A Skeleton-born, an Enderborn, and a Desert Thief

The Desert

By the time I caught up with him, we had already gone a long, long way from home. Rythian found a village, called Sick Bay, and as the name suggests there was a hospital there. How convenient. A village in the desert. Flat lands. A mineshaft. I could start my business again. That felt comforting. But I was more worried about Zoey, whether or not she'd recover. I could see that Rythian was too. Tee had somehow found his way there with us, sk there was another person to join the party. I did not really plan to stick with them forever. I wanted to stay and help until Zoey's recovered, and after that, I would leave. I was fine with that. I am not really that good at team work. After Rythian left the hospital, we set ourselves to making a base camp. I likes making Tee's watch tower. It was more fun than building shelter.

"So you and Zoey can have that tent, and I'll take this one." I said, and Rythian looked a little grateful.

"Okay, that seems fair." He said, and I smirked.

"You're only saying that because you get to share a tent with Zoey, aren't you." I said, snickering. His face turned red.

"N-No! That's not it at all!" He said, waving his hands in emphasis. I snickered some more.

"You likeeee heeeerrr.."

***

The teasing went on for a while until we decided to go mining. I heard some shrieks of terror as I walked through the village. Fantastic.

"Rythian did you grab me some bandages on your way back?" I asked, even though I was not actually expecting him to. He tossed me three rolls.

"Might want to bandage your hand too. It looks bad. How are you even alive with that sort of damage?" He questioned, but I yet again did not answer. I simply wrapped the bandage around my mouth and nose, like a mask.

"I'd just keep it on until I recover. It'd recover in a while. Say like, a month." I say, but my voice was a little muffled. I'd get used to it.

"You're avoiding the question."

"Like how you will if I asked why you wear a mask." I retorted, and that shut him up pretty good. I was a little sensitive about my regenerative power. Or rather, VERY sensitive. I wrapped up my hand, but it did little to cover the bone-y remains of it. I ended up leaving it wrapped loosely. We made our way down to the shaft, as he told me that alchemy no longer worked. He was panicking a little. I guess it was like losing an ar- no, bad expression. It was like losing a leg. I knew that Zoey had a missing arm, and a lot of her hair got chopped during that explosion. And me, I just lost a bit of my skin. That was all- wait... Is my hair turning- Oh no. It's turning blonde, and it'd turn white. I could see it turning brittle and and they were crumbling.

"Rythian do you have any potions of weakness?" I ask, and he looked at me with a questioning look, and shook his head.

"No, why?" He asks, and I shrug.

"Nothing." I reply, and he facepalmed.

"Quit avoiding the questions already, Jesus!" Rythian exclaimed, and I laughed bitterly. I did not want to talk about it. Never. It made me feel weak, naive, dependant on others. I swung my Thaunium pick as Rythian asked me where I got it.

"I'm proficient in weapon crafting, but I also enjoy magic. Thaumalogy." I say, and Rythian shook his head.

"No, it's thaumano- thaum- what."

"Just call it Thaumalogy it's easier." I replied to his struggle, smirking. He growled in frustration as we dug deeper down. Diamonds, gold, uranium, lapis lazuli, and finally, the much - needed redstone. At least for me. I needed some weakness potioning too... so that my hair would stop turning blonde. My entire stash was blown to bits by the nuke. Rythian and I stopped for a break, and we sat down for sandwiches.

"Sandwiches. The best invention of food. Ever." He said, and I smiled a little. He finished his food.

"So how long will you be hiding your identity." He asked seriously, and I looked at him, shocked. What?

"How- How did you..."

"From the shape of your bones. It's not hard to tell." He said, and I felt the need to hide my hand under my sleeve right then. I looked away, upset.

"I don't want to talk about it. I... It's a long story and I don't like it." I said, and Rythian shrugged. I suddenly felt the need to defend myself.

"What about you, Rythian Enderborn. You know full well who you are, and you're no better at hiding it. You leave purple sparks everywhere, it stings when you hold the Enderbane, do I look like a fool?" I retort, and it was Rythian's turn to look upset. I suddenly regretted my harsh words. I should not have said that. It was not the way to talk to the guy who just took you in.

"I don't like going out there in the sun. It stings, like how it stings for you with the Enderbane." I say, trying to lighten up the mood. Rythian laughed humourlessly, accepting my transparent attempt. At least he was more polite than I was.

***

It was not long until we were done mining. Zoey... Zoey was still out of it. She was still unconscious in the hospital, Rythian was really getting anxious, and so was I. But I knew I needed to keep going, so I went ahead to build my own place, and yet another weapons shop. An underground weapons shop... Where the ceilings are held up by stone, and will never cave in. I like that idea. I'm keeping that...