บท 15: Friends
As Cyrus walked further, deep shadows and overgrown moss covered the entire verdant forest. The minimal light dimly shined through the thick canopy, leaving an eerie, all-consuming fog that hindered visibility.
Day time in this forest was completely quiet, only shallow breathing and the occasional dead twig being snapped accompanied the ongoing silence. As they had wandered in the forest for merely 15 minutes, Cyrus's group was still on edge, warily observing their surroundings.
By now, most of the groups had split up, and the fog had covered their whereabouts. It was like groups were purposely avoiding one another by this point. Cyrus was not complaining, though. After being ambushed by Jared and his group, he learned a lesson and did not plan to repeat it so soon.
Don, antsy and unable to take the hushed quietness any longer, spoke out loud, "Cyrus, we didn't have a lot of time to get acquainted with one another before and should probably introduce ourselves now. How about it?"
Cyrus did not think much and agreed "Alright. Might as well set up some basic teamwork strategies while we're at it."
Don nodded before starting off the introductions, "The name is Don, D as in dangerous to the ladies; and Cyrus's suave, handsome, and honest friend, but you all knew that already!"
Cyrus shook his head and went after him. "Cyrus. Pretty sure Don already mentioned me to you all, so I won't go into many details. Just know that I'll have your back and hope the same from you guys."
The other 5 people exchanged glances with one another before a small girl, around 6 years of age, spoke first. Taking a careful look, she had a doll-like countenance that enraptured both males and females. That tiny face with sweet pinchable cheeks, and dotted with light brown freckles, accentuated her limpid green eyes that held nothing but a pure innocence. Her full lips, large curly brown hair, button nose, and creamy skin created a picturesque image of a perfect beauty.
Brushing a few strands of that silky hair behind her ear, she shyly introduced herself in a soft, melodic voice that soothed the soul. "Hello, I'm Talia. I hope we can get along well together, please take care of me."
Bowing very courteously, she backed up before taking a glimpse at Cyrus. Immediately they had awkward eye contact, as he was staring at her intently the entire time. Blushing, she swiftly averted her gaze to the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world. The others were just as captured by this demure young lady and failed to notice that small exchange.
The self defined monk himself, however, was extremely confused why this lady was embarrassed when looking at him. She was definitely pretty in Cyrus's opinion, but this did not mean much for their current situation and decided to examine the rest.
Next up was a chubby kid. Only god knows how that happened. He appeared to be very taciturn from his stern and unmoving face. Introducing himself he spoke tersely, "Jacob, 10 years old, nice to meet you guys."
"That deep voice really suits his straightforward character. Judging off of this, he's already more reliable than that idiot Don. Honestly, can't believe he even decided to team up with us after meeting him." Thinking about that, Cyrus could not help but shoot a look of disdain towards Don.
Don was waiting for Cyrus's reaction and was slightly startled by that look of disgust. "This stupid kid," shaking his head Cyrus just decided to listen to the last three.
Two of them were guys and were actually twins. Both had orange hair, brown eyes and were on the short side, around the same height as Cyrus. They had above average facial features while close to Don in age, around 9 years old. "Nice to meet you guys. My name's James and this is my brother Connor." The other brother picked up where James left off. "As James said, my name is Connor and I hope we can work well together!" Announcing in unison, "I'm stronger than my brother!"
They both glared at each other like they were about to start a scuffle. Cyrus really wanted to slap Don over the head. These two were supposedly a part of the 'reliable people' he gathered. "Both of them were going to be a huge headache. Now that I think about it, they are pretty much right up Don's alley and expecting more from him will just lead to disappointment."
Giving up on these pointless thoughts, he decided to closely compare the two of their faces. Low and behold, Cyrus could honestly not tell the difference at all. Maybe counting the number of freckles on each of their faces could work. He was too lazy to bother verifying. Calling out one of their names and waiting for the correct brother to respond would suffice.
Last of all was a vibrant girl, while only above average in appearance, had a way too developed body. She looked in her late teens with perky melons and a shapely butt. Curvy definitely fit the description to describe this mature girl. Smiling, she introduced herself in a cheery tone "My name is Sasha. I am pleased to meet all of you! I really, really hope we can all be best friends after we pass this test!"
Unlike the rest, she ran up to Cyrus, grabbing his hand, and started hardcore fan girling. "By the way, I'm like, totally your biggest fan in the entire world. Your fight against those scary wolves made you look, like, superduper cool. As soon as Don told me about this group...". It honestly seemed like she would not stop speaking if Cyrus did not stop her.
"Alright, we can talk about this later. First, we need to create some quick team strategies when encountering certain dangerous situations." Pushing her off gently, he quickly switched the topic so they could start traveling again. While Victor did not say much before they went in, Cyrus would bet his life that staying near the exit would not help but instead hurt their survival chances.
Don nearby was practically green in the face from jealousy. He purposely invited both Sasha and Talia as they were the best girls in the group. Knowing this close brother of his, he figured his cold exterior to strangers would push them off, but it seemed he miscalculated this time.
"Damn this pretty boy, he's not even tryingggggg!" Don really felt like crying right now, but having no were to vent he could only keep it to himself. James and Connor were also slightly better looking than him, but he brushed over that 'non-existing' fact.
Once Cyrus had everyone's attention, he laid out a few of his ideas. "Truthfully, we don't need to do anything special. I will take the lead, mainly distracting and fighting our enemy's head on. Don you can back me up while James and Connor look for opportunities to attack. Sasha and Talia, you two keep an eye out for any possible ambush or be extra support in desperate situations."
Everyone agreed that this was the simplest method to implement at this time, and not much discussion was needed. "Alright let's get going, I have a bad feeling staying so close to the entrance."
At first they found it a little weird why Victor did not mention any rules besides not killing each other. Many of the people here might not be geniuses, but some were a bit smarter and would consider staying near the exit. Cyrus's little reminder awoke them to the severity of the issue. That man would not miss such an obvious solution.
Like a bunch of frightened rabbits, the group followed Cyrus in silence as they extended their senses to maximum capacity. The smallest bug crawling up the tree was treated like a life or death enemy at this point.
Cyrus shook his head a bit before deciding not to let them relax. While it might tire them out later on, it's better they pay attention now and he could pick up the slack later on. Missing something now might possibly prove a lot more fatal.
Sorting out his thoughts, he refocused himself on surviving in this damp and eerie forest.
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