Dreams of Imahken

He venturing these ought fear those

The sun had risen, but Illus saw no sleep. Upon that stone bench and blanket he laid all night, running the fox's and Ciun's words in his mind, then the poems. Uncomfortable bedding, jarring lonesome, and unfamiliar conditions already made sleep a chore, so additional worries only fueled an already roaring fire. He came to three major conclusions:

Ciun was currently safer to be around, no matter that she was an immortal sorceress.

The fox only intended to pull him from Ciun, to provoke him to take her mask. Blatant bait.

The poems' intentions conflicted with each other, the first one favoring Ciun and the second favoring the fox. No clear conclusion could be drawn from them presently.

Illus had to remind himself that his only goal was to survive and get back to civilization, not get wrapped up in their game. Ciun seemed to be more in favor of that than the fox, so he would bide his time closer to her, never attempting to take the mask. The fact that the poems could be false only left him with more questions, too, but those would only be answered by learning more.

Had the fox in the cave been a test by Ciun? Was the fox even real at all, or was it all Ciun? He rarely saw them together, and Ciun moved so silently that he would never hear her approach. And his emotions, who had been playing with them, or was he responding naturally?

To not trust others was simple, but the thought of losing trust in his own faculties sent a cruel shiver through him.

His challenge was survival, first and foremost, and to survive their game, he would have to learn some truths. For starters, he wanted to find out if Ciun had been listening to his conversation with the fox, or perhaps she had staged it.

Illus took up his fishing pole and walked to the north river in a daze. The misty earth obscured his feet, the morning sun having just poked its head over the mountain. Hidden in the mountain's shadow, Illus hoped to reach the river before the fox could find him. Regardless of if the fox spoke truth or lies, its company unsettled him.

Ciun was already upon her usual pillar in her usual fashion by the time Illus arrived in his sloppy trudge. Unreadable as always, she greeted him. "Did this morning sneak up on you?"

He weakly nodded, his eyes droopy and struggling to focus on anything. "Something of the sort." Furrowing his brow and casting his line, he turned to Ciun. "Is this how you normally are?"

"More personable, you mean?"

"Yes."

"In normal circumstances, yes. It took a while to remember what normalcy felt like."

Illus nodded, yawning.

Her tone shifted sternly as she pried. "The fox isn't the cause for your exhaustion, is it?"

"Huh? No. I already struck a bargain with the fox that he wouldn't bother me at night. Hasn't since. He's a more civil neighbor than I was expecting. He seemed awfully malicious at first."

The mask stared directly at Illus, as if Ciun were glaring at him behind it. "Are you sure it wasn't his ploy to keep you here?"

"Not much of a choice in leaving. But to join in on your two's game? Probably. Rest assured, I have no interest in a conflict that does not involve me."

"The fox will make it involve you. Surely it must be itching to contact you."

Illus's tired expression became a potent defense. He was too tired to emote with his usual skepticism. His words slurred and mumbled more than usual, too tired to tell things or be caught in casual conversation.