Daydreams And Nightshade (DaN #1)

Chapter 5: Nose powdering

Noah squinted to try and discern the wounds showing through Cassius' torn shirt from where he was chained. He suppressed a yawn. It was getting darker. Not that time or light mattered much anymore, but he couldn't see clearly like this.

"I mean, it looks awfully red but... I don't think it's infected?"

Cassius smiled, and despite it being hard to see Noah was pretty sure his skin had paled significantly from his usual pinkish flush.

"I'll... Do my best to keep it clean then." His pronunciation of 'then' sounded a bit odd now that his front teeth had been pulled out. "Though it's... Easier said than done."

"Yeah... This camp isn't much cleaner than an old horse paddock." Noah scratched his cheek against the tree behind him.

One good thing about them being chained to trees was that the horses rarely passed by there so the ground hadn't been trampled into mud yet.

Noah tried to ignore the itchy sensation caused by dried dirt on his forehead and cheek. Grateful both for the dry patch he sat on as well as there being no mirrors around he soon glanced over at Cassius again, who seemed to have a problem sitting still.

"You all right?" he asked. It was an odd question to ask at the time, but they all knew what the question had come to mean.

"... Oh, uh..." Cassius flinched as he realized Noah was addressing him. "Yes. Yes, just a little back pain."

"Did they hurt your back? I thought they just pulled more teeth."

"Mostly," was the reply. Abnormally short for someone like Cassius, but it was a sensitive subject so no more questions were asked.

"... Alright..."

"So... You got to West Kerilia and... Ended up in a tavern?" Cassius continued instead, wishing for Noah to continue his story while gazing upwards to keep an eye on the tree sap slowly, but surely, approaching his hair. It was certainly not his biggest worry at the time, but nevertheless he'd like to avoid it.

"Yup. It was... Fine. Nicer than the rest of West Kerilia," Noah admitted. He too was checking for any disturbances present on the tree behind him. Tree sap aside, he didn't fancy bugs in his hair either. "Bread was stale though."

"At least not moldy, I assume," Cassius commented, reminding Noah of their current food situation."

"Fair enough."

"So if I... Understand correctly, your mother is your father?"

"My mother's just a disguise my father uses."

"Huh..." Cassius frowned. "... Why?"

Noah shook his head.

"Father's always been pretty secretive, but as we understand it he needed a disguise at some point in his life and then sort of got stuck with double identities."

"Sounds complicated."

"You're telling me."

"Where's your mother in all this then?"

"Uh..." Noah made a face. "We, uh... Never had one, really."

"... Oh."

An awkward silence ensued before Cassius decided to bring the story back on track.

"And? You went to see the West Kerilia town chief in the morning?"

"Well, yes. But, there's another thing worth mentioning before that. I just... I think Winton might want to hear it."

"You think?"

Noah shrugged.

"He acts the way he does but it's not like they don't hurt him as well, you know? I think... Maybe stories could help distract all of us."