Eye of the Beholder [ONF FF]

A particularly sinking feeling

Swampland, green water, high trees with vines infesting every surface, gruesome beings, unplaceable sound and mucus tainting the air. Curses laid in the air around them, fog not allowing them to anticipate anything. This fitted a certain description.

A place shrouded in mystery. Had fate been friendly today?

With the help of the mysterious compass and the broken butterfly necklace, they had sailed the ocean and found a peculiar destination. From the horizon, a cloud had arisen and rested on the waters. With the masts down, they braved the fog feeling the waves pull them closer.

"Jaeyoung," Seungjun started. "Doesn't this look like..."

"Can't be," he interrupted.

"But this mist...?"

"Can just be a weird phenomenon," Jaeyoung mumbled. "Yuto, could I have my compass back? I want to know if we keep sailing in one direction."

"No," Yuto answered but jotted his hands down his pockets anyway. "Have mine, yours is unreliable and I want to study it further."

A simple circular wooden box was pressed into Jaeyoung's hand and he took it without a rebuttal. In any other moment that would've been a slight surprise, but right now it made sense that they barely spoke. They were all captivated. The mist had made them gather on deck, and they awed at being able to see nothing.

There wasn't a sound except for the ocean humming its tunes.

Minkyun laughed a little nervously. "I feel like the moment we see the island is the moment we're ramming it..." He had been allowed his necklace back as long as he came to Yuto's call when needed.

"Give me the necklace again, I want to check."

Minkyun jumped to Yuto's extended arm and hung forward so the butterfly tapped against the compass.

"Still going the correct way..." he mumbled. "Minkyun, can you go ahead?"

"No," Seungjun jumped in instantly. "He'll definitely get lost."

"Birds have a good sense of direction."

"Okay, but he isn't a bird. How about I go to the crow's nest?" was the compromise given and Yuto agreed to it.

Seungjun hopped to the middle mast and began to climb the metal that was lodged into the wood to form a ladder. The ascent wasn't anything difficult, but he knew it could be made a little lighter.

"Minkyun, you can fly," he sighed. "Get off my shoulder."

While chuckling, Minkyun pressed his body against the side of his carrier's face and nuzzled into his hair. "But it's cosier here."

"Oh piss off, you."

"Piss off!" Minkyun echoed and it was weird to hear it in an actual voice. "I'm so glad I managed to pick that up, I missed swearing."