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It was dark, but the sun always set earlier in the winter. Emma had been put to bed, and the small living room in the Overland house was quiet, save for the crackling of the flames in the hearth and the tapping of Jack's fingers on the wooden arm of a chair.

"You want to go where?"

"Go refill the bottle of Other Stuff. I think…" Jack paused. "I think it would be best to leave town for a few days."

Mrs. Overland lowered her sewing to her lap and pursed her lips. "I'm not saying you're wrong, but why? And if you want to tell me where you plan to go, young man, you ought to tell me what it is you plan to do. I don't know what 'Other Stuff' is."

"Oh." Jack thought for a few minutes, and Mrs. Overland resumed her stitching. "The group at the Inn, I think they might try something soon. I really don't know what, but I'd rather not be around them. I don't know what Other Stuff is actually called, you never told me. It's the other stuff that I put in here." He held up his flask and shook it, resulting in a soft splashing sound from with the container.

Mrs. Overland looked up for a second to see what he was taking about and laughed, though quietly so as not to wake Emma. "I don't suppose I have told you," she hesitated, as though uncertain whether or not to disclose the information. Clearly deciding against it, she said, "You don't even know where to go to get more."

"Yeah, well," Jack struggled for an answer, "I know you always travel east to refill the bottle, and you would never pass through the Kroey County, so it's between there and here." Mrs. Overland's shocked face told him he'd gotten it right, so he pushed on. "The map of Amadkio shows the city of Grusiri, which not only allows magic, but encourages it. It's very conveniently a few towns east of here, so that's probably where to go."

Mrs. Overland got over her surprise quickly. "You would need to go to Grusiri. They have a small section that is dedicated to keeping any old remains of magic alive. You could find someone there to refill the bottle. But," here she smirked, "how do you plan on paying for a refill?"

"I- um, well, I was just going to, um," he fumbled for an answer before sighing in defeat. "I don't know."

She nodded knowingly. "I will send you with coins for traveling, but cauldron witches in particular like to trade a concoction for another piece of magic." She raised her eyebrows at him meaningfully.

Jack's face hardened. "No, not only is that dangerous, but it's-"

"Necessary." Mrs. Overland cut him off. "The last few magic trinkets I had stored away from your mother are gone. You would have needed to do it anyway."

He slumped over in his chair. "Fine, but I plan to leave early in the morning. Just tell me the actual name of Other Stuff, and then I'll pack a bag."

Mrs. Overland looked thoughtful. "In truth, you might not even need the name, the way the bottle looks would be an indicator of what's inside…" Catching sight of Jack's unamused face, she amended, "Alright, it's called-" she broke off. "I'll write it down for you."

Mrs. Overland carefully set the fabric she was stitching on the chair and went into the kitchen. She returned moments later with a scrap of paper, which she was folding. "Here." She handed it to him and sat down to resume her sewing.

Jack unfolded and re-folded the paper, to be sure that she had really written down the name. He stood, ready to pack a bag, but hesitated a moment. Looking at Mrs. Overland shyly, he gave her a short hug. "Thanks, mom." He whispered, then darted away down the hallway to quietly get ready for the journey.

Mrs. Overland sat very still for a moment, looking rather pleased. The only times Jack ever addressed her as 'mom' lately was to appease her insistences that he do so, or in front of others to avoid suspicion. Shaking her head and forcing an exasperated look she muttered, "Silly boy, it only took you six years."

Jack had a small knapsack, which he had filled with things he planned on bringing. A spare change of clothes, a small pouch with the coins Mrs. Overland had given him, several apples and some bread, the nearly empty bottle, and a very old book that he was told had belonged to his parents. He also had his flask strapped to his side, but that was a given. It wasn't much, but he was certain it was all he would need.

He slept on one of the chairs in the living room, not wanting to wake Emma with his early departure. Turns out he needn't have worried. Mrs. Overland had decided that, despite Jack wanting to let Emma sleep, saying good-bye was more important. Jack woke up with Emma's reproachful face leaning over him.

"How could you leave without saying good-bye, or even telling me you were leaving?" she whined, climbing onto him despite his awkward sleeping pose. He let out an 'oof' as she settled on his legs. She glared at him. "You haven't played with me in forever, and now you're going away!"

Jack winced, feeling guilty. She was right, he hadn't played with her lately, what with being 'sick' and worried over the foreigners at the Inn. "It's not for forever; it'll only be a two-day journey there, a day to stay in the city, and a two-day journey back. I'll play with you as soon as I'm home."

"Exactly!" she wailed, slumping over him as he shifted to a more comfortable position. "That's five days, which is forever! And you might not even play with me right away when you get back." She looked accusingly at him.

"Hey, we can play hopscotch the minute I get back."

"Promise?" She said, looking at him with big, pleading eyes.

"I promise. Even if it's the middle of the night." He tweaked her nose teasingly.

