Teamwork?
The next day the worms were nowhere to be seen. Once everyone was awake they had to climb the cliffs next, Julius wanted to get everything done quickly just like the rest. They all were still sore from that mud lake, but nothing could be done about that.
"Alright guys and girl," Mercury had gathered all the phanto-rope they had. "We got enough for probably one long rope, first fifty meters is free climb."
"Keith goes up the cliff and secures the rope. Blade, you fly behind us," Julius gave out the final orders and quickly the team made its way up the cliff. They left behind the backpacks to climb faster. They deemed it was too long of a climb to take the backpacks with them right away. So Michael took lead, he was the best climber, Dean after him, since he was strongest, Julius, Mercury and Kai made the end.
Halfway up the next rain shower hit the group. The wind at the cliffs was freezing cold as it were, this didn't help at all. "Guys you need to use more body enhancement magic to counter the cold." Blade reminded them. But it was hard for her to hover at those wind speeds but with a long way down there was only one direction for the boys to go, up.
"Woah, watch it!" Kai let go with one hand to escape some falling pebbles that gave way under Mercury.
"Sorry, I can't help it. Dean can't you go any faster…?" Mercury was so irritated that the weather was really getting on his nerves. He glanced down he barely could make the ground out with so much rain.
Dean moaned, "Don't complain to me about it, Michael?" He moved on, 'If we stand still every few meters we'll lose too much energy that we need to climb…'
"Hey, I am searching for the best way as fast as I can. Keith can't you make a shield to block the rain… It's so slippery!" Michael's hands were freezing. He lost hold too often.
"Do you even know how much magic a perma shield costs?" Keith shook his head as he shouted down against the wind. "I can try and pull at the rope while you climb…"
"No, don't, if you can't hold it, they might smash against the rocks. I can't catch them all," Blade was against it.
"What a pitiful sight, the Fairy doesn't believe in your strength guys," Iolas laughed, 'Let's see, it's about time to get this party started. And really test their limits.' He tensed up as yet again a boy lost his footing and caught himself just in time.
"Bullshit!" Blade held against it as she got shoved away from the cliffs by yet another gust.
"It is faster…" Julius was considering their options and halted beneath. His heart was pounding and he wasn't so sure anymore if they actually could make the climb. 'What do I do here, going back down won't help…'
Mercury nodded, "But Blade is right, if it goes wrong it goes terribly wrong." He had to shout as the wind picked up suddenly and he got pressed against the cliff.
The rope tightened, "WOAH!" Michael lost his footing. He had moved on since he had not noticed that Julius had halted and now there was not enough rope and he was kinda stuck, frantically he searched for a dent to dig his boot in of course they had all attached themselves to the long rope, standard safety measure, but that also meant they had to stick together more. "What are you doing!? Don't just stop!" Michael was terrified for a second there.
Blade rushed over to help him out yet so close to the walls she got really scared for her wings, "Hurry it up! KEITH PULL!"
"But you said, aahhh!" Keith ran to grab the rope.
"Woaaah, STOP! Are you crazy!?" The tug had saved Michael but now it was Julius who was dangling in the winds. "Mercury!" He reached out as he was falling past.
"Blade! A little help here!" Mercury requested urgently, he had caught Julius but they were slipping. There was simply not enough hold and Julius was too heavy.
"AH, shit," Blade cursed and rammed a dart into the wall for Michael to stand on and dashed down. "Hold on!" She was nearly there when a massive gale first slowed her down so much that she was stuck in place and then she got pushed back.
"Blade!" Kai got really frightened as he watched her unable to fend off the wind and she got smashed towards the rocks.
Keith cast in haste, "Barrier of light!" with one hand to aim the spell and an up flare of magic to boost his strength to hold the rope.
Blade crashed against the cliff but the shield gave her the second she needed to get her feet on the cliffs and push away, "So close…" She held her arms up to protect her eyes from the storm. She glanced at Iolas who was unphased, the air twirled around him yet his hair was motionless. 'Is he creating that gust?!' She got so angry but there was no time for it now.
