The stranger’s return startled Rhys, but his exchange with Endi surprised her more. She didn’t respond to him for a few moments, still trying to grasp the fact that he knew the exact excuse she had given the creature. He had made noises towards it before, and while that had just been ticks in the [i]crazy[/i] column in her head, she was beginning to think that he could actually communicate with…whatever Endi was. [i]Stop being ridiculous.[/i] Rhys told herself, and proceeded to try to convince herself that he had been hiding out nearby, and listened to her tell the creature those things. But that was nonsense, and she knew it. Why would he have been hiding out, and then waited so long to return? As a matter of a fact, if he was so far away, how had he heard her at all?

More likely, he heard the scream, finished whatever task he was doing, and then wanted her to be apologetic and so rushed back just a few moments before. Rhys felt a little better, having a more ‘reasonable’ mindset regarding the stranger’s response. Though that still left a strange silence between them. She didn’t apologize for screaming, and instead she looked back down at the paper, finishing a few lines before closing the book gently. What could she tell him that wasn’t an apology? She sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him the truth--that she had visions of events that might just come to pass. Out of spite could tell him a half-truth; she had nightmares every night. But what would he care? He barely spoke to her, and never answered her questions. 

The stranger approached and dropped a red apple on the ground. She looked at it for a few moments before picking it up and rubbing it on her dress, which wasn’t clean by any means, but made her feel better. She was about to thank him for the apple when he apologized, catching her off-guard once more. He reminded her of someone who wanted so desperately to be disliked, but still couldn’t help doing nice things. There was a guard in her town like that, for a short while. He got himself killed, doing nice things. Rhys took a bite, and thanked him before taking another. He mentioned that there was water, and her gaze flickered in the direction that he pointed before going back to him. He put a few more apples down, telling her to eat, and then they would leave. She finished the first apple, spitting out only the stem and some seeds, and put the other three in her bag. She never ate a lot in a sitting, and changing that now would give her a stomach ache.

With their short exchange finished, the pair lapsed into silence once more. Rhys cleaned up and prepared to follow him once more. Just as he had suggested, there was water about an hour’s walk away. How had he gotten that far before? She wondered briefly, and then dropped the matter. She wasn’t going to get answers from him, and not asking fared better for her in the long run. Rhys filled up her water, drank most of it, and then filled the skin again, wanting to have water to bring with them. She ate another of the apples there, offering one to the stranger as well, before they moved on. In truth, she didn’t entirely mind the silence. Her house had always been loud. Her sisters were always yelling and fighting, and her father, when he came home, was always drinking and angry. Rhys took after her mother, who was far too soft-spoken to advocate for herself. They got along well, for the most part, but Rhys still couldn’t talk to the woman about her [i]nightmares[/i].