Kaylynn leaned against the cold stone wall of the newly opened cave. The elven ruins running across her body hummed with an exhausted rhythm, as water dripped just loud enough for each droplet to echo throughout the makeshift camp.
The party had been quiet for about two hours now, as everyone was trying to regather from their inefficient mana drain as well as their severe injuries.
Then there was the lack of food which had also become a major problem.
"Do we still have any emergency rations?" Luke asked, using a rock as support for him to stand up.
Chase lifted his ash covered eyelids, narrowing his vision as if in deep thought.
Kaylynn couldn't help but stare in bewilderment at the boy who had changed quite a bit since they had first met. Not only had his power grown immensely in such a short amount of time, but his looks had evolved as well.
Although he was quite pale and the ratio of his muscle and fat were so imbalanced that his ribs were showing from the ripped section of his armor's undershirt-Yet, his shoulders had become inhumanly broad, along with his chiseled yet lean arms that had countless veins showing from the gaps in his arm guards.
Kaylynn turned away from the lone boy who's vibrant emerald eyes had lost most of their color in the recent days.
Eventually he spoke up.
"Michael and Reinhart had the last of the rations... It isn't much but it should be enough for a couple of hours."
Michael quickly interrupted with the awkward clearing of his throat.
"So uhm... I sorta already ate all of it..." He said scratching the back of his ragged black hair.
Leo threw his arms up dramatically, wearing a visibly angered expression on his face.
"Are you serious dude!? You were the one complaining about not having enough food back on the surface weren't you? Are you trying to get us all killed? Hell! Were gonna have to eat that damn infected meat from the monsters back there now!" He stood up in a flash, and began walking towards a darker section of the cave.
Reinhart shook his head with a sigh, lifting his heavy steel helmet from his head. His frequently dyed, long auburn hair rustled with the slight breeze leaking into the cave.
His golden eyes looked weak and tired under the faint light of the campfire.
"Do forgive me friends... But I could not bear the weight of my hunger anymore..." He stated sadly, lifting up an empty zip lock bag with nothing but crumbs resting at its bottom.
Luke let his body pathetically fall back onto the floor, letting his head lean back against the wet stone wall.
When Kaylynn took a minute to study the party's current state, a look of panic rushed over her face...
She had felt the wind within the ruins of Olympia, and had repeatedly scanned for movement with light breezes... And she knew for certain that what was left of Olympia was far too large for them to survive without leaving and returning to the surface at least once... Maybe even twice...
She stood up weakly, and began to walk over towards Chase's resting place, where she sat down a few feet to his right.
"Are you going to be alright?" She asked the seventeen year old boy who had been burdened with a team that had begun acting more as a nuisance then it was an actual team.
He lifted his singed left eyebrow, thinking for a few short moments before letting the corner of his lip curl into a grin.
"It's not me you gotta worry about... We- We just need to find a way to gather an edible resource... Once we can manage that, I think this should be a breeze. Since the monsters down here aren't necessarily powerful... If we can just dwindle down their size in numbers, we should be able to speed through the rest of the ruins."
Kaylynn listened patiently, bringing her knees up to her chest as she realized that everything he had said had gone through one ear and out of the other.
Her face flushed red, but she quickly buried her flustered state beneath her crossed arms and high knees.
"Sorry... I'm not very good at keeping spirits high..." He quickly blurted out, much to Kaylynn's surprise.
'How can someone so intelligent... Be so damn dense...' She wondered, peering at the emerald glint in his eyes before turning her vision back into her dark green pants.
"Nah, you have done an excellent job as our leader... Do not let the bickering of these idiots take that away from you..." Kaylynn said, with her cheeks glowing red beneath her arms.
A loud crash echoed through the cave's interior.
Everyone's gaze shot towards the sound, as Michael wore a deranged and angered look on his face... With his knuckles bleeding against a crater in the wall.
Gemini who stood in front of him, cautiously glanced behind him, where all of the party members looked at the two in confusion.
"Just forget it man..." He mumbled, before making his way into the hall they had come from.
Michael let out a shaky exhale.
"Who the hell does he think he is?" He whispered with trembling in his voice.
Neveah stepped up, placing a hand on Michael's shoulder, seemingly having heard the entire conversation leading up to his impulsive action.
"I agree with what you said Mikey... But we can't let ourselves get irrational now... It will kill us..." She said softly, as Michael shut his eyes as a vein began to fade back into the skin on his forehead.
"He has no right..." He eventually said with exhaustion.
"He would have been tortured to death had we not stepped in... Now he has the audacity to challenge the authority that has prevailed time and time again in the past..." He said sadly, leaning his shoulder against the crater and freezing over his bloody hand with Primis.
Chase sighed as he stood up.
"Well... We should probably advance while the fire is still hot..." He said with a somber smile.
"Wait! I have something that you should probably have before we move on..." Reinhart said, jogging up to Chase and reaching into a large leather bag.