Emlyn was dumbstruck, every word that left Auriel's mouth was met with incredulity. Of all the people there, he'd at least expected support from [i]him[/i]. By reflex he jumped down off of the bunk and took a step towards Auriel, eyes full of a flaring anger that would have, most of the time, been followed up by a screaming rebut. But this wasn't school, anymore, he didn't have his crowd 'friends' to back him up, or skew the confrontation in his favor. In fact, he was terrifyingly outmatched here, and he took another moment to reassess Auriel. Emlyn was a twig by comparison, he doubted he could take more than one or two punches from him, and then there were the other two.

The worst case scenario played out in his mind, and the anger in his eyes flickered out as quickly as the immediate regret could fill its place. He retraced the step as fast as he could manage, and a hand clutched at his scarf. For a moment, he wondered if it was too late, and the further confrontation was immanent regardless. 

But then there was laughing.

First it came from Jack, which was a grating enough sound alone, but then Savan joined him and it became maddeningly confusing. They were [i]laughing[/i] after that? Unbelievable. Half of the team suffered from ADHD and Auriel had the nerve to call [i]him[/i] the child? How ridiculous. 

Of course, the justifications he scrounged together didn't stop the embarrassment from flooding his cheeks. He went red, which didn't compliment the disbelief on his face well. He lowered his head to hide it, and was caught for a few moments by indecision. His mind led him one direction, his feet another, and the conflict held him in place until the tension released and he went scurrying to the door, mumbling some inaudible curses before vanishing out of the room.