Chapter Fourteen

"Celius?" Aunt Vena opened her door only to find Celius standing in front of her. He had bandages on his face, which made him looked somewhat weird. "What happened to you? Are you alright? Here, let me take a look."

Celius quickly grabbed her hand. "It's alright, Aunty. It's just a few scratches, harmless." He smiled at her before showing her the bark plate. "I brought some meat for you. I had a bunch, so I thought that you might want some."

Aunt Vena looked at Celius doubtfully. "Celius, keep this at your house. You have lots of people there, so it's fine."

He didn't take her words seriously and pushed the meet towards her. "Aunty, it's alright. I have lots, so just take it." Seeing that he was so persistent, she accepted.

"Thank you, then. What kind of meat is it?" Celius couldn't help but smirk at the question.

"Boar meat." Aunt Vena's eyes almost popped when she heard his answer.

"B-boar meat? Where did you get such expensive meat from? Here, take it back, it's too much." She began to push it back. Boar meat was very expensive. Not only was it tasty, but it was also difficult to obtain. The animal itself wasn't too hard to kill, but there were very little in the forest. The ones that were found were usually immediately killed or taken by the nearby town.

Celius lifted his arms and didn't take it back. "Aunty, just keep it. I have lots. Anyways, I didn't buy it, I was able to kill it and obtain its meat." He didn't go into full detail but gave her the general idea.

She accepted the meat after a few seconds of hesitation. She also couldn't help but look forward to it. "Thank you." Celius just smiled at her. "Also, I was wondering if you've seen Ennie? She has been out for a while."

Celius patted his head and smiled in apology. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you. Grandpa was is busy today and I couldn't skip a day at the field, so I asked Ennie to look after those three for the day. I hope you don't mind."

Although a little taken aback, Aunt Vena shook her head. "No, that's fine. Celius, if you needed someone to take care of those three, why didn't you just ask me? I'm home anyway, so it would have been fine."

He didn't know how to respond to her. He had his reasons and concerns but telling her those would have been a little awkward, but he didn't want to lie to her either. "Luna is still very young, so she still needs a lot of attention. If I threw in those three, they might disturb her and you. I didn't want that, so I didn't come and ask."

"What are you talking about? I would have loved if the three were here. Luna also really likes them, so there wouldn't have been a problem. Celius, you're still treating me like an outsider. I'm hurt." She acted like she was deeply offended and Celius became awkward and a little speechless. He didn't know what to do.

��I'm sorry, Aunty. I didn't mean it like that, I just don't want to dump those three on you without warning. All of them are a handful, so it would have made your day very difficult." He didn't know how to reply to her.

She shook her head and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Celius, those three are my nephew and nieces, why would I get disturbed by them? They're family so don't worry. Remember, if you need any help, I'm here. Alright?" Celius nodded his head. "Also, while you're working, I'll go check on Ennie and the three children. Although she isn't irresponsible, she is still a little new to this." Hearing her words, Celius couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"Thank you. She should be on her way to pick up Elrith and Alura from their classes right now, so even if you do plan on going, you shouldn't go now." Celius felt lighter knowing that she would check in on them. If he was speaking honestly, he wouldn't have had Ennie take care of the three if he didn't need it. She was trustworthy, but as Aunt Vena said, she was new to the whole thing.

'That sounds a little weird.' Aunt Vena thought to herself. The way Celius spoke about Ennie picking up Elrith and Alura almost made her think the two were a married couple or something alike. 'Maybe it's just me being a little particular since Ennie's little crush development.'

"Aunty, I'm off then. Say hello to uncle for me when you see him. Bye Luna." He waved to both aunt Vena and Luna who had just appeared from behind her mother. Then, he disappeared.

She waved back to him, before taking Luna and the meat back into the house, storing the meat into her icebox.

"I'll leave to check on them after an hour. They should be home by then." She nodded her head and began to play with Luna for a bit.

Ennie arrived at the location where the classes were being held. The classes weren't related to cultivation, rather they were educational, teaching kids about the world, history, arithmetic, etc. It followed its curriculum and taught at different levels.

She quietly waited by the side with Rislia. Luckily, through the many hours that Rislia had played with Ennie, the two had gotten closer. Currently, Rislia was playing with Ennie's hair, sometimes putting it in her mouth.

Kids began to slowly come out of the building where the classes were held. Ennie watched like an eagle, trying to spot Elrith and Alura. After a few dozen more kids came out, she finally spotted the twins. "Alura! Elrith! Over here!" She raised her hand and waved at the two.

