Elmo's Indignation

Sleep was supposed to be something that was restful. That you could come out of rested and usually in a better mood than when you went to sleep. However, Elmo couldn't help but feel annoyed when he was pulled out of sleep because of a lot of bouncing around.

He was pretty sure they weren't on a train or in a car, so he couldn't think of what would be shaking him around. Yet, when he opened his eyes, what he saw suddenly reminded him he wasn't in his world anymore. It was at that point that he realized he was being carried over Jonas' shoulder, like a sack of potatoes.

Elmo's indignation at the situation was only tempered by the memory that they didn't want to draw attention to where they were, given how close they had come to their entire group being killed off, just because they got tired.

Elmo tried to let Jonas know that he could put Elmo down, but he couldn't' get much leverage in the position her was in, and he didn't want to risk making too much noise. Although, tapping or patting Jonas' shoulder was all he could think of to do past that, and even that wasn't getting Jonas' attention to the fact that Elmo was awake and could be put down.

When it was clear to Elmo that he wouldn't be able to do anything about that, he looked around him and saw Kim carrying Elin. Not in the same manner that Elmo was, but in a way that showed how much Kim cared about Elin.

Why can't Jonas reat me more like that? Elmo couldn't help but lament in his mind. Even if Jonas didn't return Elmo's interest, at least it would show that he didn't think of Elmo as something like a sack of potatoes. It would at least help him feel like he had at least some value in Jonas' eyes.

"This is where we lost the goblins before," Jonas told Kim quitely as they slowed down.

Elmo couldn't get a look around Jonas to see where they were, but had an approximation from what Jonas told Kim.

"How'd you lose them? Aren't goblins supposed to have a good sense of smell?" Kim asked just as quetly as Jonas.

"Elmo used a spell," Jonas answered, then paused. "Oh, yeah. You can still smell the brimstone."

"Let's hope it keeps whatever's behind us from smelling where we went this time," Kim remarked as the fork in the corridor came into Elmo's view, though he was surprised that they were heading back towards the room that they'd had the pitched battle with the sea of goblins.

"Why this way?" Jonas inquired.

"Because I doubt they'll expect us to return to this entrance and besides, once we get there we can wake up Elin and Elmo before we go in to make a last stand or suiside run. Whichever it turns out to be," Kim answered in a serious tone.

"Well, we won't have to wake up Elmo. He's been awake for a few minutes already," Jonas commented.

"Then why haven't you put me down?" Elmo asked, feeling rather indignant at the treatment Jonas was giving him. It was one thing if he didn't realize that Elmo had woken up, but it was completely different with him knowing Elmo could walk on his own and didn't reed to be carried.

"I'd have to pause for a minute to do that and I'm not sure we can afford that at the moment," Jonas answered.

Elmo didn't like that response, but couldn't think of a response of his own.

"Not sure how far it'll be, but I'm confident that we'll get there soon enough, so just hang patiently, Elmo," Kim remarked. "He'll have to set you down soon enough."

Elmo was appalled at Kim's remark. While he knew Kim didn't really like him, he would have at least expected that she wouldn't just let another person be treated like this.

"Kid, don't worry about it," Jonas said. "I put you over my shoulder like this just in case I needed my arm free. Can you think of another way to do that?"

Elmo scowled, though he knew neither Kim or Jonas would see it. He understood Jonas needing to keep an arm free, but at the same time, there had to be other ways he could have gone about it. Especially when he realized that Elmo was awake.

In all, he couldn't help but feel like he was merely being treated like a piece of luggage that could talk back. Although, he wasn't sure how to make that complaint while maintaining some dignity at least. Of course, he felt he'd already lost some when he'd demanded to know why Jonas hadn't set him down. Which brought to Elmo's mind the fact that they'd passed a fork in the hallway and now they really could afford to takke a minute or two to let Elmo move on his own, but it was clear that they weren't about to do that.

In the end, he realized he had to resign himself to being treated in such a manner. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to do anything in the future to prevent that from happening either. Aside from leaving the group, that is and he was sure he'd likely end up dead before he would be aware of it if that was the case.

Elmo was even caught off guard when Kim and Jonas stopped. Jonas set Elmo on his feet gently before he moved ahead of where they were to look around the corner of the doorway to pee in the room that had bodies of goblins still laying where they had fallen in their most recent battle. Elmo wasn't sure he liked being able to see them like that. It made him feel like it appeared as if something else had killed the goblins and was still in the room, waiting for its next victim, like a evil creature in a horror movie might be.

It made Elmo shudder at the thought.

"Mmm!?" Elin let out a muffled cry of surprise as Kim kissed her awake.

Elmo couldn't help but feel envious that Elini was able to get woken up in such a manner. While he'd like Jonas to wake him up like that at some point, he couldn't help but feel like he'd have to wait pretty much forever before Jonas would do that.

"Okay, I think the room is clear," Jonas said as he came back from the doorway.

"Any goblins in there?" Kim asked.

"Unless there's some pretending to be dead in there, I could only see dead goblins and I didn't hear anything, either," Jonas answered.

"Let's hope that the rest of the goblins are the ones behind us," Kim said.

Jonas shook his head. "While that would be useful to us, I really can't say that it'd be realistic for that to occur."

"A girl can dream," Kim retorted.

"Either way, lets go before more show up," Jonas said, his tone rather abrasive.

Elmo also couldn't help but wonder why Kim didn't react to Jonas' tone, but tried not to think about it too much. For one thing, if he did, that meant he'd have to think about Jonas, and Elmo couldn't help but wonder if the more time he spent around Jonas, the bigger his crush on him grew.

Elmo at least kept telling himself that it was a crush. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he was really developing feelings for the man.

Elmo followed the rest of the group, taking his usual place at the back, not sure if he should forget about the treatment Jonas had shown him earlier or if it was better to just let it go. However, he didn't have much time to think about it before they entered the room.

Elmo moved slowly over the pile of goblin bodies, trying not to think too much about it as his stomach threatened to reject whatever was in it. The feel of the bodies as he walked on them was a softness that he especially felt awful about.

The goblins were once living creatures and Elmo couldn't get past that fact, regardless of how many he'd killed himself. Elmo forced himself to not look at the bodies and push the knowledge of what they were out of his mind.

However, no sooner had he managed to do that when a sound drew his attention to the stairway that the sea of goblins earlier had been coming down from. Even if they didn't know anything else about the dungeon, the fact that the goblins came from there would have let them know it was a good place to look to see if the portal would be at the end of the stairs.

The sound was one that could only have come from a living creature, which made them stop where they were, around a quarter of the way to the stairs. From around the bend in the stairway, a gray-skinned goblin appeared, almost as if it had expected them and Elmo was pretty sure it had been waiting for them. Possibly from when they fled the battle earlier.