47 Helping Elys IV

"What I want to know is whether this was a one-time thing or whether I am going to run into you fishing for your things in the lake in the middle of winter next." Yuliang said casually as he rinsed the dishes after their meal.

It was around 4 in the evening, but with winter just around the corner it was starting to get dark already.

He would probably need to draft a formal correspondence of some sort to the Rydel Lords to explain Elys' absence later, but Elys frequently spent an increasing amount of time after class with him these days, so it probably wouldn't be too much of an issue.

"It isn't anything serious, Yuliang, I promise. My brother and I just had a small disagreement, that's all. He does things like this all the time." Elys said earnestly. The teen now was seated on the other side of the kitchen island, watching him with big blue eyes and his face cradled in hands.

Yuliang considered the words with a frown. He turned off the water and let the excess water drip into the sink before placing the bowl on the drying rack.

"You mean Seth?"

Elys nodded, with a dark expression. "Yeah. He's the worst. I hate him."

"So, whenever you argue, your brother just, what, ruins all your belongings and tosses them into the nearest lake that he can find?" Yuliang asked, unable to keep the incredulity out of his voice.

Do people not value anything these days?

Why the hell was it always the environment that got the brunt of it too?

Elys shook his head, "He usually just pushes me around and scares me a little with his friends. I hate them too, but they don't really do anything. They usually just watch while we argue. Or they just do some name-calling and make some mean comments. Nothing I'm not used to."

Yuliang's frown deepened. He understands sibling rivalry. He and his brother don't see eye to eye far too often for them not to fight. When they were kids their fights included beating each other up too, but they'd grown out of that aspect of their conflict when Yuliang got stronger than Yukio. They completely stopped when it got to the point where their fights became too one-sided and it was more like Yuliang was abusing Yukio instead of the mutual physical venting of frustration that was meant to happen.

Outside of that, Yuliang might get into a fair amount of scuffles, but that was only when provoked or in self-defence.

He was a protector, not a fucking abuser.

There was something about the situation between Elys and Rydel that made Yuliang uneasy.

It all seemed very unfair and one-sided too didn't it?

Seth Rydel was 19 years old, an adult. He was in the Enforcer program and therefore physically superior. Who wouldn't be, when they could use Energy to enhance their body beyond physical limitations.

On the other hand, Elys Rydel was 13 years old. A child. He was also a student Healer. Someone who learned to Heal people. Not to defend or damage.

Elys also mentioned that Seth had his friends, probably Khalifa and Alan, both spectate and sometimes participate during their confrontations too. So in these situations, Elys wasn't just outpowered by his brother, he was also outnumbered.

Yeah, Yuliang could see how this power imbalance would be considered to be in that weird grey area between abuse and healthy conflict.

"Do you guys fight very often?" Yuliang asked, drying his hands on a hand towel. When there wasn't a response, Yuliang turned to face the teen, but the sight that met him had Yuliang burst out laughing.

Elys looked mortified, immediately straightening out his sweater as if Yuliang hadn't just caught him with his nose buried into the fabric.

"I'm sorry," the omega squeaked, face turning an alarming shade of red.

Yuliang chewed his lip in an attempt to get his amusement under control but still ended up doubling over in laughter anyways.

"Oh, fuck, your face! I'm sorry, gimme a second, I'll stop."

Yuliang forced himself to sober up when the blond's eyes began tearing up.

"Elys, relax. Finding comfort in the smell of another omega after an upsetting situation or when you're feeling vulnerable is completely normal. Why do you think I gave you a worn sweater instead of a washed one? Picked that one especially because my scent was the strongest on it."

Elys looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm wearing something you wore?" he asked softly.

Yuliang wrinkled his nose, "Yeah, I probably should have thought that one through a bit more. I just didn't think it made too much of a difference since you'd have to take a shower when you got home anyway. Do you want me to get you a clean one?"

"No!" Elys exclaimed, fisting to the purple fabric like a lifeline. Then he looked up at him with eager blue eyes that Yuliang had zero defences against. "Could I… Could I please have this sweater, Yuliang?"

Yuliang scratched his head and took a closer look at the sweater. There wasn't anything particularly nice about it. It was just a soft fabric that was a beautiful shade of burgundy that Yuliang had a preference for wearing more often than his other sweaters, but other than that, Yuliang didn't really have any special feelings about it.

"Uh. Don't you think it's a bit too big for you?" The sweater was slightly oversized on Yuliang, but Elys was practically swimming in it and could probably even wear it as a dress.

The intensity of Elys' gaze kicked up a notch, "Yeah, but people wear big sweaters all the time! It's a trend! And I really really like this one, please, Yuliang? I'll pay you for it," the blond bargained.

Yuliang scoffed, and waved his hand, "I'd never take money from a kid. Don't worry, it's all yours."

The teen looked so pleased with himself that Yuliang was tempted to laugh again, but he held himself back, remembering that they had been in the middle of an important discussion before.

"You didn't answer my question yet. Do you and your brother fight often?"

Elys hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding. "Seth and I never got along, but after I started coming to UMed too he became even worse than before. I'm just relieved that I have all my files and notes backed up. I'm pretty sure my Netscreen is completely ruined. It didn't turn on when I tried before."

Being reminded of the damaged property and the littered lake had Yuliang scowling once more.

"Don't waste any money getting new textbooks, by the way, I have online copies that you can use instead."

"But I can afford it," Elys protested.

"That doesn't mean you should waste your money that way," Yuliang said with a disapproving look. "If everyone just kept buying textbooks, how many more trees would have to be cut down to keep up with the demand? When possible, always invest in ways that damage the environment the least."

"Oh, ok. I guess I'll be more mindful about that from now on," Elys said sincerely.

Yuliang gave the blond omega a small smile, "Good."

Yuliang looked outside again and sighed, "It's getting pretty late. You should probably contact your driver to pick you up and get going now, yeah? Your parents are probably worried sick."

As for the situation with Seth, Yuliang would be keeping an eye on it. Usually, Yuliang wouldn't even think about getting personally involved in other people's business this way, but Elys was his student and a minor. Elys' well being, at least on campus, was, therefore, Yuliang's responsibility.