Between Worlds

Chapter 5

Mark opened his eyes, his vision a little bleary as he was just waking up. The little sunlight filtering through his windows lit up the room ever so slightly. With a groan. The young man pushed the covers away from himself and stood with a stretch. He took a deep breath rolling his shoulders and neck to release some tension in them before he stepped out of his room. A glance to the door had him thinking. He always stayed inside until noon for some reason, then he'd try to leave the house for a bit, then he would come back and in the evening he would sit on his front steps usually when Marzia and Felix would go by. But he'd never gone out in the morning, he should, it was always especially quiet in the morning and would probably feel good outside. 

So mark threw on a pair of sweatpants and a light jacket before walking out of the house. He was right, the air was much cooler in the morning, but it felt so good, and there was a small hint of rain in the air today. There was a very small breeze, just enough to keep his hair slightly tussled. Mark took a calming breath before he started walking down the street.

This morning it seemed that some of his neighbors were out and they kindly waved to him as he passed me. Mark returned the smile with a warm one before continuing on his way. He didn't exactly know where he was gonna walk to, and he doubted he could go back to the forest this early, so he naturally just made his way into the town. 

This mist seemed thinner this morning, definitely still there but more of a fog, and there were a few dew drops resting through the mist that weaved it's way through town. Mark smiles upon finding a strand of the most approaching him. As it did, he noticed that this strand was greener than the rest. Where the rest of the mist was mostly blue with spots of green, this particular strand had green streaming through it, not too noticeable, but it was definitely different than the rest. Mark smiled, "hi Ale." He spoke softly as to not creep the nearby people out. The mist curled around his legs before settling up around his neck, lightly nuzzling his cheek. 

Mark let out a small chuckle, leaving the being alone and continuing his walk. As he walked he saw a couple shops he hadn't payed attention to when he'd been on his tour with the couple. 'I'll have to go someday.' He thought.  He came upon the farmers markets and stopped upon seeing the hooded man again. He took note how the man looked much more relaxed this morning, maybe it had to do with less people being up and around. Mark almost wanted to go say hi, but he didn't want to attract any attention to himself. "Do I need anything from here?" He wondered out loud as he began to browse the market. A small tug on his throat at him turning his head and he found a vendor of multiple sweets, he really didn't need.

"I don't need to get fat Ale." He chuckled. The little mist seemed happy with himself though as he bounced around on his shoulder. Mark shook his head with a smile. "He definitely likes you." Mark whirled around with a startled shout only to find the man standing behind him. The man titled his head, obviously confused with marks reaction. "You startled me." Mark explained. The man hummed before pointing at Ale. "He must love you, never usually wraps around others like that." Mark arched an eyebrow at the mist who just nervously crawled off of him and over to the others legs. 

"I'm flattered." Mark jokes to let the being know he wasn't upset. Perking up again, he wrapped himself around Mark once more. "Oh um, what are you doing in town?" Mark attempted to make small talk. "Buying food." Was the only answer he got. It appeared that this hooded man was either not one for small talk, or he was just very simple and to the point. "I-um..." the raven haired man rocked back and forth on his heels. The hooded man was just staring at him with his piercing blue eyes. Mark felt like every inch of his soul was being analyzed by this dude, and it gave him the chills. "You're not usually up this early. You arrive around twelve pm, on average." 

'Okayyy, kind of creepy.' Mark chuckled nervously. "Wanted to try being active for a change." He answered stiffly. The man hummed before simply turning and walking away. "The hell..." Mark mumbled. "Is that how he always ends conversation?" He asked the mist. Ale bobbed up and down, which Mark took as a yes and sighed. "How social he is." He grumbled before continuing through the market. 'Pretty pointless conversation if you ask me. Did he really just want to know why I was here so early?' Mark looked down at Ale and funny enough, the mist only gave him a shrug. "Huh, you know it's bad when a creature that can't even talk thinks you're confusing." Ale nuzzled against his cheek bringing a smile to Mark's face. "Maybe waking up for a change wasn't such a bad idea."