Hearing their names being called, the two looked over and saw Ennie and Rislia. They walked towards them, and Alura put on a confused expression. "Is grandpa not coming?" Although the two were there when Ennie was talking about babysitting them for the day, they weren't directly told by Celius that it would happen, so they were a little surprised.

"Rislia." Elrith walked over and looked at his baby sister. He patted her thigh, and the latter looked at him with her watery eyes. "Come down. Let's walk." On a normal day, everyone would walk home. His grandpa didn't mind holding Rislia, but he wanted her to walk a little more so she could slowly get more used to it. Elrith would always walk holding her hand, so he wanted her to come down.

Rislia stretched her hands and Ennie let her down. Elrith held her hand and Rislia stood in between Alura and Elrith. Ennie walked behind the three.

"Big sister Ennie?" Alura looked at Ennie with a doubtful face.

"Yes?" She smiled at Alura.

"Umm, the teacher said that me and Elrith have to get books. We are learning writing." Alura explained it to her and waited for a reply.

"Books? Sure, let's go and get some now." She had some money on her and didn't mind getting them some supplies. Surprisingly, Alura shook her head.

"Brother and Grandpa will get us books. I was just telling you." She then turned her head and continued walking.

"Hmm?" Ennie was a little confused by Alura's reaction. "Alura, I can get you books too."

Alura shook her head again. "Brother will get mad at me. He said that only he and grandpa can get us things. I don't want to get in trouble."

"Yea, brother will hit my butt if you get us books." Elrith also pouted a little. He would sometimes get smacked on his butt from Celius if he did something bad. Of course, he never hit him hard, but just enough to make him understand his fault.

Ennie was again a little surprised. "Alright, I will tell your brother to get you books. Ok?"

"I can tell him, it's fine." Alura spoke again, but this time Ennie got a weird feeling.

'Is she mad? She's sulking a little.' Ennie got on her knees and looked at Alura. "Alura, are you mad? Did something happen during classes?"

Alura didn't answer her, rather Elrith burst out laughing. "Alura is mad because she wants to marry Brother." Ennie was still confused. She wasn't surprised at Elrith's words since that was normal behavior. Even she wanted to marry her father when she was younger. Since Alura didn't have a father, that feeling was directed towards Celius.

"Why is she mad about that? Is Celius not good?" When Alura heard this, her cheeks puffed.

"Brother is good. He's the best." She spoke as if somewhat had just stepped on her tail.

"Yea, your brother is the best." Ennie was taken aback by Alura's sudden anger. She couldn't help but look at Elrith with a confused expression.

"She is mad because you were with Brother alone in the forest, while she was at home." Elrith finally told Ennie the reason and she couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Are you mad that I play with Celius too?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Yea. Brother is the best, so he will marry me because I'm the best too." Alura's cheeks puffed up more. Elrith snickered on the side while Rislia looked confused.

"Me best." She also screamed with a smile. Alura looked at her younger sister and patted her head.

"You and I are the best. Elrith is weird. Brother is the best. Grandpa is best." Elrith was dumbfounded before glaring at his sister. Ennie listened to her and couldn't help but smile.

"Of course, all of you are the best." Alura smiled when she heard this and nodded her head with a victorious smile on her face. "Alright, let's go home then, alright?" Alura agreed readily this time. Although she didn't really win or lose, and also didn't get to finish the conversation, she was happy with being called the best by her enemy. They walked for a while and finally reached their house. Ennie took them all inside and began to give the twins some food. Luckily there was some food left from the previous dinner, so she pulled that out and gave it to them. Alura and Elrith ate from the same plate, while Ennie fed Rislia. "So, what do you want to do, huh?" She looked at the twins and asked.

"I'm going to play with my sword. I'm going to destroy demons." Elrith was the first to speak.

"Me and Rislia will play hide'n'seek, right?" Alura looked at Rislia and said this. The latter nodded her head with a wide smile.

"Hide'n'seek." Ennie stroked the girl's hair and smiled.

"You want me to play too? I can seek you guys." Alura thought for a moment before nodding her head, reluctantly.

"Sure." Ennie was speechless with Alura's weird attitude with her, but she didn't say anything. She just found it funny and cute.

After they finished eating, they began to play. An hour or so later, a knock came from the door.

