Mec continued walking in silence, pondering over Shallan's thoughts for a while. "I wonder how Cho manages it." He tightened his bag around his shoulders before glancing back over towards Shallan. "I presumed he constantly travels, and for the most part, alone. It must be difficult for a... you know, a child." The mage scratched his chin, remembering the stubbly mess that it was becoming.
The group continued on, reaching the next town just before nightfall as Claire had predicted. Amazingly, most of the troupe did not seem to be overly fatigued by the hastened march. Mec, on the other hand, was exhausted. During the journey, there were a few moments that he thought the whole world had turned to that same image that allowed him to see the Anima, its tendrils connecting everything together. He was not sure if these were hallucinations brought on by fatigue, or actual moments that he may have unintentionally had shifted his focus to the Anima's reality. Either way, he did his best to mask that anything was amiss, although it was unknown to him how convincing he was.
Claire announced that it was time to set up camp shortly after they had arrived. She did not have any connections in towns that the troupe did not frequently perform in, so it was not possible for her to find a place to house such a large group at a reasonable price. Fortunately, the evening was warm, and the heat emanating from the ground would keep the travelers warm enough well into the night.
Mec helped as much as he could with the set up of the camp, elated when it was all done. Claire relieved everyone for the night's work, suggesting everyone go find a tavern or other place to eat before it grew too dark. Despite this, Mec opted to lay flat on his back on the warm grass, groaning as he did so.
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