The Systems Challenge

"So, what would be causing the rumbling then?" Bart asked. "Don't tell me its your stomach, Elwin."

Jonas couldn't help but smile at Elwin's shocked reaction. He hadn't expected that Bart would say something like that, but he couldn't say that they hadn't gotten rather comfortable around each other, being in the same group and all.

"It's not my stomach," Elwin replied calmly. "My comment about my stomach was as an example. Not something to take seriously."

"So you say, but a lot of the time, people will say something as part of an 'example' but it's still relevant to what was being said," Patricia remarked.

"Besides, as far as we know, you're just embarrassed at getting called out for how disgusting the way you put it was," Patrick added.

"If that's really all you're focusing about, then shouldn't we focus on what caused the rumbling in the ground or maybe even what kind of creature we're supposed to capture?" Elwin protested.

"We could, but where would the fun in that be?" Jonas asked, finding this topic to be rather entertaining.

"Yeah," Kim added. "If we let you off the hook, then we'd lose some of our entertainment for the evening."

"Well, if that's what you're worried about, we could always play games," Patricia remarked, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I'd be fine with that," Kim remarked, looking at Patricia out of the corner of her eye. "You kind of look like you're up to something with that anyway."

"You wound me!" Patricia gasped, her voice giving a mocking injured tone. "You should know I always have pure motivations!"

"How pure are those intentions, Patrick?" Elwin asked. "I mean, you spend the most time with her, right?"

Patrick shook his head. "Sorry, but I can't say. I'd rather not lose Patricia in my group. If I did, I'm sure I'd die soon after. Likely from doing something stupid, too."

"You make it sound like you're not safe to be left by yourself," Elwin remarked.

Patrick shrugged. "In this world, that might be true. I get the feeling there's a lot about this world that I'm not good at figuring out on my own in the first place."

"Whatever it is, let's move one," Jonas said, starting to get bored with how things were going. "In regards to the creature we're supposed to capture, I'd have to say that I'm becoming more inclined to think that it's going to be a bird. Although, how large of a bird, I can't really say."

"Why a bird?" Bart asked. "I mean, I know birds are what typically have feathers, but I think I've at least heard about some lizards that have some feathers."

Jonas shrugged. "Not any reason in particular. Just what I think about it, is all."

"Well, any suggestion on where to find it?" Owen asked. "I mean, it's all well and good to speculate on what it is, but that doesn't really help us if we can't find it."

Jonas nodded at Owen's statement. "Thing is, if we know what we're looking for, or at least have an idea about it, we can at least ask others if we see anyone. Which would then help us know if it's been seen by anyone and where that would be if so."

"Aren't you overthinking this just a little bit?" Kim asked. "From the way it sounded, the fire dragon first found Patricia and Patrick, then Owen and his group. After that, it seemed to have started hunting them. I'm not sure what else to say but that whatever creature this is, it might essentially be looking for us at some point."

"In a way like the fire dragon was or in a way that says it's looking for something to eat?" Bart asked, sounding a little uneasy.

"Who's to say that the fire dragon didn't want to eat us?" Patricia asked. "As far as we know, that's why it was attacking us in the first place."

"It's just that I think that it'll be drawn to us, that's all," Kim said. "Though, I can't say if it'll stay drawn to us or anything."

"So, you mean the flying fire that Elin saw could have just been drawn to her, but then left because it wasn't anymore?"

Kim nodded, making Jonas wonder if it would be as simple as that. He had a feeling while Kim might be on the right track on that subject, that there was more to it. That it wasn't as simple as that.

"While we could talk about this until the cows come home, shouldn't we go see about getting something to eat?" Owen asked after a while of silence. A quiet that persisted as no one seemed to have been interested in saying anything during that time. Each lost in their own thoughts.

"I'm good with that," Patrick said as he stood up. Then before Patricia could do anything, he picked her up, his hands holding her in conspicuous locations that Jonas was pretty sure that weren't appropriate to have Bart around as Patrick touched Patricia in. Though, as he glanced at Bart, he had a feeling that Bart wasn't really even looking at them. Which he hoped would continue for at least as long as Patrick had his hands on Patricia in places that really shouldn't be on where others could see.

Slowly, everyone else started to stand up and walk towards where the camp was. As Jonas looked around, he was surprised to see Elin and Elmo nowhere to be found. He had a feeling that they'd already left, but he was mostly surprised because he hadn't noticed them leave. Though, he speculated that it had to have been just after, or during, the time the ground was rumbling. Where his attention was scattered at best.

Regardless, as long as nothing happened, then it didn't really matter and if something had happened, he was quite confident there'd be some noise made that would have drawn everyone's attention. Much like when Kim had created her pillar of ice. That wasn't very loud, but it did get noticed quickly.

As they made their way over, no one was really in a hurry. While they'd have a day to rest, Jonas had a feeling that the fatigue the two groups had gathered while fighting the fire dragon off and on had accumulated to the point where they probably could use a few days of rest to full recover from that.

Not that he planned on mentioning it. It wasn't his place to say anything, nor was it anything that he had any standing in bringing up. If they wanted to continue on, that would be their prerogative. Not something that was for him to suggest anything at this point.

When they reached their campsite, Jonas wasn't surprised to see that Elmo and Elin were already there. Though, he did feel a little surprised that they were just taking a pot of stew from the fire. He hadn't thought that they'd been talking long enough for a stew to have been made in the first place.

Yet, when he was able to ladle a bowl for himself, he had to admit, that it looked like it had at least cooked long enough. Even though it still didn't feel like it had been enough.

As Jonas settled down to eat his bowl, being the last to have been able to serve himself a bowl of stew, he noticed that Elmo had already finished his. He wasn't sure if Elmo just hadn't gotten as much as most everyone else, but it was clear that he'd at least finished all he'd gotten and was going off to the side.

He felt like he should go and try to talk with him, but at the same time, he couldn't think of what to say in the first place. He had a feeling that Elmo wasn't feeling as part of the group as Jonas would like him to feel, but at the same time, he couldn't figure out if there was anything he could do to change that dynamic. Something that would help Elmo feel as part of the group. Which would keep him from leaving.

If Elmo left, Jonas wasn't sure how long the rest of the group would stick together. He was pretty sure that Elin would likely leave with Kim soon enough, although he wasn't sure how long both of them would stick together. He couldn't say if there was any friction between the two, but Elin definitely seemed a lot different from when he and Elmo had gotten knocked into the river.

Part of him wondered if he should ask Kim about it, but only a small part. The rest of him was confident that it wasn't his business and Kim wouldn't likely take very kindly to that. Not that he would blame her. He doubted he'd like it if anyone asked to see if there was any friction or anything between him and Elmo.

Yet, while he was thinking about that, he couldn't help but feel like he'd already passed the time in which he could have done anything to salvage their group. Or at least that he could have done himself. There was always a chance that something else would happen that would help solidify their group, but Jonas wasn't optimistic about that.

As he ate his stew, he took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what would happen next, but he was confident that he'd need to be ready for almost anything.

Jonas was about to take another bite of his stew when he suddenly noticed something in the sky. A small flame, likely rather distant from them, but close enough that he could see that it wasn't a star or anything else that he'd seen in the sky in this world up to this point.