I've been pretty out of it for the past few days.

Wonder why.

…It feels strange.

Like I'm waiting for a package to arrive for me in the mail.

Or… something.

World I: Kismet Tundra

Chapter 1

"Gunner…?" echoed a distant voice. "…GUNNER!"

"–What?" Gunner snapped out of it and quickly turned to Rumor, "What is it?"

"Your fish–!"

Gunner glanced at the fish he had been cooking on the campfire. Before he snatched it, he considered its unappetizing flesh that had charred to a black crisp while he was daydreaming.

Looks like I'm skipping lunch… he muttered without words. Gunner sighed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh well."

Rumor chuckled, offering him a piece of her fish, "Here you go, bozo…"

"Nah," Gunner shook his head, smiling, "I don't need it."

But his hunger betrayed his modesty as a low growl erupted from his stomach. Rumor quickly shoved the fish into his hands before he could object.

Gunner chuckled, "Thanks, Rumor." He took a bite and stretched his chilly hands above the fire to keep warm.

Once Rumor finished her meal, she lay back on the wood floor of their clubhouse. She placed her hands behind her neck as a sort of pillow and gazed at the shabby ceiling. Thin strips of dull sunlight squeezed their way through the ceiling's wooden crevices and onto her face.

"You know, Gunner," she murmured, mentally counting the ceiling's cracks, "you've been out of it for the past few days."

Gunner took his last bite and rubbed his palms together. "How'd you tell?"

Rumor turned her head towards him, "What's up? Is there something wrong?"

Gunner shrugged, "I dunno." He licked his chapped lips, "But I've been having these bizarre dreams lately."

"…About what?"

Rumor's interrogating reminded Gunner how she had always been the curious type. The villagers of Kismet Tundra commonly took her curiosity for recklessness and often didn't take kindly to it, but Gunner didn't think of it like that. He knew that Rumor was just like her father.

A couple years ago, Rumor's father had set sail away from Kismet Tundra's icy shores. He'd claimed he was in search for new worlds. As of yet, he hadn't returned. Many of the villagers assumed he was dead. Even Gunner admitted to believe that (though never in Rumor's presence.)

Despite the villagers' opinions, however, Rumor convinced herself otherwise. She believed her father was alive and living in a new world, far away from Kismet Tundra.

Gunner just hoped that Rumor wouldn't be walking in her father's footsteps anytime soon.

"I don't really remember," Gunner rubbed his palms together. "It's all sort of a haze."

Rumor turned her head back towards the ceiling, "That's funny. I've been having weird dreams, too."

"About…?"

"The West."

Gunner widened his eyes, "You dreamt about the West?"

"Yeah," Rumor stood to her feet. "I kinda want to go check it out…"

Gunner looked at her as if she had grown another head. "That place is off-limits, though… it's been blocked off for more than a century."

Rumor smirked, "Well, maybe these dreams are like a sign: a sign that I should explore it!"

Gunner mentally cringed at the fact that she had already begun to take the first step onto the path of her father.

"I don't think that's a good idea," stated Gunner as he stood to his feet. "There's probably a good reason why no one's gone to the West for all those decades… I mean—"

Rumor crossed her arms, "What? You chicken?"

Gunner shook his head, "No! I'm just…" he hesitated. "I'm just being rational."

Rumor elbowed his arm, "C'mon… what if we just took a peak over the wall that blocks it off? You okay with that?"

Gunner pondered this. If he said "no," there was no doubt in his mind that Rumor would continue coming up with reasons to explore the West, and he knew she could convince him into anything. He decided to take the current offer instead of risking being persuaded into actually stepping into the West.

"…Alright."

Rumor grinned, "Alright!"