The Land of Chaos: Part II

Cross flew until he saw a rather unnatural creature down below him in the forest, tearing a deer apart. When the raven haired male dropped down, he had to avoid acid as it was shot at him. Why did all the creatures he came across have to spit acid? He had to quickly decide on whether he wanted to kill this creature or not. It wasn't covered in acid, it just looked like it spit the stuff. Regardless, if he got too close and the thing bit him...and there were spikes on its back. He took a breath and then sighed. He'd try to save it, but if all else failed, he'd have to take it out. When Cross threw a knife at the thing, it dropped the deer and gave a guttural hissing sound before shooting spikes at its attacker. The knife still hit it, which was good, but the thing charged at Cross immediately after countering. The emerald eyed male shot up into the air to avoid the spikes, and once more had to move to avoid the acid it shot, which grazed the bottom of his wing.

Boreas nearly glared at DK. "I'm not afraid of elevators," he sneered. He looked off to the side and followed the kids into the lobby as Alice ran ahead at DK's idea.

"Excuse me mister," she called, the desk clerk having to look over the counter to see her. "Is there a park around here?" she asked sweetly. The male at the desk nodded, telling her there was one right around the corner from here, and then how to get there. "Thank you," she said happily, turning to Boreas and DK. "Let's go, let's go~!"

Batsu wasn't a fan of water considering fire was his element. He really didn't appreciate being dragged under and crushed to the ground either. Grey eyes turned red and Batsu dug into the creatures back, causing it to thrash around until it had flung Batsu off of it's back. Of course Batsu hadn't expected this and more than that he didn't come here looking for a fight. He had come to wash the scent of blood off. Aware that he was in need of oxygen he started swimming upwards, only to feel something wrap around his leg and pulled him back down until he felt the sharp sting of claws in his back. The pain was unrealistic and for a moment he forgot he was under the water as he screamed. Water filled his lungs and he struggled to get back to the surface. He wouldn't die this way, he thought to himself. He wouldn't fall to Madness. Even with these thoughts, the pain of his open wounds accompanied by the lack of oxygen was weakening him by the second. The red haired male was also losing consciousness as the water creature crushed him with it's massive claw. Maybe death would be better than being unwanted, the winged male thought weakly. Maybe someone else can fight Madness. Batsu closed his eyes. He'd fought so hard to live and now it was as though he had no will. His face twisted in pain as the beast pushed down harder. All this fighting for what? To die like this? All I wanted to do was live after so many centuries of wandering. Is this my punishment? Anger welled up in Batsu as he thought about this. His eyes opened and his wings sparked but wouldn't set aflame, however the surrounding water boiled until it scolded the water beast. Batsu didn't give it a chance to move away. He dug his nails in and pulled as much Madness as he could handle and more until he felt like he would go over the edge. With Madness running through his veins he used that additional strength to dig into the chest cavity, spark a supernova, and boil it from the inside out. Once he was sure the thing was dead he headed for the surface and coughed up everything he had swallowed. Too tired to continue any farther he collapsed on the shore, his wings soaking wet and shedding and his usually grey eyes blazing red. Closing his eyes he tried to relax so that he could fall asleep, but the Madness inside of him made it less than possible to find a peaceful sleep.

DK grinned when Alice went ahead of him. "Hey wait up." He said nothing to Boreas about his lying. He just wanted to play. "Told ya it was right around the corner," he chirped as he followed without complaint.

