him. "Bro?"
"What? She does."
Sage's eyes shifted toward Noah, a faint glimmer of amusement appearing in them.
"At least one of you has some sense."
Levy shook his head. "I'm surrounded by traitors."
Noah ignored him and stepped farther into the room, keeping his spear lowered as he looked over the unconscious man—courtesy of Sage's work. "So what exactly happened?"
Sage's expression hardened again. Her eyes drifted downward, settling on the unconscious man lying before them, her gaze lingering on him for several quiet seconds.
"He came in while I was checking the hallway. Saw me with the bow and decided he wanted it."
She paused, her gloved fingers tightening slightly around the arrow shaft.
"I guess he thought I wouldn't fight back."
Levy looked at the man again, then at Sage.
"Seems like he learned that the hard way."
"Pretty much."
Sage nudged the man's shoulder with her boot. He groaned beneath the gag and shifted against his restraints.
"He managed to get his hands on the bow for a second, but I took it back before he could do anything with it." Sage glanced toward the weapon in her hands. "After that, he wasn't much of a problem."
Noah's eyes moved toward the man's bindings. "You tied him up before he woke up?"
"Yeah. Figured it was better than killing him."
Levy raised an eyebrow. "You were considering it?"
Sage looked at him.
"I still am."
Levy shifted toward the door marginally.
"Right... just so you remember. We're here to help, okay?"
She rolled her eyes.
Noah looked down at the man again. "What do you plan on doing with him?"
Sage shrugged. "Depends on what he says when he wakes up."
The man suddenly began thrashing against his restraints again, muffled words spilling uselessly through the cloth.
"Looks like we're about to find out."