Ennie quickly fixed her hair and walked to the door and opened it. "Hey, Ennie."

It was her mother, and in her arms was Luna who was somewhat tired. Her eyes were droopy, and she was lazily hanging onto her mother. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

"I'm just here to check on you. Celius told me you were caring for his siblings, so I wanted to make sure you were fine." She sat down on the table while letting Luna down on the ground. Rislia and Luna quickly found each other and began to play. Alura joined them, while Elrith did his own thing. "So, you decided to babysit for him now?" Aunt Vena sighed and shook her head.

"Mom, it's no big deal. He needed help and I'm free, so why not?" Ennie, of course, knew that that wasn't what her mom meant.

"Dear, you know you have a little crush on Celius, so why are you getting closer? If he needs help, I'm here and so is your father. I told you, crushing on Celius is no good thing. He doesn't feel that way, and most likely won't feel that way in the future either. Even if he does, he won't mention it. He's that type of person now. His life made him that way." Ennie listened patiently but didn't say anything. She knew her mother was right, plus she wasn't deeply in love with him or anything. She only really got to know him a few days prior.

"I know, but he was reluctant to ask you, so what else could I do? You saw his wounds, right? He has a bigger one on his left shoulder and he was bleeding quite a bit. The wound was a large hole and his flesh was ripped. Imagine if I wasn't here to help, Rislia might have been put into danger." Ennie explained herself and Aunt Vena nodded her head.

"I'm not saying that what you did was wrong, rather I'm just saying that you should be careful. Also, how do you know how big the wound is if it was covered?" She was curious. Even a small cut could create a lot of blood, how did Ennie know what kind it was?

"Oh, umm. Well, I saw the bloodstains so I could tell it was large." Ennie answered quickly.

"I mean, how do you know what type of wound. It could have been a laceration, maybe a large cut, but how do you know it's a large hole? Celius isn't the type to tell others about it." She continued asking.

"I... I…" She hesitated before sighing in guilt. "I saw the wound after he cleaned it. Rather we went to the pond together with Rislia and I bandaged it for him."

"So, you..." Aunt Vena sighed again. ���You know what, forget it, I gave you all the warnings I can. What you do next is not something I can control. If you like him, then go ahead. Do you want to marry him? Convince him and go ahead. I like Celius, so I won't mind. Your father won't mind either after a bit of convincing but keep my warnings in mind. His mental state may not be as calm as you think." She then got up and walked to the children. "Do you all want to go for a little walk? Or play outside? Tell Aunty what you want to do."

Ennie silently sat on her seat and took a deep breath before she joined her mother and started to play with the kids.

Aunt Vena decided to stay until Celius got home. She left a note at home just in case her husband got worried.

Time went by and nightfall arrived. Celius arrived home with a large cut on his chest. When everyone saw the wound, they began to panic. Aunt Vena quickly went forward and helped Celius to a seat. "Celius, what happened? How did you get hurt so badly?"

Celius took in a few deep breaths and explained bitterly. "The flowers exude a dense essence. Before, just a boar showed up, but who would have thought that a mid-sized bear would come after a few hours, *cough cough*, luckily it got scared once my ax hit it's back and ran away. It gave me a pretty good wound before running away though."

"Celius, are you stupid? Didn't I say to just leave the hills you made and run if things got bad? Who cares about the hills if you would have to lose your life for them? Are you stupid?" Ennie exploded when she heard what Celius said. She was furious and frightened.

Both Aunt Vena and Celius were taken aback by her sudden rage. "Ennie, it's alright. The wound is long, but not deep. It should heal in no time." He explained slowly. Although the wound wasn't as deep as the one on his shoulder, it still wasn't something to laugh about. It would take a few weeks for it to scar, and that was only if he had good medicine. As for completely removing the scar. That would only happen if some heavenly medicine dropped from the sky. If not, then the scar would remain permanently.

"Brother! You're hurt!" Alura walked out of her room and her face became pale when she saw Celius' state. Unlike Rislia, she wasn't easily fooled. She ran to Celius with tears in her eyes. "What happened? Who hit you?!" Tears flooded her face, and Celius couldn't help but bitterly smile.

"Alura, brother is fine. This is just a scratch. You'll see, it will be gone tomorrow." Alura shook her head and continued to cry. "C'mon Alura, brother is fine. Here, why don't you go and play, and I will go clean myself. You'll see, once I go into the water, this won't be here anymore."

