Jongdae stared at the fire as it crackled, a frown adorning his features as he calmly breathed in smoke. Jongin was sitting an arms length away from him, eating some of the bird meat they had caught earlier on. 

Jongdae could only stare at his own portion; he noted how the meat was now cold, and sighed silently. He slowly tilted his head back, feeling the hard surface of Jiyoung’s force field behind him before fully relaxing and laying against it. The force field was what had kept them hidden from the army of officers that had stormed past them on horses earlier. 

Listening to the fire and Jongin's chewing, Jongdae twirled the stick with meat a few more times before looking at the rock that was set between him and Jongin. Jiyoung was sleeping (Jongdae could hear her steady, deep breaths) but still managed to keep her magic up for them. He grew thankful and a bit envious of her strength. If not for her, he would have died earlier on in his journey, most likely from starvation or thirst, as he didn’t have a house with food, and possibly even – he grimaced – from suicide. 

He looked back at the meat before lifting it to his lips, taking a moment to close his eyes and inhale deeply, taking in the disgusting smell. He shivered slightly. Then he opened his mouth and bit into it, swallowing it once he was finished chewing. 

It was meat. That's all it was. So why did it leave such a bitter taste in his mouth? Jongdae didn't have an answer. He had once dreamed of eating varieties of meats before his whole journey started, but now he was sick just thinking about it.  He began gobbling it up, ripping off pieces and gulping it down with a groan.

Was he ungrateful? He was getting more than he bargained for especially with the magic, of course, but he did currently have two companions by his side, whether they wanted to be there or not, that would help him when he needed them. Was he being selfish? Jongdae turned the stick around so he could eat more of the sickeningly satisfying meal. His body and mind were in a battle, he so badly wanted to throw it up but he was just so hungry. 

He knew he shouldn't be thinking about himself, but it was so hard when all of his life it was only about him, his mother and his best friend. Now that they were both gone, everything was about him. But as Jiyoung had put it, without teamwork they were all as good as dead. 

"You're eatin' the stick, ya know," Jongin pointed out with a chuckle. Jongdae paused, looking down at the stick, which had bite marks practically engraved into it from his gnawing. With a smile, Jongin grabbed the remaining amount of meat from the fire, putting it on his own stick before extending it out to Jongdae's direction. "I noticed ya haven't been eatin' these past couple of days." He smiled. "I think you need it more than me."

Jongdae stared at him for a few moments, gently grabbing the stick from his hands. 

"Thank you, Jongin," Jongdae said. 

Jongin only chuckled and shook his head. "No problem." He slapped his thighs. "I'm gonna sleep now. Night." Then he lay on his side and closed his eyes. 

Jongdae stared at him before looking at the food. His throat constricted as he felt everything coming back up.

He flipped the hair out of his eyes, once again biting off bits of flesh.

After he was done with his meal he felt his eyes droop as fatigue took over him, and he reached into his shorts where he felt the sharp blade of a knife. He took it out and stared at his reflection, taking note of how animalistic and dull the eyes that stared back at him looked. He pushed down on the blade with his fingertip, drawing blood, and then glanced at Jongin. He was vulnerable. Weak.

Then again, he noted, so was he.

---------

"It's so hot out," Jongin yawned, stretching his arms as he squinted his eyes from the sun. 

Jongdae shrugged. "Well, this is the West. It's always hot," he stated, trying to throw dirt at the fire in a desperate attempt to put it out, only to fail, as it would shrink before growing again. 

"Oh it's okay," Jiyoung told him. " I got it." 

Jongdae watched as the flames danced around, shrinking in size as it changed from red to orange and then blue before completely diminishing, sizzling as it went out. He had to admit, although he didn't necessarily like magic, sometimes it could be used in a way where it just seemed so beautiful and calming. 

"So pretty," Jongin commented as he stared at the burnt wood. 

Jiyoung just laughed. "It is, isn't it?" The force field went down and instead of seeing only blurred oranges and blues, Jongdae saw the sand and shining star in the clear sky. "I checked the area not too long ago. No one's around."

One of Jongin’s pencils slipped out of his pocket as he stood up, and as he reached down to grab it another hand took it, holding it out for him to take. Jongdae cleared his throat. “Here, this is yours,” he said with an awkward grin. Jongin grinned and thanked him. His mouth then opened and closed a few times before he managed to utter, “And thanks for, uh, giving me some of the food last night.” He gave him a thumbs up. “It was, um, very good.”

Jongin chuckled at him before taking it with a bow of his head. “No problem.” Smiling, he put it in his pocket.

As Jongdae turned around a flurry of white and blue flew around him, startling him and causing him to yelp and stumble forward.

