Flower Amongst Thorns [Boy x Boy]

Chapter 24

Elizabeth groaned again to get their attention. Could she shut up for like literally ten seconds?!

"Oh, and who are you?" Ivy turned to the grumpy horse standing beside them.

Well, this was going to be interesting to say in the least...

The mare turned her head towards Artios and let out an irritated grunt.

Well, Artios didn't want to travel with her either! The swordsman decided to stay quiet despite his own annoyance because he still needed her to take them to the top of Tate.

He just had to endure for a little bit longer...

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, you've been trying to call us for a while haven't you?" The small teen understood the horse's gesture, and gently pet her mane while reading her collar, "Elizabeth. That's such a pretty name. Thank you for bringing Art here Elizabeth..."

"Be careful idiot! She doesn't like people touching-" The swordsman began to warn, but stopped in his tracks when the mare just nuzzled the small teen's head fondly instead of attacking him, "...her"

"You let him do that, but you won't even let me hold you when I'm trying to climb on?!" Artios exclaimed incredulously.

Elizabeth had literally kicked him off because a little bit of his foot touched her fur for about a milli-second, while he was sitting on the saddle.

"I guess she just likes me more, don't you?" The small teen giggled while he continued to pet her. Elizabeth let out a satisfied purr before nuzzling closer.

It's like she was a completely different animal! What the heck?! What sorcery did Ivy use to tame her like this?! If the swordsman didn't believe in magic before, he sure did now.

"Say, can I call you Liz?" Ivy asked suddenly.

"She hates nickna-" Artios began to argue again, remembering what Celyn had told him earlier, when the mare cut him off with a loud snort, and nodded her head enthusiastically.

Since when were horses this expressive?! Also, why was she giving Ivy special treatment?!

Last time the swordsman checked she was more stubborn and fussier than a new born baby.

"Thanks Liz." The younger smiled before letting out a cough.

"Hey, you've been doing that a lot. You okay?" The thief observed.

Before Ivy could answer, without warning, Artios pressed his rough hand against the small teen's forehead, startling the boy, "You're burning up idiot! Why didn't you tell me you were getting this sick any sooner?!"

"I am? I'm sorry, I didn't even realize..." Ivy coughed again before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

It was only then the swordsman noticed the vine mark creeping up from under Ivy's pant onto his foot.

That hadn't been there before.

Artios felt spark of fear ignite in his chest. They were running out of time.

"C'mon, we need to leave." He instructed.

The swordsman helped the younger climb onto the horse when the boy couldn't reach the step on the saddle himself. He quickly followed in Ivy's wake and they didn't waste a second before setting off on their path.

It was still a pretty long way up, but with Elizabeth they would definitely be able to make it by tomorrow evening. They had to.

The trio stopped near a cave to set camp at Artios' instruction when the sun went down completely, because no matter how much of a hurry they were in, it was really unsafe to travel these forests at night, especially considering how tired everyone was.

Elizabeth needed some rest after carrying them around all day too.

They were about halfway up the mountain now, which was really good progress, but they still had to wake up at the crack of dawn to reach and have enough time to find a mystical flower that has only been seen in fairytales (and one of his dreams).

"Here." Artios handed Ivy his neatly folded blanket as they settled down on the picnic mat.

"My fluffy pink blanket! You kept it!" Ivy exclaimed excitedly before hugging the soft material to his chest, "I missed you..."

Artios didn't doubt that the boy missed it considering how cold the place had gotten last night (dawn). The swordsman was so glad he didn't throw it away or leave it in the forest before.

"Go to sleep quickly, we have a long day ahead." He explained, pulling up his own blanket, ready to conk out any second.

He couldn't help but stare at the vine mark on the boy's leg which was growing at an unnerving pace. It had already reached the middle of the small teen's foot.

"C'mere Liz. You must be cold too, I'll share my blanket with you." Ivy called out to the mare, who was laying slightly farther away from them.

Elizabeth happily complied, and they snuggled up together, taking up about half the blanket each. The material only covered a small part of the horse's lower half but she seemed content. Both were out like a light within seconds.

Artios couldn't help but feel a pang of jealously watching them sleep together so comfortably. He was supposed to be the one who- No! That's stupid! It didn't matter who Ivy slept next to. He was not jealous of a stupid horse.

The swordsman quickly closed his eyes, and before he realized it, he too was fast asleep. It had been an exceptionally long day for all of them after all.

In the morning, thankfully Elizabeth woke them all up right on time. They would've definitely overslept if she hadn't.

Not so thankfully though, while she gently shook Ivy with her snout to wake him up, she pressed a hoof into Artios' stomach without warning to rouse him.

As expected that didn't go so well. The man had clutched his stomach in pain all morning, almost unable to stomach any food.

The younger teen had giggled for a bit, before the swordsman gave him a nasty scowl and the boy quickly looked away, pretending to do something else.

It wasn't fair! Why Artios of all people?!

During breakfast, which was some leftover candy and peanuts from the bag (grass for Elizabeth), the swordsman noticed that Ivy looked a lot paler than he did yesterday.

His cheeks and nose had become visibly flushed, and his blanket was still tightly wrapped around him even though it was actually kind of warm outside.

"Let's get going quickly," Artios hastily instructed, unable to stop eyeing the mark on Ivy's foot. It had grown even more over night.

Time was running out faster than he had anticipated. They had to start hurrying up...