"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" the bird asked when Jonas had walked over to where it was waiting.
"When I first t her, she had asked what my na was, but I didn't tell her because I wasn't sure if doing so could hurt her in so way. That telling her who she is could be dangerous for her," Jonas answered, feeling as annoyed by this as the falcon seed to be with him.
"With how she is now, who she is in her own mind has been erased. So, telling her about who she is should be safe," the falcon said, but as Jonas opened his mouth to respond, it quickly hurried on. "The only way it would be dangerous to her is if Douglas catches her afterwards. As long as we're able to keep her from him, then she should be fine."
While he understood what the bird said, she couldn't help but feel like there was an important elent that the bird wasn't telling them. Such as how they'd be able to identify Douglas in the first place. Where if they didn't know who Douglas was, they could easily then encounter him and not realize he's the one that they needed to avoid.
Besides, if he was the villain or 'bad guy' here, then they'd likely eventually need to confront him. While this bird didn't seem to think that way, avoiding Douglass would only be effective if they had reason to believe that he might give up at so point and leave of his own accord.
Which wasn't sothing Jonas was willing to put his money on. Since he had no idea how this Douglass thought in the first place. Which ant that he couldn't be sure that Douglas would rely write this off as a failed attempt and move on. Jonas didn't really think that such a reaction was likely from soone who'd already gone to so much effort to do whatever he'd done to Elin.
"Okay, so how do we avoid Douglas?" Jonas asked. "How would we know who he is, where he is, and especially what he's capable of?"
Jonas wasn't sure if the bird's expression changed, only that the bird was quiet for a minute. Which he took to an it was thinking about what he'd just said. Though, he wasn't sure it would agree with him or even understand what he was getting at with his questions.
"The only way that I've known how to deal with him has been to avoid him. I don't know how to fight him otherwise," the bird said after several minutes of silence.
There were a number of choice words that Jonas wanted to say, but couldn't because he was pretty sure that he would make the bird so upset with him that it'd leave him and Elin to fend for themselves.
Calming himself down by taking deep breaths while looking off into the distance, he searched his mind for what he could say instead that would be more constructive than useless insults and heated words. However, as he did that, he suddenly thought of sothing as he was pretty sure he might be able to see the wagon in the distance, in a direction it really shouldn't be in.
"You know, rather than arguing about what to do about Douglas and how to fight him, I think it might be better for us to deal with the situation we're in," he said, suspecting that they'd only be playing into Douglas' hands if they continued on like this. "I can't be sure, but I have a feeling that we're already caught in a trap that we need to figure a way out of, otherwise it won't matter what we try, that Douglas will always be able to find us. Even if it's only 'eventually' rather than a maybe."
"What're you talking about?" the bird asked, sounding like it was getting irritated. "It should just be a little more and we'll be past the illusion that makes it look like there's nothing ahead of us."
"Then what about that wagon over there?" Jonas asked, pointing towards the wagon he could see in the distance, that he knew would have looked like a speck if he didn't have his enhanced senses.
The falcon turned its head to look and was quiet for a few minutes. Jonas wasn't sure what to make of the whole situation, but hew as pretty sure that the bird hadn't noticed it before. Not to ntion how he was pretty sure that the bird wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. Although, to be fair, part of that seed like it had more to do with the bird being young rather than having a lower intelligence.
While Jonas was waiting for the bird to say sothing, the falcon took to the air, as if it was making sure about sothing. Like it felt the need to take a closer look rather than talking about it right then.
Jonas didn't see a reason to push the matter, though. He wasn't sure if the bird knew what was going on, but he suspected that there was a good amount the bird hadn't noticed. Possibly because it was a bird and so could fly over things more easily than at other tis.
Jonas wasn't sure how long the bird was lying around for, but the sun had visibly moved a good amount by the ti it returned. During which, Jonas kept an eye on Elin, making sure that she wasn't trying to wander off and nothing was approaching her. He had thought of heading over to talk with her, but hadn't yet determined if he should do what the bird had suggested and let her know about all there was to know about her that he'd learned since eting her.
She seed to have occupied herself with sothing, though since she was turned away from him, he couldn't really see what it was. Just that it held her attention and seed to allow her to let her guard down completely.
"What did you do to !?" the bird snapped as it landed. "I can't see anything past that illusion now. In fact, I can see several of those wagons. It's almost like we're stuck in an endless loop!"
Jonas rely shrugged. "Like I said, I don't know how to get out of here, so I can't say if what you saw is accurate or not. All I know if that if Elin said that she had the sun in her eyes the entire ti that she had been walking away from the wagon, that she then hadn't been turned around and she had been still sohow heading straight for the wagon."
"Look, I don't know about any of this. All I can say is that I'm now stuck in here with the rest of you. At least let out so I'm not trapped too!"
Jonas couldn't help but feel bad for the falcon. While he knew it wasn't right for the bird to be blaming him and Elin, he didn't feel like saying anything about that point. The bird itself was clearly struggling with the revelation it had just received and Jonas was pretty sure the bird didn't really think that, just that it needed soone to bla, and he and Elin were rely convenient targets at the mont.
"I wish I knew how to get out," Jonas answered calmly, wondering briefly what it'd look like if the bird started to hyperventilate. "If I knew that, then I wouldn't have ntioned about figuring out how to deal with Douglas after figuring out how to get out of here. Because if he knows we're in here, then it won't matter what we try to do to escape him. He'll be able to find us eventually anyway. Especially when we can't move on because we don't have more water."
"Well, how does that help ?!" the falcon screeched. "I'm stuck here and I'd rather be away from here. Away from where I know Douglas will be sooner or later."
"Well, why don't we-" Jonas started to say but stopped. An idea ca to mind as he thought about what the bird had said that it had seen. "Tell , when you saw all the wagons, did you see more than one group of us? Or even more of yourself?"
The bird looked at Jonas and he got the distinct impression that it wanted to rake its claws all over him, but didn't. Likely because it might feel like it needed Jonas right then.
"No I didn't," the bird answered huffily after a minute. "There was only one of , one of you, and one of Elin. Though, I'm not sure how that helps any."
Jonas couldn't say that he was sure either. Though, he hoped that it might provide a clue as to how they might be able to get out of there. It was rely an idea that he was still working out so of the finer details for.
"Well, if you want, I can talk with Elin about not just the plan, but about herself, as well as anything else that you might be able to think of."
"Wait, why now? Don't you still have your worries and hang ups about doing that?"
Jonas rely shrugged. "I guess I was looking for an excuse to put it off." He couldn't say if that was really the reason or not, but he had a feeling that the bird at least needed to hear so kind of excuse. One that he hoped would be good enough.
"Fine, do what you will. Just let know when you co up with an idea that will let get out of this... cursed place."
Jonas had a feeling that the bird's words were probably supposed to be like when he'd wanted to say a few choice words, but didn't. If that was the case, then he was pretty sure what the words might have been that the bird didn't say.
Reviews
All reviews (0)