He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Three - Define Cute

The journey to return to the city was also begun in silence.  They had spent near the entire day clearing and burning the threatening foliage from that which was effectively the protective shelter of their home.  There was the feeling of relief once their mission came to its end for they felt that they were safe once more.  The silent man had not moved while they cleared the remnant plants and saplings, in the end only two soldiers remained by his side.  The others had traipsed back up the mountain's side to ensure the safety of the mage apprentices, who had begun to disappear around the unseen side of the mountain.  There were less plants there for this side dropped deeply before jagged rocks met several other once active volcanoes.  It was said that deeper into this range, the mountains still spewed lava from time to time.

Elyas had remained close to the man and the two soldiers guarding him, but there were no further attacks from the plants.  Alas, neither boy nor man were able to see the face of the one they were desperate for.  The only time the man had struggled was when they forced him into the cavern entrance as it was time to return home.  Elyas sympathised, taking one last long look at the forest, wishing he could defy the orders, but...

*Mission; Follow and protect Five*

The mission gave him pause.  Was it a coincidence that this man and his lover had numbers for names?  Had he not lived through many lives and experienced the darkness lurking within those worlds, he might have latched onto the foolish idea that the two were brothers and that their parents had terrible naming sense.  But in this world, a name meant everything.  A forename was a gift from ones parents.  A surname was a gift from the gods.  So those who had neither and were only designated a number, he wasn't sure what to make of it, but he could be sure that the people who stripped them of their names were not the friendly sort.  Even criminals kept their birth name, even if their surnames were forfeit.

He was snapped out of his musing by the arrogance of his so called rival.  "Did you have fun burning the scorched ground and docile plants?" Patrick sneered.

Were it not fairly dark with only the dim torchlight flickering upon the tunnel's walls, they might have noticed that several students rolled their eyes in unison.  Elyas said nothing.  It was too much effort playing Patrick's game.

"While you were enjoying the sunshine," the irritating boy continued, "we had to deal with a landslide blocking the path.  And then there was this hissing little thorn bush."

"It reminded me of a shadow cat's kit," one of the younger students mused. 

"You are crazy, you know that," Jenefer ruffled the boy's bright orange hair.

"Well it was so small and made such big attempted to look threatening," the boy continued.  "It looked a little cute."

"That 'cute' thorn bush would have shredded your skin to shreds had it enough growth to wrap you in its hold," Philip reminded the boy.

"So anyway," Patrick was annoyed by the interuption regarding his greatness.  "I naturally burnt that thing to a cinder before it could cause any damage."

Elyas nodded and simply said; "Well done."

There were a few sniggers from his light reply, enraging the other boy, who grabbed at his robes.  A warning hiss came from the loose sleeve and Patrick leapt back when he saw the small white viper.  "Shit!" He swore vehemently, turning very pale.  "Why the hell do you have a viper?"

"Isn't that the rock viper we saw on the ridge?" Jenefer asked as she noticed the little thing wrapped about Elyas' unmarked wrist.  "And I thought he was crazy!" The girl muttered, mentioning the orange haired youth.