Under the cover of darkness, the trio traversed the treacherous, jungle-covered island. Night had fallen around them as they traveled, but Derrin didn't slow, and they didn't complain. They all wanted to put distance between them and the previous battle. Vizim especially seemed mortified upon seeing the dead men.
Derrin had killed half of the pirates while Red had temporarily incapacitated the others. Derrin had been inclined to finish them all off if not for Vizim's warning. The pirates from the beach had been heading inland. They didn't wait around to see if the group would find the bodies. They moved as quickly and quietly as possible.
They ended up traveling much further than Red had anticipated. This area of the island didn't seem to possess another plateau. They knew there were more, but not how far away they were. With night around them, they didn't even have a way of knowing if they'd missed one. They also didn't really know how close they had come to the fort. Eventually, Derrin called their travel quits, and they gave up on the plateau entirely.
None of them had spoken while they traveled. It wasn't safe. Besides, they were all dealing with the previous events. Well, Red knew he and Vizim were at least. Derrin didn't seem to give a second thought to what had taken place. However, he was naturally quiet and didn't speak up, so it was hard to tell.
They ate their remaining food in silence. It tasted a bit funny, and Red was pretty sure it was no longer safe to eat. Hopefully, their hearts would balance it out. Regardless, they found themselves in the same predicament they had been in a few days earlier. Lack of food. They would need a solution tomorrow.
Despite the future problems, none of that was on Red's mind. He instinctively pulled his shirt farther up his neck. He had run his mist through his neck as they traveled. Despite almost being choked to death, it wasn't nearly as bad as when Alpha did the same. By the time they had stopped, any lingering ache was almost gone.
Red was more focused on his mist. It had given no hint of its previous outburst throughout their travels. He was thankful for the outburst; it had saved his life after all. However, that didn't make him any less worried.
Mist wasn't supposed to just act on its own. It wasn't a sentient being but simply another part of one's body. Red hadn't even heard of mist acting on its own before it happened to him. He almost considered whether he had simply been hallucinating from the lack of air. But, no matter how he spun it, it simply didn't make sense.
Derrin forced the two of them to sleep while he kept watch. Like always, Vizim was asleep in a matter of moments. The week's events had taken a toll on the younger man, and Red feared he was nearing his breaking point. He had pulled inwards on himself and hardly ever spoke.
Red himself couldn't sleep. His mind wandered as he stared into the gloomy canopy.
He didn't notice Derrin's approach until the man sat next to him, "Are you alright?"
Red grunted, "Bloody hell, how many times are you going to ask me that?"
"You're way too quiet, especially considering that you're still awake."
Red pondered that for a moment. He didn't think it was the near-death experience that was holding his tongue. He'd experienced that plenty so far. His mind seemed to have simply shifted into a survival mode. That did not involve yapping at every opportunity.
Red shrugged but realized Derrin likely couldn't see the gesture, "I don't think I'm the one you need to be asking about."
Derrin glanced at him, "Perhaps. However, I doubt Vizim will start doing better until we arrive at safety."
Red nodded, "He hasn't had time to come to terms with everyone he knows being dead."
They both fell silent. Red could still see the bloodied water and shredded body in the sea. Just the thought of it made him feel sick. He doubted he'd ever forget that moment. If it was affecting him that much, who knew how bad it must have been for Vizim?
"You didn't kill those pirates," Derrin said abruptly.
"What?" he blinked in surprise.
Derrin hesitated, "You were avoiding it, weren't you?"
Red stared at him, "So what if I was?"
"Nothing. I just remember when I would attempt to do the same. I worry what will happen when you are forced into making that decision."
He had no reason to be so worried about that. Red had worried about it enough for himself. Derrin didn't need to add to the mix. They once again fell silent. It felt strange to be talking about the things like this all of the sudden. It was clear that Derrin was not used to this sort of talk either.
Red thought back to what happened with his mist. He had someone he could ask, didn't he? Or was that too risky? He trusted Derrin, but that didn't mean he should be telling him everything. His red colored mist would remain his secret.
