Nem didn't purposely hide himself or the fact that he was following Tio, but he still went unnoticed by him. Nem didn't think it was a big deal at all, since there was nothing wrong with an orphan like him looking for a safe place to sleep, but he still felt a bit awkward.
Suddenly, he realized that he didn't need to be so creepy and stalk the boy like he was doing something wrong. After a bit of hesitation, Nem made some loud noises when walking to announce himself and cleared his throat.
Tio turned towards him without a curious look at him, and Nem seemed to lose his words for some reason.
He had never noticed it before since Tio wasn't one of those children who talked to him and he simply overheard his name, but there seemed to be something odd about this child.
He looked a few years older than Nem and seemed to eat enough, which wasn't really surprising considering he was so good at stealing. However, the coal and dirt on his body and face didn't succeed in hiding the boy's pure white skin. It was so clear and milky that it seemed unnatural, belonging to a doll rather than a living person. Even his curious expression seemed fake or perhaps drawn on his facial features.
'Am I having some kind of hallucination again ? Hum... No, I don't think so, this is too discreet and only noticeable from up close like this, it isn't particularly scary either...'
It really wasn't that easy to notice for most people, since they would just blame the lighting or their own perception and end up not thinking much of Tio's appearance. However, Nem was different- he could notice much tinier details than this in a single glance and now that he was right in front of him, the oddness in this boy stood out like a lantern in the night.
Even though this was long to describe, in reality, Nem's reaction was simply to widen his eyes slightly and stay silent for roughly two seconds. He started :
"Hello there... you're going to the safe place to sleep, right ? I'm Nem by the way." Nem couldn't hold back his urge to stare at the boy and he spoke a bit too much to hide his earlier hesitation.
"That's right." Tio had a normal tone of voice and didn't seem special in any way, just like when he had observed him before. But for some reason, when Nem heard him, he felt like his voice came from a place other than his mouth. It was quite an odd thought, and Nem felt a bit creeped out.
Tio smiled faintly and turned around to continue while saying :
"You can follow me if you want."
'Is this kid actually possessed by a ghost or something ?'
Even though that's what he said in his mind, Nem still continued to walk alongside the strange boy. There were stories of ghosts in this world, but Nem had no idea if they had any real basis.
'It's possible that one of the Curses or Blessings is to slowly turn into a ghost-like entity. Or maybe it's something else completely and only certain persons can see it.'
While Nem's brain was skimming through his narrow understanding of this world to come up with an explanation, he kept a bit of distance between Tio and himself and kept staring, just in case.
The young orphan seemed to notice but didn't say anything, perhaps because it was normal for certain children to be fearful of others, especially those older than themselves.
'Good thing it isn't night yet, or I'll probably be really freaked out right now. But now that I think about it, even if it is a ghost, there isn't necessarily anything to be afraid of... Right... Let's go with that. I'm totally not trying to rationalize this situation, nope.'
Although he stubbornly continued to follow Tio, Nem was so nervous he had started sweating and his red eyes couldn't stray from the boy for more than a second.
This was a bit of a heavy reaction, even for Tio, and the orphan seemed a bit confused, like he wondered if he had done anything wrong to scare him.
It was quite an awkward walk, but thankfully, they quickly arrived at their destination. It looked like the ruin of a large building, not different from the others, but Nem was quickly led to a certain part where a door was left. The few rocks placed behind the door made it seem like it didn't lead anywhere, but when Tio opened it, Nem could clearly see a flight of old stairs, heading down.
"This is it !" Tio said, still making Nem uncomfortable.
'So it's an underground base, uh ? But it doesn't seem very secure, I didn't see any guards or security measures... I suppose the safety of this place is based on the fact that the adults don't even have any idea it exists.'
A few orphans were converging to this place, and the two boys hurried in to not block the way. Tio suddenly turned towards Nem as he had just forgotten something.
"Oh, by the way, if you have any items you care about it's probably better to hide them somewhere else or keep them on you at all times."
Nem thought of the two random sticks and gourd he had found on the way to Lunhart that constituted his entire material possessions. He shook his head and continued walking.
The stairs soon ended, transforming into a long and dark corridor. Attempting to ignore the creepiness of the situation, Nem started to whistle a popular song from his world cheerfully, confusing Tio even more.
"Are you a musician ?"
"No, why do you ask ?" He answered quickly to not show his nervousness.
The orphan looked at Nem with a face that seemed to say "is this guy making fun of me or something ?" and Nem looked away, sweat dripping down his forehead. It was a miracle he was even allowed to enter this place, considering how suspicious he looked.
Thankfully, the corridor wasn't as long as it originally looked and the two boys swiftly reached its end, arriving at a large room constituted of alveolar-like cavities. A bed was in every one of these, made of straw and rough fabric. A few torches and holes were lighting the place up.
There were already a few people in there, chatting in small groups or already sleeping. Looking at their faces, the street urchins did seem a bit more relaxed, but as much as one would expect. After all, this place only gave beds and didn't prevent stealing or violence between children. They weren't necessarily united – like with all places with children, bullying and such would always exist. Well, it was very mild in the monastery thought.
'It's true for adults as well, too. Nem observed inwardly. People never really learn anything... Wait, why am I so emo right now ?'
Nem shook off the hair that fell in front of his eyes and the philosophical thoughts on bullying and asked Tio.
"So, is there anybody in charge of this place ? Can I meet that person ?"
Tio's brow shot up a bit and an instant later, he made an enlightened expression.
"You mean like Leo and Gina ? They are the ones who found this place and handle the problems around it." He nodded, reminding Nem of a marionette for some reason, and continued to explain. "There are always around and they know a few adults who help us too."
"They know a few adults, so they aren't adults ?" Nem questioned with a surprised voice.
"Uh ? No... Well maybe, I suppose they can be called adults now, since they are fifteen and sixteen years old." Tio seemed a bit confused as to how to answer the question and he concluded with a straightforward look on his face. "I always considered them orphans like me."
"I... see..." Said Nem while adding inwardly : 'Why is this guy acting like some kind of righteous anime protagonist all of a sudden, wasn't he possessed by a ghost or something ?'
The concerned party fortunately wasn't paying much attention to Nem's strange expression and continued.
"It's alright if you want to meet them, I'll introduce you. You'll see that there isn't much to worry about here." The boy threw a benevolent look towards Nem, who couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
Thinking that Tio was the one who would give him what he wanted, Nem did the mental equivalent of slapping his cheeks to wake himself up.
'Come on Nem, you are the terrifying demonic Cursed who can make sharp claws pop out of his hands ! Don't get so spooked by a kid who is just a bit pale ! Focus !'
He looked up to the orphan's smiling face and couldn't help but imagine threads expanding from the corner of his mouth to pull it up.
He sighed.
"Alright, let's go..."