Pheo was sweating, he kept his fists on the large raw dough they made, but his vision started to blur. "Come on!' Ryu shouted out, "Keep your punches fast and strong!"
They were practicing fighting while in the kitchen. The wardens chalked it up as some reckless playing. They always made sure to do their share of work beforehand after all.
Ryu looked at Pheo, he would barely stand in a fight. His defense would always be lowered after the first punch. He keeps his movements wild and flashy, sometimes hitting people out of his vision on accident.
He needs experience.
Pheo swung one more punch before falling down, putting both of his arms on his stomach to try and cope with the exhaustion. "Maybe we should make you practice on endurance before getting into actual fighting." Ryu told him before throwing a ball of dough at Pheo's face.
He used it to wipe his face before throwing it away, "Did I at least do better than last time?"
"I'm sure there's progress somewhere…" Ryu told him, but he couldn't exactly think of where that progress went. He went and sat down next to Pheo
"I think I'm getting better at fighting." Pheo punched the air, his eyes focused on something that wasn't actually there. "I could probably throw way more punches than I could before."
Ryu laughed, "Maybe, but does it matter when all you hit is air?"
"If I punch fast enough, you won't even be able to dodge." Pheo continued to punch the air, making plane sounds as he did it. "Good luck with that." He chopped Pheo in the stomach, forcing him to sit back up.
"Come on," Ryu stood up and reached his hand out to Pheo "Someday, it's going to be you in the ground." Pheo told him as he grabbed his hand, getting himself up. Ryu chucked at his confidence, "Yeah yeah, you look like a ghost by the way."
He handed Pheo a shard of glass, showing him his reflection. Pheo's face looked like a Mime's, he grabbed a glass of water from one of the platters and splashed it on his face.
"I'm sure they won't notice a bit of missing water." Pheo told himself, wiping the water off. They both laughed, grabbing the plates they prepared beforehand and getting out of the kitchen.
"I think you're right," Mark told Jim as he watched the two of them. "He's definitely got the spirit, but he isn't one of us." Jim nodded, "He gave up his chance as soon as he slapped Jug's hand."
"I'm sure the next time an opportunity comes by, you know what to do?" Jim looked at Jen. She was also sitting with them, they began to sit together more often recently. She looked at Pheo, "Wouldn't miss my chance to get out of this place for anything else."
"You want one?" Tom went up to them. He was someone who would always be on Jug's side. "I knew you guys were planning something," He told them. "I would usually tell Jug about this."
"Usually?" Jim questioned his words. Tom looked at him, "I can't deny that his judgement's been off lately." The doubt in his face was enough to make Jim smile, "So you plan on going against Jug?"
"Aren't you all too?" Tom sat down at the table, "Jug's a good leader, but he's too slow. "
"Waiting for the perfect moment is getting us nowhere."
They all stayed silent, they were all tired from Jug constantly stopping them when opportunities came. "I can make it happen in a few days," Tom told them. "A chance that won't disappoint."
"At least, for one of them. You guys have to deal with the other two." He proposed to them. Jim looked at Jen, "No, we'll only have to deal with one." Afterwards, the group went to do their usual routine of mining.
"Aren't you going a bit too fast?" Pheo shouted out. The group was in the middle of mining. Pheo and Ryu decided to mine together during this time of the day.
Ryu was so far ahead compared to the others, he ended up making a smaller hole that extended further from where everyone else was. "Not at all!" Ryu shouted back, taking a while before he made his way back to Pheo.
"Maybe I should mine my way out of here instead huh?" He joked. "Well, why don't you escape?" Pheo brought it up. It always lingered in his mind on the reason why he hadn't.
Ryu took a moment before responding, "I thought about it already, but I don't think I need to." The words surprised Pheo, "Huh?"
"We got food, we got shelter, what else do you need?"
Pheo chuckled, "Freedom?" He knew that Ryu was slow in some aspects, but this was a first.
"What makes that so important?" He looked at him confused. "Don't you want to do what you want to do?" Pheo questioned him. "I want to live, and so far I am." Ryu told him. "Why would you want more when you already have everything you need?"
His response confused Pheo, but he couldn't find any flaws in his logic. "Where's your ambition? Don't you have anything worth living for?" He tried to probe him for something, anything that could make him change his answer.
"I don't even know what ambition means." Ryu said what was on his mind, "Fine, what do you live for?" Pheo paused, he didn't really have anything that came to mind. "Whatever I guess."
"Then why are you so bent on trying to escape?" The question made him quiet, unable to come up with a response. "I guess we both have no reason to escape then." Ryu concluded from the silence.
Pheo laughed, "That sounds so stupid, but you're right."
"Looks like we're staying here."
They continued on mining until Pheo noticed something.
"What's that?" He pointed out something peculiar he hit. It was barely exposed, glistening from the nearby lights. Ryu lifted his pickaxe, "Lets find out!" He gripped the pickaxe as hard as he could and swung with all his might.
"Wait!" Pheo stopped him, "What if you break it?"
