Traveling Through Shadows

Jonas couldn't say that he really cared for dealing with the rain while trudging through the bog. Not so much because of any increased hazard, but largely because he didn't care for how cold the continuously falling rain was making him.

He knew that he needed to catch up to the others, but the rain had already washed away the tracks of the others and he couldn't say if they hadn't started to veer off in a different direction from them. It was possible, but he couldn't be sure until the rain ended and he could see normally again. As it didn't matter how good his vision was when obstacles, like sheets of falling rain, were in the way.

Not that he really objected to the circumstances that had separated them. Not that he planned on ever telling anyone that. Even Elmo seemed content in not knowing what exactly was going on in Jonas' head. Even as Elmo moved behind him in the bog.

Jonas could only tell that the sun was going down because of the fact that his vision was getting better with the failing light. He wasn't sure if that would affect their progress any, since he was able to see the dangers just as well as when the sun was up, but he suspected that they'd need to stop since Elmo probably would need that more than Jonas himself.

However, Jonas had something in mind to try hat he couldn't say how well it would work, but thought that it was at least worth a try. Which was to try and move through the shadows.

Jonas figured that he'd be able to carry Elmo and they'd be able to move without being encumbered by the suction of the mud in the bog. Which in turn would allow them to make better time. Plus, they'd be able to avoid any hazard that they'd have otherwise come across through the usual method.

However, Jonas wanted to wait until the sun had full gone down before he began his attempt. He was also thankful that it was just a heavy rainstorm rather than a thunderstorm. As he was pretty sure that the lighting would affect his ability in ways that he probably wouldn't care for. As the lightning did provide at least a brief flash of light which would at least hurt while he was in the shadows, if it didn't shove him completely out of them to begin with.

The downside with his ability to see in the dark was that in this instance he couldn't really rely on his vision to tell if the sun had gone down. As for him, it merely seemed just as bright form one moment as another. Or at least once the sun started nearing the horizon and the light through the clouds began to worsen.

"Uh, Jonas?" Elmo said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "If we're going to continue, is there something that you could do to keep me from wandering away from you?"

"Why?" Jonas asked, hoping that Elmo would say that it was because he couldn't see anything. As then that likely would mean the sun had fully set and even the fading light after that would have disappeared.

"I can't see you," he said, sounding a little depressed. "I don't want to slow you down as you're trying to catch up with the others, but I don't want to get separated from you.

Jonas sighed, wondering if that sound would get lost in sounds of the rainstorm around them. He didn't want to get separated from Elmo, but he knew he certainly wasn't going to say that. At least not out loud where others could hear. If Owen heard that by reading Jonas' thoughts, then so be it. It wasn't like he'd be able to stop Owen otherwise. Besides, if nothing else, he was confident that Owen knew when to keep his mouth shut about what he'd learn from other people's thoughts to begin with.

Jonas shook his head to get that line of thought out of his mind. He had more important things to focus on right then. Such as if he should try to take Elmo with him through the shadows or find some other place to put Elmo while he did some scouting in the shadows in order to find out how far away they were from the border, and maybe the others ahead of them.

He knew that if he left Elmo, that he'd have to return himself. Though, he recalled the few times he'd tried taking someone through the shadows and how difficult that had been. Where they were trying to leave that realm while he struggled to keep them in with him.

He supposed that this would be much the same, but he couldn't think of a reason to not try. The worst case would be that he'd have to drop Elmo off partway across and then continue scouting himself while he kept in mind where Elmo was so he could return before he ran out of MP to continue in the shadows.

However, he couldn't say that waiting around for it to be 'dark enough' was something that he was really interested in doing. They didn't know enough about this bog to begin with, and Jonas was certain that he didn't know enough about bogs in general for their own good and the fact that he and Elmo hadn't stumbled into any of the dangers present, after leaving the hydra's lair, was more out of luck than actual skill or knowledge.

Maybe some of the others, like Elwin, knew more about bogs, but Jonas knew that he was out of his element here. Which also meant that if something actually happened, he wasn't sure that he'd be able to do anything about it.

Which left only one choice left right now: to enter the shadows with Elmo as a passenger and see how far he could get them.

"Come closer, Elmo," Jonas directed Elmo over his shoulder, not caring to try and explain his idea to Elmo. He was confident that Elmo would agree to it, regardless of any concerns he might have about it.

Jonas waited until he could almost feel Elmo touching him before he turned around and wrapped his arms around Elmo. He recalled how it was a struggle to carry Heather and Sonya, and he wanted to make sure that he had as secure of a grip as possible with Elmo here. He figured he'd let Elmo think what he wanted to about the hug, as he'd find out soon enough what Jonas' intentions are.

Jonas waited until he felt Elmo's arms wrap around him before he started to let himself slide into the world of shadows, taking Elmo with him. He felt Elmo tense up as he felt something happen, but he didn't say anything, which Jonas took to mean that Elmo either was aware of what was happening or more likely just trusted Jonas that much.

Which brought to Jonas' mind why he'd become so interested in Elmo in the first place. He certainly didn't make the choice himself, as Elmo was just far too trusting for Jonas to really have expected to have thought that they'd end up together like this.

When they were fully inside the shadows, Jonas felt a force trying to separate Elmo from him and he could even feel Elmo starting to slip out of his grip, regardless of how tightly he held onto Elmo.

Still, he did his best to maintain his grip as he moved them along. He wasn't sure what to expect overall, but he knew that they were at least able to move faster when not held down by the mud of the bog. Which meant they were going at least twice as fast as they'd have been travelling through the bog and Jonas suspected they were going even faster than they could have with merely walking.

Jonas was vaguely aware when he passed the others, though they were a distance to the side of where he was travelling. Which naturally meant that he'd gone off course from the path that they'd tried to blaze in the swamp. Not that he was really bothered by it. It just meant that he'd need to change his course a little in order to avoid getting too far away from them, assuming that they weren't going to have to change directions themselves for any reason.

However, that was a problem for another time.

Jonas wasn't sure how long he'd spent in the shadows so far, but he could feel his arms around Elmo starting to ache and he suspected that Elmo's were probably aching as well. He had a feeling that his time was getting close to its end. He didn't want to be forced out of the shadows from a lack of MP, as he wasn't sure if that would hurt him or not, but he also didn't want to know if it would hurt Elmo.

The sheets of rain also affected his visibility here, though not as much as in the physical world. He wasn't sure what the reason was, nor did he really care. He just wanted to know how clos he was to the edge of the bog, despite the fact that he knew he couldn't be sure in the first place that it wouldn't take weeks to cross.

Jonas suddenly felt his eyes starting to close of their own accord and he realized that he was probably nearing the end of his stamina as well, so he carefully found a place that looked promising on the ground, like it was a little rocky rather than regular soil, meaning it wasn't the bog mud that they'd likely sink in, before he started to exit the shadows.

When he felt the rain start to pelt him again, he knew he was out of the shadows, though Elmo gave a gasp, letting Jonas know he was aware of it. Though, he wasn't sure if it was from leaving the shadows or from the rain. All Jonas could say was that the rocky ground felt reassuringly solid under him.

To the point that it took him a few minutes to even realize that the rocky ground wasn't as expansive as he'd thought from the shadows. Instead, he could feel mud that had been created from the rain around him, but not enough that he actually was sinking in it.