Chapter 268: The Enchanted Pool
Elmo didn't understand why he had to accompany Elin down the path. She was raring to go, so why he needed to go as well, he couldn't understand. True, she'd healed him of a simple sickness that was starting to make him rather miserable, but he didn't see that as a reason for him to go. If anything, he'd say Jonas should be the one to go, since he was so insistent on seeing what was down that trail.
Yet, he couldn't bring himself to voice any of that either. Maybe it was an effect of having recovered from that viral infection so quickly, but it he just didn't feel like he had the energy to argue.
As it is, he was pretty sure that none of the others noticed his unhappiness with going, given how miserable he was pretty sure he still looked. His eyes ached and he just wanted to close them, but even with such a narrow path, closing them wasn't a good idea. The trail turned too frequently for that to be a good idea, though he could hear Elin moving ahead of him at a much faster pace than he was going.
Elmo briefly considered stopping, leaning against the canyon wall, and just dozing. He knew that he'd enjoy that a lot, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel like Kim and Jonas would be aware that he did that. He didn't know if Elin would care, even though she seemed to be rather over the moon that he had been voluntold to take a look as well.
Elmo wasn't sure how long they were supposed to be taking to 'see where it went,' but he felt like the day was going by while he and Elin moved down the trail. Maybe they had been told, but he didn't really remember that. As he walked, he didn't feel the sun shining directly on him, so he at least had that comfort, although he wished he could at least enjoy the warmth of the sun. It seemed more like one of those things that was being denied him that day for some reason he didn't really understand.
He thought he heard Jonas and Kim calling out at some point. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not though, nor what they might be saying if so. Just that the sounds around him made him think that if nothing else.
However, after a certain point, he felt himself becoming more alert, though eh wasn't sure why. Just that he felt like he suddenly had more energy and was more awake. To the point where he could tell that the day was quickly reaching midmorning. Meaning that he'd been going down this trail at least an hour, maybe two.
Ahead of him, he suddenly heard Elin calling something out, though he couldn't really make out what it was. He was only certain that he did hear her, unlike when he thought he heard Jonas and Kim.
He picked up the pace he had been moving at, not sure what to expect, though it didn't sound like Elin was in trouble. In fact, she seemed more excited than anything else.