Cross nearly stuttered in his flight, but instead took to diving down to pin the creature to the ground, folding his wings behind him to try to avoid the spikes. It was extremely risky to do something like this, but getting behind the thing or on its back was the only way to absorb the Madness without getting his body stained by acid. Cross held onto one of the spikes on the thing's back and used his other to pull the Madness out. This creature was truly repulsive, most especially in the noises it exuded. A grating screech escaped it as it tried to throw the winged male off, shooting spikes off in every which direction until the spikes closed inwards, entrapping Cross's right arm and tearing the skin off of it in several places. Eyes widening, the raven haired male kept his hold, but pulled on the Madness as fast as he could. Pulling away now would mean losing most of the skin off his arm, and it was already bad enough off. Even so, the creature kept thrashing, inevitably injuring the Messenger's arm more and more. However, Cross was both unable and unwilling to let go of the creature, so the more time passed, the more tired the creature seemed to become until it collapsed to the ground and turned into a small lizard-like creature with an oddly shaped red shell covering the skin of its back. Cross let his arm hang by his side as he picked the small creature up. He wondered how long it would take him to fly to the Unknown from here. Lifting off, he took off in the direction opposite the Thunder, his eyes glancing over the ground for more creatures as he flew. He was a bit tired. The creature hadn't had as much Madness as the wolf had, but he'd absorbed what Batsu had collected earlier. Speaking of the red haired being, Cross dropped down to the earth when he saw Batsu laying by a lake. He'd seen a slight sheen on the ground, and he thought at first that it had been water outside of the lake, but when he got closer, he saw that it wasn't only water, but blood as well. Putting the lizard down, Cross went over and knelt next to the other winged male. "Batsu..? Can you hear me?" He wasn't sure if Batsu was passed out or not. The light around them was long since faded, since the sun had set nearly an hour ago. He didn't touch the red haired being, but he figured that since he was this messed up, he'd probably come into contact with another infected creature. Cross nearly put his hand on Batsu's back to extract the Madness, but refrained from doing so. The guy had gotten pissed off at him for doing that last time, and right now they were both injured and didn't need that kind of stress. The little lizard was crawling casually about the floor, as if it knew not what had just happened to it.

Boreas looked around the Thunder, glad that it was quieter than it had been earlier in the day. Less humans was perfect with him. No humans would be better, but he wasn't about to go around killing humans just because he could. Crossing his arms behind his head, he followed the kids. The excitement from earlier was winding down in his mind and he was starting to think more about things. About Jasper having passed on. Would he have to pass on once he had fulfilled his purpose? Would he want to? After this was all over, would he need a reason to live, or would he be able to live without a reason? Boreas glanced around. Why was he thinking about things like that when he had a reason to live right now?

Alice smiled when DK told her to wait up, and instead ran faster. "Don't be so slow," she called, giggling.

(Don't forget Fara.)

Batsu could hear someone calling him far off in the distance, but he wasn't quite sure who it was. All he knew was that he was in a lot of pain and sleep seemed to dull it, so he really didn't want to wake up. Despite that being said, he opened his eyes. Instead of looking for the voice that had spoke his name, he starred straight ahead, his eyes a bit blank. Batsu had passed through the shock, for it was what had knocked him out to began with, now he was just coping. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and despite the water, he was covered in blood. Slowly he pushed himself into a sitting position, but his wings would not stretch out, in fact they remained rather limp. He let his eyes adjust to the light before he spoke. Not to mention he had to decide on whether or not he wished to be upset with Cross or not. "....what happened to you?"

DK stuck out his tongue when Alice told him not to be slow and ran even faster while giggling. "Hmph, fine then." He broke into a run after her. When he was close enough he tapped her shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" He then took a sharp left and doubled back towards Boreas with a childish laugh.

Hunter was sitting back in his room with the TV on and his arms crossed over his chest. He hadn't done much since Batsu had left, but he was starting to get bored and possibly a bit worried. Their 'leader' had been gone for some time now and it was starting to make him a bit anxious. There was no way for the group to stay in touch with each other and what more was that Batsu could easily be recognized as the Red Menace or whatever each region had called him. Of course Batsu was less stocky and his eyes were grey now, but it wouldn't take rocket science to figure out the more than obvious similarities.

(Err...right.)

Cross stayed kneeling next to Batsu, even as the guy sat up. He wondered what the creature Batsu had faced was like. "I ran into an infected creature," he said, motioning to the lizard crawling around. "Is that what happened to you?" He wanted to ask several things, but he'd find out first what had happened. He didn't know anything else that could have injured Batsu that badly in such a short amount of time. Then again, he didn't know how long he'd been fighting the acidic lizard creature for. He could've been at it for an hour or just fifteen minutes. He didn't know, because he hadn't cared to pay attention.

Boreas blinked and looked at Fara when her flower brushed against the side of his face. He figured it was an accident, because she was looking casually around the village. He couldn't help but smile lightly. She was like his best friend now that Jasper wasn't around. She'd been with them through a lot. He still couldn't help but wonder if she'd heard him when he'd spoken to her while she'd been frozen. He blinked again and looked to DK who was running back towards him. Had he missed something?

