After some brief talk with the Queen, James, Meru, and the good doctor found themselves back on the streets, James both pondering and shivering. His thoughts were disjointed, often floating between "where do I go now?" and "Holy crap it's cold." He played with the coin necklace he now wore, his hands always needing something to play with when he thought. Plus, it helped keep his mind off the cold. Sort of.
Meru on the other hand, was excitedly prancing along, completely unaffected by the frigid weather. She glanced to James, noting his occasional shiver. Poor guy… She thought, frowning. Then, an idea struck her.
James was taken a bit off guard when he suddenly felt something pressed up against him. He glanced down to see Meru now snuggling him as they walked along. Attempting to fight off a brick-red blush, and failing, he tried to ask what she was doing.
"M-Meru, w-what are you doing?" He stuttered, though from shock or cold even he couldn't tell. She merely grinned up at him, looking suspiciously like a cat eying their prey.
"You're so cold. I thought I'd warm you up." She said her grip unrelenting. James noted that her grip was surprisingly strong for a girl her size. And it wasn't like she was hiding muscle; she was hardly hiding anything. It was at this point James just had to ask.
"Meru, how can you stand the cold in that outfit? You're wearing far less than I am!" He said, though he didn't wiggle out of her grip. In truth, she was quite warm. She merely looked thoughtful for a second, before smiling.
"It's a secret!" She said, before pulling him along before he could question it.
"Come on, let's go get you clothes! For real this time!" She said as they pulled away from the doctor.
"Don't aggravate his wound!" Said doctor yelled as he was pulled away. Oh, this was going to be an interesting trip…
It wasn't long later that James found himself not only in another boutique, but with a brand new outfit as well. He was examining himself in the mirror, and even he had to admit it. He looked quite dashing.
"You look amazing!" Meru said, twirling around and jumping excitedly. James merely nodded nervously. He wasn't used to compliments. The new outfit was interesting, and one could certainly say stylish. He had boots on, brown in color with ties. They ended just below the knee. They were fairly heavy, most likely from the bits of iron that were attached to parts of it. When Meru had been searching for boots, she'd asked him on his martial arts. When he replied that it was a mostly kicking art, she'd grabbed the heavy boots. Made sense, he supposed, though he wondered if they'd be too heavy.
For pants, she'd grabbed a pair of dusty white trousers, the bottom bits of them tucked away inside the boots. It gave them a baggy look; something James liked what with his rather lanky frame. For a shirt, she'd just grabbed a short sleeved gray tee, of which was also baggy and also tucked away into his shirt. He hadn't wanted to tuck it in, he always hated the feeling of having a tucked in shirt, but Meru was adamant, and damned if he was gonna win an argument with her. After that, she'd tossed him a jacket. Now, James liked this jacket. It was soft and comfortable, and even he had to admit, looked good on him. It was a dark blue coat, of which fit snugly against him. It was long, ending a little above his ankles. With that, his outfit was evidently complete, with Meru grinning mischievously.
"You look fantastic!" She added to her previous exclamation, before running over to the clerk and handing him a small number of coins. Before he even had a moment to voice anything, he was already being tugged out. As they hit the streets again and Meru decided to release him, James finally spoke up.
"You know, you didn't have to buy me clothes. How much were these?" He asked looking at the clothes he now wore. She made a small "pfft" noise.
"Clothes are cheap! It only cost a few coins." She said, skipping along. James taken aback by this.
"They are?" He asked, glancing down at the small girl.
"Of course. Aren't they cheap in your world?" She asked back, tilting her head. James shook his own.
"No, cloths are actually rather expensive at home." He said. In retrospect, he did wonder how much clothes were marked up at home.
"Well, that's just stupid!" She declared, frowning. James laughed.
"I guess so." He said, placing his hands in the pockets of the jacket. They were warm. Joy!
"So, where shall we go?" Meru asked, turning the corner, James quickly following. His only answer was a shrug.
"I don't know this world. I wouldn't even know where to begin!" He declared, his frustrating lack of knowledge already boiling over. What to do, what to do…
"Well, there's a small village, by the name of Decni not far from here." Meru said, finger on her lip in a cute thinking position.
"Decni, huh?" James said curiously. Sounded as good as place as any to start looking. It wasn't like he had any leads. A grin suddenly spread across his face.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's hit the road! We're wasting time!" He said, a rather adventurous spirit flaring up inside his heart that he didn't know he had. The idea of traveling had always been enticing, and now he finally got to do it. Just not in his world.
"I think not, mister!" Meru said, grabbing onto his sleeve and tugging him inside of a nearby building. James stumbled along as she pulled him with her surprising strength.
"What? Why not?" He asked as he as pulled inside what looked like a bar or something.