"Promise?" She looked at Celius with tearful eyes. The latter nodded his head and pinched her cheeks.

"Promise." Alura then got off and walked back into her room, albeit slowly, but she kept glancing back at Celius.

When he saw that she went into her room, Celius sighed. "Aunty, would you do me a favor?"

Aunt Vena nodded her head. Her heart was also in pain to see Celius so hurt. She knew that such a mark wouldn't disappear and that Celius was probably feeling lots of pain, no matter how much he hid it. Even her husband had a scar on his back which came from a beast. Back then, she was so scared that she fainted after seeing the cut. "Go ahead. Tell me."

"I need to run to the market and grab some medicine and painkillers. Would you look after them for a little while longer?" Aunty Vena nodded her head. Celius smiled and went into his room to grab a change of clothes. He walked out weakly and stepped outside the house.

Ennie watched with red eyes. Aunt Vena sighed when she saw this. "It's alright Ennie, he'll be alright."

"But did you see how large that wound was? He just got hurt this morning and then came back with another, more terrifying one. This is only the second day he planted the seeds. What will he do when the flowers become bigger?" She was very scared and also in pain. Although it was only a crush, Celius could be considered her first crush. "Can't you convince his grandpa to talk him out of it? He could lose his life doing this."

Aunt Vena shook her head. "Your father already tried. Even Uncle Amlenor tried to change his mind. Do you think they don't know how dangerous this job is? Your father and Uncle Amlenor have both done it in the past. They know the situation better than both of us."

"Then why is he so persistent? Can't he just go mining or something like dad?" Aunt Vena shook her head again.

"Your father was lucky to start a mining job near the village. Celius will not be that lucky if anything he will be lucky just to get a safe place to mine that is near the village. Most likely, he would be sent to mine close to another village's territory and it won't be a safe location." Aunt Vena knew lots of the ins and outs because of her husband. Mining maybe easier than fielding in some areas, but it still had its risks. Plus, it was usually far from home and for an extended period. Celius would never accept that. "Ennie, you need to understand that Celius is working for his family. If the people in our clan didn't hate him, then he probably wouldn't have to work so hard, but that isn't the case. He is an outcast in this clan, plus he is burdened by the responsibility of his siblings. If he doesn't work hard, who will?" Aunt Vena continued to explain. She had repeated this exact sentence many times and said it again. In her mind, it was unfair for Celius, but not everything was fair in the world. Some people were just unlucky, and it was pitiful.

"What should we do then? Should we tell dad to help him or something?" Ennie was turning a little desperate. Unlike her mother, this was her first time seeing such things and understanding how reality worked.

"That is not a good idea. Your father is busy with his work, plus Celius wouldn't like it. He is an independent person and wouldn't want others coming in his way. If that wasn't the case, don't you think he would have asked his grandpa for some help? His grandpa is stronger than your father by quite a lot." Aunty Vena sat down on a seat and sighed. "Let it be, there isn't much we can do for that poor child. Anyways, he will be leaving this place in a year."

"Wait, what?" Ennie was dumbfounded when she heard her mother's words. Aunt Vena was also a little surprised by her reaction.

"Didn't Celius tell you? After the coming of age ceremony, he is planning to shift to a nearby town." Aunt Vena explained to Ennie what her husband told her.

"When did he plan this? Why is he leaving?" Ennie felt her mind go blank.

"From what his grandpa said, Celius doesn't want his siblings growing up in a place where all they will receive is hate. He wants to let them start a new life in a new place." She smiled when she talked about it. "Although he will sacrifice a lot for this, it is the best decision in my opinion."

Ennie sat down in a seat her mind in chaos. She couldn't believe her ears.

Celius got out of the pond and used some large bandages to temporarily cover his wound. Putting on his new clean tunic and trousers, he walked towards the market. He wanted to get medicine, painkillers, and some more bandages.

He arrived at the market rather quickly and found the stall that would sell the things he needed. "Sir, what is the price for this cream? Also, how much are these painkillers?" There wasn't a price listed under the items, only a description of what it was and what it did.

The man behind the stall looked at Celius with a frown. "The cream is ten silver, and the painkillers are six silver for each vial." Celius become a little worried. He only had around three silver left. He couldn't afford any of these items.

"Sir, would it be possible for you to lower the price a little? I only have about three silver on me." When the man heard this, he began to laugh out loud.