Alice giggled, looking back when DK said fine then, giving a playful scream when she saw him running towards her. Turning to look in front of her, she tried to run faster, but ended up getting tagged anyways. She quickly turned around and ran back after him, happily laughing. "I'm gonna get you," she called. This was so much fun!

Batsu slowly looked to the lizard. That thing had been infected? He wasn't curious as to what it was in it's Madness form. He nodded even slower when Cross asked him if he'd also been involved with a creature that was infected by Madness. He blinked tiredly. How long had he been out for? His eyes narrowed lightly and then closed completely. He swayed for a brief moment and then gained his balance. "Why are you here?" He was keeping all his sentences short and to the point. It hurt to talk.

DK clearly didn't care for being an adult anymore. He was having fun just being a kid. He hurried behind Boreas and tried to hide. "Boreas, save me," he joked. "I don't wanna be taken alive." He couldn't help the laugh that escaped him through his false panic.

Cross watched Batsu carefully. The guy was in really bad shape. "I was flying him back to the Unknown and I saw you," he said simple in response. A heartbeat passed before his next question. "Will you let me help you?" Batsu was a part of their group, and whether he was injured or not, Cross was going to do what he could to help the red haired male.

Boreas blinked and tilted his head when DK ran behind him and hid from Alice. He gave a sly grin at what the kid said. "You don't want to be taken alive?" he asked. "Hm, I suppose I can help you with that," he joked. He ruffled DK's hair playfully, but then in the next instant pushed the kid out from behind him, grinning. "Here, daughter of the Unknown, take this boy as sacrifice," he chuckled. God he was a horrible person. Maybe this outing would be fun after all.

Alice gigged at Boreas's actions, but instead of going for DK again, she tagged the brown haired male and ran away. "Tag, you're it!"

Boreas blinked in confusion. "What?"

So Cross had come down because he'd spotted him on his way to the Unknown. Batsu didn't quite care. The grey eyed male shook his head when Cross asked if he could help. "I'm fine." There was an edge to his voice and it had nothing to do with Madness and everything to do about the way Cross had treated him earlier. Batsu had not forgotten and he hadn't yet learned how to forgive as easily as others. The smaller winged male slowly rose to his feet. This was a real effort in itself and he was sure it wouldn't get easier with time. Slowly he started towards the Thunder with his wing dragging in the dirt. He just wanted to sleep.

DK smiled when Boreas agreed to help him, but yelped with surprise as he was pushed towards Alice. "Hey, it's not supposed to work like that," he whined. He then burst into laughter when Alice tagged Boreas instead. "HA! YOU'RE IT!" He then took off running for whatever cover he could find.

Giving a glance to the lizard and then back to Batsu, Cross debated mentally what he wanted to do. He might be able to pull the Madness out of Batsu without the guy knowing, but that would break any remaining trust. Sighing softly as Batsu stood up, Cross did the same, picking the lizard up with his good arm and letting his bad one hang at his side as he walked next to Batsu, but yet still behind the other being. He was at least going to make sure the guy made it to the Thunder before taking the lizard to the Unknown. Blood dripped steadily from his fingertips as he walked, but he tried not to notice. He'd have to bandage it himself before picking Alice up. Though he wouldn't be able to get away with his jacket being so badly torn without an explanation. His wing shook and a couple feathers toppled out. He looked down at the little lizard. Damn this thing for causing him so much grief. He held back a sigh. Then again, it wasn't really this thing's fault.

Boreas couldn't believe this. Those kids were unbelievable. He didn't really want to run. He was feeling lazy. So instead, he tapped Fara on the shoulder and gave her a small, hopeful smile, to which the fairy silently giggled, fluttering up and darting off, clearly glad to be included in the fun. She caught up with DK and tapped him on the side of the face, silently giggling and making it clear he was it before flying off towards Alice to try and get away from the little purple haired boy.

Batsu wasn't sure where he was going. He wasn't even sure he wanted to go to the Thunder. What awaited him there was more trouble than he'd ever asked for. A group of people that he could care little for. Although they were good company, he couldn't deal with them right now. They're smiling faces and happy personalities. Batsu began to bristle at the thought until his wings dropped a decent amount of feathers. Between Madness, injures, and emotional distress, he was losing enough feathers to keep him from being airborne. The winged male bowed his head and stopped by a tree stump. He took a seat and held his head in his hands. His head was killing him. No longer caring that Cross was there he slid off the stump and slid to the ground so that he could lean against it.