"BLADE!" Julius and Mercury shouted out. They were slipping. "Kai!" Mercury called for assistance. It was a total mess, Blade's wings caught too much wind again and she simply couldn't get close enough. Kai reached out with one hand and caught Julius's leg. Now the three were in a pinch and Michael was dragged down together with Dean who so far simply had been holding on tight as a buffer. Keith held tight to the rope and dug his heels into the ground, that jolt had loosened the knot a bit and it was slipping from the bolder he had tied it around. He couldn't help out. He was too unsure if it would hold on its own.
"My hands are getting numb here, guys!" Dean warned them.
Mercury looked up rain hitting him in the face he simply couldn't find a good spot for Julius to get a footing again. Down below a good seven hundred feet drop, "USE YOUR SWORD!"
Julius pulled his phanto-sword but everything was wet and the hands were frozen, plus from his position he couldn't get enough force to ram it deep enough into the stone wall, "Fuck, BLADE!"
Blade tried to get close in again, but now that she was so far away that didn't work at all, 'I got to help them! SHIT!'
"Don't get squashed!" Dean cautioned her. This was no joke. She was more or less like a leaf in the wind in these conditions. The storm had picked up so much that even Keith on top of the cliff had problems standing up. Iolas was steadfastly levitating in the air watching the disaster unfold.
'Damn him…I'll never get to them this way,' Blade flared up her light magic, "HOLD STILL!" She aimed carefully but with the storm raging still some darts went astray.
"HEY, careful!" Julius screamed against the gale. He had to block one with his sword. Yet now they had more darts working as pegs to help climb the cliff.
"AHHH! MAGIC DART! MAGIC DART, MAGIC DART…" Blade send a seemingly endless barrage at the cliffs in every wind break she could find. At least they got through where she didn't. That way she could create save spots for them every few feet. Michael used his chance and grabbed on to pull up. 'Just a bit more, just a bit…' She continued her volley.
"Nice! Keep going Blade! Now, let's move people… no breaks!" Julius was so relieved he had feared the worst.
Iolas kept a close eye on Blade who rushed along the cliffs upwards to dart a way for her team. 'They cost less, but if she doesn't check her pool she'll be in free fall with no one to catch her.'
Keith watched as Blade came closer to the top, "Blade, you alright!?" He could clearly observe that her dart creation was slowing down which was a sign of her pool diminishing.
Blade smirked, "Just be ready! I'm coming in hot!" She would not falter now. 'I can do this!' She concentrated, "CHARMIX!" She used her magical boost to force herself through the storm to the cliff top as she shot the last needed darts.
'Oh, for crying out loud… that will be so close… Patience people, patience,' Iolas moved up closer without any resistance. His wind cloak simply diverted the air stream around him. So, he had no problem getting through the storm.
"Blade!" Keith watched her Charmix vanish but she was still flying towards him with her Winx.
Blade hit the cliff top, "HA! Nailed it!" She had barely enough magic left to hold the form and deactivated her Winx. 'Yeah, I'm getting the hang of this.'
"Don't stop at the edge!" Keith snatched her away from the edge, both falling to the ground as some earth gave way beneath where she stood a moment ago. "Geesh, Blade…" He sighed.
It took the rest just as long to reach the top as the first half had taken them because the storm had increased, but with solid footing, they weren't slipping as much. Blade had set down to meditate while they made their way up. Totally exhausted and barely standing the guys reached the top. Simply falling flat on their stomachs as the rain poured down on them.
"We made it…" Kai sounded amazed he was out of it.
Dean chuckled once, "Good… night…"
Keith was a bit perplexed, "Guys, don't just slump to the ground the rain is freezing cold! You'll catch a cold."
"Yeah, yeah," Julius couldn't move an inch. "Just get the backpacks from down there, while we rest…"
Keith scratched his head, and pulled the first of them towards the treeline he gave Blade a bump, "Hey, a hand please?"
Blade opened her eyes, "Eh," Blade looked a bit perplexed at the guys in the mud. "Suuuure…"
"We need to get the backpacks as well, shit we left them down there… do you have enough magic?" Keith had the easiest part but he had stood there in the wind the whole time without any coverage. So, he had to use more body enhancement magic than he had anticipated.
