Delta 6 (The Pack)

Chapter 38

Warnings: None

~Lachlan's P.O.V.~

      After a heated debate on wether to pursue Void or Riptide next, it's been decided our next target is Riptide, the elder guardian hybrid. Actually, it was almost a unanimous decision. Expect for Preston. Which is where the 'heated' part comes in. Being made entirely from lava, he was not keen on the idea of facing a key holder in the middle of an ocean. In his words, 'it would be the death of him'. Literally. Rob offered to encase him in a magical bubble so he'd be able to traverse under the water without being turned to stone, but Preston is paranoid Rob will run out of energy. So our compromise was that Preston could stay up on land while we fought Riptide, reasoning it'd have to be done eventually anyways, so we may as well get it out of the way while we're relatively close to the ocean.

     A large shadow passes overhead and I glance up as Mitch soars through the sky, constantly on the lookout for trouble as we travel. Oh what I wouldn't give to a pair of wings right now. I groan inwardly, a slow burning pain spreading across my inner thighs as I do my best to stay balanced on my undead steed, raised from the dead by our very own Vikk. As a child and then all the way through my teenage years my parents rarely allowed me to ride horses. They feared my rebellious nature combined with my longing for adventure would cause some... issues... if I learnt how to properly ride a horse. I must be the only prince in the whole world who doesn't know how to ride a horse. Now pair that with the fact that we are riding these undead horses bareback, and the whole 'fake it till you make it' strategy isn't exactly working out in my favour. Not to mention the smell wafting off these horses is absolutely horrid. It hasn't been thirty minutes and I'm already feeling queasy and sore.

"Yknow I don't get how they make this look so easy..." Rob mutters, seeming quite off balance himself as he directs his horse towards mine, "The last time I rode a horse I ended up with a bloody nose and a broken hand."
"Well I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling here." I chuckle, glancing on with respectable admiration as Vikk, Jerome, and Preston sit easily on their steeds, riding along like it's nothing.

And of course in those two seconds I look away, my horse decides to rear up and whinny for absolutely no reason. I yell out in surprise, sliding off it's back and falling to my back with a loud thud. The horse continues on like nothing happened, mindlessly following Vikk. Rob snickers, circling back around.

"I don't think it likes you very much." He laughs, watching the horse go
"Oh hardy-har-har." I mock, rising to my feet and dusting off my pants. I habitually come my fingers through my hair. "Just you wait, Robert. It's gonna happen to you soon enough, and then we'll see who's laughing."

As if on cue, Rob's horse bucks, and the mage goes tumbling to the ground in a cloud of dust. With a snort, Rob's horse gallops of a few blocks and begins to graze. I giggle, and Rob scowls in my general direction.

"Don't even start."

I try, and fail, to hide a cheeky grin. Rob huffs, crossing his arms like a child as he stands. And then our eyes lock, and we both erupt into laughter.

~~~

      "Thank you so much, Seto. You just saved us a ton of time." I say, arm stretched out like a bowl to carry the countless potions and pieces of armour.
       The sorcerer nods humbly, purple cape billowing in the wind. "It's my pleasure, good luck. I believe in you guys."

       The door clicks shut and I turn, waddling back over to my friends. After a few days of traveling, Rob and I managed to convince the others that it would be better to travel by foot once we reached Seto's swamp. It would be infuriating to try and drag five horses through a jungle, which Jerome could agree with, and then we would not need them again after we crossed the snowy tundra to the ocean. So, we tethered our horses up at Seto's house, and after a brief update supplied us with several water breathing potions, night vision potions, and sets of diamond armour specifically designed for ocean expeditions. We're talking enchantments such as aqua affinity, depth strider, and so on. He also gave us some speed potions to help speed up the travel time to the ocean.

      We also tried to convince Preston to let Seto look after Silver while we're gone, but the lava mob stubbornly refused, arguing that she could stay with him while he waited on the shore for us. None of us had the energy to try and argue with him.

       "Seto's honestly sick." I state, dividing the potions and armour amongst us.
        Mitch nods in agreement, stuffing his potions and armour into his inventory for the time being. "Agreed. I'm sure glad he's on our side."
        "Could you imagine Seto joining Herobrine?" Jerome pitches in, downing a speed potion," Honestly we'd be screwed."
        Rob frowns slightly. "Hey, let's not forget who has Ender and Aether magic here."

      Is he jealous? I study his stiff demeanour. He's jealous.

     "We don't mean to offend you, Rob." Vikk pipes up, holding up his hands. "It's just that Seto... well he's really good with magic, yknow? He is technically a sorcerer; he was born with it. So even if he doesn't have-"
       "What Vikk means to say," I interrupt, stoping him from digging the hole any deeper, "is that since Seto is such a powerful person, it'd kind of be like adding in a fifth key holder to the mix. We're not questioning your capabilities."
       "..."
       Preston stares worriedly at Rob. "Hey, we're gonna be crossing through a snow biome to get to the ocean. I've always avoided snow because I'm worried my heat will cause it to melt and well, I think he rest is self-explanatory. And if it starts to snow, or worse if a blizzard stirs up, well that's gonna make me nervous. And when I'm nervous I heat up. And when I heat up, those snowflakes are gonna turn into rain and seriously do some damage. Do you think you could make like, a magical shield thingy or something? Just until we get to the shore and I can build a dirt hut?" He offers, resting a hand on Rob's shoulder.
         "Why don't you ask Seto, since he's clearly so much better than me." Rob growls, shrugging away from Preston's touch and storming off towards the jungle.
        
        The five of us freeze in stunned silence at the outburst, watching him go. After a moment Mitch announces he's going to follow him just to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, and takes off after Rob. The rest of us trail slowly behind in awkward silence. I sigh heavily.

       "When this is all over, I want my sanity back."

~~~
Question of the chapter:

So we know Seto was jealous, but did anyone expect Rob to be jealous as well?