"Do you think so? I wonder if you'd find it funny in my place."
Orel laughed.
"Do you really think I'm handsome?"
"Too handsome for me to leave you like that."
"Aaah, but Nik! Why did you heal my eye then?"
"You had problems with fighting, I didn't want you to get killed."
Orel tensed.
"Was it very noticeable?"
"No, no, you're very strong and you managed but it really wasn't for you."
"Yeah, right." Orel lit another cigarette from the previous one. "By the way, you don't need to envy my hair, yours is great, too. You know, Dony said her new horse's mane is just like your hair, only cleaner."
Nikto laughed and pushed Orel in his face with an open palm. Orel, who didn't expect it, lost his balance and fell from the bed on the floor. He laughed getting up.
"You're just pretending you don’t see anything!"
"I start seeing."
"Nik, tell me what you think," Orel sat down on the bed. "Enriki is a dead man, isn't he?"
Nikto kept silent, musing.
"No," he said at last. "I don't think so."
"Care to explain why?"
"He is cautious and now Squint-Eye will never let anyone kill him. If Squint-Eye stays paired with him and keeps standing by him, that is."
"Do you think Squint-Eye can do it? He is also crippled."
"Squint-Eye is not crippled. His eye and your eye are totally different things, for him it is as natural as for me being lame. He didn't know anything else and he isn't bothered with it. He'd rather be troubled if he suddenly started seeing normally. But I don't envy Enriki, he will be assaulted badly."
"I'm afraid he won't handle it."
Nikto shrugged.
"You're sure he'll be wounded in the first serious fight, aren't you?"
"Yes," Nikto looked up at Orel. "You know it yourself. Edin Ol is a dangerous enemy, he knows about Enriki's wound and his weak spots and he'll be pressing to the end. Wouldn't you do the same thing?"
"I did. Hundred times."
"Right."
"What should I do? Maybe, replace Squint-Eye?"
"It is your choice whether to discard Enriki or to cover up for him. If you replace Squint-Eye with Vil, Enriki is a dead man. Vil cannot fight in a pair, he thinks only for himself, he fights alone – and one is always weaker than two. If you keep Squint-Eye there, there is no guarantee he won't be wounded, two of them will have to handle all the pressure. Squint-Eye will be in trouble, he might save Enriki but get wounded too."