Riding the Tide
Vhalar 122 716
A couple of trials passed since Pat had his chat with Rei, the two of them had been busy trying to branch out, make peace with the mercenaries that were aboard; the kind of peace that ever prevented any violence from happening. With the way things were and they being stuck aboard the ship with the lot, Patrick had made quite a good point in regards with trying to 'befriend' the nicer ones. He hadn't had too much luck with the mercs as the majority seemed standoffish, no doubt required a more feminine touch to try and lure them from their shell. Two of the five mercenaries had seemed nice enough to be sociable with him though, a better number than what he started with after finally trying. One of them actually listened to his story about Kar, his opinion matched that of everybody else back home who had caught wind of it.
The evening came after a long day spent bonding with the mercenary, who later revealed his name to be Torn, and not long afterwards came the time to shelter back within their quarters. Patrick had honestly beaten Rei back here after having a quick supper, his boots already removed next to the frame as he sat within the hammock. He'd surprisingly found them a little comfortable after spending so many days sleeping in them, though he had yet fully lain in the one he and Rei shared. He figured he'd wait until she came back first before getting settled in, and so he passed the time by looking at his pendant in thought once more. Rei's profound words still echoed within the walls of his mind, their meaning left a residual imprint on his outlook now that he took it upon himself to wear it.
He thought more and more about Kar too. What he would do if the two ran into one another, the next time they met face to face. Patrick didn't honestly know what to expect but he played different scenarios within his head, each and every one ending the same way no matter how different they played out. Kar being dead. It shouldn't be such a surprise to Patrick, granted it slowly became something he quietly obsessed over. Kar had been the one who ruined everything for Patrick, if it wasn't for him then Dominek wouldn't have died. He'd still be here and more than likely with Patrick, able to protect him and Rei from the dangers of the world. But no... He was dead all because he became an obstacle, one that Kar decided to remove before he became a real problem.
He felt a chill suddenly as his feet started to go cold, a sigh exhaled with a shudder revealed his breath within the glow of the lantern. Fog. Or at least that's how his breath appeared anyways, which meant the temperature finally dropped to colder levels. So they would have to take care and make it an effort to stay warm, not that it was too much of an issue with Patrick. He had Rei to keep him grounded at night so when he relived the experience of his night terror, he merely woke up to find her there as usual for him to return to sleep. She had become his direction in a sense, his angle that he wanted to follow. Because of that he felt confident and even determined, willing to go the distance in reuniting her with Wendell. How long until they reached Ne'haer? According to Torn it was almost a seventy trial trip from Rharne, and granted they left eight trials ago they still had a ways to go.
