He had no idea how long he lay there, curled up in his bed with the curtains closed and his phone on silent. After a while, time sort of...melted into itself, hours feeling like seconds and minutes crawling along like years. It was easier this way.
He couldn't meddle in peoples secrets, couldn't interfere. Couldn't drive them away. So he stayed inside, isolated from the world as he let everything fall apart around him.

The funny thing about hunger is that once you get past a certain point, you don't feel it anymore. The hollow ache that made its home in his belly was barely noticeable now. It felt comforting in its familiarity and consistency, grounding him to reality.

The constant ache should probably be cause for some concern, and yet- it wasn't. Scar felt fine, drifting on the edge of consciousness, hovering between the physical and intangible. Reality didn't feel real, rather it felt 3 inches to the left and the only thing holding Scar in place was a thin string tying him to his body. Like a balloon, he smiled bitterly.
He felt like a damn balloon.

There was a certain peace in the quiet darkness. It felt like a blanket, dampening the sounds around him until they were nothing more than muffled noises, words losing meaning and becoming empty syllables. Sure he could hear them, people at his door, whispering if they should go inside before deciding not to, but their words- they didn't mean anything. They didn't sound right. The noise lost all meaning.

And then the peace was shattered, Iskall walking in and shoving food into his shaking hands. Funny- when did he get so weak that he couldn't hold a bowl of stew steadily? How long has it been?
But Iskalls mouth was moving, more meaningless words filling the air and he stared down at Scar with a stern look.

He guessed he should eat the food.
And when Iskall's gaze softened, Scar knew he guessed right and finished the meal.

"Mind telling me what happened? Where's Grian and Mumbo?" Iskall asked, sitting down on the floor, his back against the wall.

Scar took a moment to process the question, the silence stretching until it teetered on the edge of awkwardness. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft and muted, cracking from a week of disuse and days of crying. "Mumbos gone too?"

Iskall nearly had to strain his ears to hear Scar, frowning with confusion at the implications that his words had. "You knew Grian was gone?"

"We...had a fight."

"About?"

"I don't wanna say."

Iskall shrugged, knowing enough not to pry at the moment. "But what about Mumbo? His base is a wreck and all his gear is gone."

"I guess he went after Grian."

"Do you know where they are?"

"No. Grian just...left without a word. I don't know how Mumbo knew were to find him- if he even did."

Iskall sighed, figuring that he wouldn't be getting much else out of Scar while he was in this state, standing up and sitting down next to the wizard on the bed. Something was clearly bothering him, and if Iskall had to guess, it would be the fight that happened between Scar and Grian.
"Listen dude- I don't know what happened between the three of you but you can't punish yourself like this. Do you know how long you've been like this?"

Scar shook his head no.

"It's been 11 days at least. No ones heard from you for 11 days and if you've just been like this the entire time- you're most definitely starving.
"Things happen dude. You can't ignore the world until the problem goes away, Scar, you gotta still get up every day and take care of yourself. Baby steps, yknow? Take care of yourself and then focus on the problem. But don't ignore it like this- because you're not only hurting yourself."

Scar nodded solemnly as Iskall rambled on, leaning his head into the other, silently asking for comfort.
"Oh, come here dude." Iskall smiled, wrapping his arms around Scar in a tight hug. And like any good friend, he didn't let go until he felt Scar pull away first.
"Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks Iskall." Scar murmured.

"Anytime."