"Only three silver? Then screw off. Go to your parents' grave and see if they have any coins left. They gave so much last time, they should have some left, right?" His words were harsh and left no empathy for Celius. The latter couldn't help but grit his teeth, but he held his anger in check.

"What about taking what I have for now, and I will pay you back later? You know who I am, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get the money back, right?" Celius attempted to loan out the items, but it went downhill.

"Who do you think you are to ask such a thing?" The man came from behind the stall and get a hard shove to Celius, pushing to the ground. "If you want the medicine buy it now or get the hell out of my sight!" He then walked back behind his stall. Celius got up and patted his clothes. He felt that his wound was bleeding again, so he quickly walked away. When he left the night market, he entered the forest for a bit of cover. He took his shirt off and then the bandage, it was completely soaked in blood. After removing the bandage, he couldn't help but clench his teeth in pain. He bit his tongue to hold back the tears from falling. It was his first time experiencing such physical pain. When Faelor beat him in the past, his whole body was numb, but right now he could feel the shooting pain. It made his head throb and even felt nauseous. He went behind a tree and began to throw up.

"Shit!" He rarely cursed, but the pain was making him unable to control himself. The bleeding wasn't stopping, rather it was increasing.

It was true that a bear was the reason he was hurt, but he didn't tell Ennie and Aunt Vena the full truth. The bear was not a normal one, rather it was a Rank 1 Blood Bear, an essence beast with strength equivalent to an Essence Engulfing cultivator. He also didn't scare it away, rather the bear got bored and left. He had to play dead for it to finally leave.

The Blood Bear was a rare sight, but not completely uncommon. The one he met was luckily an immature Blood Bear. It had red fur with black stripes. Normally, a Blood Bear would be Rank 2, which was equivalent to a Self Realization realm cultivator.

Something that most people knew about this bear was that its claws had a special type of poison. If one was cut by its claws, they would bleed for an extended period of time. No matter how big or small, the wound would continue to bleed. Only special medicine could counteract the poison. Plus, their claws were a little special. They weren't just sharp, rather each claw tip was filled with small barbs which looked similar to a spiky ball. The cut would be anything but painless.

Celius kept all of this a secret since he knew that they would become even more worried. His situation was really bad, but he kept himself together the best he could. A line kept repeating in his mind.

Stay alive for those three! You can't leave them alone in this world! Stay Alive!

After walking in the forest for a while, he quickly found another pond and so he dived in. 'There is only one thing I can do right now to make sure I stay alive and not lose too much blood.' He looked at his cut and gritted his teeth. 'I have to sew this up myself.' This would be painful, but it would at least force the wound to close up. He quickly washed his wounds again. He used some leaves to cover it temporarily and then he wore his shirt. Once again, he ran into the market, this time looking for a stall that sold a sewing needle and some thread.

He ran quickly and found one after asking around. He arrived at it and another man was sitting behind the stall. Sadly, it was not a person he wanted to interact with, Faelor.

Gritting his teeth, he spoke quickly. "Sir Faelor, I heard you sell threads and needles. I was wondering what the price for them was?"

Faelor opened his eyes when his name was called. When he saw that it was Celius, he couldn't help but feel anger fill his belly. "So, your back? Where is your protection this time? Screw off, I don't sell to bastards like you."

Celius couldn't walk away like last time. This time he needed the thread and needle. "Sir Faelor, please, would you sell it to me? I'm willing to pay more than market value." He swallowed his shame and pleaded. At that moment, his life could be lost, so he couldn't hesitate.

Seeing Celius act like that, Faelor couldn't help but be surprised. "So? It's that important?"

"Yes, I need it. Please, here…" He pulled out his three silver and a couple more copper and placed it on the table. "This is all I have, just take it all. I just need some thread and needles."

"Three silver? Sorry, that isn't enough." Faelor shook his head and leaned back into his chair.

"Not enough?" Celius felt furious on the inside. "A normal set of threads and needle is fifty copper at most. How is three silver not enough?"

"Sorry, for you, the price is ten silver. Take it or leave it, not my issue." Faelor smirked when he saw Celius becoming angrier, yet not being able to do anything.

"Celius?" A voice came from behind Celius. He turned his head, which was covered in veins because both his anger and him trying to hold back his pain. The person was Rells, his only friend in the village. "What happened? Why is your face like that?"

"Rells, so you came. Let me show you how to run a stall, come here." Faelor got up from his seat and walked past Celius and grabbed Rells hands.