"Well, you brought two up at the start, so there are five left. So that's at least two trips," Blade inspected the clouds. "In that storm, I can make maybe one trip right now. The wind is just so strong. Or I drop out and reactivate…hmm…"
"You mean like free fall?" They picked up Kai to carry him to the rest, he was the last one. "Have you any idea how fast you need to reactivate again?"
"No… When it's wind still it's not much of a problem though…" Blade was unsure in the worst case her wings would catch the wind and smash her against the cliff again. 'I could convert more Drion into Mana…but no matter where we go it's always exhausting and Drion is draining Stamina so quickly….'
"Just leave them for now. The storm should break soon," Keith took the two backpacks under the trees and they both sat down to meditate first again.
Blade and Keith noticed as the rain stopped just two hours later. So, they quickly dashed down to get the backpacks. Iolas stayed up top this time or at least that's what they thought because yet again he was nowhere to be seen.
Keith looked to Blade, "Oh shit…"
"Nothing that can be done about it now," Blade sighed deeply.
The rest of Team E had slept for a while. And now the clouds were hanging over them yet again and the rain started even if it was just a few drops at the moment.
"How could you let this happen!?" Julius facepalmed.
Dean was just speechlessly staring at the ravaged backpacks.
"He told you to go and get them, now we are down the rations of five people. Truly…" Mercury glared at the darkening sky.
"Well, this sucks, we can't change it now, we should have climbed up with them," Michael just couldn't deal with it they were running in circles. "What's wrong with this stupid island? So much rain."
Kai looked forth and back from the arguing Fairy and wizard with the team leaders. They had been at it for a few minutes now, "Guys…"
"Oh, really, then why don't you fly down after shooting a hundred darts," Blade crossed her arms. "Magic can't solve every problem. You said that yourself," She reminded Julius firmly.
"Blade, we need the rations. We're way too tired to go on food hunts," Mercury explained for the fifth time.
"Well, then we should slow down a bit," Keith argued.
"We don't even know how long this course is. We can't fail this. We'll never hear the end of it from Codatorta," Julius balled his fits, "Why didn't you at least fly down, Keith?"
Keith moaned, "Hey, it was hard work to keep that rope in place, I had to use even more body enhancement magic than you, I was standing in the OPEN all the time. You saw how Blade was pushed around. I am nowhere near her level. I couldn't leave the rope alone, what if it had snapped and gotten loose?"
"But you have a bigger pool!" Mercury held against it.
"But he uses up more magic, guys, so do you. I constantly had to regulate my magic output since day one. So, I only use what absolutely has to be used, well at least compared to you, while you all waste so much or don't use enough at all. That's why your hands froze or got numb," Blade was tense yet tried her best to stay calm. Shouting wouldn't help.
"AND I ORDERED YOU TO GET THEM! Come on! We are already so slow…" Julius just threw his hands into the air and turned around.
"An order we could barely follow what if she had clashed against the cliffs?!" Keith got upset.
"You didn't have to meditate so long, you could have gotten them sooner, Julius is not wrong here," Mercury shook his head.
Iolas came out of the woodwork from his random trips. "Well, Blade, you had enough magic to get around two backpacks directly after they reached the top," He commented and moved past glancing at the backpacks. 'Not that that means that the animals hadn't gotten to the rations. I wonder, I was so focused on keeping them safe just in case. Could have been any time in that two hours climb of theirs.'
Julius rolled his eyes, "Great."
"I'm sorry, okay? I should have gotten them earlier. I had not expected some animals to run around in that storm. So far, we have not met any," Blade meant her apology, even if she still thought her decision was the saver course. She fixated Iolas, 'He is agitating them again, urrrgh. He is creating a false sense of security on purpose… where are all the monsters and shit?' She looked back to Julius, "If it makes you happy, I don't need my rations, so take mine and use them as you see fit," Blade had enough of this senseless fighting, 'If the group breaks apart rations will be the least of our problems.'
"Blade…" Mercury sighed as she walked past him.
