Guy seemed a little shy about the thanks, but Claude wasn't sorry he'd said something. In a place like this, with so few guarantees, he wanted those close to him to know how much he appreciated them. That was why he was glad Guy was able to accept it before they moved onto another topic.

The caverns -- it felt like a year since they'd been down there, even though Claude knew that wasn't true. But a lot had happened between then and now, so maybe it wasn't so surprising that the thought had been so far at the back of his mind until recently.

"That's true!" he replied with a boyish grin before giving a small chuckle. "I'll bet that weird skeleton guy hasn't missed us any, though."