"Oh great, a power imbalance. Love the fairness here." Patil's word drip with sarcasm. "Rest assured this secret-"

"I've ran out of magic!" Leon blurts out. For someone who usually holds well under pressure, he caves quite easily when faced with a power greater than his. "That's the...big secret."

Patil stares at Leon incredulously "You..." There's a pause as he searches for the right word "idiot." Patil shifts slightly, putting himself between Crimson and Leon. The implications of a magic user running out of magic is not hard to deduce. He watches Crimson like a hawk, waiting to see his next move.

Leon immediately goes to righten Patil who reassures him that he's fine. All of the previous compassion and worry is gone, "I'm afraid I must reject your offer. In case it's not clear to you sir, I do not feel comfortable with assisting you any further. For a magic user to run out of magic, it's the same as walking around with no weapons or armor and I'm not keen on dying today." His voice is cold and sharp "I hope you do not take offense, but we shall be taking our leave. We do have a long journey ahead of us and this ordeal has taken longer than expected."

Patil stays quiet, but his glare says everything.

Patil tenses. The familiar chill of danger crawls up his spine. There's a hint of panic in his eyes. "Hey, hey um. Why don't we calm down a little first. You can't possibly be upset at us leaving right?" A forced laugh, "is it because Leo doesn't want to help you anymore? If that's the case, I can use magic too, even if I'm not as good as him, but I'm sure if you give me directions I can perform what you need." He's rambling a bit, saying whatever he thinks Crimson wants to hear.

Leon doesn't look the least bit panicked. He's mentally debating if he could make a break for it or perhaps they really could talk things out. He briefly considered waiting for his magic to replenish but they were on a trip and if they wanted to make it to the next town over by sun-down... well time isn't in his favor right now. Besides, it was as he said, without magic Leon is pretty useless and that is not a good state to be in around strangers, especially someone with such a big power imbalance. "This is why I don't go on trips." He sighs.
"Look, we're not having this argument right now ok? You can grill me later about it once we're safe." Pat grits out, his eyes not leaving Crimson.

Since they are on a long journey, on foot, it's to be expected that they're carrying some water for hydration. In the midst of all that's happened, the flasks laying by their hips are clearly forgotten. Whether you use this information or not is up to you.

Leon's brows furrow, confused as to what Crimson meant. Perhaps he had read Leon's mind? Either way, this was the opportunity to get out and Leon would be stupid not to take it. "Thank you sir." He called out to Crimson before heading westward.

Patil follows Leon, lingering for a few moments before rushing to catch up.

(Fin?)

Leon halts. Completely full stop, frozen. He just shoves the vials into Patil's hand and signals for him to bring it to Crimson. It's already embarrassing enough to forget the objects he was literally holding, there's absolutely no way Leon is going to turn around and walk back.

Patil sighs, rolling his eyes as he takes the vials and hands them back to Crimson. "Sorry about that, m'lord can be quite forgetful sometimes." His eyes catch on the Limiter for a few seconds.

"Stop dallying around Pat, we've got places to be!" Leon calls out.

"Right, right." Patil racks his brain, trying to come up with something to say. Sure first impressions may be important but so were last impressions. No words come to mind as he's put off by the bloody Limiter so Patil settles lamely on, "Well then, see ya."  With a small wave, he sets off after Leon not waiting for a response.

(Look at me, with the memory of a goldfish)

(Hey, Marsh, do you mind continuing the thread or would you like to end it? 'Cause if it's the former then @Zane you should probably avoid prolonging the thread [not that I have much authority to say so lol]. Sorry for butting in; I've been following the thread and got the feeling like it was about to end a little while back.)
(Also let me know if you'd like one of my characters to butt in and try to de-escalate the situation or something like that; I get the feeling that Leon and Patil don't want to deal with this lol)

(Okay. Then, Zane, would you be good altering your POV and ending the thread here? If not, we can work out other options. I can summon you, DM you, or something. I just don't want to clog the thread up further.)

(Alright.)