Ellie looked at her uncle and understood where he was coming from, or why he was so pissed off, yet not very open about it. This business was his entire life, and that Hound almost destroyed his love. Add to it a derailing force of that unknown Walker who got to swim around the Assembly Island, then she understood face was important. Fortunately, it didn't seem her uncle would get in trouble for that.

  His face lost its luster and years, and his regular work became a nightmare. She couldn't blame him for anything because she felt the same amount of blame and guilt.

  Meanwhile, Celeste hugged Hound and wondered what to do now. Find Dreadus? Where to even start? It was getting late, so perhaps getting food wouldn't hurt, and the pair beside her didn't eat anything either. She thought that much, as she spied on them for the entire duration of their date. It seemed Ellie wasn't furious about that. But she wasn't necessarily grateful, though, nor was she glad about it. It was a confusing perspective for a girl who got to live a life that she never meant to have.

  Williams would think the same if he could. Ellie couldn't even fathom an image of a kebab, let alone something better at the moment. That man might've been no foe, but it felt as if he were, and everyone felt it in their own ways. His aura pressured them; his touch and eyes did things that none could explain, and both Celeste and William ended up feeling... weird. And that vial? Ellie couldn't imagine what it was doing to them and never had a chance to see it properly.

  She planned to ask Celeste about it, as it looked precious to her to the point that she would fight for it, through instincts, anger, and stuff. Thus, Ellie regarded it as her personal treasure, and due to the limitations of her own thoughts, perhaps she might not get a chance to look at it ever again.

  For now, she had a much bigger headache ahead, and it clashed against the past hour and a half and almost shattered it. A true fiend invaded their time, or they knocked on its head instead, so who to blame? It was going nowhere.

  On the other hand, William played with his bandages and gazed at his destroyed shirt and open Emblem because no matter what Ellie did, it refused to stay hidden and calm. The bandages either slipped off, loosened, or were cut until the bandage came off.

  The Emblem still looked as calm as it could be for the situation, and its waves had this hearty flow that was hard to explain.

  It intrigued him how it could be so savage, as it did crazy things when Celeste showed off that thing. That vial was the reason he got afraid, felt the change, and what came out of his head and Emblem trembled his entire being. That impression, man, and feelings nearly squeezed his voice and changed everything.

  He saw stranger Walkers the more time he spent in the Federation and its important segments. Their eccentric personalities left much to be desired, yet deep down, everyone had some worries. That they were becoming less human and more... different, and William couldn't note that as a big deal yet since Walkers looked like humans most of the time, and... he was screwed.

  He didn't get it. He knew Mi-Yung the best, and nobody else was as close. However, he no longer thought of it as a negative thing. Instead, he worried nothing might surprise him anymore, not after what happened in that mirror. Those faces felt and looked weird, and then, that monstrous wave felt sick. He almost waved back, or did he? It sure did...

  Sinking into a strange mood, Ellie poked his side and asked. “Are you fine? Does your arm hurt?”

  “I am fine,” William said, still looking at his arm.

  “Stop lying.”

  “Grey lies. You don't look all that fine either.”

  “I wouldn't lie about it. That's the difference.” Ellie argued, no longer poking him.

  “I am feeling great!” Celeste said right before them, standing and hugging Hound, and glancing around to see a pretty interesting place she hadn't gotten to see before. She didn't find a way inside, so she waited on the roof until she caught them leaving the ground below their feet on yet another ground, but moving ground. That was called a ship, she knew, as she learned a lot of funny words in the library or from Ellie.

  “You...” Ellie glanced at her, afraid she would start something bad again.

  Celeste had no regrets about that worry, but she caught on to Ellie's personality early and figured she might not have a place here. It was the smallest guilt imaginable, followed by words that Ellie said before the night even arrived.

  She said that she wanted to do something special with William and that she would have to learn things on her own or do whatever else was out of her view.

  So Celeste followed suit, and the rest aimed at their awkward pause and bunch of mistakes.

  “I... will leave,” Celeste said softly, angling her head down and leaving the roofed deck, and after a simple leap that passed dozens of feet beyond the stairs, she ran away.

  Haggard was glad about that, while Ellie thought otherwise and felt that her single word did more harm than good. Maybe she looked at her in a bad way? Sometimes, Celeste interpreted a lot of meaning with a single glance, even when words weren't part of the equation. She was sensitive and almost guillable, but that wasn't shocking considering her unknown history and how she acted.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Ellie could only sigh and look at William, who seemed to have more than enough on his mind. At that moment, his mind was one giant wonder, and several issues that fell short of his Emblem's innate flow. Either way, it was bloody calm, and it should stay that way.

  “Get up... will you?” Sudden words came to his ears, and even a hat fell on his head. William looked aside, noticing Ellie, who took the initiative and grasped his hand once more, and tried to get him to his feet. Sitting around for nothing was useless.

  With a push, she succeeded, and William adjusted his hat, the bitter wonders that might have no future, and tiresome numbness in his flesh.

