Woven

Kyo: Chapter 7

Of all the things Kyo thought he would be able to do, stopping the Reaper in its tracks was not one of them. He had felt himself get stronger the closer he got to it, as if he was only strong when he needed to be. With his luck, that was true, and he would only be able to use his Essence to fight. After all, he hadn't needed a catalyst from any of the others to repel the dome of gray. But with no memory other than living in Daydream and his name, Kyo was clueless as to why this was. Stupid plot device.

Now, as the moon rose high and their arduous hike continued, Kyo was on edge. Already, they had been ambushed by demons and chased by an all-powerful Essence-taking thing, but they had overcome those, to a degree. So why was he scared? Maybe he was just tense in case it happened again.

He plodded along next to Therin, who seemed to be shadowing him. He continuously caught her taking sideways glances at him.

What is it? He demanded.

Her expression tightened, I guess I'm just in awe; after looking around for some way to fight the Reaper, you just drop out of the sky.

Sira fell out of the sky more than I did.

Therin quietly laughed, Yeah, I guess you're right. But whatever, you're still super cool.

Coming from someone that had lived and breathed Dream for as long as Therin had, Kyo took that as a huge compliment. He sighed, That makes one of us.

Therin shook her head slightly, Five, actually. Maybe six, depending on what that leopard thinks.

How are you so sure?

Just that you're so down about it; seriously, if you saved the world, I think you'd have to take antidepressants.

Kyo didn't respond. The only reason Therin could find humor in it was because it was true; he didn't know anything about himself, so this power confused him.

You still there?

Kyo exhaled forcefully, Yeah, I don't really have any choice but to talk to you.

Smiling, she replied, Well, who else is gonna get you to look at everyone?

What? He looked up, not realizing he had been staring at the ground for the entire silent conversation. The others, who had fallen back in line with Kyo, were all looking at him, intrigued.

"Having a private conversation?" Ryan teased.

Sira crossed her arms, "No shame in sharing any secrets."

Kyo could feel his face heating up, It's not like that, we were just talking.

"Suuuure."

Dom cleared his throat, "Come on, guys, leave him alone; we've all been through a lot tonight and we still have a lot of ground to cover."

Olivia, smiling, replied, "Sure thing, boss."

"I'm not the boss any more than you are."

And with that, they fell into silent trudging once more.

---

After walking for only forever, with the moon lowering itself and everyone almost nodding off, they reached the edge of another forest, this one more filled out than the Red Forest. There was a lot of crimson undergrowth, all of it seemed parallel to some form of plant life one might find in a real forest.

They decided to push through a little farther until they could find a decent place to make camp. Kyo, despite how difficult it was, kept his eyes open for such a place as Therin convinced the most obstructive bushes and such to stand aside for them.