Blade simply took out the compendium, "Don't worry, I'll find us more food. I screwed up I fix it." The book was magically protected. She had asked Tasu to weave a spell for that and it was about time that Blade had to search for something or she would never hear the end of it from Griffin either. "Voice of nature…"
Blade had borrowed a Linphean herb bag. It minimised herbs without using the wearer's magic. Yet it could only hold a certain amount of plant matter. But since the last debacle with the Creeper Vine Blade had thought it best to use a magical item like that. Of course, there were spells to simply minimise things but they cost Mana over time and depending on the size and materials could be truly exhausting for her. In the start Blade had been slow skipping through the pages identifying plants and over time had become faster as she remembered more herbs. Dean again had carved a way through the undergrowth for the rest with one of her swords. There still was a certain unrest in the group. Everyone was tired and quicker exhausted than they had expected, luckily after three hours, the rainclouds lifted.
"Finally, …" Michael was relieved.
Mercury breathed out, "Geesh, using continuous body enhancement magic is such a drag. We should have been so much faster…"
"I know…" Julius looked at the map, "We are so much slower than I expected…"
"Guys, chill, this is better than freezing and getting ill," Blade answered in a calming voice. "This is good training, too. What do you think I do when I run my parkour?" Blade picked some fruits from the trees and jumped down again.
Dean sighed as he cut through some more branches, "But this was supposed to be a nice warm comfy hang out not some stupid extra training… that guard has some nerves. We're supposed to ask questions about live and the job."
Kai hushed them all, "Do you hear that? Wait, where is that guard anyway?"
Blade looked up ahead, yet the high-pitched buzzing sound seemingly came from all directions. "What's going on?"
"Blade, what is coming towards us?" Julius stared at a dark brownish cloud rushing through the forest. Actually, there were several.
'Voice of nature,' Blade closed her eyes. "Wow, how can there be so many?" Blade jumped down from another tree.
Keith looked to Blade, "What are they?"
"Mosquitoes, thousands of them," Blade was dazzled. "They are bigger though or have some magic, not sure…"
"You're kidding?" Mercury already saw some rising next to them. "Are we in some breeding grounds?! Ouch!" He smashed one in his neck.
"What the -, ouch!" Julius stared at his legs, those beasts came through their Paladin suit where ever there was no plating.
"Guys, you need to uppen your body enhancement magic otherwise they'll get through. The armour can protect you," Keith explained shortly. Still there were so many around.
"More magic? Great…we already suck," Julius shook his head, but there was nothing they could do about it unless they wanted to burn the whole jungle to the ground.
"What's the holdup?" Iolas reappeared behind them. "Need another break?" He smirked. The mosquitoes burned to a crisp as they touched his skin but also stayed away mostly to begin with. 'This is going to be fun…' He sensed that besides Keith and Blade none would be able to control their magic output well enough, it already was fluctuating and this way they would waste lots of their precious magic. None of them would be good enough to keep those mosquitoes at bay in the long run.
For over an hour, they were now trying to get through the undergrowth. Keith had taken over the role of cutting a way for them all, while Blade still used her time to collect some more plants. Mercury, Julius, Kai and Dean were trying their best to manage their magic. Yet got stung every so often. Iolas was close to the group and observed them. Kai was furthest behind and currently slapped himself in the face to decimate the mosquitoes who had taken their chances.
"Oh, those stupid…uuurgh," Wildly he flailed around. He even used his sabre to vent his frustration.
Blade laid a hand on him after she ducked away under his last swing, "Careful, you might get splashed with tons of mosquito guts."
"Oh, shush you, you have no idea how itchy those stupid things are!" He hissed. He, like the others, was at his nerves end.
'They all are so agitated, damn,' Blade let go and stared at them as they moved on. 'I got to do something…' She could feel the boys were running low on magic and losing so many rations was another hard blow they had taken. 'What can I do? … They need magic…They are too stubborn to take mine though,' Blade stared at her skin and lowered her magic output, testing how much magic she actually needed to avoid those pesky things. 'That's it,' She found it rather quickly then she closed her eyes to sense the boy's magic pools. Kai was lowest because of his pool size, and so was Michael he had problems distributing and much went to waste while other spots had not enough. Blade rushed to catch up, "Here, try those berries, food helps." She offered Kai some food berries from her collection as she placed her hand on his shoulder plate yet again and infused some of her magic into his armour. 'Yes, it works! Wonderful that way I don't bust their systems if I have to do it constantly. Don't want them to have the same problem as I did in the hearing, bit less effective though...' Happily, she smiled as Kai munched down.
