A Man for Himself (Norton X Eli) [Identity V] *UNEDITED*

Chapter 28 - Red

Sparrow.

Miss Nightingale had given Norton a new set of clothes later in the day. She had called it "Sparrow".

Norton had realized over time that the costumes had names of their own to give the wearer a chance to take on a different personality. It's like a play, and they were being assigned a different role with each costume. It's strange, but it's interesting.

Standing in front of the mirror in his bathroom, the prospector studied the reflection of the person wearing the new garments. In a way, Norton felt silly. The clothes were not bad, but the hat that came with them looked like it was made for a kid. The color of the hat was orange with a hint of purple and green. It was too bright for his liking. Moreover, it had two ear-like protrusions to complete the face of whatever animal was being portrayed by its patterns. It looked ridiculous.

He wondered if Eli was trying to warn him about the awful clothes after calling him Sparrow.

Upon further study, Norton figured he was wearing Chinese clothing since the fabric had intricate gold patterns and was mostly red. The idea of wearing it was strange to him, but he decided not to think much about it. Except for the hat and the shoes that looked as silly as the hat, the clothes were pretty much decent.

Norton did not want to wear the costume, but Martha had made an effort to visit him in his room to make sure that he did. She had mentioned that it would look nice if they all had matching costumes, although Norton wasn't sure if that would be of any help in their team coordination.

Sure enough, when Norton arrived at the waiting area, all of them were wearing red clothes except for Fiona who donned a soft turquoise version of her usually purple ones. Although they weren't red, her clothes had patterns that fit the theme.

Even Eli was wearing red. He was wearing a gold-trimmed red robe with a blindfold that was as red.

"Sparrow." Eli smiled at him. "Not bad."

Was Eli mocking him?

Norton did not know what came to him, but he felt embarrassed. He knew his clothes made him look like an overgrown child.

The prospector took a seat next to the seer and eyed the rest of the team. It took Norton a while to realize what was strange about their setup. Naib wasn't there.

"Why are you alone?" Norton found himself asking, looking in Eli's direction. "Where's Naib?"

Eli turned his head to him, twiddling his fingers together. His expression was unreadable. "I told Naib not to wait for me," he answered.

"And that's fine with him? Aren't you two inseparable?" Norton raised a brow, intrigued.

Did Naib find out about Eli staying in his room and get mad?

"We're independent people, Mr. Campbell. We can stand on our own feet," Eli said in a dismissive tone.

"Looks like someone had a little lover's quarrel with a certain mercenary..." Fiona sang, teasing.

"Ms. Gilman, don't make it sound like that. And we didn't fight," Eli explained with a sigh and a shake of his head. "I just didn't find him in our room when I returned."

Fiona gasped. "Are you telling me that you didn't sleep in your room last night? My gods..." She turned his gaze to Norton, wide-eyed. "Did Eli sleep with you?"

Listening to the seer and the priestess talk was entertaining. They seem to be comfortable with each other. No wonder people thought they could be a possible couple.

Norton smiled. "Yes, he did."

Fiona nodded slowly. "Really, huh? Well, if Eli trusts you enough to sleep with you, then that means you can be trusted."