As the sun set, two travelers made their way out of the city, both clad in merchant clothing. They followed the path that had many other travelers who were leaving the city for different reasons. Merchant carts and horses all rode past them, leaving a trail of dust in the air. The world outside of the city was vast and beautiful. The sunset was the most beautiful part, attracting everyone's attention towards it, but the two travelers did not glance towards it. It was as if the beautiful scene was not happening at all, but the reality was it was very real. The sunset was beautiful, yes, but also unnatural, as if slowly putting everyone around them in a trance. Josh had warned Timothy, so he knew not to stare at the sunset on the horizon, otherwise, he would be part of the group that was now turning back and returning to the city with an ugly smile on his face.
"I suspected foul play, Mr. Belling, but I can now confirm that you were right all along," Timothy said, speaking with no regard for the scene happening right before them. Josh's lips curled upwards, but he did not say a thing. They kept on following the path while many others returned to the city.
"Where is the sanctum located?" Timothy asked as they stood below a small hill, preparing to set up camp. Night had fallen, and the star-filled sky was increasingly alluring. Josh continued setting up the tent, humming a tune and ignoring the question. 'An answer would have been nice, but it's not a problem,' Timothy thought. 'Richard, are you okay? You've been quiet since we left the café,' he asked through the mind link.
'Mmh? Oh, yeah, I'm alright. It's just that I feel like something is wrong. It's as if we were trapped beneath a veil of lies. What worries me is that it might have been Josh's doing, but I advise you to act normal and not to question him. That way, we can discover his real intentions. But be warned, it is very hard to hide stuff from a konqueror of the mind weaver's path, especially one of a high level. So please act normal but not too normal, or that might arouse suspicion,' Richard advised him.
The reminder of Josh's abilities sent a chill through Timothy. 'How foolish of me to let my guard down. What now, Richard?'
Richard could understand Timothy's worries, but now was not the time to act troubled or insinuate suspicion because that would put his life in danger, and no one would know how he died. He could take control of him, and that was bad, very bad, because then he would discover Richard's existence. So it was best to forget about it.
'I guess I should not have alerted the kid. Damnit.' In a far corner of Timothy's consciousness, Richard reflected on his bad decision. Timothy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his raging thoughts. 'Well, it doesn't matter anymore what his intentions are. The sad truth of reality is that we humans tend to use each other. So I will use him to grasp the same supernatural abilities as he has, then I will leave and go on my journey to uncover truths about Nana's death,' Timothy thought.
Josh's gaze fell on Timothy, who opened his eyes to meet it. "Finished with the tent? Why make one, though?" Timothy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Josh chuckled. "I made one for myself. You can make your own." With that, he walked into the woods to search for firewood.
"Damn, Nana, of all the things you taught me, you forgot wilderness survival tactics," Timothy sighed, realizing he hadn't paid attention to Josh's tent setup. He stood, ready to figure it out on his own.
A while later, Josh returned, only to be met by Timothy's gloating smile. Josh moved his eyes past Timothy, with a crude smile. Josh surveyed the pitiful excuse for a tent that now stood, or rather slumped, before him. The canvas was a ragged patchwork of mismatched, faded fabrics, crudely stitched together with fraying twine that threatened to snap at any moment. The poles, a motley collection of crooked branches, leaned precariously in every direction, forming a distorted skeleton that defied any semblance of symmetry or stability.
The ground beneath the tent was uneven, causing one corner to sag pitifully, as if the earth itself rejected the structure. Ropes, knotted and tangled in a chaotic web, dangled uselessly, some ends flapping limply in the faint breeze. The entrance was a gaping, misshapen hole, fringed with torn cloth that fluttered like the tattered remnants of a ghostly shroud. Josh stepped back, his face a mask of exasperation and disbelief. The boy had tried, truly he had, but the tent defied all logic and reason. The effort to create something functional had instead birthed an abomination that seemed to mock him with its very existence. The fabric billowed grotesquely, threatening to collapse entirely with the slightest provocation.
"You did it?" There was no joy in his voice, and his statement sounded more like a question.
"Uh huh, I did it," Timothy nodded proudly. Josh turned away, leaving the monstrous tent to its slow demise, knowing that whatever shelter it offered would be more of a curse than a comfort. If it was his, he would have given up, conceding to the harsh elements rather than subject himself to the indignity of enduring another moment within that grotesque travesty of a tent.
"Come, help me make a fire." Timothy quickly sprang into action, happy to learn new things, but what he did not know was that deep in the night, a lone figure made his way through the now quiet streets of Sif'ur in search of him.
"Escalabus rev." A soft voice whispered past his ear, but it seemed he was the only one who heard it. Looking around, he saw nothing but the vast wilderness.
Sighing, he spoke. "Josh, do you ever feel alone despite being with people?" Josh noticed the change in Timothy's tone. Gazing upwards, Timothy didn't see Josh's eyes shift to display a swirling pattern of calming, harmonic colors mixed with sharp, piercing hues. The moment passed quickly as Timothy smiled suddenly. "The stars are extremely sad tonight, as if they're wailing out to me. It's like a piece of me is lost within the stars, crying out. Every day, I sit like this, gazing at the stars with a sad smile... a lonely stargazer." Timothy's eyes reflected his sadness. Josh glanced at Timothy briefly before looking away, choosing not to answer the boy's question.
"You hide pain, stop that," Timothy said in a bold way. Josh paused what he was doing for a bit before continuing to light the fire.
"Pain is but a useless feeling I do not need."