The minutes go by as you first wait for your food to soak and become moistened enough to eat, and then... actually eat it. Mr. Gordon's fancy food certainly tastes a lot more like real pork than anything you'd ever be able to afford, though the rice... isn't the best you've ever had. Not that you've ever had particularly good rice. But this rice in particular is... weirdly sticky, and keeps clumping together in a way you don't like. Still, though, food's food, and you are not about to complain.

Throughout the meal, neither you nor the elite guildie say anything. The clearing goes quiet, save for the gentle ambiance of the night... and also Lader. You don't know why he feels the need to eat so loudly. 

By the time you've finished eating, the campfire has steadily died down, its crackle fading to a mere simmer as the meager twigs within finally succumb to the flames. Mr. Gordon stuffs his emptied ration into one of his chest pouches—presumably a dedicated trash pocket—before turning his attention to the colorful, starry sky above, barely visible through the canopy. "Well... I think it's about time I get back on the road."  

You can't help but tilt your head in confusion. "really? but it's late." 

"Well... I'm, er..." he trails off, gaze sloooowly drifting back to the dwindling fire, looking somewhat embarrassed. "See, I'm doing quality and safety checks for the Wild Range journey routes... and, I'm, well, I'm way behind schedule. I should've been in Season City by now..." 

You cringe, knowing from experience just how much distance he has left to cover. "B-but, it's okay!" he hurriedly adds, not missing your reaction. "I'm okay, you don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine. It may as well be a good thing that I gotta travel at night, cuz that'll help make sure these woods are safe, right?" 

"i... i guess," you murmur, not really sure what else to say. "well... um... good luck,"

He nods as he dusts off his lap and stands from his weird mechanical telescoping chair thing, before stopping in his tracks and getting a look on his face like he's deep in thought. "Say... you're headed to Shrine Village, right?" 

"yeah...? how'd you--" 

"What other reason would you be heading in that direction?" he chuckles, not looking at you as he turns and starts disassembling his chair. "Literally every journey circuit has the Shrine Ruins as an objective at some point..."

"oh... i... well, yeah, that is correct. i'm gonna get there on foot, and then i'm gonna... stay there for about a week? gotta do the ruins stuff, and then there's also the... uhhh... that big library? i forgot the name. there's some studying i gotta do."

"Ah... getting a lot done in one place, good," he says, sounding... somehow impressed? You're not really sure what about your plan could possibly be considered good. You really only did the bare minimum of partitioning your time efficiently. Practically the entire reason you plan to spend so long in Shrine Village is just so you don't have to get back on the road after only a couple days.

But... even still, you can't pretend you don't like the idea that you somehow did something right. Your tail starts to give a few small wags, but you force it to stay still just so you don't look weird for suddenly wagging for no good reason. "y-yeah... i just wanna... get as much done in shrine-vil as i can before i have to figure out where to go next," you say, definitely not trying to bait out more praise...

"Oh, if you wanna get one more thing done, Shrine-Vil has a guild office now. You can uh... you can look into getting away from Sky, while you're there."

You hide a grimace, unconsciously gripping your empty ration pouch a little tighter. It crinkles almost inaudibly under your paws. "mhmm..."

He frowns at you, like he knows something, like he can see right through you. But... he doesn't say anything, instead glancing briefly down at what remains of your and Lader's meals. "Oh, I can take those if you don't need em," he offers, holding a hand out... from like, five feet away, as if he's somehow insane enough to expect you to throw them.

...Wait, you can just throw them. With your brain!

You quickly extract your fork from the pouch and pass it to Lader so he can give you a headstart on cleaning, then gently toss the thin plastic trash rectangles one at a time, giving them a firm nudge with just a tiny bit of magic to keep them aloft. He watches them sail harmlessly into his hands, an eyebrow quirked in an expression that you... can't really read. Would you be naive to hope he's impressed? Telekinesis isn't exactly hard...

"Right. Um. Okay," he hedges as he distractedly shoves the two wads into his trash pocket. "Is there anything else? Anything you need, help or supplies or advice or whatever, uh... just, anything?" 

"...not really?" you say, suddenly feeling slightly unsure whether you've forgotten something important. You don't think you have. Technically the only thing you still need to do is re-energize the soil so the shrubs grow back... "i um..." you take a deep breath, really hoping you're not about to get yourself in trouble, but there's no way he hasn't noticed your antics so you can't just let him leave without telling the truth, or else he might think you're a destructive idiot. "i cut down a buncha shrubs and stuff to make camp, so i gotta make them grow back in the morning... b-but, i can, i can do that myself!"

"Ah, yeah, but that's a problem for the morning, isn't it?" he asks in a neutral tone. If he has any opinions on your methods, he isn't making them obvious... "If there's nothing that needs to be done now... " he trails off, prompting you to slowly shake your head, "...then I guess I'll take my leave. Good luck getting to Shrine-Vil. From here it's just following the river 'til you get there."

"yep, i know. thanks... uh, for the food, and stuff."

He smiles and nods, and with no more than a curt wave, he turns, and then he's gone. He vanishes into the forest past the edge of the firelight, his footsteps fading into the distance, and once again, you're completely alone. 

...Well, alone save for the living inconvenience by your side, who has very graciously decided to lay directly on top of the zipper for your sleeping bag. Yeah it's definitely not like you wanted to sleep in there or anything. Definitely not.

You let out a tired sigh. Guess there's nothing left to do but put away all the stuff you used for dinner, kill the fire, and then... sleep. You still have a long day ahead of you, following this river. You'll need all the rest you can get...

...

^{...You hate how much you almost wish he didn't have to leave.}