"Jack! I don't want to play in the dark." She giggled.

"Well, then maybe I'll wait for morning, how's that sound?" Jack managed to get off the chair, still holding on to Emma. She squealed when he twirled her around and set her on her feet.

"Okay," she agreed. "I can wait until morning." She re-considered. "But ONLY if you get here in the middle of the night. You have to play right away if you get home during the day."

Jack chuckled, bending down and giving her a hug. "Works for me," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Love you, Em. Don't cause trouble for mom."

Standing, Jack faced Mrs. Overland and gave her a hug too. "Be careful." She whispered, hugging him a little tighter.

He laughed, putting up a brave front and releasing her. "I will."

Slipping on some shoes by the door and fastening his cloak over his knapsack, Jack examined a tall staff with an angular crook at the end. It was the shepherd's staff he used during the summer to help Mr. William with the sheep. He shrugged and took it. It was a weapon of sorts after all, and there was no telling what he might come across. Besides, shepherds were considered harmless. A younger shepherd like himself wouldn't be selling anything, so he would likely also be deemed honest and trustworthy. He grasped it more firmly; a weapon that doubled as a tool to help him blend in with the crowd, very useful.

He stepped outside, cloak fluttering in the early-morning breeze. Turning around as he shut the door, Jack flashed Emma and Mrs. Overland one last grin. Then he set off for a five day trip and a break from the mysterious, nosy group.

Or so he thought.

The door to room 15 slammed open, waking North and admitting a frantic Bunny. Not pausing to say anything to North, Bunny rammed the door between their room and room 14 open as well.

"Bunny," North said tiredly. "What is fuss?"

Ignoring North completely, Bunny said "Everybody up! We have a big problem!"

Tooth drifted into the room, Sandy rubbing his eyes sleepily right behind her.

"That bloody kid's skippin' town!"

That woke everybody up.

A few symbols appeared above Sandy's head, but were lost in the sudden scrambling as the other three tried to gather everything together and pack up so they could leave as soon as possible.

"Are you sure he left?" Tooth asked, darting back and forth between rooms and organising things into piles.

"Yeah, saw 'im leave with a traveling bag a few minutes ago. If 'e ain't leaving then I don't know what 'e's doin'."

"Quickly!" North boomed. In a quieter tone (everyone had shushed him), he said, "We must leave S.A.P.!"

Bunny rubbed his forehead. "North, it's A.S.A.P."

North waved a hand, shoving blankets into a large bag. "Is the same thing, no? We leave and track down Jack. May have had bad moment yesterday but we will fix."

Tooth exchanged a glance with Sandy, who was calmly allowing his sand to drift about the room and put things into the four bags they possessed. North had enchanted each bag to be able to hold many things without too much weight being added, but they did have a limit. Tooth tugged an extra bag out of her own and carefully placed the items remaining in the room into it.

"Guys," she interrupted Bunny and North (who were squabbling about who-knows-what by this point), "We can leave now."

Sandy was out the door first, followed by Tooth. North pushed past Bunny, who was left to grab the two keys off the nightstand. Tromping down the stairs, but quietly, they passed the empty front counter. Sandy stayed behind a moment after Bunny (who placed the keys on the counter) to scribble out a note detailing their thanks for staying, and that they had left. Satisfied, he followed the others, eager to track down Jack Overland and make him listen to them.

A/N: So, some of you may recognize this chapter from the mix up (Now edited!). Although that was terrible, I'm glad I'd written ahead otherwise I wouldn't have anything to post. Side note, Amadkio is like the country/kingdom, and Grusiri is a city/town like Burgess.

The purple hippocampus: Thank you! Insights to Jack's past will come very slowly because I'm trying to drive you all mad. I feel you, even though I don't have English this semester essays still require formal writing.

Mikayla elwood: Well, it is important to the plot, it just wasn't cleaned up, and it was posted too early. Here it is! ~September Birthday Bros~ Happy belated Birthday! *Throws confetti*

IReviewThings: Basically. Yeah, being burned alive would be terrible (worse than drowning, in my opinion, but I've never drowned or been burned so I wouldn't know). Tooth appreciates the hug!

WolfAndBookLover: Patience, my friend... All good things come to those who wait...

the flower bed: Sandy is often right, but does anyone listen? Not really.

KorrieChan: I'm sure this chapter makes sense now too. I... know things that no person should ever know... (I hope nobody thought I was possessed with the way I was laughing from reading your review)

PinkCherryBlossom: Thanks!

ROTGFANGIRL: THANKS. WHY ARE WE YELLING?

Serami Nefera: Veeeeery personal. I felt bad for Tooth, and I'm the one who wrote it!

WinterCrystal1009: Close. Very close. Too close. *whispers* They're on to us...

I'm so grateful for all the follows, reviews, and favorites!

Until next time!