Ryu kept his eyes fixed on the spot, his eyes widened a bit. "It isn't though." Pheo looked to see that it had no effect, not even a scratch. "Let's mine it out," Pheo suggested.
They started to dig around it. Sometimes they would miss and hit the mineral, but it had no effect on it. After mining enough, Ryu gripped it as hard as he could with both hands and pulled it out.
"It's... shining?" Ryu watched as it glowed in his hands, the translucent blue that shone captivating both of them. From across the room, Warhound took a bite of the meat he was eating, "Don't you think you should do something about them?"
He pointed Pheo and Ryu out to Don. He looked at them, they seemed to be in an entirely different world compared to their surroundings. "Not really, they've been doing more work than the rest." He said before looking at the others.
Warhound kept his interest in them however, something about the two caught his attention.
Time to have some fun.
Warhound grinned as he made his way to the two of them. As he approached, Warhound saw something in Ryu's hands. "The hell is this?" He snatched the object from Ryu, it was big enough for him to wrap his hand around.
It was reactive to where he touched, glowing wherever his hand was. "Looks like something that could be dangerous."
"It's ours," Pheo told him. "We mined it out just now." He extended his hand out, as if asking Warhound to give it back. Ryu was surprised, he hadn't expected for Pheo to react like he was now.
What the hell am I doing?
Pheo thought to himself, he was a bit nervous. He managed to barely stop his legs from shaking. Warhound tossed it back and forth from his hands. "I don't know…"
"Maybe It should just be destroyed, just in case." He held it in one hand and gripped it with full strength. Pheo panicked at first as it looked like it would do something. But as time passed, Warhound only tired himself out.
"What the?" He started using both hands, trying his hardest to break the rock but it stayed pristine, in mint condition. Ryu laughed at his surprised face, "Tired yet?" He was confident that Warhound couldn't break what he tried to hit at full force.
Warhound looked at him angrily, Ryu's eyes were mocking him. "How about this instead," Warhound threw it back and forth from his hands. "All you have to do is take it from me."
Bet I can sell this thing for some bucks to a rich kid.
"Come on, let's get it." Ryu told Pheo before running straight at Warhound. He reached for the rock, but Warhound's arms were too long. "Too slow!" He shouted out, waving his arms just out of reach of Ryu.
"Slow?" Ryu asked before quickly going from one side to another. "I'll make sure you won't have a second to spare." His movements were flawless, exceptional for someone of his age.
What the hell did this kid take?
Warhound had his hands full trying to keep Ryu at bay, but still had the edge over him. Pheo watched as Ryu batted around Warhound, it made him reconsider what he had been doing these past days.
Am I really able to stand with them?
With Ryu?
No, he would just be in Ryu's way if he tried to get in. He shrunk back with the others in the background, he was of no use.
"Pheo!" Ryu called out to him. It snapped him out of his thinking.
Right, were in this together.
He grabbed a nearby rock and threw it right at Warhound's head. Warhound's head got knocked a bit, "The hell?" He turned to see Pheo, "Heh, you throw like a girl!"
The comment riled him up. Pheo began running right at him and threw a punch with all of his weight. It slightly pushed him back. "Really?" He asked Pheo.
Warhound watched as Pheo kept trying to punch him over and over again before kicking him away. "You're lucky I haven't transformed, kid." he scolded him, leaving him to focus his attention back at Ryu.
Pheo laughed, "Turning to a wolf because of a kid?" He said sarcastically. "Sounds just like something a coward like you would do." His comments insulted Warhound's ego. He was about to shout something at Pheo before getting kicked in the head by Ryu.
"Damn!" He slipped out as he let go of the mineral. It rolled away from all three of them, stopping right at Don's feet. He grabbed it, playing with its translucency before looking at the three of them. "What are you waiting for? Grab it."
They all sprinted towards him, all eyes were on the rock. Pheo reached out for the rock only for Don to move just enough for Pheo to miss and fall to the ground. "Predictable."
Ryu wasn't falling for it however, he quickly stopped and aimed straight for Don's face. "Slow" He said while ducking, slapping Ryu's face lightly with his other arm. Don shoved him away, "If you want to get the mineral, you have to work together."
"You think you can stop me though?" Warhound said right as he threw a mean hook at Don. He quickly turned to look, having ample time to react, "Easily" He hit Warhound at the stomach with his fist.
He held his belly with both of his arms, "Aren't we supposed to be allies?" Don looked at his face, "Who said I'd help you with this childish feud?"
Pheo laughed at his remark. "You hear that?" He asked Warhound, "Even he thinks you're acting childish!" Warhound looked at him and growled, then went back to attacking Don. "Give me the damn thing!"
They both quarreled with each other. Ryu managed to go between them and kick both of them away from each other. "I'll take Warhound, you grab it from the old guy!" Ryu held his guard up against Warhound.
"You? Take me? You shouldn't overestimate yourself just because I'm not transformed, you know?" He said in a serious tone. Ryu groaned at the way he acted, "Just put your hands up before you regret it."