⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰familarity ♡ ｡˚⸙͎۪۫⋆ ༄

*̩̩̥͙-•̩̩͙-ˏˋ⋆ 𝑰𝑰𝑰: home?⋆ˊˎ-•̩̩͙-*̩̩̥͙

once they were outside, esteban stopped momentarily. he took another breath, looked at tao then looked up at the sky, admiring it's different shades from the sunrise still gracing them. he seemed to shine in this lighting, his brown hair flowing gracefully in the wind, making tao slightly speechless for a few seconds, before snapping back into reality. -you see, we could walk all the way there, or we could try and get the condor to get us there but... we'd have to go back inside.- the realization that the condor was still inside was silly to esteban, as his friend had just basically brought him outside then realized he left the easiest route inside. -eh, we'll walk. i haven't been able to check this place out in a while anyways!- esteban smiled softly at the boy again. tao didn't remember such a gentle smile, such a caring smile. his heart sank in his chest, not out of fear, he was certain of that, but for some reason he would ponder to later when they would be quiet in the forest. the damp atmosphere of the dense forest separating the palace and the small village of people felt almost constricting to the two men. one of them who had never been a fan of the snakes in there, and the other who had been in a safe paradise for the past two years felt almost awkward while walking through the forest, exchanging no words but having thoughts of each other. they both were trying to figure this out, this was new to them, well at least to tao it was. esteban just never had thought of what if he liked his friend and it was slowly swallowing him whole, making him think this through a little too hard. meanwhile, tao was wondering what the fuck was wrong in his head. he felt so nervous at this moment, like as if the child of the sun had developed mind reading powers in the last two years. why did he just want to stare at him for hours on end, watching every little detail like it was important to his vitality, despite how much it felt like a crime. why did he feel wrong for feeling like this? he knew it was just his friend but he couldn't shake the feeling off that he was just tricking himself. after all, it had been just a measly day they'd been together, it felt too early to know anything or to question himself. but what if this was something he never noticed from the past, coming to eat him alive now that his bestfriend had come back. he'd definitely have to give it time.

a sigh came from esteban, prompting tao to snap back into reality. -ah, sorry i was just taking in the scenery!- something that also has changed in the two years, esteban had finally learned how to lie.-it is quite pretty despite the snakes in here...- tao spoke softly, pushing one of the many vines in this maze of trees and herbs out of his way. -there's snakes?! and you never told me ?!!?!?!?- esteban was flabbergasted, and seemed to be slightly paranoid at the news. -oh right! you didn't run through the forest for most of our original adventure in india. pichu almost got eaten by a snake when he went to give you the note from your father.- tao looked at him smugly, knowing his friend was definitely going to watch his step for the rest of the adventure. -no wonder he showed up so exhausted! poor pichu...- esteban laughed a little, feeling bad for the frail bird that had to fly for maybe like an hour or two just to get there with no rests since he had to watch out for the serpents that apparently lived in the foliage-filled jungle. -well, at least he's still alive and well now. i'm so happy that i get to see him everyday.- the boy spoke softly with a bittersweet smile to accompany his gentle tone. tao had grown up with pichu, becoming his bestfriend since they were the only two living creatures on their island that wasn't food. so of course, losing his bestfriend for life would have affected him tremendously in a negative way. -hey, he's not going to be leaving anytime soon, alright?- the child of the sun gave him a heartfelt smile, making the naacal feel warm and fluffy. -hmph, i already knew that.- tao continued smirking, acting like as if he wasn't thankful as fuck for those words of confirmation. it felt wrong that such little thing like that would make him feel so relieved. how did esteban manage to make people feel so much better despite his lack of need to comfort people over the past two years? was he just truly that special? -mhm, sure tao. whatever you say.- the smug look on esteban's face made it feel taunting, like he knew something the other would refuse to admit no matter what. -we should be there soon.- tao pushed a few stray leaves from the nearby trees away, making esteban's skin crawl at the idea of a snake being in the trees, waiting to strike at them. he trusted the other's knowledge on this jungle since he probably did a lot of walking here, but that definitely didn't stop him from fearing for his life of getting bit by one of those things. he saw what happened to laguerra when she got bit when they were building the last city, and he definitely didn't want anything like that to happen to him. at least zia would be around to help! -really? it feels like it should be a lot more walking.- although he was horrified of a snake coming out to bite him, he was also confused to how long they actually had been walking since this felt rather fast. -yep! did you really have that much fun walking most of this is silence?- tao looked at him with a quick glance before his eyes searched the trees, almost like he had heard something or saw something. now that cause the chosen one to panic. -i did have fun yeah but why the fuck are you looking up.- tao laughed at that comment, he knew if he told the truth esteban would be absolutely petrified and that would be extraordinarily silly to him. -just checking for the snakes i was talking about, they jump out of the trees a lot here!- the naacal spoke like it was nothing while the brunette was actually about to murder him if he was lying. one thing he hates more then heights would have to be the possibility of dying prematurely. he was always a believer of destiny, but what if destiny was cut short? that would fuck him up forever. -you are joking right?- tao stared at him blankly, looking at a panicking man looking like he was going to actually break his finger if something jumped out. -right??!?!?!?!?!- esteban grew more panicked, internally preaching a prayer he had learned back when he was growing up in the church. -i'm not joking but i'll protect us if one does lunge out! i've done it before and i will do it again.- tao said proudly, placing his hands on his hips while walking, slightly tilting his head up in confidence. he felt arms rap around his arms, looking over to see the child of the sun cowarding behind him like he'd be invincible if he grabbed onto him (kind of like if you put the blanket over you the monster under your bed can't get you). the naacal laughed at this silly behavior, he had never seen the chosen one so scared in his life aside from the few encounters with extreme heights during their adventure. -oh poor esteban... so scared and everything...- tao spoke in a mocking tone, making esteban pissed for extremely valid reasons. -how would you feel if you were just following your friend around a jungle you only went into three times or something before hand and now all of a sudden you're finding out there are snakes that will lunge from the fucking trees.- the grip on tao's arm grew stronger with the angrier the brunette was, showing how much this actually freaked him out. -yeah ok fair enough. c'mon, maybe like a few more minutes of walking, ok?- the naacal realized it was a reasonable reason to panic and decided to go down the comfort route, i mean esteban had done the same for him moments before anyways. the next few minutes were filled with silence aside from the crunching of their sandals on the vegetation spread out across the ground. the chosen one held his grip on the other one, in a similar manner as to how tao did the night before.