  “Thank you, Uncle Haggard.” Afterwards, Ellie gave a surprising hug to a lone man who was still awkward as hell, and took it with tensed arms and a light chuckle.

  “No worries. Don't visit like this, though. Maybe... somewhere else is finer. I know a great fishing spot with wide open skies, and no Rifts or Walkers should be on sight.” Haggard offered.

  “Really?” Ellie perked up and considered this choice. William, behind her, did not.

  “Alright then. Visit Uncle if you'd like, but don't do so if you're too busy. Just take care, alright? I bet the situation at home is not that pleasing all the time.”

  “Forget about it. Who would complain? I don't.” Ellie said in a playful tone. Her family worries have long been taken care of, and her own pursuit of happiness was her priority.

  William left the docks and moved with Ellie to the streets. Ellie tried to lead the way, but hardly felt like doing it when he was slower than usual, and back on the firm ground below their feet.

  “Sorry for today. I thought it would be a calm night,” she apologized again.

  “It wasn't...well, it was stranger than bad. It couldn't be helped. Perhaps some things are meant to happen, while others don't.”

  “Such a quote? I feel like I read it somewhere. I wonder where.” Ellie pinched William's shoulder.

  “What can I say? I began to read a lot after meeting my quotas better than ever. All thanks to you, I have to say. The library is for books and reading. Of course, I do that even when Mi-Yung manages my efforts and guides me. Overall, I gained a lot of words that I can use against you.” William forced a smile and felt a little bit proud.

  “I know. I know... Busy days, yes?”

  Awkward silence followed, so perhaps Celeste wouldn't be bad to have. She had this weird aura and mind that made her witty and chatty, or a decent source of wonder and conversation. Her surroundings changed, just as she had in recent weeks.

  “Have you liked the Assembly?”

  “Yes. In a way.”

  “I regret that it went a little poorly. I mean, your birthday is today, so who knew there would be a lunatic in the ocean and do... things, or speak or...” Ellie swallowed that weird kiss on her palm and felt almost nothing good about it. It was out of place, and she felt nothing great about it whatsoever, apart from a jolting fear that aimed at that man's entire vision. Her intentions remained inside her, and they had to go out, or tears would come instead.

  Dreams were for children, or if one was brave enough to clutch them, then they could come to reality. In her case, her bravery often arrived in small tides. Today's tide was tremendous, weakened, and now, she didn't feel like flying or moving anything.

  Her shaking heart moved, and the voice of that man revolved in her mind. He cheered her up, in a way, causing her mind to drift and latch onto a weird hope. She imagined being with William for years, when he would change as a Walker, and she would too, but as a human. It wasn't looking all that bad, yet possibilities and how to proceed with it weren't about dreams. It was real, and she wanted all sorts of things to be real.

  Alas, she was a human, while he was not. It wasn't working because of beauty, a great body, or a face, but because of those eyes and the cheers. They might not look at her, for they were deeper and looking at her whole, or not in the slightest, because Alan Fain wasn't caring for such glamor.

  It was a bizarre experience that Ellie wouldn't have felt if it hadn't been for this disgusting luck. It didn't disgust her, however. It was a complicated feeling that she had never experienced with any Walker she had ever encountered.

  Walking forth from the ocean, the silence and occasional sentences went between a tired pair. Midnight was approaching, and the scarred moon glowed around the starry sky. The smell of this industrial sector was the only bother on this windless night.

  “Do you like the hat?” Ellie asked.

  “Is it about this birthday again? Listen, I don't find it all that bad to forget about such days. It is a single day when one is a year older. It is that simple.”

  “I like special days surrounded by odd, boring, or exciting days. One should be more special than the others. It is a celebration of a new person coming into this world, so doesn't it make sense? A small day for both the parents and the child, and... oh. I am sorry... your parents... I didn't mean to say it like that.” Ellie stopped herself and shook both her palms in front of her in a frantic apology.

  William stopped and looked at her, hoping she was joking. For a while, he didn't pay attention to these reminders or his parents, but some talk about his father did happen. But if he said he missed his parents, that was true.

  At one point in his life, he was jealous and curious about why some kids had them while he didn't. They left him, played with him, and became obvious nuisances, but he didn't want to kill them. It wasn't that sort of mindset or even a remote way to get his parents back.

  Ellie had no bad intentions about her words, either, and was honest. Her attempts to console him were a fitting shot, like the rest of the night.

  “Not like I can change something about my parents,” he argued to make himself feel better, and tried to make her stop talking about it.

  Ellie expected William would be fine, though she couldn't imagine the past or how he came to this sentiment. She never imagined a life where one had to survive by themselves Outside—in wild places, surrounded by darkness, rough people, or monsters.

  At a very young age, being one's boss, figuring out things because no one would be there to make you feel at home or loved. It left her mind in a state of wonder from time to time. Part of it was caused by Celeste, who was a bit extreme in this belief, but most of it came from William because Ellie wanted to understand him much more.