SO ANGRY (2)

While Sun Hayden shouted, Sentinel Lichen was sitting on the bench with crossed arms, her face darkened with indignation.

Marshall took a step back, closing the door. He rested his forehead on the stone wall, exhaling in disappointment.

"Should I just sleep outside?" he murmured.

Unfortunately, that was not an option. It was better to deal with this issue before it could escalate. Bracing himself, Marshall reopened the door and entered the main hall.

"I did what I thought was right," Sentinel Lichen said though gritted teeth.

"Well, it wasn't your call to make!" Sun Hayden barked back. "You have no right to interfere with my spiritual energy! You could've disrupted my own recovery process!"

"What recovery process? You were passed out!" the woman shot back, rolling her eyes.

"Exactly! My body was naturally recovering! Your interference could've caused severe complications!" the blond disciple exaggerated, glaring at her.

The moment Sun Hayden noticed Marshall, he switched targets. "How could you leave me alone with a stranger?! Where did you go?!"

"Why are you calling me a stranger? I already introduced myself to you!" Sentinel Lichen snapped, resting her chin in her hand with an irked huff.

Sun Hayden crossed over to Marshall with more complaints. "This woman used to be a part of the tower! You can't trust her so easily! Who knows, she might be plotting to kill you to regain the tower's favor!"

Marshall winced at the accusations being thrown around. "Let's not jump to conclusions. Sentinel Lichen only transferred some of her spiritual energy to help you. I allowed her to do so."

"I never asked for that," his friend grumbled, glaring at the woman. "She must have done it just to gain your trust! Why would she follow you unless she wants something from you?"

Marshall sunk his teeth into his cheek, feeling a headache coming on. Meanwhile, yellow robes stirred as a finger was pointed at Sentinel Lichen. "Look at her, she doesn't even bother to deny it!"

The woman crossed her legs, not budging as Sun Hayden thrashed around like a furious cloud.

"I denied it already, but you kept going," she defended herself. "What use is arguing with a buffoon?"

Sun Hayden spluttered, opening his mouth to continue, but Marshall intervened before it could get out of hand. "I get that you're stressed after the plan failed, but you can't just take it out on other people," he said, tapping the yellow-robed back. "Calm down."

The blond disciple pouted, glaring at Sentinel Lichen one last time, "Fine. I'll stay quiet for now, but I'm keeping my eye on you," he warned before backing away.

"You should apologize instead of watching me," Sentinel Lichen muttered, stirring up the diminishing flames. "I could have left you to struggle until you regenerated your energy, but I chose to help. And in return you only threw a fit."

Marshall winced as the argument continued. Was this necessary? Why was no one listening to what he was saying? 

"Apologize?!" Sun Hayden exclaimed as he strode towards her. "Didn't you hear me when I said that I never asked you to—"

The thin thread of Marshall's patience snapped. "Enough!" his voice boomed through the hall. He yanked Sun Hayden back by the collar, whipping him around.

"I never asked you to defend me either," his sternness reverberated. "I specifically told you not to take my side inside the tower, yet you did it anyway! What do you think will happen now that you've explicitly sided with me in front of all officials, huh? You're a disciple of Liangdu Sect, damn it!"

The hall fell silent, startled by Marshall's outburst. As the echo of his voice faded, an oppressive heaviness settled.

Marshall sharply exhaled, lowering his voice, "Sky Oriels Sect will not let you off easy, but Liangdu Sect won't sit back and watch another sect to punish their disciple. Do you realize what you've done? Your actions might lead to a fallout between the two sects."

Marshall took a deep breath, then exhaled, releasing Sun Hayden, "Since all of us have done something we shouldn't have, let's stop arguing and get some rest."

Sun Hayden bowed his head, trembling strands of hair hanging over his eyes. "I-I didn't realize it could impact the relationship between the sects... I just didn't want you to get caught again," he muttered under his shaky breath.

Marshall's anger tripped and faceplanted the tiles, a deep sense of unease seamlessly replacing it. Pushing his friend to the verge of tears was the last thing he had meant to do. Trying not to grimace, he gave Sun Hayden a pat on the back to offer some comfort.

"I know you meant well, but if you agree to something, you have to keep your word," he meant to sound reassuring, but his words were still scolding. "We agreed you'd not take my side if anything went wrong."

The yellow robes apologetically wrapped around him in a tearful hug. "I'm sorry, Marsh... I got scared for you when I saw you weren't able to dodge the whip... I forgot about everything else..."

Marshall hesitated for a bit, but hugged back, patting Sun Hayden's back. He slowly exhaled, letting it go. He wasn't going to admit it out loud, but he would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed. And it was done already. There was no use staying mad over it.

Sentinel Lichen stepped closer and cleared her throat, interrupting the somber atmosphere. "Err, should we go to sleep? Are the bedrooms on the second floor?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah, but they're all dust and grime," Marshall replied, still patting his friend. "I knocked the dust out of a few pillows and blankets, but we sleep here in the main hall."

Sentinel Lichen nodded thoughtfully, then walked up to Sun Hayden and lightly tapped his shoulder. "Do you want to go up and see if we can clean some bedrooms?"

The blond disciple thought for a while then nodded, letting go of Marshall. He mumbled another apology, not looking anyone in the eye, then followed Sentinel Lichen.

At least this one issue was dealt with. Only the most of the problems remained. Marshall ran a hand over his face, sitting down on the bench. 

Although it felt like crap, failure was the mother of success. As long as he didn't despair, it was all going to work out.