Chapter Thirty Two

O D D I T I E S : TAKE THESE THINGS OFF HIM

The following day everyone was up and barely awake as they stood in the frozen tundra plains before their sergeant. It was hard on everyone, adults, teens, Hakim was even tired himself. He stayed up late last night wondering how to deal with a soldier as reactive as that child.

It was bad.

The warning the King gave them should be considered a joke.

Hakim stood with his arms behind his back staring at his men. He wouldn’t have batted an eye, but that head of pink hair, heavy aura, and the soldiers around them, gave them away.

Hakim paused and touched his throat.

Right, slowly then.

“It seems we have a guest.”

The soldiers around the boy parted and moved, pushing the lines out and making them uneven. Osiris just stood looking bored.

“Your training doesn’t start for a few days-”

“I know. Haldir said I can do whatever I want and I want to train.”

The child was blunt.

“There are training areas-”

“Just start already.”

Hakim looked him over.

His aura was light. His face was flush, and he looked to be in a better mood than yesterday. The lines around his aura looked straighter, stabler, but the longer he took to start the more those lines started to get uneven.

“Since the Prince is joining us today, we will start off with endurance training.”

Everyone groaned. No one returned to stand beside the Prince.

“Fifty laps from here and around the entire camp. Stay close to the tents and away from the woods. Begin.”

No one moved except the Prince. He was already rounding the curb.

“Move it.”

Their faces were a mix of anger, fear, and annoyance. No one likes it when routines are changed. The Prince made it ten laps before stopping at the start to catch his breath.

“I can’t do it, I can't.”

He was heaving in air like a dying man. Hakim watched from the side, peripheral vision on the boy at all times. The boy’s aura was back to being itchy, but not enough to halter the men. Some laughed and snickered as they passed the panting Prince. It did make him look a little less dangerous.

The Prince’s head suddenly snapped up and he scanned the other resting soldiers.

“You.”

Hakim stood still as he watched Osiris point to a mixed dwarf teen off on his own. Since the Crown Prince’s very public dislike of Dwarves, they are usually picked out and used as punching bags.

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The Prince then looked around and motioned for the teen to come closer.

He looked terrified.

Everyone in the area stared at the Prince.

Out of fear and obligation the teen shuffled his way over to the boy like a man walking to the gallows.

“Y-yes?”

He was drenched in sweat.

Osiris looked him in the eyes and asked.

“What are you?”

It was a genuine question that almost made Hakim face fall straight into the ground.

The dwarf faltered.

“E-e-excuse m-me?”

“Like, do you have a race? Ethnicity? Culture?.. No wait, that's a different thing.”

Osiris held his chin in thought as the dwarf’s legs trembled.

“I-I… I’m a Dwarf.”

Osiris then hit a fist into his hand.

“I knew it. I knew those two weirdos weren’t human.”

The dwarf flinched, but Osiris was too busy nodding to himself to notice.

“Does all your kind know weapons?”

“Y-y-y-y…”

Osiris waited for the boy to answer.

“Y-yes, but only basics if you don’t come from a smithing family.”

Osiris nodded like it all made sense.

“Good, can you help me with this?”

Osiris lifted a foot and balanced on one leg to bring it up to his face.

“I can’t take get these fucking-” The air turned prickly for a few seconds before leveling out again. The poor dwarf just stood there with an awkward, pained smile on his face. “-things off me. It’s been two weeks.”

Everyone looked at the orange glowing foot as it occasionally dripped what looked like pieces of burning coal. The dwarf looked and then lit up. He got closer to the boy.

“Who made you these?!”

The dwarf grabbed his foot and tugged it close. Osiris had to sturdy himself a bit. Hakim froze. The boy had just touched him. The Prince.

“Some little man.”

The dwarf froze with the foot in his hand.

“S-sorry.”

He started to drop the foot.

“No, wait! Can you take these off? I really can’t get them off.”

The dwarf turned back, but his hold turned soft.

He pulled his lips into a line and looked over the furnace level heated foot.

Dwarves can handle all types of flames, and Ozzin was no different. He was excited to see another dwarf’s work. Being a half breed leaves a lot of his kind not wanting to teach him a thing about how they form a blade.

“Look here.”

He pointed to a small dot that Osiris thought was a bolt and popped it out like a phone with a stylist pen. The rod unfolded and it was a thin metal stick with the tiniest hook he has ever seen.

“You take this and do this.”

The dwarf showed him how to unlatch it.

There was a click and a piece fell to the floor.

The resounding thud made everyone’s eyes widen.

Even Ozzin looked shocked.

He looked back at the Prince and he was still bearing the weight of all the other parts.

Osiris snagged the pen, removed his foot from the hold, and started snapping them off in record speed. Each one dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Finally!” He spread his toes and hands out. “I’m fucking free!”

He jumped in places and punched the air a few times.

“Thanks.”

He then grabbed his things and moved to where Hakim was still standing and pretending not to watch.

“Watch these.”

He drops them at his feet then took off running.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“Move it, get back to work.”

The rest began to run again.

The dwarf took a bit longer to leave, eyes looking at the weapons before looking at him. He looked a bit guilty and left to try and catch up to the others. Hakim picked up a piece.

It really was fifty pounds.