“Yes, it is. Don’t worry. I understand.”
He stepped out of the spring, onto a rock.
Treycore felt guilty for making him feel bad, but it was how he felt, and he couldn’t just fuck whoever when he knew that Kid was out there, so miserable, so unhappy.
They returned to Sydar’s and though there had clearly been tension after the moment in the spring, Sydar began to lighten up.
“Well, would you care to share the bed? There’s no reason we can’t.”
But Treycore knew that wasn’t true. There was a very good reason they couldn’t, and he wasn’t interested in leading Sydar on.
“I can sleep on the floor, but I appreciate the offer.”
Sydar sighed.
“You must love this person a lot,” Sydar said.
“My feelings for him… they’re very strong… stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced before. Something I can’t quite explain. But I’ve felt it ever since I first met him. And it overwhelms me, consumes me.”
Sydar gazed into Treycore’s eyes, as if he was attempting to catch a glimpse of the sort of feeling he was talking about.
“That sounds lovely.”
It assured Treycore that Sydar didn’t understand. The sort of feeling he was describing wasn’t lovely. It was painful. It was brutal. It toyed with his emotions and left him feeling empty in the worst of ways.
They lay down, Sydar in his bed, Treycore on the floor with blankets Sydar had provided.
A dark blue glow filled the room. It was the same light he’d seen when he’d escaped from the glippers’ lair. He wondered if this was what night perpetually looked like in the outerlands.
Treycore faced the door, gazing at it as he wondered what he was going to do. How would he get to Kid? How would he find his way through the outerlands without Eilee? There were so many issues he’d come across, and he was worried he might not be able to find his way through this, yet he wasn’t giving up. He would do whatever he must to find Kid and rescue him from that bitch.
He rolled over.
Sydar lay on the feather bed, staring at him.
There was something strange in his gaze. Was he sleeping with his eyes open? Try as Treycore did to come up with an answer, he couldn’t.
Sydar just lay there, gazing back at him, until the two beheld one another for what seemed like hours.
Treycore’s vision blurred. He felt lightheaded, as he had when he’d first woken in this place.
Sweat rushed down his face.
He panted heavily. His body reacted as it had when he’d felt the potent effects of Raph’s venom.
His eyes grew heavy and he closed them, but as he seemed to drift off, he forced them back open.
An impossible sight was before him.
Kid lay across the feather bed, asleep, peaceful.
Treycore felt slightly disoriented, but the sight of Kid spurred his senses to life. He abandoned his blankets and hurried to the reason he was even in this terrible place.
This has to be a dream.
He must have fallen asleep when he’d closed his eyes. But he didn’t care. Just seeing the image of Kid was enough to fill him with life. That was what he wanted. That was what he needed.
“Kid?”
