The Hand That Mocked Them

Hieronymus finished that journal and, making sure Kivvien wasn't looking, reached in to replace it and take the next one.

The next one was more similar to the first journal, written in its entirety in Kivvien's handwriting, detailing trials on living demon specimines.

Hieronymus read this one carefully too, completely immersed in the research. He committed each page to memory as he went.

Kivvien continued not to notice, too caught up in his own troubles to bother a glance.

He finished that one quickly and moved on to the next.

The next one didn't appear to have been written in by Kivvien at all, at least not in the first few pages. It was all the messy scribblings of the second writer expressing messy, disjointed thoughts and theories, dotted only occasionally by a proper experiment.

It was then that Kivvien glanced back. Panic and anger flashed in his eyes, and in an instant he snatched the journal back, glancing at the page Hieronymus had been reading. At the sight of it his anger grew. He shoved the journals back in their place and slung the satchel over his shoulder.

"Eyes to yourself, creature," he spat, almost threatened, through clenched teeth.

Hieronymus recoiled the instant Kivvien made a move towards him, fully expecting to be struck for his misdeeds. "I'm so sorry, sir!" he gasped, short of breath already and wracked with guilt. This man was helping him, and in return he was stealing knowledge! "I'm so sorry, I should have controlled my curiosity...punish me as you see fit!" He huddled under the blanket, quaking.

Kivvien left the pitiful damned thing to cower and returned to the company of the silent, stupid mule. This was a horrific mistake.

No blows came, and Hieornymus, who had covered his head as best he could, chanced a peek at Kivvien. He was...ignoring him? Why?
He stayed as still as he could where he lay, still shivering badly.

That wretched, horrible thing had taken his words, read his thoughts. The thing's hands had desecrated those sacred pages.

Kivvien took a steadying breath.

Hieronymus stayed that way for about twenty minutes before he chanced a move, which was tossing his apparatus into the back of the cart and clambering miserably in after it, where he bunched himself in one corner far away from the demon carcass

Kivvien remained out of the cart, quietly seething to himself.

He shut his eyes tightly and wrapped his arms around himself, trying to make himself as small as possible.

The sun had begun to set as they walked.

Hieronymus didn't speak the whole time.