Cult

         Shiny woke up in a dark room barely lit by candles. His head ached and he slowly sat up. It was very quiet and he thought he was alone but then saw X was sitting next to him. It was an empty room and Shiny had to squint to see him but it looked like X was eating something. "Xavier?..." Shiny mumbled and X looked at him. "Finally, starting to wonder if you were ever going to wake up" X mumbled and helped him sit up. X handed him what he was eating and it felt like warm bread. "What is this?..." Shiny asked. "Just eat it, it's better then the bland, burnt rabbits and squirrels we've been eating." X told him and when Shiny took a bite it reminded him of a cinnamon roll with no frosting. He quickly devoured it and X just sat there and watched him. "That was mine-" X quietly grumbled but Shiny didn't care at the moment. He was tired, starving, thirsty, and now had a headache from getting knocked out again. While he ate he accidentally inhaled and started choking on crumbs. He felt X pat his back until he stopped coughing but heard shuffling feet in front of him. Shiny looked up to see one of the robed figures crouching in front of him and reaching for his face.

        The hooded figure cupped his face in their hands gently. "Are you ok?" Asked a soft man's voice. Shiny quickly moved his face away and scooted closer to X. "I'm fine- uh- thanks-" he told the hooded man and leaned back against X for protection. The hooded figure handed Shiny another piece of bread and a cup of water then walked away again. Shiny sipped on some of the water and broke the piece of bread in half and handed it to X. "How long was I out?.." Shiny sighed and started munching on his half of the bread. "Couple hours, from what I've gathered since sitting here and listening to the chattering of the worshippers is that the worship a goddess named Eirene. And their destiny is apparently to save anyone they find" X explained and Shiny just looked at him purely confused. "Goddess of what?-" he asked and X shrugged. "No clue man, oh by the way try not to curse. I got in a little bit of trouble earlier for cursing a little" he warned and Shiny just nodded and sipped his water some more.

         "Did we get found by a cult?-" Shiny whispered and X took a moment to think then nodded. "Basically yeah, they don't like being called a cult is from what I learned-" X lowered his voice a little to make sure no one would hear him. Now that Shiny was actually paying attention he could hear the soft murmur of people talking, other groans of pain, the occasional shout of pain but then reassuring voices after. "What is this place?" Shiny whispered and X leaned closer to him. "They call it Eirene's Sanctuary. I'm guessing they find sick, injured, or just people in general and bring them back here to give them food and water, nurse them back to health you know?" X explained and Shiny quietly nodded along. "They're very touchy, just to warn you" X chuckled quietly when Shiny just gave him a dead look. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure I found that out when a random ass guy was touching my face." Shiny quietly snapped at him and X covered his mouth and apologized to a nearby worshipper for Shiny who was glaring at them. X leaned closer to Shiny once more and whispered. "Watch your language here. It's like you're in a church almost" X told him and Shiny sighed and nodded.

         They were occasionally brought food and water by the worshippers and checked up on pretty often. Shiny stayed as close to X as possible to avoid being touched. X didn't care that the hooded people would pat his head, touch his arms to check for scratches and things like that, etc. They weren't allowed to leave just yet, the hooded people wouldn't let them. They wanted them to stay for a few days to make sure nothing was wrong with them. Shiny tried to reason with them but he was just told no and to go lay down again. X just sat back quietly and didn't bother anybody while Shiny was struggling with the fact that they were cooped up in a random building god knows where with a bunch of random people.

       Days passed and finally they were allowed to go. They were given fruits and some travel foods and some water before they were allowed to go. Shiny wasted no time trying to leave since everything was making him uncomfortable at the moment. Ever since the roach incident Shiny hasn't been a huge fan of being touched by anybody he's not familiar with. They finally began trying to find Mama and the others but after they left they stopped. "How are we going to find them?-" Shiny asked and X stopped for a moment. "Well- we could go somewhere we all know. Like Copper Creek or something" X suggested and Shiny nodded. "Oh! We can go to Dallas! You know Mama is gonna go right to her to make sure she's ok. We can meet her there" Shiny smiled and began walking once more with X close behind him. "Oh you gave the cultists numerous heart attacks" X chuckled and Shiny just looked at him confused. "How?-" he asked and X started snickering. "Since you talk in your sleep and you sleep walk they thought you were possessed a few times" he snickered and Shiny just rolled his eyes. "Oh that's bullshit." He mumbled and X laughed. "It was hilarious honestly, I'm shocked you never woke up. Numerous times I had to pull you back down" X told him and Shiny shrugged, not remembering a thing.

        The two men quietly talked while they started their long walk to Flagstaff, Arizona.