"Thanks… I doubt a few berries will change much, we really needed those rations," Kai sighed deeply and moved on.
Iolas squinted his eyes as Blade moved over to Michael to give him some berries as well. 'Oh, she's using less magic…well, sun's out, smart choice. Wait, she is boosting the boys as well, without telling them? Hmmm, not wrong there either, they wouldn't take it if offered…sneaky and smart, but also super dumb. This team constellation is falling apart by the hour. The guys are not used to real state-of-emergency situations at all. The leadership is not focused on team spirit but on the task, which is fine for Specialist missions, but here… tremendous mistake. And since this is only training they are not even trying to pull themselves together. They are simply pissed, that I cut their holidays short… Well, let's see if Blade at least learned not to go beyond her limits…'
Before they knew it, it started to rain again. The sunny cycles were getting shorter. Luckily with the rain, the mosquitoes vanished as well. Still, everyone was exhausted and even Julius who tried to keep them at a decent speed despite their circumstances was too fed up to walk on. So, they had made camp and the last rations were given out. Blade took none though, she simply ate some berries. She was used to it from Phere-Moan after all and she was stubbornly sticking to her word. Yet they had a bigger problem. It had stayed unnoticed but through the ravaging animals who had stolen their food, the tents had been damaged as well. And the boys were not able to keep up the body enhancement magic twenty-four seven. So now there was rain getting inside the tents, plus they had less wiring to secure them.
Mercury awoke as some rain ran down into his ear. And there was some loud cracking noise, "What the heck was that?!" He stormed out of his tent. A harsh wind blew into his face. Blade tried to help Dean get a hold of his tarpaulin. "You okay? Yikes!" He ducked away as some branch nearly smashed into his face. The wind was picking up. Although they were in such thick undergrowth. "GUYS WAKE UP!" He could see lightning zapping through the clouds. 'Oh boy, that is a proper storm! Are those getting worse? Oh man…'
All of them scrambled outside. It took them a good five minutes to secure that tarpaulin back on the ground. Yet once one was done another was ripped away. "What is wrong with this island!?" Julius was loss for words, they couldn't fix the problems fast enough.
"Keith!" Michael shouted out he let go of his end of the wire and pulled his crossbow out and shot another branch to pieces, which had come crashing down.
"Okay, that's it," Mercury looked to Julius, "We gotta go! This place isn't safe!"
"I know! Grab your bags!" Julius gave the order. "Blade find a cave or something, quickly!"
Blade closed her eyes, 'Come on, voice of nature…'
"What a mess…" Dean slid down the cave wall. They were out of breath and sweating despite the massive storm and rain.
"Can we go home already?" Kai leaned with his forehead against the wall.
Mercury and Julius looked speechless at each other. They as leaders had completely failed. No rations, everyone was tired and now no tents either.
Michael was staring into the darkness. None of them had dared to walk further in and disturb whatever it was that lived there. He was balling his fists he was so angry.
Keith had his head borrowed in his knees, "Shit if I…"
"Oh, stop, as if that would help us now, you should have just gotten the backpacks," Dean angrily threw a stone against the cave wall.
"Those tents would never had hold up no matter if in one piece or not. Besides, you said it yourself magic can't solve everything we had to meditate," Blade tried to spot the Council Guard but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, really and how do you know that? You're one to talk you could have at least gotten two more than we would have-" Julius started to bicker.
Keith shook his head, "And what if she would have been blown against the cliffs? I can't reach her if she's out of my cast range or make two shields at once if I had gone with her."
"Still, even if you had to meditate, you waited way too long!" Mercury growled he was so tired, everyone was. No one had the nerve to stay calm or polite anymore.
