The sensation struck Kituo, causing him to cringe. He felt his injured ear and widened his eyes, his jaws falling open. The bleeding had stopped. He was stunned. Unable to resist the urge to look back at the creek, Kituo noticed the golden flakes floating in the water. They had to be the source of his healing. He still had a smidgen of luck left. For the first time in awhile he smiled but not out of happiness. Kituo finally found an ounce of confidence. Only time could tell whether it would last or not. There were still mysteries afoot - the strange being before the trio being his current priority.

Kituo observed his newly acquired companions. One of them introduced himself but Kituo didn't exactly care. He wasn't interested in getting to know anyone. Survival was his only objective. Looking away from Simon to focus on the ghost, he uttered his name.

"I'm Kituo - Kituo Maji. Do you know where we are?"

He sounded apathetic towards Simon. Whether he meant to or not was not of any dire importance - at least to him. In fact, it seemed as if Kituo were talking to the ghost instead. While he hadn't expected it to respond to him, let alone answer his question, Kituo decided it would be best to prod it even further. The whisper it sent to his ear was eerie yet it had a sort of innocent vibe. Of course he was terrified but he hadn't come this far by not taking any risks. He clenched the lantern even tighter. The Sparrow King? Well, at least he had yet to attack them. While the rat and the wolf were certainly abnormalities in Kituo's eyes, the Sparrow King was by superior. It spoke to him from afar and had no visible facial features. A chill ran up Kituo's spine. Why did he have to go and speak to it? What if it tried to possess him?

The confidence he gained had already subsided within a matter of seconds, his legs starting trembling out of apprehension. He couldn't bring himself to continue looking at the Sparrow King. For some reason, he believed that it would allow the ghost to penetrate his body and override his control. Kituo's eyes took to the other individual who was in his company. He didn't too much like how he had inserted himself into a leadership position. However, Kituo didn't exactly mind taking orders as long as they were from someone capable. He watched as he made what appeared to be a spear. Kituo wasn't too familiar with weaponry but he was able to make out such a weapon for it was the standard arm of his city's guards. For now Kituo would not oppose his command. If he could use the forest around them to craft a weapon then he undoubtedly had enough wit and strength for Kituo to depend on.

[i]Wait a second....[/i]

As the shavings from the branch dropped into the grass, Kituo noticed yet another phenomenon. He reflected on the time he spent with the tall guy and managed to recall the strange bottle he grabbed from the skeleton. At that instance Kituo didn't find the substance to be of any significance. Even now he didn't think it was much vital. However, someone else had gone through the trouble of trapping the same liquid in a bottle. Kituo was far from a genius but he was able to spot a potential resource when he saw one. But, he didn't have the guts to point out the sight. Besides, for all he knew the sap could be poisonous. He would leave it be for now. 

Other than the Sparrow King, what was of more interest was the next action taken by the same man who attempted to craft a spear. He took one the masks from the tree - the one featuring the wolf to be exact. Kituo was admittedly curious about the masks as well but he didn't think investigating them was a good idea. His heat banged against his chest as a new mask started to sprout in place of the removed one. His eyes zipped back to the Sparrow King in hopes that it had not advanced. There it was again. The nauseous associated with Kituo's nervousness. He had his suspicions which he interpreted as bad baggage. So far nothing good had come from any of them. What if the masks were traps? Kituo couldn't allow himself to get caught up in the recklessness of another. He had to protest.

"H-hey are you sure t-that's a good idea? T-those masks could be evil!"

Yes the very notion of what Kituo was trying to convey may have been preposterous, but then again so was the presence of one called the Sparrow King. If he were to tell anyone at home that he met a ghost he would face ridicule and possibly be marked as insane. The amount of chances Kituo had taken so far were enough to end multiple lifetimes. If the three of them were going to be sticking together, then they should at least take each others safety into account. In preparation for a possible disaster, Kituo raised the lantern up. The confidence he could not keep within his own mind was compressed into it. He was beginning to depend on the lantern more than his own father.