A simple jester

When Skyler's eyes reopened, he looked through one of the log cabin's windows. He could see a few shadows dancing upon the wall within. He couldn't stop himself from smiling weakly. He knew full well what his answer should be. He had many health issues, his family members were either dead or lived too far away, and almost all of his possessions were gone. Heck, he didn't even own the clothes on his back. As he let out a sigh, a wave of sadness washed over him. There was one solid truth in his life, he was a huge liability.. A fact he knew all too well. Honestly, he felt dragging others down with him would be a shame.

Although Skyler's life looked rather bleak, there was one beautiful silver lining remaining. He had the powers that Gaia had awakened within him. This would allow him to fend for himself and keep others away from his misfortune. His weak smile began to change. It wasn't much, but a modest smile was quite the improvement. His eyes looked to Shady as he thought. 'Yeah, this will be for the best.' Sure, there was a high likelihood of ****, but hey. At least this way he could go down swinging. Who knows, he might even survive with these powers in hand.

Skyler looked to his hands while clenching his fists. However, before he could answer, his stomach let out a loud growl. He blinked and turned his head slightly away from her. At the same time, he felt a cold chill run down his spine as he replied with the first thing that came to mind. "Um, sorry. I must have upset my stomach earlier from eating too much." Shady cocked an eyebrow while twisting her torso slightly to the right. Her eyes glared at him as her score dropped down to 30. "Hmm, I didn't know any of you had a chance to eat on your, short trek back. So, what did you have anyway?"

Upon hearing Shady's words, Skyler felt a sharp pain in his chest. It was clear that he had been caught. However, that wasn't what bothered him. Oh no, that was another matter entirely. The cause here was the simple fact that he had upset her. An ill-begotten side effect of his desire to avoid being a burden to her. He needed to rectify this and fast. To do that he had to do something he didn't want to do. He needed to tell the whole truth. This would certainly cause her to be disgusted by him, but that didn't matter. Why drag things out, right? The important thing is that she and the others would be spared his plight.

Skyler smiled gently while looking into her eyes. "Sorry, I just really don't want to inconvenience you all. I have lost my parents and brother recently, my home, most of my possessions, and I don't know how long I will live." His eyes trailed over to the log cabin. "You don't know me and nor do you need to. I am, but a simple fool. Although similar, I am nowhere near as grand as a jester fit to sit at your table." He bowed his head slightly to her. "If that is all, I will find my own way out. Thank you once again for aiding me."

After Skyler turned to go, tears began to roll down Shady's cheeks. Her score shot up to 55. A new red exclamation flashed that he ignored. Although he was fairly certain that she was feeling sympathetic, he couldn't bare the idea of having her pity him. Tugging at her lovely heart strings was necessary, but painful. He simply wanted her to understand why he was turning her down before he left. He couldn't allow a lovely lady such as herself to be caught up with him. That would be far too cruel. He lifted a hand and cast, Exit Illusion Barrier. Since he was free to exit and enter at will, the world around him faded into darkness.

To Skyler's surprise, when the world around him reappeared, he recognized where he was. He was about ten miles away from home within the downtown area. Well, from where his home had once been. He felt a twisted sense of irony when he realized he was in the shadiest part of town. He looked up toward the sky and thought. 'I see someone thinks they are funny. Have me meet a lovely lady named Shady within the shadiest part of town.' At that moment, a notification appeared in the center of his view.

There is only one real Slim Shady.

So put your hands up for her!

Skyler sighed while shaking his head. Trying to reason with Gaia was a rather dumb idea. He knew this already, but that wasn't the point. He let out a long sigh before deciding to have a look around. It wasn't long until his eyes settled upon the nearby zoo. "Hmm, I wonder how long it will take to walk home from here." He muttered to himself while turning to look at the street that headed homeward. While trying to read the words on the street sign, he realized his glasses were gone too. This made him sigh once more. "Right.. I have been too busy to notice." He grumbled to himself while starting to walk to the street, knowing that sitting around and complaining would get him nowhere.

Over the next thirty minutes, Skyler walked homeward. His mind wandering every which way. Sadly, he knew he didn't have anyone to blame for this except himself. That certainly hurt. He was the cause of his mother's, brother's, and cat's ****. Sure, Wrukaog sent him to that mana factory and killed his family, but none of that would have happened if he had kept to himself. Speaking of which, he needed to pay Wrukaog back for this wonderful time he was having. A sadistic and cruel smile formed upon his lips as he thought about the fun it would be to pay Wrukaog back for this.

However, when Skyler thought about how to achieve this. He felt an odd chill swelling from within his chest. It was clear that anxiety was setting in. Only having Wrukaog's name wasn't much to go on, but it was a start. There was also the possibility of running into Zissu again. When that thought crossed his mind, he felt slightly relieved. If he could find Zissu, he could find Wrukaog. At that moment, his stomach growled, rooting his mind back in the present. He let out a sigh. Zissu and Wrukaog would have to wait. There were more pressing matters to attend to. He needed food, water, and shelter.

Skyler knew there was much to do, but oddly enough. He was looking forward to it. This was a goal he might actually be able to achieve. There was only one question left. Would he find anyone left at home or not?