Deacon and Reed walked for what seemed hours and hours and by the time they reached the edge of the forest, Deacon's hungry's are almost unbearable. He did not complain though. Reed would not have tolerated him complaining. He trudged in his heavy stiff boots behind Reed, quiet and sulky. He muttered occasionally to himself about the time they spent to get to the edge of the huge trees. As Reed stepped into the sunlight Deacon had something else to think about. The sun was above the trees behind him and shone across the sky through the clouds. It was huge. He found himself staring at it until Reed scolded him.
"Don't stare at it. You'll go blind."
Deacon jumped, feeling guilty and cringed, waiting for physical punishment of some sort.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hit you." Reed replied.
Deacon smiled slightly and went back to looking at the way the sun cast shadows and created sparkles on the still damp trees.
"How long have we been walking?" He asked.
"Only an hour or so. You will find time will pass so much slower here on earth. I've only been told stories about your world, but I know you don't have the sun as such. I know that Keylani is your light. You have nothing to measure time up there, down here we measure it by the time the sun takes to pass across the sky and for the moon to follow it until the suns comes back up again."
Deacon blinked and soaked up the information just given to him. He continued to walk behind Reed as he processed it. "How many hours does it take for the sun to pass across the sky?"
"Depends on the time of year." Reed replied. "Sometimes it can take 9 hours, sometimes it will take 14. In summer the days are longer."
"Why?" Deacon asked.
Reed laughed. "I don't know, perhaps the distance from the sun. I'm not as knowledgeable as you think."
"I think you are far better informed than I." Deacon replied.
Reed grinned over his shoulder. "You could be right."
Deacon smiled in return. He was pleased that Reeds bad mood seemed to have lifted. He didn't want to ask in case it generated another mood change.
They walked in silence for a time until Reed pointed over the rise and Deacon could see a small group of buildings.
"What's that?" Deacon asked.
"Minto." Reed replied as if it explained everything.
"Is that the name of the town?"
Reed grinned, and replied with laughter in his voice. "Are you getting smarter?"
Deacon shrugged, the joke wasted on him.
"I can’t wait for your sense of humour to kick in."
Deacon frowned. "I don't understand."
Reed shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder if I understand." He muttered and moved down the hill.
Deacon followed noticing that Reed moved at a faster pace now. He wondered if it was because he could see the end of his walk. He knew he felt more motivated and was happy with the extra speed.
Deacon grinned as he watched the clouds beneath him. He wished he could feel the wind in his hair. It had been so long since he had flown. He would have to make sure he got a chance to do that soon. He missed the sound of the wind rushing in his ears and the utter freedom he enjoyed so much. He so rarely got to fly; Keylani forbade it in inner Heaven areas. He got more excited as the time passed in the plane and was shaking with adrenaline when Reed finally gave him food.
