Alex's stomach growled again as he slowed to a stop at a small copse of shrunken trees. His food stores were used up that morning and had been meagre at best even then. He sighed as Oliver, the silly horse, rambled over to a small bunch of marsh grasses to gnaw on the dried tops.

He must've been hungry too with only sparing sprigs to eat himself along the way. Leaning over to rest, he spied a small bunch of mushrooms growing along the side of the one tree and got a contemplative look on his face. He scrambled a moment, startling Oliver into lifting his head and looking over his shoulder in an attempt to see what was going on.

He patted his horse after he grabbed what he wanted. The book his father gave him rested in his hands as he dismounted carefully. He squatted next to the small tree and flipped through the pages. He knew he saw it in here somewhere.

"Mushrooms, where are the mushrooms...." He murmured to himself. He stopped at one with a tall white stalk and compared it. Nope. Page by page he went through the pictures and descriptions. He sort of wished he had paid more attention to this section now.

"Ah darn. This must be it." He frowned at the careful sketch on the page, then looked at the small bunch by the tree. This was definitely it. It was poisonous and not fit for eating. He sighed in disappointment. Looking about him he tried to see what else might work. There was a bunch of reeds on the other side that looked brown and unappetising, but he looked them up anyways.

"Oh. This looks promising." He mumbled. The stalks there looked like sweet reeds. Old and muddy ones, but edible according to the book. He followed the directions, pinching the bottom carefully and then cutting it just below. He lifted it up and sucked the nectar out like the book described. Wow! He nearly moaned from the taste.

It was light and fresh like a honeyed mead! The refreshing nectar was satisfying both his hunger and his thirst with its nutrition and plenteousness. Oliver came over to see what he was up to and began to hungrily eat the remainder of the reeds that were discarded next to him. He laughed at the gorging beast as he dove in after trying the first one.

"I know, it's quite good isn't it? Who would have thought." He patted the horse, in better mood now that his tummy wasn't paining him so harshly. He thought ahead and sucked out a few reeds more than he needed, and spat the juices into his empty canteen instead. He may not come across more later and it was sure to come in handy.

"It is kind of gross, but we may need it. Maybe I should keep looking about for a bit." He went to a few other types of plants nearby and discounted most of them. Then he got on Oliver and they walked on for a bit. Anytime Alex saw something new and strange, he checked his book before moving on. By the time he was done for the day he had a good packet of things in his satchel.

His dinner was reed juices, small black berries and some rather tough nuts. It was not much, but it was better than nothing. The most important thing was the lift to his spirits. He had fed himself on this seemingly barren and putrid lands. No one helped him or gave him his food. He did it all by himself. Alex fell asleep with the thought that Vincent would be so proud of him.

Morning came with a rather spectacular sunrise. The sky was red and orange with a gleaming sun at the horizon. Alex yawned and stretched, his hand brushing the tree and feeling a fuzz. He looked up to see a silvery moss gleaming in the morning sunlight. His face scrunched. It looked familiar.

Grabbing the book that was now tucked into his shirt, he found the moss rather quickly. He was getting so used to where everything in there was now. It was a medicinal moss that could be used for all manner of things. He pinched off a bit and rubbed it into his cuts from the thorns and was pleased with the soothing feel.

The skin calmed from its reddened hue and he carefully scraped a bunch of it into one of the remaining bundles for food. He tied it carefully. He then had a bite of food and sip of nectar before getting back onto Oliver and continuing his journey.

They found three more stands of sweet reeds in the marshes and he carefully filled his canteen to brimming with the nectar. Oliver was more than happy to eat all of the stalks that remained, but Alex held some back, bundling it up carefully with a string so the horse wouldn't lack for food later if they had nothing.

It took time though, to do all this. Necessary though it might be for their trip, it made Alex's chest hurt in worry. What if Vincent got there first and thought something had happened to him? Would he wait for Alex by the forest, or would he despair? Could he be having as much trouble as Alex navigating this swampland?

Alex was feeling an urgency now as he watched the setting sun. He had to hurry. They needed to find each other once more. Both of their lives depended on it, that much he knew. They needed each other and most importantly... He missed him terribly.