A muffled laugh filled the air once more. Passing through a cool breeze, it was more contagious than the dust spreading thin.
"It's good that you're vigilant," the man said -- his shoulders still slightly rising from the slight chuckle.
All Bast could offer was a confused, still unsure of the hooded figures intentions.
"The name's Paleck. What's yours?" the man--now finally with a name--said.
It took a moment for Bast to reel in the moment, eyes still glancing down at the piece of torn of bread sinking into the sand. "Bast..." he muttered.
Grrr!
After speaking his own name, he couldn't wait any longer. He bent down, picking the bread up quickly, all whilst still keeping Paleck within the edges of his vision.
'Soft...'
It took a bit of hesitancy not to wolf down on the piece then and there, but when Bast looked up and saw a slight nod--a signal of good faith--he didn't hold back.
Grraah!
His stomach let out a sound of hunger fulfilled once the bread graced his tongue. One bite. Two bites. Big bites. The bread was gone before the world even blinked, vanishing into the depths of Bast's stomach. All the while Paleck stood relaxed, watching with a wry grin.
'Thank god...'
"Quite an appetite there Bast."
Those amber eyes turned once more back to the stranger. A name can only go so far... but the show of good faith settled thin on Bast's mind.
"By the way, is that name short anything?" Paleck wondered, a question mark seemingly appearing near the edge of his hood.
A finger twitched in response.
"Bastian? Bastet? Sebastia--"
"I appreciate the food..." Bast blurted out.
Things seemed to slow. It was for only a moment, but the air could feel it. Being interrupted mid-sentence, Paleck could only watch silently... before he scoffed it away.
"Oh. It's nothing really. The others wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I'd have left someone to wither here," the man replied, seemingly scratching the back of his neck in the process.
'...Others?'
A simple word, but it brought a change through Bast, as he instinctively looked around with a drifting eye.
The Coin seemed imbedded in his hand at this point.
"But where are my manners..." Paleck whistled through the air. His hand moved to the top of his hood, causing Bast to slightly squint his eyes.
A light pull back revealed the nature of a mask. A wrapping around his mouth that covered most of his features, but at-least now Bast could clearly see the man's eyes.
They were dark.
The sun poured down on the two, amidst a spray of dust, as they stood under the monument of bone. Or what Paleck seemed to describe as the White Mile.
'Is it just me? Or is there something--'
"Good to layer up around these parts. Keeps the mind ready," Paleck emphasised as the hood dangled down his back, whilst he raised the face covering a tad higher.
"Uh-huh," Bast replied without missing a beat. Not wanting to fall back into silence, his lips parted in the same opening: "You said... others. You have a camp nearby?"
Paleck's chest seemed to raise slightly. "Sure do. A camp not far from here, tents and all." His fingers brushed against the seams of his coat as he chatted with the boy, ridding some dust from the exchange.
"Why? Were you headed?" he asked, looking right at Bast's amber eyes.
'This guy...'
"The Causeway," Bast replied.
A pause.
"Long walk," Paleck replied. "You won't be alone for much of it though."
'Hell does that mean...?'
The air seemed to think the same sentiment, as a breeze shot through Bast's coat, ruffling his worn out hair in the process.
"Camp's not far from there," Paleck said. "Come on, I'll take you."
He turned his shoulder, aiming to walk back the way he originally came from.
Crunch.
Bast had yet to move yet of course.
Not yet.
The wind pushed between them, tugging at cloth and dust. Bast's fingers tightened -- a slight frown resting on his face.
"You always walk strangers back?" Bast asked.
Crunch--
Steps stopped mid motion. The masked Paleck turned his head back towards the restless kid, eyes creasing, unreadable.
"Suit yourself," he said.
As simple as that.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
He started walking anyway.
Bast stayed where he was. Long enough that Paleck was far ahead. Long enough that the distance gave him some comfort. Long enough to prove it wasn't some sort of order.
"Hffphh..." Bast exhaled through his nose.
Crunch. Crunch
Watching those steps recede, he knew he'd have to follow them eventually.
'I don't think he's lying about where the camp is... but there's something.'
His mind juggled, whilst his eyes stayed locked onto the departing cloak in the sunny dust. He didn't wait forever, after all he could have lost of Paleck.
Crunch!
He moved--slow and careful--keeping that wide gap between them. Every step seemingly in unison, but not together.
Crunch!
The man in front didn't need to turn around...
"And here I thought you were gonna lie in the sand some more?" Paleck mumbled.
It was too quiet to hear.
'Out of The Warrens and I still gotta deal with characters...' Bast questioned to himself. An itch filled his scalp. An itch he couldn't get rid of. 'I mean you gotta be kidding--'
Bast was halfway through his thought--the sand, the silence, everything seemed twisted about this 'White Mile'--when something pulled at the back of his mind.
[Cost must be paid]
Bast slowed.
"...what?"
[Flip Registered.]
'Flip? What f--'
The situation had seemed so derailed, but as soon as the message appeared, he remembered.
[Sustenance accounted for.]
His eyes dropped, before his hands ran up to lips, to the few crumbs still lingering around its edges.
"...no fucking way."