Finally, he said, "Have you ever had your mist do things without you telling it to?"
Derrin cocked his head, "If you mean my mist does the opposite of what I want…then no. That's a personality-dependent thing."
"That's not really what I meant…"
"Are you asking about your mist moving instinctively? That happens with enough practice. It's the same as breathing or swallowing. You don't need to think about it for your body to do it," Derrin eyed him.
"During the fight. Let's just say I was in a bad spot," he had no intention of going into detail, "My mist moved without me thinking. I was panicking, and it reacted without me even considering it as a possibility."
"Interesting."
"Is that all you're gonna say?"
"Well, it is interesting," Derrin sighed.
"I realized that myself, genius," Red glowered at him.
Derrin smiled sheepishly, "I think I know what you're talking about. It isn't unheard of. The reason it isn't talked about is because it usually only starts happening to people with numerous layers. I bet Ayjax's mist moves completely on its own, like it has its own mind. That's the sort of benefit you get from being powerful."
"Do you have it?"
He shook his head, "No. It isn't something that happens at any specific time. However, I have never heard of anyone having it happen when they are just on their basic heart."
Derrin's eyes narrowed as he surveyed him.
"What are you doing?" Red raised an eyebrow.
"It would make sense if your mist did that if it thought you might die."
Red stiffened, which was unfortunate because Derrin seemed to notice the slight movement despite missing his earlier shrug.
He growled, "Damn it! I should have been there. I promised to avenge my honor, and I couldn't even be there when you needed it."
Scowling, Red said, "And how exactly do you think we would have won like that? You had your own fight to deal with. I was just fine. One of the pirates got a jump on me, is all. Besides, that guy you were fighting seemed to have taken you a long time to take down. If you hadn't gone after him first, we likely would have lost."
Derrin sighed, "You are right, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."
Red rolled his eyes. He was thankful then that they were having this conversation in the dark. He feared what Derrin would have done had he seen the gesture.
"What was that guy's ability anyway, and why'd it take you so long to end him?"
"He could make his body almost invincible. It would not have been very strong without a layer, but with the power of Valencia. Well, it is very annoying to fight someone who doesn't even need to block your attacks."
"How did you manage to kill him then?"
Derrin shrugged, "His abilities might have been annoying, but he was no great fighter. I just wore down his mist reserves, then used my sword ability. That distracted him long enough for me to take him out."
Red was glad they hadn't come across any other powerful humans. He was reminded of the difference between the gearborn and people. The average gearborn was far stronger, faster, and more agile than a person. However, they were somewhat predictable in a sense. You knew they were stronger and faster and could plan for it.
Humans were different. You never knew when someone could be stronger than you or a better fighter than you. Even if you were better in all of these aspects, it didn't guarantee a victory. Heart abilities came in thousands of varieties, and you could never know when someone might pull out an ability that countered your own.
He had so far only seen one person fight with their abilities. Ayjax. His abilities seemed to have something to do with his fists. That final punch was a prime example of why you couldn't assume you understood everything about your opponent. Red wondered what his own abilities would manifest into. He likely wouldn't find out for a long time yet.
Turning to look at the distant jungle, he asked, "Do you think we'll make it to the fort tomorrow?"
"Yes," Derrin sounded confident, "We might have even made it there today if not for that fight."
"Will we be safe there?" Red had considered this same question countless times and was still worried.
He didn't respond for a long time.
Red turned and found Derrin eyeing him.
"What?"
"It's nothing," Derrin shook his head, "I'm just wondering how you are managing to stay so calm during this. I panicked during my first real fight."
"I find that hard to believe."
"To answer your question…I can't really say. The pirates clearly haven't attempted to take the fort yet, based on what we know. However, that doesn't mean they won't try to take it, and it doesn't mean the occupants won't try fighting back."
"Well, we won't know till we arrive."
"Right," Derrin paused, "You should sleep. We'll need to move first thing again in the morning."
Red didn't argue with that. He lay down and watched Derrin move away. Despite many of his problems feeling less after their talk, he still found it hard to sleep. When he did find sleep…it didn't last long.