DK was laughing his tiny purple head off. He was so excited to be playing like this. It really had been forever. He smiled when Fara tagged him and he hurried along after her, but decided to go for Alice instead. "I'm going to get you," he told her as he reached out his hands to catch her. He really was enjoying himself. Who cared about the park.

Cross followed behind Batsu for a good while until the guy sat down on a stump. The raven haired male finally frowned. He didn't know if Batsu was even going to the Thunder. Maybe he'd forget all about his mission and take off somewhere once he was left alone. Even though Cross knew this was highly unlikely given Batsu's physical condition, it still seemed like something the red haired male might do. One the guy slid to the ground, Cross walked over, but this time kept the lizard in his arms. He knelt down in front of the other winged male, just like last time. "Let me help you," he insisted quietly. There was a couple moments pause. "Please."

Alice's smile widened when she saw Fara join them. Yay, more people to play! Once she realized that DK was getting closer to her, the white haired girl laughed and turned into a cat, running further away. She didn't often get to play with other kids, so she didn't know that something like that was probably against the rules.

(Nice)

Batsu finally turned his gaze to Cross and shook his head. "No," he replied. "I can handle myself. I am not a child, I do not need your help." He would have stood but he was too tired to even attempt it. "I didn't need your help before and I don't need it now,' he growled. His canines showed clearly in the pale moon light. "Now leave me alone and take that," he nodded to the lizard. "Back to the Unknown." He closed his eyes and placed his head back in his hands. Why was this so hard? Why had this become his job? Why couldn't he just live the way he wanted to without question?

DK did think it was cheating that Alice decided to shape shift, but that was okay with him because he turned into his tiny dragon form and flew after her. "Nyaa!" He could catch her if he flapped his wings a little harder. Diving down he stretched out his paws to catch her.

Cross was silent for a few moments after Batsu spoke. "I'm not trying to help you because I think you can't handle it," he said. Looking at the lizard, he decided the thing would be fine out of the Unknown for a while, and sat down where he was, sitting Indian-style as he looked at Batsu. "If you don't want to do this, I'll take over. It's not just your responsibility. We all live in this world the same, so all of us have a share in protecting it." He didn't know where that had come from. That word, protecting, just seemed to come naturally to him now, since he was beginning to figure things out. "You don't have to take the full burden."

Alice mewed every now and then as she ran, her cat body stretching with each bound she made. Once DK dived down to catch her, she tumbled to the ground with him, turning back into her human form and giggling and laughing almost nonstop.

Boreas watched as the two kids played around, shapeshifting to play tag. He wasn't an expert in tag, but he was pretty sure that wasn't right with the rules. Eh, whatever. Neither was freezing people, but Boreas had accidentally made Jasper do that before he was a conscious chakra. The orange eyed male smiled when he saw Fara fly over to Alice and DK. He would never say it aloud, but those three were cute together like that.

Batsu narrowed his eyes as Cross spoke. He really didn't want to do this, but hadn't he caused Cross enough problems as it was? He'd used the guy's body and now Cross was stuck with him because Alice wanted to tag along. "I don't care about protecting this world," he spoke dryly. "What I care about is the souls that have been changed because of Oblivion. What I care about is finishing what was started and then moving on. I don't give a damn about everyone else. So if you want to protect the entire world then so be it, have fun, because that isn't my responsibility." His wings stretched behind him and he shut his eyes in pain. "I won't be the one to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. It's not my problem, these souls are." And yet he'd devoured the soul of one and then destroyed another. Batsu shook his head as he wings fell back to ground. "I have so much blood on my hands, do I owe the people of this world?"

DK changed back after he'd tumbled with Alice. He gave a tiny chuckle and then dusted himself off. "That was fun," he said with a nod. He looked to Fara as she flew over. "Wouldn't you agree." He really was enjoying himself. The last time he'd had this much fun was before his parents had died. DK eyes darkened lightly with the memory of those darker days. He quickly shook his head and looked to the fairy and shapeshifter. "What do you want to do now," he asked.

