Jonas wasn't sure what had come over him. He hadn't ever planned on suggesting that their combined groups would break up at any point, yet he found himself doing just that. While it worked out in the end, he couldn't help but feel a little shaken at how easily the suggestion had passed his lips.
Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that it was the right call to have made. That the issue was one worth separating their groups if it came to it. Not only was Elwin being unreasonable about the matter, but he also was pretty sure that Owen and Bart would have joined him if he'd decided to break away.
Which in turn would harm their ability to fight Stanley and his group, given Elwin was one of their strongest fighters. Not to mention the sword that he had gotten from the treasure that they'd found in the hydra's lair. Although, while he hoped that the issue wouldn't come up again, he held no illusions that they were clear of any disagreements on the matter. Elwin seemed almost to thrive on discord. Or at least that he was becoming that way. Maybe the death of his brother was affecting him more than he was willing to admit, but Jonas could only hope that their combined group would be able to hold together long enough for them to clear the final challenge.
Then there was another possibility that Elwin merely didn't like the idea of having to explain what had happened to Leon and everything that came with it, but to be certain of that issue, Jonas knew he'd need to ask Elwin about it and that wasn't something he felt was a good idea to bring up. Not when he'd essentially thrown down the gauntlet in challenge of him with the potential dissolution of their combined group. He was confident that he'd merely spark a 'take two' of that matter if he did. Which would be his fault for whatever came of such an action. As it would be an unforced error on his part if it came to a confrontation.
Plus, Elwin had a lot of pride and having to admit something simple like that, could potentially be next to impossible for him. Especially since therapy and all that wasn't Jonas' primary occupation. As such, he knew talking about it would be akin to lobbing a grenade in the middle of their group just to see who would scatter which way.
As they walked along the path, Jonas wished he could afford the time to feel nostalgic about the trees here and even maybe reminisce about the previous times they'd come through. Such as when Kim had gotten affected by the spider's curse. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but it was at least one that helped temper them for what had come later. Yet, with Stanley's group out there, and potentially ready to ambush them farther ahead, Jonas felt that his guard would get lowered if he indulged in such frivolous activities. Maybe it'd be something that Elin, Elmo, Bart, or even Heather and Sonya could afford to indulge in, but they didn't need to keep the rest of them safe from what was coming ahead of them.
Aside from everything else, Jonas felt like the morning was shaping up to be a good day to travel. The only problems came from what could lay ahead of them.
Despite the complaints about not being able to take their time eating before they started out, no one seemed to have a problem with eating as they walked. While Jonas himself would have been fine with something cold, he couldn't deny that having the food heated up made it better. Even if only a little.
It reminded Jonas of how he was used to a harsher lifestyle than those around him. While Elin was clearly used to a much more leisurely and extravagant life, she was at least doing pretty good at roughing it and enduring the difficulties that she clearly hadn't had to experience in her life, he couldn't deny that Elwin, Owen, and especially Bart, weren't faring as well.
Unless it was his own perceptions that were the problem. While he wasn't against performing a paradigm shift, he still wasn't certain that was the problem. It was possible, but he was also couldn't deny the possibility that they weren't faring as well as they could be at the moment. Unless it was the shine of the new experience that had worn off and they were left having to trek through the world they were stuck in with no way to get back that was certain to work. Or at least not until Kim figured out what she was missing from what she'd read of the book they'd gotten from that library. Which was anyone's guess if she'd be able to, given how she hadn't quite done an in depth study on that subject and there wasn't any way to truly do an experiment where they'd be able to see the results to know if it was truly safe for them to try it themselves or not.
In the end, they'd have to jump without knowing if they'd survive. If it came to that.
At the moment, the best option they had was to complete the challenge and see if they'd be able to return to their own worlds. Though, he suspected that Kim would try to find a way to Elin's world if that happened, which would be her prerogative. It certainly wouldn't affect him in the slightest. Even if Elmo got sent to a different world than Jonas, he doubted that he'd worry too much about it. Though, he wouldn't be surprised if Elmo tried to go to Jonas' world if he was able to get Kim to work with him on that front.
There was so much to think about in regards to what had happened to them since they'd arrived, but Jonas worried that he'd distract himself with that at the worst possible time. As it certainly was drawing his attention away from his surroundings, despite his best efforts. Though, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was just more tired than he'd initially thought. It would at least explain why his attention was so fragmented at the moment and why he was having a hard time focusing on their surroundings rather than entering into his memories of what had happened up to this point. If Stanley's group wasn't a problem, Jonas wasn't sure that he'd have seen a problem with allowing himself to indulge in his memories of being in this world.
If nothing else, it was an experience that he couldn't say was bad for him. It did make him feel different than he had been feeling about his life before having been kidnapped by the people running this competition. Assuming they were actual people, that is. As far as Jonas knew, they were an alien species that didn't even resemble anything human. It was possible that they were just squid-like creatures or even what Elmo had once described as 'illithids' from some role-playing game that was available on his world.
Jonas sighed, wondering if maybe he was having more difficulty with reaching the conclusion of this adventure himself. Which was why he was having such a hard time focusing on their current surroundings and unable to keep from falling into his thoughts. While they weren't having any real trouble as of yet, he couldn't say what might come down the road later.
Especially considering how many times something has popped up when they were traveling from one place to another. First there was that spider, then there was that group of armed men, maybe soldiers, that attacked them on their way to the capital. Then there were those worm-like kind of creatures, what they were called escaped Jonas at that moment.
Jonas shook his head to get his mind back on track and their surroundings. He wasn't sure if there would be a problem or not with it all, but he certainly wasn't finding it amusing that he couldn't focus on such a simple point as this. Regardless of how quiet things were and how often they had at least some kind of warning before they were attacked, even if only a slight warning.
Jonas started rubbing his eyes as they walked along. They hadn't really been out for more than an hour yet, but he was much more distracted than he could ever remember being in the past. It wasn't like he planned on it, but at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe Elwin, Owen, and Bart had a point in 'taking it easy.' If that's what his problem was, then he figured it would in fact be simple enough to solve.
The only real problem with that solution was the fact that it would give Stanley and his group an advantage that they didn't have otherwise. Especially since they were sure to meet up with them at some point and Jonas didn't want to give them any more advantages than they already had. Not when he was confident that Stanley and his group didn't care who they had to kill to get what they wanted. Which Jonas was certain it was likely going to come to that if they didn't find a way to get through this faster than Stanley's group did. If they didn't, then he was certain that the difficulty of getting the challenge complete would be that much more difficult. As it wasn't likely that there'd be a way to talk their way out of any further confrontation with Stanley and his group. If it came to that, that is.