More Help From the Bird

As the dawn rose above the mountains, Jonas looked at Elin sleeping peacefully next to him. He'd been surprised at how late she'd stayed up on her watch. When she'd woken him up, it was clear that it had been nighttime for a long while. That the sky had been filled with stars for at least a couple hours, if not more.

While he had appreciated being able to sleep so much, he couldn't help but worry about how it would affect Elin. Especially since he doubted she'd get much sleep once the sunlight got in her eyes. Which he figured would be anytime now.

The night had been quiet and uneventful, which Jonas hoped would continue on through the day. He wasn't sure what might happen that could be a problem, but it wasn't like he even knew what was going on in the first place with Elin's memory.

He hoped that he'd be able to figure out what was going on, but if not, he hoped to at least be able to get Elin somewhere safe. Somewhere whoever was behind this wouldn't be able to get to her.

However, he was willing to wait until Elin woke up on her own first. He was confident that she would need more rest than he would, though he couldn't be sure if it would really do them any good directly. Not when he wasn't sure about all the variables going on around them.

Such as why he couldn't see the areas of the mountains that weren't solid rock. That had vegetation and trees growing on them.

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or merely an illusion, but it still unsettled him. As it made it feel like they might have wound up in a kind of pocket dimension or something that would make things much more difficult for them to get back to the others.

Jonas wasn't sure if it was something set up as a trap or if it was as a safety measure. Though, if it was a safety measure, he couldn't help but wonder why it would merely prevent them from leaving as opposed to finding their way here to begin with.

As the sun rose higher, its rays hitting Elin full in the face, Jonas started to think about what to eat for breakfast. He only had more bear meat, though he couldn't help but wonder if they might need to conserve that if this did turn out to be a kind of trap that made it harder for them to leave.

Rather than waking up, Elin merely rolled over so her face was out of the sun while remaining asleep. While he hadn't expected that, he wasn't going to complain or argue. Especially with how tired he was going on the assumption that she was. He might be wrong, but he couldn't see how it'd hurt him to be patient with her on that subject.

Besides, if she needed the sleep, then it was likely best to let her get some more. Especially since he couldn't see a reason why they needed to be heading out right then. Although, if needed, he figured he could lift her over his shoulder and carry her until she woke up.

While he waited, he had a small meal of some dried bear meat, wishing that they'd had some seasoning to have added to it before they'd dried it. With how bland the flavor was, he couldn't find it in himself to enjoy it as much as he'd have liked to.

When the sun rose high enough to allow the overhand to provide them with some shade, Jonas couldn't help but start to get concerned about Elin. While he couldn't be sure that she hadn't yet gotten enough sleep, he wasn't sure how much she needed at this point. At least with how it had been a few hours since the sun had fully risen and he recalled how much sleep she tended to get when they didn't have anyone keeping a watch or had to actually do anything.

While he couldn't say how worn out she was from before, he still couldn't help but start to wonder if he should try to wake her up anyway. With how long she was sleeping.

Though, he resolved to do that if it got to the afternoon and she still wasn't awake. After all, with all the unexplained issues going on around them, Elin falling into an enchanted sleep would certainly be something that he couldn't rule out as a possibility.

As Jonas was thinking about that, he was interrupted by a voice calling out to him.

"What're you doing just sitting there? Shouldn't you be trying to figure out how to get out of this loop?"

Jonas looked away from Elin and didn't see anyone. The only other living creature he could see was a falcon. One that was brightly colored like from an actual fire. It seemed so realistic that Jonas could imagine it giving off light at night and heat if he could get close enough to it.

He didn't respond to the voice, but merely looked at the bird. He thought the voice sounded familiar, but couldn't place it and he couldn't say that he really cared to think much about it.

"Aren't you going to do something other than just look at me?!" the bird snapped, "And here I thought you'd be smarter than you looked!"

Jonas didn't rise to the bait. He bird's beak move when it 'talked' but he wasn't willing to accept that it was essentially a talking bird. As far as he knew, whoever was talking was merely using the bird as a prop. If the person had some magic, he couldn't imagine that it'd be too hard to do. Especially if they were just trying to keep their identity a secret.

"Maybe you should tell me who you are and I'll decide if I should be doing something in regards to what you suggested," Jonas returned calmly.

He couldn't be sure if this was the same 'bird' that had warned Elin or not earlier. He wasn't sure how the bird had found them, but he couldn't say that it really mattered at that point. It had found them, which meant that he couldn't pretend to not bee there.

"Look, we don't have much time. I'm not sure when he'll be back, but I don't believe he'll leave anyone in here for long if they're not in his wagon," the bird replied, sounding rather impatient.

"Okay, first tell me what you're talking about, who this person is, and especially what you mean about their wagon."

Even though the bird didn't show any changes in it's attitude towards him, he couldn't help but get the impression that he'd surprised it for a moment. That it hadn't expected his response.

"If you're willing, we can walk while I explain," the bird replied, sounding a little agitated.

"I'll need you to give me a little more to go on, first. Otherwise I can't be sure you're not in league with whoever you're warning me about."

"You know what? I only wanted to help the girl you're with because she got dragged into this because of me. Because he thinks that I have some kind of connection to her. If you want to take responsibility and especially the blame if he gets his hands on her again, then be my guest. I'll just leave this to you so you can sit around until he shows up, finds you, and does whatever he wants to you."

Jonas couldn't help but blink at the bird's outburst. He couldn't say that he expected it, but it was at least a reaction that he had been trying to instigate. He had hoped the bird would instead have given him more information, but he felt like its indignation and outrage were genuine. That it wasn't at least trying to pull something on him. On this subject at least.

"Okay, lead the way," Jonas replied, putting his and Elin's pack on his shoulders before he lifted Elin over his shoulder. Balancing her so she'd be as comfortable as he could make her there. "I'm sure you know how I can get out of this."

"Of course I know," the bird huffed. "I saw the location where your friends are a few minutes ago. Though, it's clear Douglas spends much of his time by them."

"Who's Douglas?" Jonas asked, as the bird started flying. "Is he the person who was looking for his sister? Otherwise I don't think he's met the others I was with."

Jonas could have sworn he heard the bird sigh while it was flying. "Douglas is a mage or something that's been after me and my family. We're not sure why, but for a time he had captured us, but then we were suddenly here. We don't know how we got free of his control, but we went our separate ways to keep him from catching us again. Though, as far as I know, Douglas doesn't have any family."

Jonas nodded, not sure how to take that news. Though, as he opened his mouth to speak again, he felt Elin start to stir. Which he hoped meant she was waking up. Which he hoped would be a good sign for them.