Dust's eyelids flickered slightly before opening. He wearily rose from the couch and looked to the table for more food. Instead there were only a few empty cans of soup he'd eaten the previous night. Where Dust expected to feel stress from his fight with Zenith, instead was a light calm obtained from a good sleep. The smell of food caught Dust's attention and he immediately began to follow it through a door in the far side of the cabin.
Zenith was standing there intently cooking food over an open flame. Bandages lined Zenith's face on the spots where Dust had hit him. A slight tinge of guilt pinched his stomach.
I feel like I should apologize. Even if he was asking for it, I went a bit overboard.
"Hey I'm sor-"
"You don't owe me an apology. I pushed you and you retaliated, simple as that. So let's just call it even."
Dust felt a little annoyed that Zenith cut off his apology.
That's the last time I bother trying to be nice to him.
Zenith continued cooking despite the interruption. Seeing as his mind was focused on cooking, Dust figured this was a great opportunity to explore the new room. The walls and countertops were all spotless, showing Zenith's dedication to cleanliness. Dust attempted to touch the stainless counter but stopped on account of Zenith finishing the food.
"We'll eat in the cabin"
Both of them took their seats at the cabin table and Zenith set the food down. Dust grabbed a fork and began salivating in front of what was surely going to be a delicious meal. As he went in for a bite Zenith slapped his wrist.
"You're not eating until you change out of those nasty clothes."
Dust looked down at himself and realized he never changed out of the ripped cloak he'd been wearing for the past day. He took a whiff of the old rags and realized he smelled like dried piss.
"For once I agree with you. So... where's the clothes."
"There's a dressing room just across from the cabin. Your clothes should be on the far right of the room. Don't touch anything else."
The urge to provoke Zenith rose up inside Dust's gut.
"No problem. You have to say please though."
Zenith didn't really look annoyed like Dust had expected. He had droopy bags under his eyes that communicated very clearly to Dust that he was too tired for anger.
"Please don't touch my clothes. Especially not while you smell like rat stool."
Note to self... you can get away with a lot when Zenith is tired.
***
Dust did as Zenith told him and grabbed the clothes laid out for him. Instead of his old repugnant robes, he was now sporting a short-sleeved tan shirt tied together with a string at the collar. The boots and pants were pretty unremarkable but they at least blocked the ocean breeze from freezing his body. Dust waltzed back into the cabin and sat at the table. He stared at the yellow mush in front of him with a rabid gluttony. A bit of pride crossed Zenith's face while looking at the meal.
"I'm not the best cook but these should still be pretty good. These are called scrambled eggs if your curio-"
The eggs were gone before Zenith finished speaking. Dust scarfed them all down faster than a hungry lion. A wave of satiation flushed through his body, leaving a goofy grin on his mouth. A powerful bewilderment appeared on Zenith's face upon looking at the now empty plate. Zenith took a deep breath and stabilized himself in the face of Dust's gluttony.
"I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to talk to you without losing my sanity, so I'll go over the important things now instead of later. First, we're leaving the Farlands after this conversation is over. Second, we'll be sailing on this boat for about a week. Third, after we arrive we're going to meet up with some people and discuss our plans. That's everything. Questions? No? Great."
Zenith got up to leave but was stopped by a firm tug on his sleeve.
"Actually yeah I do have questions, so kindly get back in that chair."
A very audible 'ugh' could be heard from Zenith as he sat back down.
"Ahem. I only really have one question. Now I don't particularly care about what your 'plans' are as long as you keep your promise to me. That being said, given what little I know of you it feels like a fair question to ask if we're going to be murdering people or doing some other evil shenanigans. I know you're secretive but give me that much at least."
The deep navy of Zenith's eyes darkened a little upon hearing that question. It was like he was... insulted. Dust had known Zenith to be very reactive to his provocations, but never insulted. He got angry, sure, but only in the way that a person gets angry when being pestered by a bug. But this time was different, he seemed genuinely hurt.
"No, we're not going to be doing anything 'evil.'"
While that answer would probably be unconvincing by itself, the pain that dwelled in Zenith's eyes made it easy for Dust to believe him.
"OK, I'll trust that. Go get sailing captain dipshit."
Despite the insult, a faint smile twisted itself into existence on Zenith's lip. The trust Dust had given him was clearly appreciated.
"Don't call me Captain Dipshit."
Zenith left the room and headed towards the deck, preparing to set sail. However Dust laid down on the couch, preparing to relax.
Wait did he say we're gonna be out here for a week?! The hell am I supposed to do with all that time!
***
During the week they were at sea Dust entertained himself by pestering Zenith almost every waking moment. In doing so he managed to get some information about the place they were going to.
They were going to a place called Yungzhou, a large rocky region with 3 distinct cities each managed by different leaders. The area had fewer monsters than the rest of the world on account of the large mountain range that separated it from the rest of the continent. Zenith also made sure to teach Dust what money is before that naivety got him in trouble.
After a long week at sea they arrived at the port of Yungzhou and prepared to dock their boat. Ahead of them sprawled strong docks housing ships of all different shapes and sizes. However the docks couldn't compare to what lay behind them. Beyond the docks stood a massive stone monolith, on top of that is where the city lay. The city was constructed of countless brick houses and sandstone buildings, all lined with bits of marble. All of it left Dust in awe.
Zenith steered the ship towards the docks and parked it gently between the lines of pine wood. Dust continued to stare with marvel at the architecture around him. He was in fact so consumed by all the sights that Zenith had to drag him off the ship to snap him out of his daze. Both of them walked onto the docks and were met by an earnest looking shipwright.
"Hiya Zen! I'm assuming you'll need me to watch your ship while you're in town"
Zenith handed over the keys without a second thought, which surprised Dust significantly. He was under the impression Zenith didn't like anyone touching his stuff, but apparently that bias only extended to Dust.
"I'd greatly appreciate it, though I must extend my apologies for putting you out."
The shipwright just chuckled upon hearing Zenith's condolences.
"Anything for you Zen! This is just our little way of giving back for all your hard work."
Zenith smiled back at the shipwright.
"If you say so. Well then we'll be heading into town now. Please keep the ship safe in my absence."
The shipwright saluted him and both Dust and Zenith walked off. The interaction left Dust with a few questions. He couldn't piece together why Zenith was so nice to someone. And what did the shipwright mean when he talked about Zenith's hard work? However all of Dust's swirling thoughts were interrupted by Zenith.
"Come with me. I want to show you something."
Zenith led Dust up the steps to the city. The closer they neared to the top of the monolith the further the strong pine wood of the docks seemed. At the top of the stairs, Dust saw it. A small field of light pink flowers. These flowers seemed to dance with the gentle ocean breeze that flew by them. Small bits of pink residue drifted from their petals as they swayed. It was beautiful. A quiet sense of peace filled Dust as he crouched down to take a closer look at the peonies. The soil beneath him was rich and well cared for, leaving his hands comforted as he touched it.
Small nearly unnoticeable tears dripped from Dust's eyes as he continued to take in the beauty of the flower field. This is what he wanted, it's what Zenith promised him. Sitting right before him was the beauty he'd hoped would give meaning to the cruelty of this world. This was his reward for persevering. All that he had endured culminated in this moment. A sense of gratitude exploded inside him, specifically a gratitude that he lived long enough to see this.
"Thank you. I don't really want to say it... but you were right. The world has a lot of good in it. It has this. So I'll keep enduring. I'll keep living even when it hurts, as long as you can show me more of this beauty I long for."
Zenith put his hand on Dust's shoulder, making Dust feel oddly comforted.
"Good. Now let's get going. The flowers will lose their allure if you linger for too long."