CJ strolled into town that morning, still buried in flannel and old, ratty headphones twisted a certain way to work properly shrouding him. He wasn't quite sure where he was going, but he had wanted to stretch his legs after a night of hard sleep. He glanced up from the old cobble and noticed Vaughn and Denny a little bit above him on the path. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared without realizing it.
Vaughn had his normally rolled-up jacket sleeves rolled all the way down, collar popped, and a bandanna covering most of his face. A pair of regular gloves instead of his usual fingerless ones adorned his hands, and in addition to his hat pulled down low, not a sliver of skin was exposed. He was pacing around a certain radius as if he were looking for something. Denny, in a tank top and gym shorts in contrast, was attempting to aid in the search.
"We'll find it, man, relax," CJ heard Denny assure him as he slipped off his headphones and watched. Vaughn responded by gesturing to his outfit, and Denny bit his lip.
CJ realized he was still standing out in the open when Denny called his name. He silently and awkwardly took a few steps toward his new friend.
"Can you help us, C? Vaughn lost a black box earlier."
Before CJ could even respond, Vaughn interjected. "No. He's not gunna. I've got it. Leave us alone."
Denny swatted his hand at the pacing cowboy. "Ignore sunshine over here. Can you help?" CJ nodded in positive response, his voice lost on the edge of his mouth. Vaughn held up a finger at CJ before pulling Denny aside.
"What if he opens it, dipshit?" CJ was just barely able to make out what Vaughn was saying but pretended like he didn't hear out of courtesy.
"And see what, cans? Don't worry about it." Denny gave him a small shove away and walked back over. "Anyway, it's about this big," He motioned with his hands, "and don't open it, okay?"
CJ nodded again.
"You really don't have to." Vaughn's low voice muffled under his bandanna.
"It's okay," CJ finally found a little voice to spare. He stepped away from the pair as they went back to quietly bickering.

The trio eventually split up into Denny searching around the carpenter's shop, Vaughn backtracing his steps around the animal shop, and CJ inspecting the area next to the grocery store that neighbored the Comptons'.
It wasn't too long before CJ noticed an odd path into the wall of trees behind the stores. He traveled it on a whim and found it lead to a small forest clearing. At the back of the clearing set a small stump with a colorful array of mushrooms sprouting all over it. However, something - or someone - was sitting on the stump, holding a black box. It looked a small child, but no bigger than CJ's hand. He stared in utter confusion.
"Hi, you must be CJ!" The small figure sing-songed in a screechy, high-pitched squeak.
"You sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks," CJ said flatly. He couldn't quite process what the hell was going on.
The figure leaped from the stump and nimbly dashed across the clearing to CJ's feet where they rested the box. He bent down to pick it up and turned the surprisingly heavy object over in his hands. Some liquid sloshed inside.
"I believe this belongs to someone you know!"
CJ offered no response. His fingers grazed a complex latch and for a moment he thought about opening it. But, it wasn't his business. He kept it shut.
"My name's Coral! Nice to meet you!"
The man stared down at them. "Hi."
"I'm a harvest sprite! I protect the islands with my fellow sprites! And-"
"And you're not real." CJ turned on his heel, box in hand, and left the clearing. Coral watched him walk away, confused.

CJ held his head as the direct sunlight hit him. He was well used to the odd hallucination here and there, still, his body finally allowed him to shake out a breath. He turned back around to the entrance to the clearing, only to find it gone, as if the trees had rushed in to fill it. A well of relief spilled over him and confirmed his perception. He must have disassociated, as he often had before. Still, he hadn't had any strong hallucinations in a while, and it was a bit jarring to have to ride it out in the middle of public. He hoped no one had seen him.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard someone loudly groaning in agony. He couldn't process who it was right away, only that it came from near the animal shop. Vaughn's box in hand, he jogged over to where he thought the noise originated.

Julia was sitting on her knees, holding an oversized dark umbrella over herself and Vaughn, who was curled up on the ground next to her, sans hat. Denny kneeled beside the pair, his hand appearing to cover Vaughn's mouth for a moment before he weakly pushed it away and covered his face with his hat. A faint waft of smoke rose from Vaughn's head, and it grew fainter and fainter with every second.
"I'm so sorry, Vee," Julia grimaced down at him. "I didn't mean to scare ya."
"It's... okay," He struggled out. "I caught it before it was too late."
"Are you alright?" CJ's voice was thin and quiet as he interjected, but it still startled all three and caused them to look up at him. Denny placed the hand that had been near Vaughn's mouth behind his back, and Vaughn struggled up to a seating position and recentered his hat on his head. He pressed the bandanna over his mouth until he heard an increasingly-familiar popping noise.
"Yeah, I'm fine," His throat protested. CJ approached them slowly and held out the box to him.
"Is this it?"
The cowboy reached out to take it, and for a brief moment, an orange sparkle shone in Vaughn's exposed eye. He inspected the lock and nodded in affirmation. CJ watched him until heard Julia speak.
"Hey CJ!" She tilted her head and smiled. He gave a little wave back, and she turned her view back to her brother. "You need to let Mama take a look at ya."
"I'm fine." He pushed himself to his feet, his strength slowly returning, and sat his bandanna back over the majority of his face.
"What happened?" CJ ran the cord of his headphones through his fingers over and over.
"Nothin'," Vaughn responded as he pushed past his sister. He stomped around the building to the front door, disappearing behind the thick wood.
"I scared him on accident and knocked his hat off," Julia explained. Denny got to his feet and joined the pair.
"Why did that hurt him?"
Julia opened her mouth to speak, but found she didn't have an answer. Denny quickly joined in.
"He's... sensitive to sunlight. He usually takes something to-, for his immune system," Denny's voice faltered a little.
"Yeah," Julia emptily confirmed.
CJ looked back and forth between them.
"Okay."