-----
As he realized the truth to an extent, he fell silent, completely shaken. Elayne noticed how he felt, rolling her eyes, maybe she shouldn't have said anything, the young boy seemed to be clearly very easy to influence by everything around him.
She gave him a few extra seconds before raising her voice again.
"Stay in the circle!" Elayne called. "Kai! Focus!"
Kaidel blinked and forced himself to look away from his own thoughts.
"SHYAAAAAGGH!"
In that moment, a manticore's tail smashed against her wooden shield of roots, scaring Kaidel as he fell on his own butt.
The impact shook the ground right next to him and forced him to scramble backward.
He pushed himself up quickly, still gripping the harpoon with both hands.
"D-Damn it!" he cried, scrambling to his feet again while holding his harpoon. "O-Okay! I know! Let's leave that for later! First... I have to win somehow!"
