Clentine:
"Oh wow! Where did you find these?" I asked excitedly, staring at the coals. They were coals by na only—black diamonds, even shaped like them.
"When I left you guys and ran ahead, I noticed sothing shining in the corner. Usually, these things are very well hidden, but at a certain angle, they start to shine. That’s how I saw them. They were in a small cluster in the corner, and if I’m not wrong, these earth eaters are usually gathered around places where these coals are," Yorick explained, while Troy held one in his hand, staring at its beauty.
Even Oriana was shocked. But they were even more surprised when Yorick suddenly grabbed my bag and started filling it with the coals he’d found.
"No, Yorick! What are you doing?" I protested, instantly trying to pull my bag away from him.
But he insisted, holding onto mine by force and trying to transfer his coals into it.
"No, Yorick, stop it! You’re going to find yours for yourself, all of you, and we’ll find ours. Fine, we can help each other, but not like this," I complained as I snatched my bag back again.
However, the look on Yorick’s face lted my heart.
"Well, then I’m not going to find mine," he muttered, suddenly dropping his bag and sitting down like a child, his arms wrapped around his legs.
"Yorick, don’t be a child," I said, stomping my feet.
"Well, then accept my gift." He looked up at angrily, daring to take it or else he wouldn’t get up.
"Co on, Clentine, don’t upset him. If he’s doing sothing for you, he’s doing it with all his heart. So, rejecting it is kind of painful," Troy jumped in, taking Yorick’s side. I knew why. Because he was probably going to do the sa thing.
"It’s not about doing sothing with love. I know you guys care for . You don’t have to prove it. But I’m not going to let him empty his bag, then go out to find coal for himself and get in trouble. You’re not understanding . I don’t need saving. If you want to comfort , then make sure you stay safe. That’s what will comfort the most," I finally spoke up, letting them know that my own safety wasn’t what worried .
Every ti they were out of my sight or in danger, that’s when I began to panic. I managed fine on my own, but they were becoming my weak spot instead of my strength.
"Fine, then just accept it this once, and next ti I’ll find one for myself," Yorick said with a cute pout. At that point, I realized there was nothing I could do to change his mind. He sat stubbornly on the ground, and Troy sided with him.
"Fine, but just this once and we’ll distribute them among us" I told him, warning him with my eyes not to argue.
"No, this is your gift. We’ll distribute the next ones," Troy replied, wrapping his arm around and giving a small peck on the cheek. The fact that they forgave so quickly really made feel much better.
After many argunts, I finally accepted the coals, and we decided to move forward and find more. The more we found, the easier it would be for us to finish this mission and return ho. We wanted to go back before the vacation ended so we could continue exploring the Academy without getting into trouble this ti.
However, during that ti, I noticed sothing else. Oriana’s mood had worsened, even. She looked down, almost pale. I noticed that when Yorick handed his coals, she just stood there, silently watching us. The look in her eyes scared .
As we kept walking, I heard her small footsteps beside , and I realized she was coming closer.
"I’m sorry," was all she murmured before I turned to give her my attention. But I kept walking.
"For what?" I asked. I knew exactly what she should be sorry for; I just wanted to hear it from her.
"I shouldn’t have said those things about your squad mates. I didn’t know how close you were to them. I thought you were just trusting the wrong people," she mumbled softly.
"Oriana, friendship goes both ways. In friendship, you don’t beco a toxic person who doesn’t care about others’ safety. Friendship with the right people makes you the best version of yourself, not a toxic one. You rember what happened with Joshua, Jack, and Suki, right? Those two were ready to die for her. The problem was, she was ready to kill others for her own safety. That’s how she ended up dead. If she had just opened the latch for , we all would’ve survived that night easily," I explained, reminding her that it was Suki’s own fault she died that night.
It would’ve been much easier for her to co back from the north if she hadn’t turned into such a toxic version of herself.
"I’ll keep that in mind and never co between you and your squadmates. Please accept my apology, Clentine. I can see everyone upset, but not you," she murmured softly, holding my hand with a gentle touch.
"I hope you’ll stick to your promise," I replied before noticing her glance around again.
"Did anyone see that other guy from your squad in the tunnels?" she asked suddenly, making narrow my eyes at her in confusion.
"Ian?" I asked, and she nodded.
"I haven’t seen him since we stepped into the basent. I never saw him follow us into the tunnel either. What’s his deal, anyway?" she questioned, making take a deep breath and look ahead.
"I don’t know. I guess he’s upset with us for ruining his vacation," was all I could co up with.
There was no other explanation I could give her.
"Guys!" Troy’s shaky voice broke our conversation. The way he gasped out the word made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I turned to him, followed his gaze, and saw sothing shining in the distance. It was a huge cluster of coal glowing on the right, but with that much of it ca many earth eaters paroling around the area.
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