Kratzer chuckled, a bit amused at the boy's antics. He hadn't been much better when he was young - though, of course, most times were too hard to indulge in such pranks. He did distinctly recall pulling a similar trick on his foster mother, however.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
He stopped suddenly when he saw a shadow of someone looking through the window. But as soon as he lifted his head to confirm that it was who he thought it was at first glance, it was gone.
Though for a moment, he had been relaxed, now his heartrate tripled.
Maahes looked up at James, knotting his brows together when he noticed how fearful James had suddenly become. His gaze went from James to the window, and then back to James.
Kratzer stood as he saw the movement, his eyes flashing with a metallic hue for a moment before he swatted the demon in him back down. He wasn't fighting right now.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Maahes looked unconvinced, folding his arms together and further furrowing his brow. "I don't believe you. You definitely saw something from how you're looking at the window right now."
"There was something there," Kratzer agrees. "I saw it, too."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Maahes turned to Hali, then promptly pointed at James and the window. "He saw something out there!" he informed the dragon. "But he's being stubborn and pretending that he didn't, even though we all know he did."
Spoiler
Hey, @Lael, want to have Hali find a translator device in the cabin? I love doing the translating thing but Maahes is too young to remember that he needs to tell everything to Hali, and vice versa. It would make it easier for Hali to stay involved in the story.
Hali nodded. He wished that he could easily understand what they were saying, and they him. As much as he appreciated Maahes' translation, the boy sometimes forgot to let him know what was going on.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
QUICK NOTE: I know I never said anything in the intro post to specify, but the spooky phantom fears can only be seen by the person who imagines them. So Kratzer might've seen something of his own imagination? But not what James saw. SO SORRY @Featherstone I forgot to clarify!! IDK if you'd wanna edit your post or just roll with it but I'm cool w/whatever you choose!
James stared out the window with a blank expression, but his heart was still racing. If they were magically somehow transported to this hiding place, did that mean they were safe? Or did their tormentors follow them in suit? Now he wasn't sure, and there were three strangers with him who he did not want getting caught up in his mess.
"Look, I - I don't know if I did or didn't see something but if there is something out there I'll -" he stopped, walking to the door. He was sweating. This was too obvious. They would know he was afraid. He had to fight to keep the fear from leaking out of his voice.
AH THAT'S FINE I CAN EASILY COME UP WITH SOMETHING HE COULD'VE SEEN LOL
"Neinneinnein, zat's not a very smart thing to do," Kratzer says, shaking his head. "There's not very many of us - we need to stay together."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
