Chapter 17
"Huh, where did he run off to?" Chi opened his eyes to find that Tyson was gone.
Fae was still sleeping deeply on the couch. Having just woken up on the floor he was curious as to where the man had gone. Standing up and pacing around the house he could not find him. Worry began to come over him as he considered the idea that he had left them behind. When he reached the window he carefully pulled it back just a bit like he had seen Tyson do earlier. He might have not known much about how to survive in such a situation as they were in but he had always been able to catch on quick when people taught him things.
He could see in the distance that Tyson was talking to another man. Watching them talk for a while it was obvious that they knew each other. Recalling that Tyson had mentioned being a ten year long survivor of repeated being pulled into Numen's Garden he could only make a guess that the man with long bright red hair was someone of similar situation. After a while of watching them converse through the window he could see Tyson was coming back towards the house. Not entirely sure why he felt so nervous he quickly rushed back to where he had been sleeping and lay himself back down. Not being sure whether or not he was suppose to know about the other man he felt it was best to remain quiet for now.
He could hear the sounds of the front door opening. The scent of iron from the rabbits wafted through the air making his nose wrinkle slightly up. Step after step the sounds of Tyson in the house became closer and clearer. Relaxing his body as best as he could he tried to play it off like he was asleep. Sounds from a chair being dragged over to the window could be heard as he lay there. Carefully peaking over he could see Tyson sitting down on a wooden chair that had been pulled in from the kitchen to the living room window.
"Little rabbit, if you're going to play possum you might as well know well that you're not that good at it. Rabbit's are rabbits after all and not meant to play possum." Tyson spoke calmly to him without looking in his direction.
"You-!" Chi wanted to make a remark about being called a rabbit again but seeing the stiff demeanor of Tyson sitting there he chose to remain silent on the matter. If it made the man feel calmer to call him that he would let it slide that time at least.
Something feels.. wrong.. Chi thought to himself. He knew well that he did not know Tyson that long but he could still sense that something was wrong with the man. Even the demonic mask covering his face could not hide the fact that his body language was screaming that he was in pain inside. As far as Chi knew they were from completely different worlds and would never even see each other outside of Numen's Garden if they made it out alive.
"Are you alright?" Chi asked as he got up and walked over to Tyson. Sitting down on the floor beside him with his legs crossed.
A slight noise that sounded like a faint laugh could be heard from the mask. Reaching out his hand his palm planted flat on top of Chi's head. His touch felt warm, gentle, with a hint of tenderness that caused Chi to tilt his head into that palm. No words were needed from Tyson in order for Chi to know he was simply trying to soothe himself by petting his soft sand colored hair. Slowly that hand made it's way down his hair until it was holding his single tied up strand of hair that he tied over his right shoulder in that hand. The hair tie was pink just like his scarf and shirt, his favorite color. He was not one to be ashamed to express himself so he did not care what others thought of him wearing such a color regardless of him being a man.
"We'll leave after you eat and finish resting." Tyson dodged his question completely by reporting his decision for them to keep moving. He did not want them to realize yet where they were really heading. They did not know the terrain or that Numen's mansion was at the peak of the mountain so they had no reason to suspect they were heading for the god himself until Tyson was ready to tell them.
"Alright." Chi responded back. Not willing to pry into his personal issues he could not think of much else to say to him. His eyes slowly found their way to the rabbits that lay in the other room on the kitchen table. They could see them clearly from where they sat.
"Don't worry, little rabbit, this wolf doesn't normally hunt rabbits for himself." Tyson joked when he realized where Chi's eyes were looking.
"That's not what I was thinking!" Chi's face twitched as he retorted back at that remark. Rumbling sounds began to sound from his stomach as he sat there considering the thought of eating something other than cooked rat meat that Tyson carried around on hand. After seeing him catch them repeatedly he had naturally began to worry it would be all he'd get to eat for the rest of his days in the garden because he could not catch things himself and had to rely on whatever Tyson handed him.
If he doesn't usually hunt rabbits for himself why would he.?. Chi could not help but wonder why the man would put so much effort into catching rabbits if it was not what he normally ate to survive in the garden.
He had no reason to consider the fact that Tyson had already become aware that Chi would require more food to get by then he and Fae would. After their short time together Tyson had already come to notice how much Chi hated that he normally carried rat meat because it was easy and safest to remain unnoticed by the other survivors. He had put in the extra effort without even realizing it himself to upgrade the food a bit in order to sate Chi's palate more comfortably. It had been something he'd done completely without thinking and purely on instinctive for the man.