Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
How long had he been walking? It was unclear. 30 minutes? 1 hour? It didn't sound long, but the thoughts swirling in his head made it seem everlasting.
WOOOOH!
The wind hadn't let up it seemed, its screams pushing against Bast's torn thin coat, ruffling his hair in the process.
"I actually can't feel it..."
For most of the walk--whilst he trailed Paleck's ever so departing figure--he stared at his unresponsive right arm. Stationary was the bare minimum it could be defined as, for if Bast didn't know any better, it appeared to be just a piece of decoration.
Crunch! Crunch!
'Relics this. Relics that. That's all those lot talked about...' he shook his head, offering a scoff.
Crunch! Crunch!
'Power to take what you wanted, when you wanted...'
Crunch! Crunch!
'...turns out they take more than they even give.'
He turned his head around, back from where he came. By now, they had finally walked out of the colossal structure of bone that stretched over Bast as he slept. The White Mile. His amber eyes stayed on its presence for a short while...
Who knew if he'd ever see it again.
"Huff..." he took a breath, turning back to Paleck's distant figure, still brushing along that long piece of wood through the sand; almost like a trail in his wake.
'I'm still worried about him...' Bast told himself.
His steps started again.
Crunch!Crunch!
'Why did he walk my way... if he was just going to turn around straight after?'
A true question. His eyes seemed to burn into the back of that cloak even more. He clenched his left fist that was sitting in his pocket -- the coin now joining it away from his right side.
The wrappings covering his forearms, especially on his now dormant right arm, continued to flutter when the wind pushed against him.
'What hell type of a name is Paleck anyway?'
It didn't take long for the urge to chuckle to rise up at his own remarks... but the thought of his own past seemed to push it back down as quick as it came.
"Tchh." He kissed his teeth, a bad taste settling thin on his tongue. "Shitty memory..."
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
'Maybe losing one or two wouldn't--'
He stopped himself before he could finish, worried that it actually might come true. What's already happened couldn't be denied.
He resettled, turning his mind to the topic of the Coin.
His mind thought of it, and in front a screen came to life:
--------
[Relic Classification]
Item: The Beggar's Coin
Type: Memory/Echo Relic
Tier: I I (Woken)
Bonding Stage: F - Awakening (Ember)
---------
'None of this makes any sense,' Bast thought, a few rays of sunlight prompting him to flutter his eyelids closed.
'Memory? Echo?' he could only stare in apparent confusion.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
"A pity they didn't give any relic lessons to the Warrens, huh?" he mumbled under his breath, as more sand shrunk down under his strides. "On second thought... I don't think those guys are suited for any kind of learning academy course." A wry smile appeared on the edge of his lips.
'I wonder how they are...'
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
His eyes travelled further down, settling on a few characters:
[Flips: 2/3]
There were no slick comments, or in depth thoughts as his eyes rested on that line of information. Only his autonomous steps crunching into the sand seemed to be the only constant.
Crunch! Crunch! Crun--
He looked up, and his steps faltered for a split second. Paleck had stopped walking. The distance between them wasn't close, but it wasn't far. 100 metres, give or take... but it was enough of a distance for Bast to twitch. "The hell is he..." a few mumbles left his lips as he watched. It was a sudden stop, not one that slowed to a steady standstill. He then watched as the man in front turned around, turning his head back slightly. Those dark eyes stared right at Bast, even from afar.
He seemed to be... waiting?
All Bast could do was stare as a few gusts of dust forced him to strain his eyes. 'Are we here?'
That's all he could think of straight away.
A few seconds passed and he was still there, un-moving.
Deciding not wait any longer, Bast started to walk closer, a vigilant glint passing through his eyes as he started to glance around.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
He fiddled with the Coin in his left hand as he pushed forward. The stare coming from ahead forced him to avert his eyes every few moments to check his surroundings...
Yeah, that was it.
WOOOOH!
That right arm was as stiff as Bast's jaw, as the closer he stepped the more attuned he became. 'All these guys and their fucking cloaks,' Bast's stare sharpened--he had to get a look at Paleck's face. 'The auction house, the guards... are all these guys conscious of their looks?'
Irritation had taken a hold of his mind as his teeth clicked in annoyance. "Tch--"
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch...
His steps slowed. He was within talking distance, 30 metres or so. Bast's dry lips parted, seemingly about to ask a question. "Wh-"
He was interrupted.
"We're here." Paleck said.