"You've been sleeping for 3 days and running around for hours with this recent excitement! You! Need! To! Eat!" She said, exclaiming every word with typical Meru hyperactivity. She added a couple of angry hops to add to her point. What could he say? No? His stomach was already growling to remind him of his lack of food. He merely gave her a nod and a smile. Her happy grin as she pulled him to a nearby wooden table only made his smile hold strong.
"Good boy! Now you sit! I will find us something to eat!" She said, running off to chat with the owner excitedly, gesturing wildly.
The brief moment of solitude from everything was comforting in a way. Ever since he'd woken up he'd been slammed with one thing after another, one crazy event before the next. It was mind-boggling and, dare he say it, a bit frightening. His mind wandered to something his mother had told him once. "James, you always strike me as the type who would just deal the hand you're dealt."
Yes, that did seem to sum him up quite nicely. Sure, he could panic, freak, push all these strange and peculiar people away and run and run until his legs couldn't hold him, but then where would he be? Nowhere but lost. 'Besides...' he thought, glancing over to the strange girl, who'd helped him. The girl who, though she had nothing to gain, saved his life and stuck with him through these weird events and stories.
"I have a friend." He whispered quietly, leaning back in his chair and resting his eyes.
"James!" A voice called out, making him jump. Glancing around, he noticed he'd dozed off in his chair. Placed in front of him he noted was a plate of food.
"You fell asleep, you goof." She said, grinning mischievously across the table. A plate of food lay in front of her as well.
"Sorry about that, must be more tired than I thought." He said, scratching the back of his head. James glanced down at the food in front of him, smiling at its simplicity. It was simple ground beef with a carrot next to it. Ah, simple food, how he loved thee. He was about to grab a fork and dig in when he glanced at Meru, who was smiling at him with a strange expression on her face.
"Um… What's up?" James asked, a little antsy under her stare. Instead of explaining herself, Meru instead looked like she'd just had a brilliant idea. Then her expression got, dare he say it, sultry. Her flirtatious grin only made him a little antsy in his chair.
"Y-yes, Meru?" He said, glancing away. Was she doing this on purpose?
"Oh nothing. It's just fun to see you all flustered." She said. Yup. On purpose.
"OK, that's just mean." James said, pointing at her with his fork, frowning. A moment passed. Then they both burst out laughing. Some of the nearby patrons either gave them annoyed or questioning looks. The two teens just dug into their food, James stomach crying in relief as food finally filled his belly. He was careful not to eat too fast, throwing up would really ruin the moment. The pair of them chatted away, Meru watching carefully to make sure he both ate slowly but still ate it all. Like a little mother hen.
"So, what do we do after this?" James asked, polishing off the rest of his food, nibbling on the piece of carrot. She reached around her back, pulling something out of the fluffy ribbon she used as decoration. Placing it out on the table, she unfolded it.
"A map?" He said, recognizing it from the one the doctor had showed him previously. Meru nodded. She pointed at a small dot next to what looked like illustrated trees, marking a forest or the like.
"That's Decni. It's not far from the nearby forest, only a couple days travel. Thankfully, it's almost Spring there. It's the middle of winter here, but the farther south we go, the warmer it'll get!" She said, giving her trademark mischievous grin. James nodded, leaning forward. He felt considerably better now that he had eaten something.
"Sounds good to me. How are we going to get there?" He asked, glancing up. She gave him a quizzical look.
"Well, walking." She said, a little befuddled by his question. James mentally smacked his forehead. Of course. No cars or trains or anything.
"Right, walking, sorry." He said, rubbing his forehead. Well, at least it was good for him. Glancing back at Meru, he questioned further.
"When shall we leave?" He asked, his stomach twisting a bit. It was only now that he realized just how nervous he was. He had never really traveled, least not in a car with luxuries. He'd have to rough it… This would be oh so fun.
"Today if at all possible, that is, unless you want to stick around for a while longer." James considered this for a second. He hadn't traveled before, and he was still injured, as the pain in his head reminded him. Shaking his head, he dismissed those thoughts.
"No, let's leave today. I hate this blasted cold. Besides, the sooner we hit the road, the sooner I can find my friend. With any luck, he's alright…" James said, his mind wandering again. He couldn't recall what happened, or who he was with at the time, which made it especially annoying. He still hoped he was unharmed… For all he knew-
Meru bopped him on the nose again.
"No bad thoughts." She said, pointing at him accusingly. James rubbed his nose before smiling. Always helping.
"Yes, ma'am." He said, sticking his tongue out at her, which she replied with an equally childish tongue of her own.
"This will be fun, I promise!" She said, smiling at him. James just couldn't help it. He smiled back. Her smile… Was just contagious.
