The City of Ionia

“Hey Roger, do you know when we’ll get there? We’ve been walking sooooo long.”

"This is like the ninth time you've asked me that question! Like I said before, we'll get there when we get there! And quit tugging on my sleeve.” Roger slapped Tim’s arm off him.

Tim gave him a silent, apologetic look while swaying his head down.

They walked through the damp woods, stepping over twigs and the occasional rocks as they carried backpacks filled with equipment. It had rained briefly earlier, but it was still enough to get their sock mushy.

Despite the damp weather, the two men kept walking, hoping to collapse quickly on the comforters back home.

“Hey Roger, what do you think Jill made for dinner?” Tim asked while he stared at the back of Roger’s head.

Roger stopped in his tracks, letting out a sign of annoyance. He turned his head back and coldly glared at Tim.

“How am I supposed to know that answer? Quit bugging me with random questions! Uggghhh! I should’ve forced Owen to go with me! Better not; I should’ve just gone alone!”

The only reason Roger brought Tim in the first place was that he begged to go. Roger refused to take him without a second thought, dramatically causing Tim to break down in tears. Roger’s guilt must've stuck with him since he quickly gave Tim the go-ahead to join him. Initially, Roger wanted to take Owen since he could handle his own without needing care. But Owen immediately turned Roger down, saying he wanted to stay with Jill.

Tim didn’t care that he wasn’t the first choice. He was happy that Roger allowed him to come.

“Hey, don’t say something like that! How rude can a brute like you get?!” Tim said as he repeatedly punched Roger in the back.

“Brute?!!”

Tim pleaded his case for why he was better than Owen, saying he was much more muscular and handsome and knew the difference between a chicken and a rooster. He wasn't sure if his words got to Roger, but he kept babbling.

The dense woods opened as they approached a river that curved gently through the ground. On the way to their destination, they previously avoided the river by walking around, though it took way too long.

“Hey Roger, let’s go walk around the river like last time. I’m starting to dry off, and I don’t wanna get wet again. It’s kinda freezing, so… hey, what are you doing? No! Roger! Let go of my arm! Roger!”

“Shut up! I refuse to walk around the entire river! That will take too long! The thing is calm as a snail. We can easily swim across it.” Roger forcefully dragged Tim closer to the water.

Tim was doing whatever it took to get out of Roger’s grip. However, whatever he did was futile since Roger was a twenty-one-year-old burly man who looked like he stacked heavy bricks for a living.

“Swim?! You want me to swim with gear on? You’re insane! Absolutely insane!”

Roger’s grip tightened as he pulled the complaining Tim into the water, which only reached Tim's waist.

Once they had crossed the river, Tim dropped his backpack and sat against the tree. Shivering, he hugged his knees close to his chest. The fatigue and cold had gotten to him since they’d walked for hours. His wrist was red from Roger’s tight grip, although it was dark to tell.

Tim saw a small flame out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to see Roger fiddling with the new item they'd ‘traded for.’

“This thing is so cool!” Roger exclaimed, his eyes flashing with flames. Look, Tim, look! It lit up the lantern! How can a flame come from something this small? I’m so glad we traded for it!”

Roger was always obsessed with exotic items, which was why they traveled eleven hours to a small, unknown trading ground filled with limited items Ionian items. This limited item that they got was a classic lighter. The limited items were originally from Ionia, which somehow made their way to the outside world. They were stupidly expensive (for a good reason), and they were pretty rare. Although they were pricey, Roger always found a way to get his hands on them, even though it meant for him to throw away his good morals.

“We didn’t trade for it,” Tim said, sounding half-dead, “You told me to foolishly distract everyone while you went over to steal it. You know how embarrassing it was to make a fool out of yourself in public like that?”

With the lantern in his hand, Roger said, “First of all, you sound like a zombie, so I didn’t even understand the first half of what you said. Secondly, if you tell Jill that I made you violently flop around like a fish while screaming like a psycho, she’ll kill me. So please refrain from doing such.”

Tim raised his voice, sounding clearer than before. “Oh, I will tell her the humiliation I dealt with! I’m going to say how you blackmailed me, forcing me to bend to your inhumane ways!”

“Inhumane? Blackmailed? All I said was that I would tell Owen you ate his leftover dinner from the other day! That isn’t blackmailing!”

Tim looked at Roger as if he had the eyes of a spider. “That’s exactly what blackmailing is!! You know how that man goes all berserk when someone eats his food! It’s a death sentence, you hear me?! A death sentence!”

The two kept arguing as if they were the only people on the planet. Tim, sounding more awake than ever, threw a pebble, aiming for Roger’s head, only for him to miss widely.

“Ha! Your twig-arm can’t even accurately throw a pebble at me! I’m standing—”

Roger stopped mid-sentence.

“Hmmmm…? Hey Roger, what is it? Why did you stop? Did you finally realize how stupid your voice sounds?”

Roger put his finger vertically across his mouth. He then singled him to get up. Tim did just that, fast-walking towards Roger.

Tim didn’t know what was going on. He had no clue in the world. Something told him Roger wasn’t playing a stupid prank. Roger looked genuinely serious.

Tim, who was using Roger as a human shield, whispered, “Hey Roger, why are you intensely staring at a bush? Is something in there?”

Roger whispered back. “C-Can you just zip your trap for a bit?”

The bushes were trembling as if an evil spirit possessed them. Tim knew, at any second, something was going to pop out. He held onto Roger’s shirt as if he held onto the edge of a cliff, waiting for a potential attack.

Roger released his dagger from his sheath, pointing it at the bush.

“Hey Roger, bushes don’t normally tremble.”

Roger’s eyes were about to fly out of his socket. “Why you— I said to shut your trap!” His voice reached the bushes, and multiple terrified squirrels scattered out. The bush was as still as a tree trunk.

Tim dropped down, his muscles cramping as he laughed his heart out. He rolled around in the grass, slamming his fist.

“Th—There’s no way someone like you got scared by a pack of puny squirrels! I mean, you held out a dagger like some branded hero! I can't…!”

His face turned red, his hands were on his stomach, and his eyes teared up. Tim completely ignored the fact that he hid behind Roger as the bushes trembled.

“And he calls me an idiot???! He got all worked up over some squirrels!” At this point, Tim was talking to himself.

After collapsing on the ground for some time, he finally got up while wiping a few tears. With his head down, he relayed the moment once in his head while releasing a calm sigh.

He looked around, trying to spot Roger. He was nowhere to be found.

“Roger!”

No response. He called it out louder this time. No response.

He anxiously looked around while spinning in one area. It was too dark for him to properly see without a lantern.

In panic, Tim nibbled on his nails, trying to make sense of the situation quickly.

“Roger… Roger is a big person who could tackle a few people himself. He's like the fattest person I know. Though he claims it's more muscle than fat. Ya, there’s no way someone would’ve grabbed him and ran while I wasn’t paying attention. And…” He scratched his chin while looking at the deep woods ahead of him. “He could be hiding, but he always gives himself away. His huge body can't hide behind a tree." A thought popped into his head. “Ya, no, no. There’s no way. There’s no way he would actually ditch me. Sure, we play cruel pranks on each other all the time… but… this is… beyond cruel. Did this man actually ditch me!!”

Tim grabbed his back and sprinted into the dark forest, slipping through the trees while repeatedly yelling Roger’s name. His heavy legs felt like they would crumble like a burning tower, and his soaked waist certainly didn’t help.