Gee, it sure is a boring day, here at the guild hall. Barely anybody's come in, and nobody interesting, at that. Oh, except for that cat lookin' kid. That was fun. I wonder if they were a friend of Tan boy or that other boy? Oh, or maybe they were a fan. I could see that. They are clearly quite incredible adventurers after all. Wonder what they've been up to? Clearing expansive, dangerous dungeons, death only one step away? Going toe to toe with the most fearsome of monsters, or the most dastardly of villains? Or maybe they've grown tired of such things. Perhaps they've just been shooting the breeze together, trading tales of a time long gone... 

Well, who's to say. Whatever they're doing, it probably beats working here... Man, I hate the night shift. Normally I just work afternoons, but I had to come in later today because my stupid brother asked me to look after his kids, after he got called into work unexpectedly. Stupid brother, making me look after his stupid, annoying, sweet, adorable little kids. What's he even do on guard duty, anyways? Just stand around all day? I oughta charge him... 

I probably could have just taken the day off, but the pay's good. I guess I really shouldn't complain. At least it's easy work. Stable, too. And my shift will be over soon enough. Maybe I'll treat myself a bit on the way home... I have worked hard today, after all. 

Just when I thought things were winding down, suddenly, the door burst open. What stood in the doorway was Tan boy, who seemed to be giving a piggyback ride to that other boy from a few days ago. I think it was him, at least. The clothes were all different. More normal, though the color struck me as odd. And they were torn all over, too. The boy looked injured, which was, obviously, incredibly hard to believe. 

Is that even him? Oh, yep, it is. That look of his was unmistakable. It almost gave me chills. I wonder what kind of things one would need to see to have a mug like that. And as a boy, no less. It was certainly him, alright. But there was something different about him this time, even beyond the clothes. His face was as red as a tomato, though he still maintained that still, stone look of his.

Was he ill, perhaps? That might explain why he seemed injured. He might have gotten reckless and attempted to fight, despite his illness. Even the mightiest among us are still fallible, it seems. And yet he still remains unfazed by it all! Truly, a warrior like none other.

As the two of them came in, Tan boy looked up at me, with an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. I suppose the suffering of a dear friend and companion is enough to bring even a guy like him down to earth.  How touching! I may just shed a tear! 

"There a healer around?" He asked, with an unusually low, purposeful voice. 

"Oh, uhm, I think they just stepped out into the tavern." I said. In truth, the one we have on call here is over there a majority of the time... She's been there all day, at least. She's not super passionate about the whole docterin' thing. 

"Get them over here. Now." Tan boy said, his gaze piercing me. It was a little exciting, honestly. "I'm prepared to pay whatever it takes."

I guess he already knew that I was about to tell him they're only supposed to heal people who got hurt on the job. As expected of a hero like him! 

"O-okay!" I said, quickly stepping out of my desk. Before I did, however, I reached down, and grabbed something. "Here, you can put him on this in the mean time!" I said, hastily setting up the foldable cot. Good thing we have those. 

"Right. Thanks." Tan boy said, nodding, and placing his friend on the cot. 

As he did, I couldn't help but think that the injured boy didn't really look like he was in that much pain. No, that's not right, he clearly was in a lot of pain. But it seemed like his mind was focused on something else. His face seemed to be getting redder and redder, and it looked like he was mumbling about something. 

I must just be imagining things.

I hastily made my way to the door that connects the guild hall to the tavern next door. When I first got this job, I questioned why we had a door connecting us to the tavern in the first place. I mean, all it lead to was a bunch of fools with drunken confidence taking on a bunch of random jobs on a whim. Turns out, that was the whole point. The guild even actually owns the tavern, too. They believed that it'd be the first place most adventurers would go spend their newly earned money after a job, wanting to relax after the adrenaline rush, and that the consumption of liquid courage would end up creating more 'adventurers', some of whom were even successful. They were correct on all accounts. This place is a gold mine. 

And you could tell that just by going in. The tavern was huge in all directions, one of the biggest buildings in town, and filled to the brim with tables, which were, on most days, filled to the brim with drunkards. Today they were considerably less packed, though, probably because all the guards were out. Despite that, there were plenty of people who didn't seem to care at all, sitting at the bar, drinking away. Or maybe they did care, and that's why they were there in the first place. 

Anyways, one such bar goer was our healer, Pat. Her short, brown hair characteristically messy, a mug in her hand, and her once clean, pearly white robe covered in a buncha gross stuff. How'd she even get that on her back?

"H-hey, Pat?" I called out to her as I ran up.

She turned to me, her brown eyes looking distant through her glasses, and her freckled face tinted red. She also had a little beer mustache, too.

"Whadaya neeeeed?" Pat asked.

"Someone's injured. We need your help." I said.

"Bwahhh, at this hour? Ehhh... Were they injured on a" She burped. "jjjoobbbb?" She asked.

"Well, no, but-" I began to explain.

"Then I'm not movin'!" She said, indignantly. "Barkeep, fill me up!"

"W-wait, Tan boy said he'd be willing to pay. He seemed quite concerned." I explained. 

"... Tan boy... Oh, ya mean S? Well, why didn'tcha say so?" They said, getting up. "I'm just drunk enough to take a bribe from a kid. Oi, barkeep, hold my tab for a sec. When I get back, it's DRINKS FOR EVERYONE!" They shouted. Everyone in the tavern that night, all in perfect unison, let out a deafening cheer.

"C'mon, let's get this done quick." She said, pulling down her sleeves and quickly making her way to the guild hall.

I followed without question. I'd ask if she should really be doing any healing while she's like this, but I already know I'd just get the usual response. 'I do my docterin' better when I'm drunk!' So far, I've seen nothing to suggest that this is the case. Well, at least she hasn't killed anyone yet. I think...

Well, what kind of heroes would those two be if they couldn't handle a little medical malpractice, anyway, right? 

Yeah...

The door to the guild hall swung open. 

"Alright, fellers, TIME FOR SOME DOCTOR'IN" She shouted as she made her grand entrance.

A look of apprehension grew on S's face. "Right... I forgot."

Well, I'm sure everyone'll end up okay.