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“While I do understand that you may enjoy the land of Ionia, I do believe that we should have arrived at our destination quite a while ago.”
The Virtuose pointed out, turning his head to look at the eye of twilight, only to realize that he had stopped a few meters behind already, seemingly lost in thought as he stared at the area surrounding them.
“Shen are you even listening to me?”
The eye of twilight did not respond however. He simply eyed their surroundings, trying to figure out just where they had gone to. Shen had to admit: they were lost as hell and even he himself had no idea where they were going anymore.
“Are we perhaps lost?”
Jhin asked and went to walk back to where the other had stopped. He raised an eyebrow, though it was not visible underneath his mask. It would be a shame if they had gotten off of their path. For Jhin had to arrive in town in time.
“I’m just going to assume that your silence means ‘yes.’ you're not very talk active are you?”
Shen’s blank eyes turned back towards the Virtuose. He hated to admit it, but they were indeed very lost.
“Yes, I apologize. I’ll try to find our way back.”
A sigh came out of Jhin as he sat down on a nearby fallen over tree. Leaning his head against his palm.
“I'm going to be so annoyed if I don't arrive in time.”
—————
Time had passed as the sun went down, covering the sky with blues and Greys, not a single cloud in sight. Stars rose from the horizon, covering the clear night with a soft shine. Ever so often, a shooting star would drape across the sky, drawing attention away from all other stars.
It set the Virtuose at ease, seeing that he never had time to enjoy things this simple. Just staring at the stars made him think, why had he never before even thought about stargazing? Maybe it was just not in his nature, after all, he was a busy person.
He could very clearly even make out some star alignments, moving his hand up and drawing along the night sky as if to connect the stars, making a clearer picture of what he saw.
Out of the corner if his eyes, he noticed Shen taking note of his every move, most likely studying him.
“What's it like”
Jhin asked.
“What's it like to have all the time you need? all the time to appreciate something as simple as a night sky?”
Shen thought, looking up at the stars just like the Virtuose had just a moment before. He too could make out star alignments, some he saw relatively often. Being a not as busy person had its perks for sure.
“It’s enjoyable, but with time comes memory, good and bad.”
He laid down on the grass, resting his head on his arms which he crossed behind his head. Still stargazing as he continued to speak.
“Usually, I look at the stars to get off thought, to forget about something, yet…”
Shen trailed off, closing his eyes as a deep sigh left him and he reopened his eyes. Stargazing often reminded him of his childhood. He and Zed would often sneak out at times, just to climb on something, maybe a large rock, a tree, anything that was high enough for them to see the stars. So they could just stargaze for hours at times.
“You tend to remember more than you forget it seems.”
The Virtuose softly spoke, getting Shen out of his train of thought and Nodding in response.
Jhin moved closer to the other, sitting down besides him and gently putting a blanket over him. He always carried two, just in case.
“Before I was imprisoned, I used to think that clouded nights were far more beautiful. When the moon was shining through the clouds and you could see nothing else of the night sky.”
A gentle chuckle left Jhin and he looked back up at the night sky, turning his gaze away from shen.
“Oh How wrong I was.”
“As with many things”
Came Shens quiet answer.
The Virtuose could only laugh, he didn't know the eye of twilight could make jokes! What a rare thing to witness.
“My, in a good mood aren't you?”
Shen simply chuckled, closing his eyes as he felt tiredness nagging at him. It was definitely time to sleep, they had a long journey before them after all. Finding their way back wasn't going to be as simply as he hoped.
“I'm always in a good mood when I'm around You.”
“My, how adorable of you!”