"Wait, Dad. Celius, tell me what the problem is. You know I can handle it." Rells walked towards Celius and grabbed his shoulders to ask. Unfortunately, Rells thumb exerted pressure on the shoulder wound he had. Celius gritted his teeth and held himself from screaming in pain. Rells noticed this change in expression and also felt something on Celius' shoulder. He quickly let go and noticed blood slowly appear on Celius' shoulder. "Hey, you're bleeding. Celius, what happened? Did my dad attack you again?" Rells turned around and glared at his dad. After the incident where Faelor attacked Celius, Rells moved out of his house and found his own place. He wasn't on amazing terms with his dad. As a righteous person who was extremely loyal and kind, he couldn't accept his dad hurting his friends for no good reason. Plus, he knew that Celius had lost his parents so that made him even more disgusted by his dad. Their relationship did become better over the years, but Rells was furious when he thought of his dad assaulting Celius again, and this time leaving such bad wounds.

"Rells, watch the way you look at me. Plus, I didn't even touch a single hair on this brat's head." Faelor was pissed with the glare his son shot at him. No matter what, he was the boy's father in the end.

"Rells, he didn't touch me this time, so don't say anything to him, Plus, he's your dad so don't act like that." Celius grabbed his friend's shoulder and shook his head. At this point, Celius showed a very distorted expression.

"Tell me what happened Celius." Rells ignored his dad and then asked.

"Nothing major, I just need some thread and needles. I don't have enough for it, so I was just a little upset with myself." Celius spoke as if it was his fault, but Faelor ignored all of that.

"How much do you need? I can give it to you. A couple of copper? Maybe more." Rells began to dig through his pockets, taking out everything he had.

"Your dad knows the price." Celius didn't want to make his friend get into a fight with his parents, but that didn't mean he was about to let Faelor off easy.

Rells looked at his dad and asked plainly. "How much is left? I'll pay for him."

"Don't be absurd Rells, your father isn't so low as to take his own son's money. Celius has enough for the thread and needle. Just give it to and have him screw off." Faelor crossed his arms and waiting by the side. His eyes were flaming with fury, but he couldn't say anything as his son was now involved.

"You hear that? Here, take the thread and needle." Rells grabbed the thread and needle and handed it to Celius. The latter grabbed it in a hurry and thanked Rells before quickly leaving, He knew that he was being a little rude, but his life was on the line.

"Thank you Rells. I have an emergency to attend to, so I will catch up with you later." He then sprinted away.

"So, these are the friends you have? You do them a favor, and they just use you and leave?" Faelor looked at his son in disappointment before going back behind his stall.

"I know Celius. If he ran like that, then something serious must have happened. You don't know Celius, so I would prefer if you didn't comment on him in front of me.�� Rells spoke harsh words as well before walking away.

Faelor gritted his teeth before glaring in the direction Celius ran. 'Celius, you piece of shit! Ever since you appeared, my family has only seen bad things. Even us father and son aren't able to get along anymore. This is all your fault!'

Celius quickly ran into the forest with the thread and needle. He had never stitched a wound but had mended clothes many times. "It shouldn't be too hard. It's just like fixing clothes, just like fixing clothes." He quickly put the thread through the needle's hole, but then stopped. Hesitation still filled his face. He was already in so much pain that he could faint, so trying to stitch up the wound without proper technique would make even worse. 'First thing is to heat the needle, so let me start a fire.' He placed the needle on the ground and picked up a few branches. He piled them together and then found two sharp rocks. He smacked them against one another until a spark flew onto the branches. Fortunately, he was making the fire beside a pond and slightly away from the trees, so no forest fire started because of the sparks, but he had to be quick. The larger the fire got, the more likely it was to start a forest fire.

A small flame appeared on the pile of branches. Hovering the needle over, he allowed it to get hot enough that it turned slightly red. Normally, the needle would have melted or shown signs of melting, but the material used to create the needle was strong enough to resist fire enough to not melt, at least under the heat of such a small fire.

Taking his tunic off, Celius placed it into his mouth. He bit hard against it and slowly brought the needle closer to one end of his wound. Slowly, it got closer. Slowly. His eyes showed fear and hesitation, but the needle didn't stop. "ARGG!" A painful moan escaped his throat when the needle touched his flesh. Tears fell from his eyes, but the needle continued to sink into his flesh. "ARG! UHH!" His moans were sometimes low, while also high pitched, like the squeaking of an injured animal.