The Systems Challenge

Jonas wasn't really sure what to expect when Kim and Elin returned from their 'disagreement' a distance away from the camp. He couldn't be sure if they thought they'd gone far enough away that the rest of them wouldn't be able to overhear their 'disagreement,' but with how quiet the nights were in these mountains, sound carried. Which meant that unless they had a conversation going on of their own, they could hear every word Kim and Elin shot at each other.

So, when they returned, Jonas couldn't say that he was surprised when they went their separate ways and didn't end up in the same bed together. Although, he couldn't help but wonder if that might have an overall effect on their group, since Kim and Elin had been an items almost since they first teamed up at the start of the competition.

Still, he didn't feel like trying to intervene in any way. Even if it was in a peripheral manner. If he did, he was confident that he'd end up getting pulled in a direction he'd rather not deal with right then. Not to mention what he'd rather be putting his energy into.

When Kim came back, Jonas was a little uneasy that she might join the rest of them around the campfire, given what Elin had mentioned about her walk to those who'd stayed behind.

Namely, the person she'd encountered singing. Elysia Violet.

Since Elin hadn't mentioned this stranger, Jonas didn't think it would go over too well if Kim learned about her from anyone other than Elin. While he was confident nothing had happened, they way that Kim was acting made him wary about how she might react overall to anything involving Elin at the moment. Especially when it came to something that happened while she was on her walk.

"You're saying she didn't say anything else about this person?" Elwin asked, looking like he had the same worries about Kim as Jonas did with how he waited until Kim had settled down on the other side of the camp from Elin.

Patricia shook her head. "No, she just said that she had been singing beautifully, but ran before she could say anything."

"Let me guess, she at least had time to say her name, but Elin didn't consider that 'saying' anything, right?" Owen asked, amusement clear in his voice.

Patricia shook her head. "She just said that she said who she was and the other person introduced themselves."

"Has there been any signs of anyone living in this area?" Jonas asked. "Even just a small hut or shack?"

Owen shook his head. "No, but that's not to say the girl isn't part of a group of nomads. They could just be moving through the area by chance right now. The fact we don't see any firelight out there could be that they're spooked to find someone else here or that they're on the other side of a mountain."

"Why would they be spooked?" Elmo asked. "It's not like Elin did anything to deliberately scare Elysia."

"It's not a matter of what Elin did, but rather the fact that they might be afraid of what might happen," Patrick replied. "Sometimes nomadic cultures travel because they're accustomed to traveling, but because of that, others who settled down don't trust them and I'm sure you can imagine how the two might clash as a result. Which then means that if they don't see anyone from whom they're already familiar with, that they imagine the worst of what that might mean."

"Did you overthink that or did you experience something like that in a past life?" Owen asked. "I doubt you read all that somewhere."

Patrick shrugged. "It's not that I overthought it, but rather applying a little logic to it."

"What kind of logic?" Bart asked, sounding like he was more interested in the 'logic' aspect to it rather than anything else.

"Well, for example, if I recall correctly, there's a group of people that I only know them by the term 'Gypsies' that I believe had a nomadic lifestyle. However, because they didn't fit in with any of the cultures of the countries they passed through, they tended to be shunned. The distrust went on both sides, so if this girl is from a culture like that, it's possible that she was raised to distrust 'outsiders' and so fled when she saw Elin."

"I guess they must have some sort of code of conduct or something for her to at least tell Elin her name," Owen mused.

"You know, I'm pretty sure the term 'Gypsy' is an offensive one," Patricia remarked, looking pointedly at Patrick.

Patrick shrugged. "Hey, it doesn't matter if that's true, since I have no idea what else to call them. I mean, it's not like you hear what various cultures are called, especially when there's already common names for them, even if those names offends those people."

"Just saying," Patricia said calmly, like she didn't really care one way or the other.

"Well, we could at least keep an eye out for any signs of other people in the area," Jonas commented. "If nothing else, we might be able to garner some trust if we approach them openly and show we're not hostile."

"Not a bad idea," Owen remarked.

"Uh, not to change the subject, but did you see any signs of anyone other than Elin when you were searching for her?" Bart asked, sounding like he had something else on his mind.

Elwin shook his head. "Not really, but then again, I didn't really look that much. I mean, there was one place that Elin's tracked stopped for a minute, but since there wasn't any reason to look further at that area, we just moved on. After all, Elin's tracks continued, so it wasn't like we were looking for signs of anyone else."

Barth nodded, looking like he was a little disappointed. Jonas, though, couldn't help but wonder what that was about. He doubted that Bart was that worried about who this Elysia was, but that's at least how it sounded to him. Like he was trying to shoot holes in what Elin had said for whatever reason.

"Well, at least we'll be moving out tomorrow," Elwin commented after the conversation had died down for a minute. "I mean, I like the mountains, but after a while, they tend to get a little tiring. Not just with having to go up and down them as you walk, but also just having to look at them all the time."

"I like the mountains," Bart said defensively. "I lied in a city with mountains on one side. Why would anyone not want to always have their stability around as an example?"

Jonas couldn't help but smirk at Bart's statement. If nothing else, he could tell that Bart had his preferences about what scenery he like to see.

"I like the coast," Elmo commented offhandedly. "Not just being able to see the ocean disappear into the distance, but also the sound of the waves. Those are relaxing."

"Do you live by the coast?" Patricia asked.

"Uh, no," Elmo said, looking rather sheepish. "I just like listening to the waves sometimes. But I at least live near the coast."

"Same thing," Patricia commented. "Just because you don't live on the coast, doesn't mean you're not by it."

Elmo shrugged like he didn't really care and Jonas suspected he really didn't.

"So, back to this Elysia," Elwin said. "None of you think she's worth worrying about?"

"Why would we?" Patricia asked, sounding a little bored.

Elwin shrugged. "No real reason, other than the fact that she showed up out of nowhere and we haven't even seen any signs of anyone who might be living a nomadic lifestyle, as Patrick put it."

"Whether she is something to worry about or isn't, isn't something we need to worry about right now. Unless she's a creature that will attack us while we sleep, we don't need to bother thinking about her. Maybe later, like tomorrow, we can delve further into the possibilities about her, but right now it's not going to do us any good. It'll only waste our time," Jonas said.

"So you don't think she's something we need to look out for?" Bart asked, sounding like he disagreed with that thought.

Jonas shook his head. "What I'm saying is that we don't need to look out for her tonight. Unless she attacks, but that'll be for whoever's on watch to look out for. The rest of us can then get some sleep and wake up ready for us to continue on our search for whatever creature it is that we're supposed to 'catch.'"

"You know, what if she is the creature we're supposed to catch?" Owen asked. "After all, we only have those feathers to identify the creature. Who knows what abilities it has?"

"Well, the only way to find out is to see what we can learn as we continue on tomorrow," Jonas answered. "It's not like we'll find out just sitting around this campfire tonight."