Another silence passed between them when Batsu asked if he owed the people of this world. Cross wasn't sure how to answer that. He didn't know all the details, but he'd figured what Batsu had done with his body had been bad. "No. Whether they know it or not, you've done them a service already," he told him. He didn't know if that was true, or if he was just saying it. The raven haired male looked to the lizard. If he flew quickly it wouldn't take him more than half an hour to get there and back, and he could find Silence to deposit the Madness. But he wanted to take Batsu's share too, because the guy couldn't fly to the Unknown on his own. "You've already protected them a great deal, even if you don't wish to think of it that way," he said, still looking away from Batsu. His left wing ruffled a bit, some of the burnt feathers falling.

Fara nodded happily when DK asked if they had fun. She fluttered around the two, landing on Alice's shoulder as the white haired girl stood up. "We should find the park, then, then we'll have something to do tomorrow if we don't go looking for monsters," Alice giggled. "And then we can go back home. I want ice cream." Any place Alice could sleep for the night would be home to her, even though her two really real homes were at the Unknown and Cross's house.

(Cross has a house?)

Batsu's grey gaze met Cross's. "By devouring their souls and feasting on the hearts of their children. By burning down their homes, leaving not even an animal to survive the slaughter. Is that how I have done them a service? By destroying everything they have worked so hard for, only for it to perish at the hands of what they believe to be a 'God'?" Batsu shook his head. "I have no done them a great service, I have robbed them of the life that they deserved to live. Now they cower in fear, awaiting their demise at the hands of a creature who only wanted to live."

DK stood up as well and then stretched. "Okay, let's get a move on," he promoted. He started off only to stop when Alice said she wanted ice cream. "Me too." He nodded and headed off. "Come on Boreas, you don't wanna get left behind."

(Of course. Don't you remember Cross and Kaoru?)

Cross only shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I meant what you're doing now. Taking care of the infected souls before...things get too out of hand." Cross could imagine a world in which Madness ran rampant and it was a terrible vision to behold. He imagined all the things Batsu said he'd done. Actually, his vision of a mad world correlated very closely to his image of the damage Batsu had done. He finally looked to the red haired male. "You did it to survive."

Alice nodded and started off, hoping to find the park somewhere nearby. She really wanted some chocolate ice cream. She looked back to Boreas and giggled when the guy rolled his eyes and started walking after them.

Batsu shook his head. "I can't see it in that light," he replied with a sigh. "I wanted to survive, but look at what the cost of survival was. Is my life really worth that of a thousand?" Batsu stood up with less effort than before because he was forcing himself to move. "Taking care of infected souls doesn't save the ones that are already gone. What I've done is unforgivable." He looked to Cross. "If this is my punishment then I accept it."

DK followed in silence after that. He wondered where Cross had run off to and what Batsu and Hunter was doing. His eyes closed briefly and he gave a tiny whistle.

"No one life is worth one of another," Cross said quietly, his green eyes slightly narrowed. "Maybe it just happened that your life is worth a thousand, if you save that many more." He watched Batsu get up, but didn't move himself. If the guy wanted to think of his actions as unforgivable, there was probably nothing he could do to change Batsu's mind. "What do you plan on doing now?" he asked tiredly, pushing himself up with one arm. His wings fluttered behind him once as he got up. He looked around for the lizard, only to see that is was halfway up the trunk of a tree.

Alice looked to DK curiously when he whistled, and then went over to him, looking at him for a few seconds before speaking. "Can you teach me how to do that?" she asked. "I can't whistle, it always just comes out as air," she said with a tiny pout, trying to whistle just to show him what she said was true.

DK blinked when Alice came over and asked him if he could teach her how to whistle. "Sure," he said. "If you put your lips together like this," he said as he made sort of a fish face. "The curl your tongue up like this," he said as he stuck his tongue out. "Then blow, but make sure to leave yourself some room to push out the air." He nodded as if it were simple.

Batsu shook his head, Cross was wrong. "I'm going back to the hotel. I'm tired and wish to sleep." He then gave a small wave and started off. Batsu didn't need to sleep, but at the same time it helped him regain his energy way faster and heal quicker as well. As for the Madness within, it was dying down enough for his feathers to stop shedding like dog fur. His system had stopped trying to reject it and instead accepted it. As long as he didn't have to fight again he'd be fine, or so he hoped.

