After Tim is gone for two days straight, they start to show concern. 

At first, it is only Adwin, who stares at the boy's bed at night, wondering where he might be. Then Maverick, who begins to suspect that a community member of Alaque is responsible for the disappearance.

"He's just trying to get your attention," Alvaro says one night when the pair have snuck out behind the house to lie in the dewy grass.

They stare up at a sky full of stars, one that Alvaro isn't sure he has ever seen. He is sure that the brightest lights are planets, rather than passing planes. Maverick doesn't find it anything special, but he enjoys that Alvaro seems happy.

Really, Alvaro just likes lying close enough that he can smell Maverick.

By the second day, Mickey is sure that something is wrong. He wonders if he has an inherent sense of danger. He wonders if the war has ruined his life forever.

"Relax," Beverly rolls her eyes, even though it makes her skull tingle. She has mostly recovered from the attack, but not from the spreading rot, which now has passed up over her shoulder and is beginning to bloom on her collarbone. "Tim probably stole some horses and ran off to Virginia."

Unlike the others, Flo refuses to panic. She finds herself nervous about Tim's sudden departure because it means that he could be anywhere, hiding around a corner ready to strike. She shares her concerns with no one, but Adwin senses them. Sometimes, when no one is watching, she'll put her head on his lap and he will stroke her hair, to help her tight suffering. She doesn't understand how, but being with Adwin feels like being solitary without the loneliness.

He feels bad, because Adwin has a secret he must tell Flo.

While the others proceed to panic, Clara pays them no mind. Her days are spent reminiscing Hubert's intense gaze. Though his eyes are bright, in the low light of his house they seemed infinitely dark. When she isn't clearing out the rot with Mickey, who has grown quieter and quieter around her, she realizes something.

Clara longs to be longed for, and nothing else.

By the third day, when Hubert arrives with the groceries, Maverick has called a meeting to go looking for Tim.

"We need to search three areas," Maverick says. "The beach, the town, and the forest. Our search might take a few days, so everyone ought to be content with their areas and their groups."

"How would he be on the beach without us seeing him?" Beverly cocks her head to the side.

"He's suggesting that something bad might have happened to Tim," Alvaro points out. "It's not like any of us besides Mickey could survive on our own for three days."

"Regardless, we need to split off into groups," Maverick points out.

"I'll go to the woods with you," Alvaro offers.

"Flo and Adwin can join me in at the beach!" Beverly pipes in, grinning.

This leaves Mickey, Clara, and Hubert to the town. Without protests or griping (even though the groups are less than ideal for some).

~~~

"Did you hear that?" Maverick asks.

Alvaro turns around. He puts a hand on Maverick's shoulder, leaning down. "Relax. You are so tense."

"I do not see a reason to calm myself," Maverick swallows, looking up at Alvaro.

Alvaro gives Maverick a gentle pat before stepping forward past him. Their shoulders brush, and Maverick feels a shudder roll down his spine.

"Why do you always do this?" Maverick asks.

Something cracks in the trees before them. Alvaro steps back. He puts a finger to Maverick's lips, and Maverick is memorized by the cool touch. He looks at Alvaro's deep brown eyes and tries to understand what hides behind them. There is a small smirk across Alvaro's face, one that huffs out, lightly, before it continues.

"Why do I always do what?" Alvaro takes a step closer, and then another.

Maverick moves backwards, until his back is pressed against a tree. Alvaro leers over top of him, and Maverick can't help but swallow.

His Adam's apple bobs, and Alvaro smiles. He likes that Maverick is so easy to read. Alvaro wants to lean forward, to bring his hand up to Maverick's face and watch his reaction to the touch. Alvaro wants to understand every way that Maverick's body moves, each tick like clockwork, predictable yet mystifying.

"I..." Maverick forgets what they were talking about. He wants to lean forward, but he feels his body is frozen. He imagines his father, watching him somehow, and feels deep shame blossom on his cheeks in bright red roses. He would never admit it to himself, but he likes that Alvaro is always the one to make the first move. Maverick doesn't know how to push and pull without hurting anyone, and he doesn't want to cause any more pain than he did as the antagonizer in school.

Alvaro presses his body up against Maverick's, and rests his hands on Maverick's hips. He waits for Maverick to stammer, but suddenly a calm blows through the both of them, pushing them together.

Their lips hover above each other, and then they hear a branch snap behind them.

The pair turn their heads to see two men standing in the woods, holding hands. Other than the ten feet of distance, the only other barrier between them is linguistic. And yet, they seem to speak the same language in silence.

There are others, Maverick realizes. Throughout all of time, there have been others, and there will always be.

Like ships passing in the night, the two strangers turn around and move on.

Alvaro pulls away, to save Maverick from embarrassment. Even though Maverick has never felt more comfortable in his own skin.

~~~

At the beach, Beverly plays in the water. She splashes up at Flo, who recoils her dress.

"It may not be pretty, but I'd rather it refrains from getting dirty," Flo says. "We don't even bathe regularly."

"Is that abnormal?" Bev cocks an eyebrow, a smile on her face.

