Veiled | JHS | ✓

Enigma

They had walked around the bustling town all day in hopes of finding something that could be a clue to where a sorcerer hid but they found nothing except the throngs of shops and tourists who were milling around. Even in January, the blazing shone down on them. Sia wondered how much tanner she could get under the sun; her honey tan skin was already turning a reddish-brown from the heat.

Hoseok walked as if nothing affected him. He hadn't spoken a word to her all morning except for the curt short replies to anything she asked. It irritated her. 10 more minutes into the walk, she was done. She found a bench nearby and plopped down on it, wiping the sweat away from her face. She half-expected Hoseok to protest but he didn't say anything. Actually, now that she looked he was nowhere in sight.

Where did he go?

Sia didn't get up to go find him. She was too tired for that. She rested on the bench, shielding her eyes from the glare of the midday sun. After a while she felt something slide into the path of sunlight, blocking the rays, and opened her eyes to find Hoseok holding out something for her as he bit down on an ice cream bar. Sia blinked. "Is this for me?"

"Do you want it?" Slowly, her face split into a resplendent grin.

She nodded enthusiastically, snatching it from him. "Of course!" So he went to buy a dessert for her? That was surprisingly sweet of him. Besides, she didn't know how he was lucky enough to choose ice cream because that was the only thing that could lift her spirits when she was exhausted.

He took a seat beside her, apparently okay with taking a short break.

"So do you have any idea how you're going to find this Great Sorcerer V?" Sia asked, biting into her own ice cream bar.

"Nothing much but I did feel vague traces of magic lingering here and there." He replied.

"The sorcerer?" Sia asked. Hoseok shook his head.

"Fae magic. It's concealed magic. The legends about this town are true after all."

Sia pondered over the information awed. "What if we find one of them? Do you think the faes might know something?"

"NJ said faes are really wary of wizards. Wizards don't exactly have the best reputation among them it seems."

"Then it's simple." Sia shrugged looking at him, "We disguise ourselves as faes, earn their trust and ask them about the Sorcerer. NJ said that the Sorcerer is somewhat of a hero in the supernatural world. Maybe they might share something with you."

"That's not a bad idea." He leaned back to rest his head on the backrest of the bench, thinking about it. "That's not a bad idea at all..."

Sia felt quite proud of herself for coming up with it. She didn't like the idea of being a deadweight to Hoseok's mission. Besides, she hoped this might redeem her in some way for being late that morning.

She finished her dessert and turned to him only to find that Hoseok had fallen asleep.

He must have been pretty exhausted. Sia waved a hand over his face but he didn't stir. He was really exhausted and as he laid there under the midday sun, glistening in sweat, he somehow still managed to look ethereal. Let me fix that.

Sia felt around inside her pockets and came up with a stray marker. She smirked. Payback. Opening the cap, she began to trace long lines to form a pretty ugly mustache on his face. She liked the fact that he was too deep in sleep to feel it. She moved on from the mustache to a very scruffy beard and then gave him a thick unibrow all the while shaking with suppressed laughter. This is art. Bob Ross must be so proud. Now if only his eyes weren't open, she could have given him a nice eye-liner too. Wait for a second—