Dave, look at me!" You demand, putting both hands on his head and lifting it away from where he was hiding. You tilt his face toward you and sure enough, you find tears. Your hands slide down to cup his cheeks, thumbs rubbing at the wet trail on his skin. "Dave, why are you crying?" You ask, much softer than your previous demand."Can't you hear? I said go away." He repeats, glaring at you. His eyes are bloodshot, blending into the red of his irises. You've long since gotten used to the color of his eyes. You no longer find them scary. In fact, you think they're quite pretty. Definitely unique. And you love to look at them. But right now they're watery and you don't like it at all.He lifts his hands to yours, pulling them away from his face. He rewraps them around his knees and rests his forehead on them once again."Ew, Dave, you're getting blood in your hair." You say, running your fingers through his hair to lift the offending strands away from the mess on his arm."Don't care." He mumbles.You can't help but roll your eyes, even though he can't see you. "Just shut up and let me bandage this, okay?"He just grunts and you take that as an okay. When you gently tug at his arm, he lets you have it. You rummage through the bag and find a long roll of cloth. You pull the knife from your boot, all pages were taught to keep a boot knife on them at all times, and cut a long section off before returning the roll to the bag. You then wrap up his arm, doing your best to be gentle. You can see him cringe occasionally, but he doesn't say anything as you work. You fumble with the ends, trying to tie a proper knot.You hear a snort and look to Dave. His head is tilted on his knees so he can watch you. A small smirk of amusement is on his lips. It's very small, but definitely there. "You suck at this." He says.You feel heat rise to your cheeks and press your lips to a thin line. "Shut up. I'm trying to help your ungrateful ass." You snap, going back to the knot, feeling more self conscious now that you know he's watching. But at least he's not crying anymore. Finally you get the damn things tied. "Ha! Got it!" You say triumphantly, turning your head to smile at Dave."Yeah, thanks." He mumbles, taking his arm from your grip. He leans back against the tree with a sigh and rests his injured arm across his middle. You cross your legs and scoot closer to him, not stopping until your knees are pressed against his side. Then you stare at him and wait patiently. Finally he looks at you, one eyebrow raised. "What?""Tell me what's wrong.""Nothing's wrong. S'all cool here. I'm perfectly fine. Peachy keen. What could possibly-""Dave." You say, cutting him off. He snaps his mouth shut and looks away. "Tell me." You prompt. He says silent, not looking at you. You wait patiently, but your patience can only last so long. "Daaaaaaave." You whine.He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Alright, damn, you're so nosy." He leans his head back and looks up at the tree branches. You watch his face. "I'm worried."When he doesn't say anything else. You speak up. "About what?""Failing." He says simply.You nearly laugh, but manage to catch it before it escapes. Now would not be a good time to laugh. "Why would you fail, Dave?" You say instead.He frowns and his brow furrows. "I don't know, but what if I did? What if I'm getting too full of myself and I go be a squire and it kicks my ass. What if I can't do it? What if I disappoint everyone? The knights? My family? You?"You can't help but smile. "You could never disappoint me." You say cheerfully. His gaze slides to you for only a second before moving away. He looks down at the bandage on his arm, idly picking at the poorly tied knot."Maybe I should just quit…" He mumbles, his voice so low you barely hear him. "Before I embarrass myself by failing…"Your eyes widen when you realize what he said. Your smile falls and your mouth hangs open slightly. "Quit?" You say. You shift forward onto your knees and wrap your arms around his shoulders. It's a little awkward, especially since he's still leaning against the tree and you have to fight to push him forward enough to get an arm around him. "No, no, no, no. You're not allowed to quit." You say, squeezing him tightly. You rest your cheek on his hair. "How can you even say that, Dave! You've been working so hard the past four years! Everyone will be disappointed if you quit now, without even trying!""What if I can't do it?" He grumbles. He isn't returning your comfort hug, but he's not pushing you away. You even think you can feel him leaning into you a little bit. You decide to increase the comfort by rubbing his upper arm with one hand while the other idly plays with his hair.