"Would you shut it, dumbass?!" Chantel spoke through gritted teeth.
She had to hold back her anger, after all she was breaking her connection with him by releasing her hand. They were behind a boulder after all, she couldn't let Mr Nigel suspect that was the real reason they had managed to survive.
'Dumbass?' Raph was dumbstruck and had zoned out, this female had let go of his hand even when he had said not to.
"Your hands are sweaty. Just because you saved me doesn't guarantee you hold my hand so tightly." She yelled at him, hoping this would throw off Mr Nigel's suspicion off that logic.
A trickle of sweat trickled down her forehead as she waited for his reaction, he had been awfully silent since then.
'Had I been wrong about the connection?' Mr Nigel rubbed his chin, evaluating what he had witnessed, he watched for any sign that would uncover their tricks.
"Very well." Mr Nigel gave up, he could sense the weltic runestone at a ten meter radius.
Soon the power needed to return would soon be his. Stalling for more time was all that he could rely on. These two were his new target he needed to get rid of.
"S... sir?"
Nigel looked behind him, all he could see were more boulders, ofcourse he could tell the remaining survivors were still behind them like he was. Why would his attention be called for at such a critical time.
Turning his head away, he looked above. Gritting his teeth as to why the weltic runestone was yet to take it's gradual descend. He needed to get away from the humans as soon as possible.
It was enough living in the world of the humans, enduring the ear piercing honks of car horns, the unpredictable footsteps of pedestrians, the smell of dust and trash which filled the city and the blinding lights of the flashing billboards.
His only solace was in the pleasant aroma of the delicious food he had relished in–this had been one of the reason he had delayed his plans to go back to his world. Glad to know that the weltic runestone wouldn't appear until half a century later.
He had grown accustomed to using earmuffs and a pair of sunglasses coupled with a nose mask. Barely leaving his home. With the advancement in technology unlike his world, he could comfortably work at the comfort of his home. Serving majorly as an underground Mafia leader in the disguise of a business mogul who is interested in rare and precious gems.
He had a habit of accompanying archeologist on their expeditions. That way he would have an excuse to leave the bustling city and rebound in the woods which had a close resemblance to his home. Every expedition he had gone to was as unique as the first, but they had one thing similar–they offered a peaceful environment for him to think.
He had always hoped of one day returning to the cave which had been the start of his strange life. Gathering enough money from all the expeditions he had overseen and his underground works, in hopes of creating an enabling environment no archeologist could turn down while knowing little detail about the artifact in question.
Today was that day for him, it had been three days since they had hiked their way to get to it. This was the first time he had offered to lead the group–after all he was well accustomed about the cave than anyone else present.
'You all just had to ask a stupid question to ruin my mood, huh?!' He let out a sigh of frustration, glaring in the direction at the incessant whimper his ears could pick up.
He pulled on his shirt to his mouth, biting angrily on it to calm his nerves. This was definitely not the peace he had envisaged while he had employed the best, they were noiser than the TV back at his home.
Chantel blinked several times as she got a glimpse of his V-cut abs. Forcing her head back at Mr Nigel, she tried to piece what she saw with the face she was looking at.
'Isn't he in his fifties perhaps? How could he be so chiseled down there?' She couldn't help but lower her gaze once more.
Raph noticed the dazed expression in her eyes, following her line of sight, he frowned at what he saw.
'You jerk! Are you doing that on purpose?' He narrowed his eyes at Mr Nigel, who seemed oblivious to their presence as he too was lost in his thoughts and carried some sort of hostility as he bit down on his shirt.
Raising his hand, he shielded Chantel's eyes from looking so shamelessly at Mr Nigel's abs.
Letting out a small cough, he cleared his throat to get her attention.
Chantel burned a deep shade of red, finally realising all she saw was a palm closely obstructing her line of sight. She had been so distracted that she didn't realise when it had obscured her vision.
"Shouldn't we focus on the necessary feature on a person's body. Let's take for example... his face?! Look at that goddamned idiotic face of a leader." He hissed.
No one needed to tell Chantel about the hostility laced in his words. But he was right, she had been distracted for the wrong reasons, the abs she was fawning over belonged to a devil incarnate who's features wasn't too friendly at the moment. She could tell he didn't take a liking to whatever he kept glaring at behind the boulder.
"I... I... uh... umm..." Chantel couldn't compose her words properly. She gritted her teeth at the influence Raph had on her, why couldn't the fearless Chantel snap like she used to? Merely relegated to a stuttering mess.
'What have you done to my body?!' She screamed in her head, but held an innocent smile outwardly. She couldn't make a fool out of herself by talking abruptly.
"As I thought." Raph clicked his tongue. Rolling his eyes to her reaction. He had seen right through her act.
Mr Nigel was caught in a dilemma, he could casually stand still, patiently wait for weltic runestone behind the boulder and endure the constant noise that clouded his ears, or kill each and everyone and risk his life being in danger while he leaves the boulder momentarily.
Getting a hold of himself, he let go of his shirt in his mouth, his teeth gritted against each other for quite a while before devilish grin made it's way to his lips.
He had made his decision.