"Okay, let's begin marching," ordered Lucius, this time walking at an even slower pace than before due to the injured. The group traversed the forest without much happening after that incident.
They took a few breaks, hiding behind trees and shrubs so as not to be left exposed, but they never stopped for more than a few minutes. Lucius would allow many short breaks, but never long ones. Soon what little sunlight fell through the upper canopy of the forest began to dim,night was approaching and so they would soon have to make camp.
"This looks like a good enough spot. Drop off the injured right here and stand in formation," ordered Lucius, using his feet to point at a bare patch of moist soil.
"It seems you guys were never trained on how to react in emergency situations, so it falls on me to teach you guys," he said, eyeing the leader leafling as he spoke.
"Ehem, thank you Lighted S-"
"My name is Lucius, apparently Lucius Elfwood. You can call me Luci for all I care, just enough of this Lighted Savior nonsense," he interrupted. If he had fingers and temples, he would be rubbing them right now.
"So, to begin. From now on all forward-facing leaflings will be called squad 1. When I give orders to squad 1, that's you guys," he said, gesturing towards the leaflings who were facing forward. "Squad 2 will be the right-facing leaflings, and squad 3 will be those of you facing the left," as he said this he began walking around the leaflings as if to inspect them.
"Now, I won't complicate things, I know you guys can't handle that. The plan is simple: if we are being attacked from your flank, so for instance, you guys," as he said, he used his feet to point at the left-facing leaflings.
"You will disperse in opposite directions and hide behind the nearest tree or shrub. From here to there-" as he said this he pointed at a leafling in the middle and then towards the end of the assembly "- you guys will run back, and the rest of you will run forward."
"The same applies for the other squads. You guys here will run back, and the rest of you will run forward."
"I don't want to see anyone running in a direction they aren't supposed to. You will all run keeping in formation, never break from it, never. If I find out that one of you broke protocol, I'm leaving you behind."
"What about us?" asked one of the injured leaflings.
"Oh, right. For now all of you will be a part of squad 1. In an emergency squads 2 and 3 will wait for the whole of squad 1 to disperse before dispersing themselves. If whatever is attacking us sees that we have injured, they will go after them. So you guys will act as a smoke screen," Lucius explained.
~I say this, but I know it will be instinct for you idiots to run at the first sign of danger.~
"We will begin training. You injured folk can go ahead and rest, but the rest of you will only get to sleep in another hour."
Sounds of dissatisfaction filled the air, however everyone made sure not to be caught under Lucius's glare. After what had happened today they were certain that following him was the right thing to do. Had they been attacked by worms on any other day, more than 3 quarters of them would've been dead.
"Okay, go. Emergency procedures!" shouted Lucius.
The leaflings were in disarray once the command was given. Sure, they ran in the directions they were supposed to, but they did so haphazardly, stumbling over each other in the process. The whole activity took nearly a minute, when it should've taken but a few seconds as a few of the leaflings forgot where they were supposed to go and messed up the entire procedure.
~I expected as much but this is hopel-~
"You, whats your name?" asked Lucius, referring to a leafling who was still standing in position. It was a left facing leafling, still waiting for everyone else to settle down.
"What an idiot," whispered one of the other leaflings. They were almost certain Lucius was going to dump him for his incompetency.
"It was a simple order," whispered another.
"My name is leafling," replied the questioned leafling.
"Ah, from now on you will be called Alpha," said Lucius, before ordering the other leaflings to get back in formation.
"He was named? But why>"
"I want a name too."
"Does anyone know why Alpha over here stood still while the rest of you stumbled over each other like fools?" asked Lucius, to which the leaflings remained quiet. They hadn't the slightest clue why the only person who couldn't follow instructions properly was being rewarded.
"No, no one? Fine, Alpha, please tell us why you remained still while everyone else was moving," order Lucius, gesturing for Alpha to walk to the front.
"I am part of squad 3, so I had to wait for squad 1 to finish dispersing. But because there was so much chaos, I couldn't tell who was part of squad 1 or who was from the other squads, so I waited for everyone," Alpha answered.
"Oh," said the other leaflings, realizing the little mistake they had made.
"From now on, Alpha will be the leader of squad 3. When I call out, wait for his mark, and move only on his mark. Understood?" said Lucius, going back to his position at the front.
"What about the rest of us? Who will be the leader of our groups?" asked a leafling, an expectant look on his face.
"You don't get to have leaders. When I give the mark, just follow procedure," he replied, killing what little hope the leafling had of being named leader.
"Nice try," whispered the other leaflings mirthfully.
