Illorex was perhaps the strangest of the group- his mannerisms made it difficult to tell what he was thinking, and his abilities were even unknown. At least, unknown to most of them, it seemed... Or perhaps just himself and Milos.

"Well, I was going to take a walk alone in the forest today..."

To Dyss, it was obviously a joke, if a half-hearted one. To Milos, though... Dyss couldn't ever be sure. And so, he would add a bit of clarification...

"No, I want you around..."

Milos put his hands upon his knees, pushed his shoulders forward, and looked away from Dyss, his lower lip pushed out in a pout.

"O-oh," Milos whispered, feeling a little dejected.

But it turned out that Dyss was just joking.

This resulted in Milos shifting quickly to look up to his face with his pout unchanged, but once he remembered that Dyss couldn't see anyways, he glanced away for a moment to think--right before he drastically cheered up.

"Okay! Well, um, what should we do?" Milos asked, lacking direction.

Where to go, what to do--the possibilities were endless, for him. This was his first day in the living world, after all; it was a bit disconcerting to imagine all the things he could possibly do here that he couldn't in Purgatory. What was the most important? What was something that someone like them should do before their time expired? None of these Milos knew--but Dyss did!

"Um..."

Dyss honestly didn't know what might be fun for someone who could see. He'd accompanied Izumi to quite a few places, but none had ever really meant that much to him. It was more about the people. There was only one activity he really enjoyed that was fun without being overwhelming...

"There's a park at the end of town I like to go to..."

Dyss couldn't really even provide instructions, but he enjoyed the place. When it was "sunny," it was extremely pleasant, and there plenty of interesting noises to hear, as well as occasional people, without the intensity of the marketplace. He'd been with Izumi a few times... Maybe if he was lucky, another rabbit would approach them. Holding a rabbit at one point had been almost the highlight of the entire trip...

"A park?" Milos asked.

His first instinct was to ask what's that?, but he held off from that. He figured the initial question spoke for itself. They had no such things as parks in their old, gray city--no plant life, nothing like that. The only things they had were places to gather and socialize. It was the only thing Purgatory allowed for, that terribly oppressive place . . .

"Sure!"

Anything sounded good at the moment, really. They weren't in Purgatory, and that's all that really mattered in the end. Everything just looked, sounded, and smelled so beautiful here--and taste was good, too. Milos had particularly enjoyed the eggs that Izumi had made for him.

Milos would help Dyss up if need be--and definitely help him around the room, just as he did while they walked earlier, except a little closer just in case he needed to avert imminent disaster. He'd pluck one of the keys from near the door, close the door behind him, and lock it once they were outside again.

Just then, he realize that he had no idea where he was going--and neither did Dyss. "So, um . . . where is it?"

"I don't know..."

Dyss had no bearings in this place. They could ask Izumi, but then again, he couldn't even guide the two of them to Izumi. Then again, he did know one detail. Not that it meant anything to him...

"It's on the west side of town. Whatever that means..."

Dyss hadn't even learned cardinal directions in Purgatory, and had no idea what they meant in the real world. Except... Well, Izumi had said she could see a sunset. Again, not that he knew what a sunset looked like or what it meant... Dyss was obviously confused, just trying to throw information out that may help...

"And there was a sunset in that direction..."

I suppose we just . . . go west, until we hit something.

It wasn't a terrible idea; quite a good one, actually! A park to anyone else was a place for relaxation and serenity, but the whole world was like that to Milos, for now. He'd be just as fine sitting the grass as he would taking a nice, pleasant walk without any real purpose behind it--just walking for the sure sake of walking. Traveling for the sake of traveling, even. That luxury wasn't available to him, but it didn't sound like a remotely bad idea. If someday he had the option, he would just start at one point and go north, just to see where it lead him.

Thoughts like that could only go so far at the moment, though. Milos was just taken back by the view of the sky. It didn't seem like it would ever get old. The blues and the whites all around that one big bright yellow--

"I wish you could see the sky."

As usual, Milos thought out loud, something he generally wound up regretting later on. It was a habit he'd have to get over soon, especially if they might wind up living here!

"I--I, um, I mean--I mean I wish I could show it to you, or, well, or help you see better, so you could see it . . ."

"I... Wish I could, too..."

Dyss wasn't entirely sure how to respond, but he knew Milos meant well, as his backtracking showed. He couldn't do much except go where Milos led him, as well... Dyss could still vaguely sense what direction the others were in, but at the moment, he was reliant on Milos' sense of direction. Which was really pretty worrying...

"Thanks, I'm sure it's nice..."

He wasn't sure what else to say...

Milos bit his lower lip, feeling horrible for what he just said. Reminding Dyss that he couldn't see . . . it had to be terrible. He looked away from the sky, beating himself up on the inside. What if he had lost the ability to physically feel anything? Milos wouldn't have wanted someone to remind him of that every chance they could get. He'd have had no ability to enjoy what he was experiencing now in the living world--a fate for him that was much like absolute blindness for Dyss. Why only Dyss experienced a weakness and none of the others did, he didn't know--it was something perhaps to ask Attis later.

It was a good time for a subject change.

