"After a long day of drills and studying, any child would be hungry, son." She replied, sending me a concerned but motherly look through the tumble of her black and brown hair covering the majority of her face. 

Truth be told, I was actually on the starving end of it, but I knew mother needed to eat just as much and I wouldn't be okay with her pretending to eat just to save it for me the following day. 

She embraced me, took my hands, and then analyzed me thoroughly, scanning me from top to bottom. She didn't say much but did murmur to herself about how I needed to keep myself intact here and there, "You don't seem as focused as you usually are, Nero." Mother fixed my face so that we'd stare each other directly in the eyes. "Tell me what's troubling you, my child". I realized any attempt to hide my thoughts from her was futile, but I didn't know where to start.

Truthfully, I didn't think it'd be okay to confront her about feeding me and not herself, so I left that alone. After thinking it over some more though, I eventually gave in. My mind started to drift back to the events of earlier today. I still wasn't sure if sharing my experience in the village today was something to keep to myself or not, but I could tell being reserved would get me nowhere. Avoiding eye contact, I thought it over for several long seconds while looking off beyond my mother. 

I told her everything.

I thought she'd take it lightly when I shared about how I navigated through the mist by myself, but that didn't seem to be the case. She commented about Mr. Leon being irresponsible and recklessly allowing a child outside in the mist by themselves. I wasn't bothered though, my travel home was fairly simple and not as difficult as others who could utilize Aptus and make their travel a lot easier. However, I do agree that he did deserve this backlash and criticism after closing his door in my face. 

Mother seemed to pause for a minute, eventually to calm down about my instructor. She sighed, "I suppose no matter how much time has passed, some people will stay the same." She followed up with a disapproving shake of her head.  They were still good friends after all, or so I thought. "Still, I'm surprised you stayed level-headed through it all, ". Gently, she cleared some of the dust that lingered on my face and gave a reassuring smile once she was satisfied with my appearance. "What else happened?" Mother asked, tilting her head as she noticed I held back from her.

I smiled nervously, taking a deep breath as I forced myself to relive the moment. Well, no point in hiding now. Finally, I further included my psychological experience with the child. As I continued though, I didn't notice in the moment, but the atmosphere had become a lot darker.