"You all need to meditate. Without the tents, you'll use your magic up even quicker. I very much doubt that this will get easier, we need to make more breaks…" Blade sighed deeply, 'They are losing it…wonderful…you can't change stuff once it happened…why are we even bickering yet again about this. Damn it, I should just have risked it despite the storm… nothing is worse than demoralisation was our worst enemy on Phere-Moan.'
"And where? Huh? Without the tents, there is no dry spot to focus!" Julius got upset.
Dean agreed, "Yeah, you might be all-mighty sitting in the rain all day, we can't."
"Oh, shut up, Julius, you made the wrong calls!" Kai raised his voice. "I and Blade asked several times for more breaks already. You rushed us."
"Because all of us wanted to be done with this. And you fooling around and letting yourself get carried all the time, didn't help!" Michael butted heads with him as he snapped.
"Says the right one, she carried you too!" Kai hissed back.
"Your both shitty in stamina," Dean rolled his eyes. "I carried all your shit. And cut a way through the forest all this time!"
"When why don't you say something or swap out, if it's that much of a bother?!" Keith couldn't believe this. "I helped too you know. If you need a break from something just say it, staying quiet doesn't help!"
"Oh, you…at least I pull my weight!"
"Stop…" Julius walked up to them, but truly he had no energy to keep that fight at bay. And he also wasn't really in the mood to help Keith out.
Mercury's stomach ached, they hadn't eaten a good meal for what felt like forever, "Can we just get something to eat, if we have to use more magic…" He looked to Blade, "Can you use some magic to grow a plant or whatever you did on Phere-Moan."
"Eh? I was on the front lines mostly, I'm not good with that stuff, it costs way too much magic. I have more berries if you like some," Blade tried her hardest to stay calm.
"Berries, really? That never will be enough, and you know it," Mercury shook his head.
"Better than nothing, we simply need more breaks," Blade tried to reason with him. 'Besides, that was our main food source…'
"Blade, that guy is out for us, we can't slow down much more, we already are snails. What if we don't cross the finish line in time? You are just a guest on this trip. This is our schooling, we can't look bad here. That guard is from the Council! The repercussions to our reputations are endless! You got to take this seriously." Mercury's mind was racing, how could he rectify their bad leadership decisions? It wasn't just his reputation after all.
"We don't even know where the finish line is that map only shows the next stage. And I am taking it seriously," Blade tried to reassure him. "Listen…" The two had calmed down a bit.
While the other group had escalated without warning in their bitching contest, who had done more mistakes, "Listen to you?! The WORST decision-making EVER, since we got here!" Kai shouted at Julius.
"NOT IN THAT TONE!" Julius barked back as the boys shoved each other around a bit.
Mercury ran to help, but it was hard to follow, who had started what, as everyone was at it, "Hey, knock it off!"
Blade stared at them for a few seconds, this reminded her so much of her butting heads with Tessa in the start when they had landed on Phere-Moan. 'Shit, we gotta talk this out… but how… in that state…' But she was partially at fault for the missing rations there was no way they would listen to her in a normal conversation. Blade amassed magic in her lungs, "I'm SORRY! PLEASE STOP FIGHTING!" She drowned out anyone else.
The boys stopped in their scuffle staring at their Fairy.
"It's my fault, I should have gone sooner. I was selfish," Blade had to find some common ground for them and she knew she wasn't completely blameless. "I know how important food supply is, I should have gone earlier. I misjudged the situation because this is just a training mission, we aren't in real danger, but this is like Phere-Moan, a survival mission, we got to stick together and overcome all mistakes done so far together, otherwise, there truly will be repercussions for you and I don't want that."
Everyone relaxed a bit, not everything was said and dealt with, but at least they weren't starting a brawl in the middle of a storm. Julius sighed, "We need to meditate and warm up, we are drenched. Keith, make a fire. Kai you help. Rest is with me we'll check deeper inside so we are sure we can meditate. Blade keep some magic in reserve from now on to find good spots to rest. We aren't on your level or that guard's. We'll check that compendium of yours for food plants as well. We need more people to collect enough."
