The Ascension

6: An awful lot of walking

Everyone seemed to wake up collectively at dawn, but 'everyone' was not a careful selection of a word, truthfully. Wren and Aster woke up at dawn, when the blinding rays of sun illuminated their patch of cave.

Senya was missing, as was Wren's backpack of supplies.

"Is Senya... making breakfast?" Wren asked, though of course what little food they had needed no preparation. But it seemed highly unlikely, somehow, that he was simply gone. Why would he do that? He wouldn't do that. It didn't make sense.

It took less effort for Aster to think logically than it did Wren, especially since she was less keen on Senya than he was. The two of them... honestly didn't know him. Wren hadn't explained to Aster anything about why he was traveling with him, and from a logical point of view, he was just a stranger who had been tagging along for the last two days. And he was homeless. The fact that he might, given the opportunity, have run off with a few supplies, wasn't all that odd.

"I think he's gone." Was what Aster offered to Wren. "And it wouldn't be good to dwell beyond that."

"Our water was in the bag. And our food." It was notable how Wren seemed to avoid mentioning why the bag was gone, instead focusing on what was missing. The phrase 'He took' was purposefully absent.

"We won't die from a few hours without food or water. It'll be more exhausting, but maybe we'll find a stream at some point to refresh at. Once we meet Ikina, I'm sure they'll help us..." Aster squinted, thinking. Ikina was a god, not a water dispensary. Still, she couldn't imagine them letting their chosen heroes die of natural causes. "In some way."

"I guess." Wren rolled up the sleeping bag, but without the harness of the backpack to carry it with, it was relatively cumbersome to transport. He tucked it under his arm, frowning at the inconvenience that he refused to associate with Senya. "We don't have to walk very fast. We have all day."

Ae-en was a very large mountain, but not overly tall, and the group (if it could be called that) felt certain it wouldn't take more than twelve hours. The path was dust and rock, seemingly a steady spiral to the top. It wasn't very steep, though cold, and Aster and Wren were not too worried about time.

"When we return to Aen-sa, do you think he'll still be in town?" Aster asked, thinking out loud more than she was thinking of Wren.

"Maybe he got lost. Or injured. He might have fallen off the side of the mountain by accident. I mean, there's no solid proof he ran away."

"Why did he take the backpack then?"

Wren remained silent.

"Senya left us. I think you should acknowledge that. He was just a nomad who was kind enough to guide us here, but in the end he decided to make away with what he could in the middle of the night."

"He was a thief, when I first met him. He told me he'd teach me how to survive if I freed him."

Aster smiled, almost unnoticeably. "I suppose he has taught you how he survived, at least, what with him stealing all our possessions. So you can't say he didn't fulfill the deal."

"I liked him though."

"Me too. I mean, it's dangerous to find yourself liking strangers. But I enjoyed his company."

"I like liked him though, I mean."

"'Like liked'? That's pathetic of you, Wren. Are we again children? I realize we stand on the mountain of Ikina, under whom we are all children, but seriously? Like like?" Aster said playfully. "...I 'like liked' him too, I guess."