Cross nodded when Batsu said he was going back to the hotel. "I'm making a trip to the Unknown." He paused. "Will you let me take what you've collected so I can bring it to Silence?" he asked. It would be the last time he'd ask, because he felt as if he had asked enough by now, and after this he would no longer push the issue. It seemed to him like Batsu was no longer upset with him, and Cross wished to keep it as such.

Alice listened intently to what DK told her, but when she tried to replicate what he did, she still couldn't whistle. She kept trying a couple times until she finally gave up with a huff. "I can't do it." She looked a bit upset until she saw Boreas smiling and chuckling, at which point she couldn't help but smile as well.

Batsu kept walking. "I don't need you to help me every time I consume Madness," he spoke mildly. "If it weren't for Alice then you wouldn't be here to consume it in the first place. I'm sure Silence wouldn't have given me this task if I weren't able to handle it," he spoke. With that he fell silence and continued on. His eyes flickered once or twice as he made his way back to the gates. He was sure he'd get an ear full if he tried to enter the village like this, but there was no other way inside.

DK blinked when Alice said she couldn't do it. But it was so easy! "Don't give up, you can do it," he insisted. He then looked to Boreas. "Can you whistle," he asked. He leaned forward to peer up at the older male.

Cross nodded at Batsu's answer. "I'll see you tomorrow, then." Going over to the tree the lizard was on, he flapped his wings a couple times so he could hover high enough to catch the creature. Even tiny this thing was a hassle. Once he had the red backed lizard, he took off into the air and towards the Unknown. He wanted to get rid of this Madness as well as the lizard he held in his arm. Once he landed at the gates nearly twenty minutes later, he walked in and set the creature down and watched it crawl away. Under any other circumstances, the journey to the Unknown would have taken him about fifteen minutes, but he was getting tired. "Silence," he called, looking around. It was dark inside the Unknown as well. He was kind of glad for that. It meant he didn't have to deal with the changing light.

Alice nodded, and kept trying to whistle, despite the fact that she just couldn't get it. Boreas, on the other hand, looked down at DK at his question. "I think so. I've never actually tried it before, but Jasper used to do it all the time." That carefree prick. Boreas shook his head and then whistled a couple times before grinning. "See, there we go," he nodded, chuckling when Alice gave a tiny, airy whistle before giving a cheer. "Hey, I got it a little!"

Batsu made it home much later than he would have without injury. His wings hurt massively and his back ached dramatically. When he got to the gate the guard stopped and questioned him for what seemed like forever. Batsu grew impatient enough to show his canines so that the man would let him be. Once he got to the room, he found that Hunter had fallen asleep. Being as quiet as he possibly could he got into the shower and washed off. When he'd finished, he looked at his wounded back. It was no longer bleeding, but he could see that the skin was cut deep enough for him to see the bone. Batsu felt horrible. He really needed new clothes. Keeping his shirt off, he went to the bed and laid down. He immediately passed out and when morning came he didn't wake up despite Hunter's efforts.

Hunter had been out cold when Batsu came in. He didn't even notice the shower that Batsu had taken. When morning came, Hunter got up and showered. He waited a while before ordering food, but once he had he tried waking Batsu only to see that the guy was out cold. Hunter decided to go down and meet the others. Maybe Batsu would meet them later.

DK watched curiously as Boreas said he would try. DK clapped when both Boreas and Alice managed to whistle. "Great job guys!" He cheered encouragingly. The little dragon then pointed ahead. "Look the park!" DK then started for the swings.

Silence came when called. He looked to Cross and nodded in approval when he saw the little lizard the male had brought back. "Well done." He then withdrew the madness Cross had acquired. The guardian then turned to leave.

Cross was grateful that Silence came almost immediately to take the Madness from him. Ever since that encounter with Oblivion, the stuff made him far more weary than it would have usually. When Silence went to walk away, Cross had nearly done the same himself. He watched the guardian's back for a moment before speaking. "Silence." A pause as he waited for the greater being's attention. "Was I...created just to watch over Alice?"

The white haired girl smiled and gave a laugh of joy when DK said good job, then followed her friend over to the swing set, climbing onto the one next to DK's, smiling brighter when Fara flew up to sit on top of the swing set. She seemed to like high places. Maybe that's why she was always on Boreas' shoulder. Speaking of Boreas, Alice noticed that the first thing he did was go over to sit on a bench nearby. She wondered if he was okay.