Awkwardly, Milos asked: "What's a park?"

He hadn't planned on asking that before, but now was as good of a time as any. He didn't really know where he was going, only that he was going west. He didn't know what to look for, if there'd be any other people there, or anything of the like. Dyss couldn't see, but that didn't mean he wouldn't know anything about it. If Milos just knew the tiniest detail . . .

"It's a place where there's just plants, I think... And lots of grass..."

Dyss had started to become familiar with the world, even though he couldn't see it, and could only really describe the feel or smell or sound of things. It wasn't like he could describe a park- he certainly hadn't ever seen one in the memories he possessed.

"And there should be a sign, I think. Izumi mentioned it..."

Dyss couldn't really help more than that. Really, any grass would convince him he was at the park...

"Grass . . . oh!" Milos almost forgot what that was!

Attis had talked to them about flora and fauna before they arrived, warning them that they were going to be hit by an array of colors that would inevitably shock them to speechlessness, or perhaps even motionlessness. Upon their arrival, Attis explained and named all the little things they saw: grass and trees, for example. Milos simply didn't have an extraordinary memory for names, that was all. If he only heard it once, it might've taken him a moment to remember!

In any case, mentioning a sign gave it all away. Milos never learned how to read, but he could--in numerous languages, at that . . .

"Here it is!" Milos exclaimed, just seconds before he remarked in a stroke of awe: "It's beautiful . . ."

Dyss would feel that they were in grass--short grass, its length maintained; it could only possibly be the park. If Dyss were to sit down, Milos would sit next to him, close enough to slightly lean on him--the youth was an affectionate one, at least with his friends that he knew had no problems with it.

Dyss felt the grass beneath his arms and ankles, and the warmth of whatever it was that generated heat in this world, and sighed contentedly. This was the only real place, and the only real time, where he could feel like it was all worth it, particularly with his friends now in this world, too...

"That's... Good..."

Dyss couldn't really comment on the beauty of the park, after all. But he didn't mind Milos leaning on him, and appreciated just being in the park. It was even better than Izumi's house, though a part of him really wished she was here with him, too, rather than working to support them. That was perhaps the worst part about this world. All the time that had to be spent just to live...

"It's nice to be here, even blind..."

After awhile, Milos sort of . . . nestled into Dyss. He no longer leaned against him passively, but with his whole body, resting the back of his head upon Dyss's chest. He didn't say anything for awhile, just rested. After awhile, though, he finally said something. It wasn't what he should have said, but Milos couldn't help a lot of what he thought or said. He didn't think before he talked a lot. The boy wasn't rude or anything, but still . . .

"I wonder if Attis can fix them," Milos thought out loud.

He tilted his head back to look up at Dyss's face, as if Dyss could see him--but, he might at least be able to tell that Milos was looking up at him, just by how it felt.

"Your eyes, I mean. I wonder if he can fix them. It seems like he can fix everything sometimes. He always has a solution to a problem."

Like their collective problem. Attis presented them all a solution that they'd had to work for and research--but it was a solution, nonetheless . . .

Dyss was able to tell which way Milos moved, though he of course couldn't see Milos looking at him. The question, though... It was a nice thought, certainly. If any of them could fix his eyes, Attis could. He'd at least have a much better chance than any of the rest of them...

"You're right... Maybe he can! That would be great..."

Dyss never really understood his power, anyway. His eyes had never really worked, but his sense had been even more powerful than he would have normally seen. At least, what he seemed to remember, in those other bodies and places. However, Attis knew things that were dark, too...

Dyss's reaction had Milos excited for the possibility, too!--that Attis could, in fact, fix Dyss's eyes. Or, rather, make him see again. Truth be told, Dyss's eyes just didn't work that way. But it was easier than explaining the whole thing in depth whenever mentioning it, to people like Attis, at least. Milos didn't quite understand how any power amongst their group worked, really. Not even his own. When asked about "powers" once--by Illorex, in particular--Milos didn't know how to respond, and Attis wound up speaking on his behalf: "He's indestructible."

It was a concept that was rightly confusing for the boy, but . . . if they became real, then perhaps it could be useful?

"All right!" Milos cheered quietly, "I'll talk to Attis about as sooooon as I see him next!"

The youth relaxed into Dyss again, his head leaned back into Dyss's chest again. He was comfortable like this, and since he didn't weigh much--and since his skin was already soft as is, it might not feel like all that pressure at all for Dyss.

Time passed, but they remained out there.

"I'm . . . really happy you're okay, Dyss," Milos inevitably remarked, "Even if your eyes don't work anymore--you're still alive and healthy, and the same Dyss as before, and that's all that really matters . . ."

"Thanks, Milos..."

Dyss didn't make the point that he wasn't really the same any more. Beyond his eyes, there was the fact that now he knew. He knew what they were, and how long they had, if they didn't solve their problem. And worse, he knew that Attis was both the oldest of them and the only one that really could help...

With no real idea of when time passed or not, Dyss tended to sleep a lot. The unchanging status of his eyes didn't provide any clues, but the eventual rhythm of his breathing, particularly with Milos lying on his chest, would signal that Dyss had fallen asleep in the sunshine...