Ethan found the others already asleep and joined them, head cushioned on a few layers of his own robes, his lance laid out next to him. He fell asleep still wondering about the future, about his Guardians, about the sacrifice he had chosen to make without any hesitation. His dreams were empty that night, but shadows of scaled Sinspawn and mighty aeons moved in the darkness behind his eyes.<br/><br/>The next morning found Ethan up before the others, and by the time Chiron had roused and readied himself the new-made Summoner had already secured supplies and passage on the ferry back to Kilika. The people of Besaid were reluctant to let their savior go, and he was forced to turn down gift after gift. Past a point Chiron had to say something, standing at Ethan's side as he gently turned down an older woman's offering of hand-picked fruit in a basket. He leaned over once the old woman had shuffled away, frowning in thought. "The gifts--why do you refuse?"<br/><br/>"Because they need them more than I do, my friend. It's all ritual, anyway--it would be in bad taste for me to accept and bad taste for them not to offer. I had a child try to give me a pair of worn sandals before you woke up."<br/><br/>"All sandals are worn."<br/><br/>"Sometimes I swear you use your lack of knowledge about our language to crack wise."<br/><br/>"Crack... wise?"<br/><br/>"Nevermind, Chiron. Get Harris for me, could you? It's time to head for the ferry. And do you know where Amal is?"<br/><br/>"Amal? She go to pray, I think, above village." He pointed to the hilltop where Ethan had first seen Besaid Village, where a small monument stood next to the road. Ethan nodded and thanked him before turning to trudge up the trail himself, using his spear as a walking stick as he trod through dust and dirt and sand. The walk up was difficult at best--it made him realize why nobody in Besaid was particularly fat, a vast difference from the bloated priests and nobles of Bevelle. He'd worked up a light sweat by the time he reached the hilltop, and he fell into line next to Amal while he caught his breath.<br/><br/>He glanced at her a moment later, then looked back out over the village and the sea. "I want you to know that Harris' demand is not my demand. If you don't want to join, you don't have to. I don't expect you to do so just because Chiron and Harris volunteered." He paused and smiled a little. "I also know you aren't, um... prone to being verbose. So I won't make you answer any questions or give me any kind of reply. I<i>will</i>say we're headed to the boat, and whether or not you decide to join us, you're welcome to come with us as far as Luca. I can't imagine you sharing a ferry with Harris much past that point, anyway." He smiled and turned to put his hand on her shoulder. "Although, that said, if you did decide to join me on the path ahead... well. I can't say I would be all that upset to have you along."<br/><br/>He smiled a second time, then turned away as Chiron and Harris came plodding tiredly up the trail. "Well, there you are!" he said brightly, a teasing glint in his eye. "Hurry up now, Guardians. Long way back to the ferry." He shot Amal a sly wink as he set off down the path ahead, whistling to himself as he went.<br/><br/>"This man, he is without tired," Chiron muttered, wiping sweat back from his bare head as he gave Amal a friendly nod and hustled to follow Ethan.