Mindless Beasts

"Yes, I did."

Sly grimaced, "Instructor Foley is a foul tempered, mean spirited prick. Don’t you think how he treated me in class today was downright unfair?"

"Technically, he wasn’t wrong either."

"What do you mean?"

"I’m just saying, you deliberately chose to stay with a disaster when most would have run. Even I think you personally have a death wish and can’t help but worry about you."

Sly stared helplessly at his feet as they shuffled closer to the top of the buffet line.

"I kept you alive," muttered Sly.

Khaldun didn’t confirm or deny he just changed the topic. "How was the experience with your first combat class, did you enjoy fighting with your partner today?"

Sly frowned, he wouldn’t be surprised if Khaldun had been watching from the shadows but at least Khaldun didn’t sound jealous.

At the same time the direction of the questioning sounded a little mean to Sly’s ears.

So since he felt Khaldun already knew the answer to his questions he just wanted Sly to admit he was weak physically and got beat up by his sparring partner.

Sly was saved from answering when it was finally their turn to place their order, then collect the food and find some table and bench nearby to sit and eat.

"Sit with me and my friends, come this way."

"Okay."

Khaldun led the way and as a S-tier sentinel he was naturally fast, worse Sly was still in pain from combat class so Khaldun had to slow his pace so Sly could keep up and follow.

Sly breathed a sigh of relief; it looked like Khaldun was going to take his silence as an answer and let the matter drop.

He thought wrong.

"Don’t worry after training with me you won’t have a repeat of today and—"

"Stop talking. I get it!" snapped Sly.

This would be the first time Sly was going to be around Khaldun’s friends and Sly already felt like he was losing face in front of them and started thinking this was a mistake.

Maybe he should eat alone.

Unperturbed, Khaldun continued, "Dean Drakos had the right thinking when he arranged extra combat training for you. You’re an intelligent and hopefully quick learner. After I’m done with you Sly you’ll be higher in the ranks than the average, not to mention stronger and faster than your classmates."

"I’m not interested in climbing the ranks. Sounds like no fun and too much work. I just want to keep a low profile, stay out of trouble, get off probation and keep it that way til I graduate from the academy."

Khaldun let out an exaggerated sigh and shot Sly an exasperated look. "You’ll never be able to be accepted as my exclusive guide if you don’t get more serious, fix your attitude and hone your skills. Everyone already has a negative impression that as a spirit plant ability user you’re already a useless guide to have on the battlefield."

If Khaldun was working for him to have indigestion, he succeeded, thought Sly.

Those already seated at the table turned their attention to the newcomers, mostly staring at Sly with curiosity written all over their faces.

Sly elbowed Khaldun for a proper introduction when the alpha said nothing Sly said shyly, "hi everyone. I’m Sly."

"We know.... We’ve already met on the day of Khaldun’s rampage."

It was Shelby who responded first with an almost accusatory look as if he already pinned the blame on Sly for what transpired that day.

Sly rested his tray on the table and shook his head with a look of puzzlement on his face. "I can’t fully remember the circumstances of that day."

Shelby’s face shone with surprise. "You can’t remember not even the brawl or the ride to the hospital?"

Hesitantly, Sly nodded.

Especially since the day of the rampage was not something he wanted to talk about over lunch.

His fuzzy memories recalled moments of his body embarrassing itself, going out of his mind with lust, being drained from reverse guiding by Khaldun.

Sly would see hazy images of Khaldun holding his comatose body and calling his name frantically.

Dr. Shirley said it was a miracle that his weak body managed to survive all the trauma.

Sly shouldn’t be alive.

Apparently sensing my discomfort Khaldun finally interceded and exchanged the names of his friends with Sly, he officially met Jonas James aka JJ, Terrence, and Shelby.

Even Shelby let the moment go and Sly could forget his earlier antagonism as Shelby discussed preparations excitedly with the others.

Finally Sly got to eat his food while the others at the table discussed the school’s upcoming anniversary celebrations.

Sly felt no real desire to eat what was on his plate but he didn’t like to waste food either.

Khaldun noticed Sly’s hesitancy to start and took the initiative to cut Sly’s steak into several smaller pieces.

While Sly chewed on the juicy steak his appetite slowly returned and Khaldun was already carefully cutting out the lobster meat to make it easier for Sly.

His friends all watched with envy as Khaldun doted on Sly, even going to refill Sly’s empty glass with more apple juice.

When Sly’s lips became greasy Khaldun already had a napkin ready to wipe his mouth with meticulous care.

This was a softer side of Khaldun that most people rarely knew existed and his friends didn’t miss the chance to tease, leading to a playful spirited mock fight.

While Khaldun was joking around with Shelby it was JJ who whispered solemnly, "thank you for saving my best friend. It’s been years since he’s been stabilized and can act like his normal self again. We all promised his parents that we would look after him, if he had died that day we would have all felt like liars and failures. Thank you for sparing us the trauma of having to tell a loving couple their only son is dead."

Sly felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach as he envisioned the trio of friends all alpha’s.

Unable to help their best friend who was rampaging and wracked with guilt that they might have to kill him before Khaldun butchered them.

Until now, Sly had not seriously thought about the ramifications of Khaldun’s rampage and how it affected others besides himself.

After lunch they said their goodbyes they would be going in opposite directions, the sentinels to their learning center and Sly to the Guide Learning Center.

Ignoring the pain in his thighs from combat training, Sly sped up his pace as he didn’t want to be late for his session.

Imagine his surprise when he nearly ran into the back of another omega guide being bullied by his half brother Victor and a rabid pack of his underlings.

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