A cool breeze blew as Klaus gazed into the night sky. The stars gleamed and bounced around in happiness. The gray moon in a half crescent directs the stars to joy.

Klaus’s hair perked up as he heard Emma snoring, comparable to a dragon's.

“Why does she always snore so loudly?” he thought as he looked down at her, her head on his lap. Joshua was to the right of Klaus, snoring too, covered in leaves.

After the incident with Grandold, Klaus decided to leave Boon and rest under a large tree. He carried Joshua all the while, glancing at him whenever he could as he consoled Emma. When they arrived, he laid Joshua down and thoroughly checked him. Joshua breathed unevenly; his ribs were cracked, and his throat was dry. Not to mention gray eyes that continued rolling.

When Joshua finally closed his eyes and stopped shaking, Klaus breathed a massive sigh of relief. Emma sat cross-legged, silently watching the entire time. As the night drew, Emma fell asleep on Klaus’s lap.

Since then, he had been sitting upright, thinking about what to do.

“Grandold was the same…why?” Klaus pondered for a moment before continuing.

“Can’t be a coincidence–he must’ve done something. Or ate something…or worn something–ok where am I going with this.” He sighed and put his hands on his face.

“Could it have been the mark?!” Klaus’s head flew back up, and his eyes locked forward.

“It’s not like it’s not common knowledge…but that raises the question– how did me and Emma not know about this? We’ve wandered for so long yet we never heard about them; we only saw them. Of course, we could only assume their effects…” Klaus gazed at his hand and raised it high, blocking the moonlight. He spread his hand and spun back and forth.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Ah–wait.” He pulled his hand down.

“That’s exactly what we’ve been doing. Wandering. Why? Was it fear? Was it–what a stupid question. It was fear. Why would we bother trying to find out what’s really happening?” Klaus curled his fist.

“We’re helpless. Powerless. There’s no choice but to wander. Mm. Shouldn’t I be grateful I get to wander? That’s what mom said…” Klaus’s mind went elsewhere as he reminisced about what his mom had told him on his 4th birthday.

Wander around freely; just be careful. You never know what they’ll do to you, ok honey? Aw, don’t look at me with those eyes. You know you can’t go outside. If they see you, they’ll getcha! What? Why do I get to go outside? Well, I have to sweetie. But I’m careful every time! I always watch to see if they’re creeping around like rats! But don’t worry, I won’t leave you, my dear.

“You won’t leave me, huh, Mom?” Klaus thought as his eyes began to close. A tiny tear ran down his face as his head dropped and his eyes shut.

"It's ok, endure."

Chirp, chirp! Chirp!

“These damn birds!!” Klaus thought as he listened to the bird’s chirps, his eyes still closed. The chirps were more like screeches: they were blaring.

“Sounds like they’re about to die goddamn it.” Klaus’s body twitched right before he erupted.

“I know it isn’t that hard for you to get laid!!!!” Klaus suddenly shouted, opening his eyes and causing the birds to fly off in different directions.

“Mm?” Emma groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.

Klaus looked at her. “O-oh, sorry. You can go back to sleep.”

“No, it’s ok.” Emma rubbed her eyes and sat up. She stretched her arms and yawned.

“We need someone to see Josh right?”

“Mm. He’s lost a lot of blood. I would give him mine, but I remember reading that there are different types of blood…”

Emma's head turned to the side as she said, "Does something happen when you mix them?"

“Well,” Klaus sighed and stretched his arms before saying, “I’m not trying to find out.”

Emma gazed down briefly before saying, “Mm, I don’t think we want him to get hurt any more than he has.