“That was so cute!” Jiyoung squealed. Jongdae blushed and tried to whack her aura away from him but Jiyoung was too quick (plus his hand just went right through her).

“Okay, okay, leave me alone you old bat!”  

Jiyoung finally stopped circling him and returned to the rock. She giggled at his flushed cheeks. “Alright,” she said in a light tone, “lets find out where we’re going and start moving.”

Jongdae reached into his cloak and pulled out a map, setting it on the ground before opening it.

Jongin got some rocks and placed it on the sides so it would stay in place. He pointed at the paper. “I’d say we’re right ‘bout here,” he stated, tracing a circle in the desert area outside of the Sector three. “O’ course I ain’t sure but I’d say we’ve moved a pretty small distance since we’ve been hidin’ for most of the time. And this – “ He glided his finger a little upwards before stopping. “-I’d say is where we need to be.”

Jongdae pursed his lips. “Sector one.”

Jiyoung sighed, “Doesn’t seem that far away, though, Jongdae and I were traveling for weeks before we were able to find Sector three. Then again we weren’t necessarily sure of where we were going.”

Biting his lip, Jongin raised his head and glanced around the area before looking back at the map. “I’ve never been out o’ the sector, but Luna has, and she told me that if you’re on a horse and ya don’t stop it’s about a… four hour ride.”

“What about on foot?”

“I think she said a few days, maybe more than that if you’re real slow.”

Jongdae felt himself almost groan but held it back, clearing his throat instead. He could feel his hands momentarily scratching at his shorts as he tried to suppress his irritation. “It’s alright.” Raising a hand, he awkwardly patted Jongin’s shoulder. “As long as we, uh, stick together we’ll be fine.”

Jongin glanced at his hand (which unknown to Jongdae’s knowledge, had began to tremble) and grinned. He nodded. “Yeah.” Standing up, he raised his hands in the air and let out a yawn as sweat dripped off his face.

Jongdae quickly took the rocks off the map and rolled it up again, glancing at Jiyoung as she began humming to herself. Then he took her in his hand and stood up.

“Choo! Choo! All aboard the Jongin train,” Jongin announced before raising his hand to his mouth.  “Psh, Captain Jongdae, we’re headin’ for a pretty long trip down to good ol’ Sector One now, over.”

Jongdae raised a brow and the younger male only shrugged. “Luna told me in the North they got these things called trains, and that the captains speak into these cool speaker things so everyone can hear ‘em,” Jongin explained. “I hope we get to go on one. Luna said they’re real cool.” He noticed Jongdae’s furrowed brows and flashed him and Jiyoung puppy eyes.

Jongdae looked down at Jiyoung, who would’ve shrugged if she had shoulders. “I don’t mind. Might as well make some good memories on this journey.”

Jongdae nodded his head. “Okay. But only if we have time to do so then sure, I guess we can try.”

Not even a second later Jongin jumped in the air with a loud “Yes!” and then started dancing to show his happiness. Then he stopped and raised a finger in the air. “Oh guys I almost forgot!” He reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace with a small locket. “Luna gave me this, said it’d help us get to them other places. Don’t know what it is though.”

Jiyoung let out a hum. “You guys are a pretty cute couple. So adorable, I remember when my boyfriends used to get me presents too.”

Jongin’s cheeks flushed pink. “S-shut up.”

Walking next to Jongin, Jongdae observed the small locket. “Open it,” he said. Jongin stared at him dumbfounded. “Oh, uh, here I’ll open it for you.” Jongdae used his thumb and index finger to hold it and opened the locket, staring in awe at what was inside.

“It’s a compass,” he told them both, excited. He took in all of the small details with delight. “Sir Yesung used to have one. He never used it though, he said something about how it was his mother’s and so he just kept it as a memoir. She was a sailor in her youth and would go over seas alone, so that compass was her most prized possession.”

“What happened to her?” Jiyoung asked.

“She got very sick. None of the medicines prescribed to her helped, either. A doctor from the South even came to diagnose her illness, but said it was incurable. She died when he was only twelve.” Jongdae let out sarcastic chuckle. “I guess I can finally understand how he felt.”

Jongin averted his eyes from Jongdae and back to the compass. “What does it do?”

Tilting his head, Jongdae began moving the compass around. “You see the compass will help us make sure we’re heading in the right direction. Now I’ve never used one before but right now it is pointing north, and according to the map I’m pretty sure that’s the direction we need to go."

Jiyoung added, “Yeah, that’s right. Also, fun fact, pirates used to use them on their voyages, along with explorers and, well, anyone who has a