William groggily opened his eyes that itched because of dehydration. He knew nothing, only that his need to cough was as strong as his need to puke. Without his permission, saltwater began to dribble out of his mouth while he mumbled out the name: “Joss…”.

His hand moved out of reflex and grasped at the ground beneath him. In his fist, something grumbling and raw slowly dispersed with a soft *ssss* sound. When he gazed down, he realized that It was coarse dark sand…

The feel and sight of it finally made William snap awake. With a few glances here and there, his doubts were gone. This was indeed the ocean… William grinned wryly to himself, thinking: … And I thought Joss was exaggerating at that time… It really does take you all the way out to the ocean…

His eyes began to sear at the mere thought of him… He never appeared after they encountered that little waterfall...What if that meant that he was… William ground his teeth and softly groaned, this time for feeling heartache.

If anything he wanted to cry his feelings out but he shouldn’t… For if there was anything this harsh world had taught him, it’s that you cannot succumb to peril and cry about it. Doing so would deplete his energy completely and make him sick. But resisting the urge and need to express his sorrows… He had to find a way to distract himself if he should succeed!

So he forced himself up and brushed off the crusty pearls that clung to his clothes. And with a great big roar, he screamed at the ocean. It was a mindless scream. He must have looked like a crazy person but it felt so good to let it all go…

He would also have liked to add some meaning to that scream. But right now he was afraid of putting anything into words. For if he did… Oh no! He was about to think about it again! To blow out any sort of coherent thought, he ran around on the beach and made strange noises. This went on for a while until he dared to say, “I’m fine! I’m fine! This person is fine! Everything is fine! I’m alive! He’s-....”. And *POOF*, all that go-lucky energy he had accumulated mercilessly dissipated.

Since trying to hypnotize himself into being happy didn’t work, he sat down for a while with the intent of controlling his feelings. The longer William sat the more he yearned for an answer to appear… He stared at the beach for a good while… Nothing… Nothing changed and now he just felt like a complete idiot for believing that it would.

“You want to be remembered, huh?... You want me to tell Harvick that you were the best at everything?... Braggart... Well… Did you think about how you’re also the best at making people cry?”. William sniffled, then he bit his lip, “No! Don’t!... Keep it together there!...”. He took some deep breaths before he stood up again. Sitting here moping wouldn’t benefit anyone!

He took off his ‘backpack’ and checked it for any damage or missing items. Purposely ignoring the miniature wooden dinosaur every time it touched his hand. William sighed, fortunately everything was there. But his supply of food had been ruined by the salt water… 

William frowned as he adjusted his gear to rest on his back once more. He wasn’t planning to stay on this beach forever. But what should his plan be, now that he was flung off course? If anything, he should try to find his way back, and hopefully, on his journey, he would also stumble upon Joss… After all, it was very likely that his corpse rested on the banks or maybe on this beach…

William really hoped that if he found his brother he would somehow still be alive… But if all he could find was a corpse… He would make sure to give him a proper burial. Until then, he could still cling unto the fantasy that Joss survived...

Daylight was growing scarce and the woods surrounding him didn’t seem that friendly… So he decided to stay at the beach for the night. Even if time was precious, going back now would only lead to his own wasteful death.

A harsh wind came riding in on the ocean waves. William’s clothes still held on to some moisture, that was along with the wind, slowly cooling him down. To counter this, he established a fireplace that included a stack of wood, just enough to last the night. William wasn’t an expert when it came to survival, but he knew that fire could keep away some creatures and it would raise his warmth and range of visibility.

For some time he sat curled up as he stared into the flames. Wondering morbidly whether he should try to burn Joss or bury him in a ditch, in the worst case scenario… These thoughts were so unrealistic that he could only feel empty as he planned ahead.

Amidst these depressing ideas, he noticed something enter the corner of his eye. He didn’t move immediately but calmly let his gaze take in the object. His heart pounded wildly and his hands quivered. They were ready to wiggle out his sword. But in the end, all he saw was the looming forest that towered over him. William thought: Strange… I was sure that something blindingly radiant entered my view?... But then again… It could be a stray flame that caught my mind off guard…

Because William had been unconscious for a few hours that day, he could stay awake throughout the night without feeling too sleep-deprived the next morning. Once the land was bathed in the sun’s light, he set out to follow Peaktears Run back to its origin.

After wandering for about 5 hours through the thickets, William arrived at an area that he could recognize! He was sure about it. This was the lake that the small cascade led down into… But wait a second?... William thought he was hallucinating at first. Because there wasn’t just one waterfall leading down into this lake, but multiple streams. They varied greatly in size and velocity but not enough for William to pinpoint exactly which one he had come from?...

This was turning into a real headache! Because if he chose the wrong river to follow back he would end up kilometers away from his desired destination. And to top it all off, he hadn’t been able to find Joss on his journey back… William glared at the dark water that was taking on the color of the sky. Those dark greys and blues functioned as heaven’s warning sign: It was going to rain soon.

William pondered for a while, then he decided to bite the bullet. He admitted that his plan to use the river as his rope back to the Blaises territory had failed. But this didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to find his way back! If he just wandered far enough, soon he would find a village or castle and there he would be able to ask for directions.

He would probably just head straight for Halbal when the time comes… Thinking all the way to here, William couldn’t help but feel sad for Remony, who had to get the news through a mere letter…

Raindrops twinkled as they ran down leaves and stones. His figure still stood fixed to the same spot. William wasn’t ready to leave this place yet… He wanted to head back to the beach for a more thorough search. He simply wouldn’t be able to live in peace, knowing that he didn’t try his best to find his brother...

He trudged only a meter back, when his delicate stomach growled for food. “Ah… I should also look for something to eat on the way…”, he reminded himself.

William had been gathering herbs and greens from a young age, so he knew which plants were edible at a glance. A few raindrops later, he was gnawing on a root as he tried to dig out another vegetable.

While he was preoccupied by his working hands, he noticed a strange smell. Normally he wouldn’t have sensed it, but thanks to the incoming rain it was enhanced. William looked around nervously, trying to spot the origin of the smell. *Drip*. William felt what he at first thought was a raindrop but it was oddly warm?...

He observed his arm. There he saw a bright red drop get absorbed into the fabric of his dress. Realizing that it was blood, William froze and immediately looked up. “Hmm?...”. He thought he would see something gluttonous glare down at him, like in the horror movies. But instead, he saw the dangling carcass of what looked to be a fat rabbit?

What on earth!?...