"Ah, here you are," Iolas came around the corner and stood there at the entrance all chirpy. "So, whose fault is it that your tents got turned to sherds the one second I was gone? I can't let you out of sight for a second, such incompetence, astonishing," He asked amused and in a condescending voice. 'So much for that team spirit of theirs…'
"Mine," Blade stepped in front of her boys like a mother bear, "Where were you anyways, Eques?" She glared at him changing the subject before he could get into their heads.
'Her fault? Typical Fairy taking the fall and weight onto themselves. Amazing that they didn't go into an all-out brawl just now,' Iolas had watched them of course and now simply chuckled, "Doing your job of scouting and securing the camp. You lot do next to nothing in the accounts of guarding," He rubbed yet another mistake into their already scratched egos.
No one could feud that statement, not even Blade. They all looked at him like lost puppies or super annoyed.
"We were just about to check the cave," Julius butted in. 'Shit, I totally forgot, I was too tired to set anything up. I thought Blade had an eye out while meditating…'
Iolas laughed, "Now? Great. Do you want to know how often you would have been attacked?" He shook his head as he shut Julius's attempt down to soothe him. "I mean, I get it you're too weak to run around even more than you do. That's normal for average trainees." He let his gaze wander to Blade, "But you as a Fairy have the knowledge and should at least use the voice of nature to make sure that there isn't anything dangerous up ahead. I won't be there to do it for you on other missions." Iolas scolded her. He was especially hard on Blade. "Did you even tell them about the monsters in the mud?"
"Monsters in the mud?" Everyone was confused now.
"No… but they were there only at night, besides I didn't-" Blade bit her lip, there had been no point to tell them that they had waded through a monster den in the middle of the night when the boys were sleeping and she just had found out. They already were agitated enough and needed rest. And in the morning, they had been so busy preparing for the climb, she had completely forgotten to mention it.
"Blade you need to tell me such things!" Julius couldn't believe it.
"Hey, you didn't even order us to scout," Keith took her side. She had done so much in that mud death trap for them.
Michael clicked his tongue annoyed, "No one would need to tell me to report that…"
"Blade…" Mercury wanted to take her side but couldn't.
Dean was just fed up, "Let's just check the damn cave…" He stepped on into the dark as he lit up his phanto-weapons.
"That's not…" Blade couldn't even clear up the misunderstanding Iolas had created. They had no intention of listing to her now. Iolas had made her look like an ass. With just a few sentences he had diminished all the reconciliation they just had achieved. 'That bastard!' She glared at Iolas angrily. "You…"
"Blade, watch the outside!" Julius's voice echoed from the tunnel.
"Oh, your master called," Iolas tried to rile Blade up.
"He's not my master he is my friend, also my team leader I do what he asks because I respect him. So, don't you trash talk him again." She balled her fists, "Fine teacher you are…should I count your mistakes…" She moved past him wind and rain blowing into her face again as she stepped out of the safety of the cave. Thunder rolled and more lightning struck.
"Careful, with your words little Fairy, I can get you kicked out of Red Fountain, my word carries" Iolas smirked.
"Ha, good luck, I doubt yours is enough to hurt me," Blade glared back at him. "Faragonda would never let that happen."
"Hm, true, you are politically protected. Your friends are not, though, I can punish you in ways you can't even imagen," Iolas smirked, triggering them some more, 'And so can others… They don't understand this, not at all. The schools can do only so much. What will you do now kids? Lose it and dig your own grave… or stick together?' He could hear Kai and Keith fall off their feet so startled they were by that statement.
Blade turned around, "You wouldn't dare! ..." Blade created a dart in reaction to his threat, never would she let that attack on her friends slide.
"You're joking, right? Right?" Keith stared at the Council Guard, but he seemed to truly mean it facing off with Blade.
Kai bit his lip, he wanted to help her, but he had to protect himself as well, becoming a specialist was his dream after all, "Blade, please…"
"Insubordination, drawing a weapon on a superior. You don't care for their futures at all, ha, who would have thought?" Iolas grinned menacingly, 'Lose it and falter, what a pity. They still have leaps to grow. They have no clue how politics work - at all. And she is truly distrusting of higher-ups… oh boy… what a bad habit. She hasn't learned from the hearing. She can't go so bluntly about things if she doesn't have an ace in the hole.'