While Bev frolics in the water, claiming she is checking it for Tim, Adwin paces on the sand. His eyes stare down at the ground, but he is only barely looking for signs of burial. Realistically, he knows that if someone wanted to hide Tim in this large land, they would never find him. Maverick's decision to search for Tim is ceremonial, not practical.

No, Adwin paces because he panics. He wishes that he didn't remember correctly, but he needs to get Flo alone.

Oblivious, Beverly continues to ramble. "I don't understand how you can be so brave yet fear a little water."

Flo blinks. "You think I'm brave?"

"Well, you always stand up for others," Beverly points out, so absorbed by the waves that she doesn't notice Flo's blush. "And you refuse to take no for an answer. It's admirable, really."

Flo bites her lip. "I like that you always have grass in your hair."

Beverly looks up. When she sees the Flo's wide eyes, she smirks. "Do you now?"

All of them are living in the tiniest of bubbles, unable to comprehend their own worlds. So, when Adwin hears something pull at him, deep within his chest, he mistakes it for anxieties. Flo feels the call, and though it comes from behind her, she imagines that it is her body demanding she be brought closer to Beverly.

Beverly knows it for what it truly is. The forest wants her.

"Adwin!" she calls, beckoning the man closer.

He looks up and moves to join them. Though he and Flo remain on the sand, she is close enough that she can reach out and grab them at a moment's notice. Maverick explained that they pushed back the spectre, whatever it was, but Bev does not remember. She fears it like nothing else.

She raises a finger and points. The three of them turn around and see it. The ball of light floats at them.

"Is that..." Flo asks. She doesn't know if she wants to reach for Adwin or Bev's hand.

"The spectre," Beverly finishes. She reaches forward, but Flo's hands are out of reach. Instead, she lets her fingers snake around Flo's waist and pull her into the water, until she stands behind her.

The creature floats over to the beach.

Adwin, the only one out of the water, stares at it. "It's an Irrlicht."

"A what?" Flo asks.

Adwin can't translate it. Instead, he takes a step closer. Flo reaches out to grab him, but her hand only grazes his shirt, and he can't move.

It moves closer to Adwin, floating over the sand.

"Get back!" Beverly shouts.

Adwin does as he is told.

It continues to get closer.

Beverly doesn't dare let it touch her. Instead, she kicks up water at the spectre.

A high-pierced screech releases from the ball, and it pierces their ears. Flo doubles over in pain and bites her tongue until it bleeds. Beverly curls up over top of her trying to protect them both. Adwin trips and falls, scrambling backwards until his head is under the water and the sound still passes through but only barely.

The light flies off into the forest, and the sound runs with it.

~~~

Hubert decides to go off alone on his horse to check in with nearby farmers. People are less reluctant to talk to him alone than with the travellers, after all. After an hour of asking questions, he heads back to the group.

Clara and Mickey sit in front of the cabin, their backs pressed against the wood. This search is much better than Mickey had imagined, almost entirely because Hubert decided to leave. Clara actually manages to enjoy herself, because when she is with Mickey, she can dedicate all of her thoughts to him, even managing to have Hubert slip her mind.

"Planes are real, Clara."

"They seem entirely impossible," she stares up at the clouds, maybe expecting to see one. "I can't even imagine them existing, let alone jumping out of them to fight in a war."

"If you ever go back, you'll see a plane before you die," Mickey points out. "They were invented in the early 1900s."

Clara doesn't like to think about going back. She takes in a deep breath, releasing a sigh.

"What, what's wrong?" Mickey asks.

They hear the footsteps of a horse approaching, and before can say that she wants to stay (with him), Hubert arrives.

"Nothing nearby," Hubert says. "I can ask at church on Sunday, when the whole town will be gathered together, but not until then."

"Only place left to check is the lighthouse," Mickey points over to the cliff.

They walk over together, Clara walking between the two of them. There is something darker in Hubert's eyes than when they last spoke, and though she wants to ask what, she doesn't get the opportunity. Maybe it has something to do with time travel, maybe it has something to do with being around her and the arduous task of refusing love.

Mickey hangs close to Clara, hiding behind Hubert. He too senses something, but he says nothing.

As they approach the lighthouse, a man comes outside of it. Mickey pulls Clara behind him. They watch the man approach. He speaks to Hubert in hushed tones, in words that neither Clara nor Mickey understands. Hubert nods and turns back to the others.

He scratches the back of his neck before he stumbles and sits down. Hubert puts his head in his hands, and a sputter of laughter escapes his lips. Soon enough, the sputter turns to tears, and he is either laughing so hard that he is crying or crying so hard that he is laughing.

This is the first time that he knows someone who has taken their life, and somehow, he doubts it will be the last.

Clara moves to go grab Hubert, but Mickey wraps his fingers around her wrist. She is filled with indignation, turning to glare at him with wide eyes.

Mickey lets go, but before Clara leans down to touch him, Mickey opens his (goddamn) mouth. "Tim jumped. Didn't he?"

When Hubert nods his head, Clara flinches.

She looks between the both of them and storms off.

~~~~~

Welp. I'm excited. I hope you all enjoyed this, and I will see you soon.