Bab 162: FORTY THREE: Dreaded Morning Patrol

"Aaarrrgh! My aching legs!"

Matty sank to the ground, his curls flopping wildly.

"Calm down," Severin, the squad leader, rolled his eyes. "You aren't the newbie anymore, remember?

"Ah," Matty paused in the middle of melting in pain, cracking an eye open. "I forgot."

"Unless…" Severin squatted down next to him, "you want me to assign you to patrol duty, Mateus?"

This was the first time Kel had heard anyone use Matty's full name, and she immediately guessed why it wasn't used more often. For some reason, 'Mateus' didn't seem to fit the boy's big nose, messy curls and featherbrained personality the way 'Matty' did.

"N-no, Sir!" the featherbrained boy gulped, jumping to his feet. "Kel can have it. It's all his."

Severin scoffed and rolled his eyes again before turning to Kel.

"You heard me, right, Kid?" he demanded. "You'll report to the western edge of camp at exactly 3 A.M."