"You…" Blade trembled in anger.
Keith stepped in, "That's enough, Blade!" He walked towards her trying to stop a fight.
Kai turned to Iolas, "Please Eques, she's just tired, we all are. She didn't mean it."
'Let's see if she backs down,' Iolas chuckled, "Better not raise a weapon or even a word against me again, Fairy. And you better keep her in line, if you don't want me to make some calls." He looked at the boys.
Blade dissolved her dart as Keith shook his head tightening his grip on her shoulder, "Gotta scout…" Yet she gave the Elf a death glare before she got shoved out by Keith who tried to avoid a disaster.
Iolas gazed at the small fire the two had lit up, 'So she takes their side, but they won't stand up for her or themselves… Same with the Witches… Blade needs to watch out, she's running so far in front of the boys. They haven't caught up in determination, they are not ready to risk so much. So far they had the easy parts.' Iolas gave her some space, he didn't want to push it further at the moment, he had a tracing spell on all of them and the outside was clear, he already had checked before hands. He watched Kai stare at him unsure and a bit worried. 'Team spirit out of the window now…So sloppy even if they are just trainees this team never had to face pressure they can't escape. The boys are so used to finishing missions with flying colours. Simple missions, fetch that, do that and come back. They are to bolster their confidence, but no one will always win in life,' Iolas walked passed the specialist, "Better keep her in line if you want to finish your studies."
"…" Kai stared at him. 'What an ass. How am I to keep her in check, huh? She's not completely wrong either I'd like to punch him too…fuck.'
Iolas stepped onwards into the tunnel he still had the other boys to protect from the dangers that lurked there. 'They still think this is a mission to win, accel at. Fools. Not every mission has a winnable end goal. Still, the same problems with those schools. Alfea doesn't prepare Fairies for real battles. Red Fountain gives out missions which always can be succeeded if you play your cards right. And Witches are stuck up and isolated easy targets… I could make any team constellation of her friends and allies fail without a problem. They are missing the big picture.' Iolas traced the steps of the scouting party inside the tunnel. He had to make sure they would get home in one piece after all.
Iolas had no problem catching up with the boys, 'Reputation…' He pondered, 'What good is a reputation if the team's on their last thread of patients and exhausted even if it gets the job done?'
"Hey, watch where you stepping…" Mercury scolded Michael who had run into him. They had no concentration left.
"Mercury, shhh, we don't want to wake a sleeping dragon…" Julius warned him whisperingly. These tunnels had something ominous about them.
"Dragon? There is no dragon here…" Dean rolled his eyes. And hit his head on a stalactite. "Ouch, fuck…"
"You okay?" Julius was concerned, his range of emotions was switching with every second.
"Oh, so you are worried about him?" Michael mumbled agitated and another squabble ensued.
Iolas found the group deeper in the tunnels and had camouflaged again, 'Oh boy, Julius has still no clue what kind of leader he wants to be. Mercury is not making his voice heard and questioning his leader's decisions or giving him proper feedback. He has no idea what Julius needs...Michael is in his head all of the time, instead of having direly needed conversations. Dean is just carrying stuff, so he hasn't to blame himself for what else happens.'
"We are worried about everyone, leading isn't so easy. I don't see you making any helpful suggestions," Mercury held against it.
"Suggest what? We are screwed. No matter what you decide…" Dean shook his head, he just wanted to sleep.
'Speak of the devil, maybe I am overdoing the bad guy routine. I hope I didn't shatter the team spirit too much… I give them twenty-four hours and this team will split or be a group of lone fighters scratching each other's eyes out. Ahhh, I hoped they would do better, at least I have plenty to give feedback on. Biggest question left is, will Blade collapse under the pressure first or will their determination to go on? I raised the pressure on her quite a lot. Not to mention that she tries to help them out by sharing magic, she isn't the right choice for that job…none of them currently are. Boys haven't even noticed...'
"Oh, shut it…" The guys had bickered amongst each other some more.
Michael was so fed up and moved past him, "Yes, oh, leader…"
