A/N: Here I present to you, chapter 8 of our story. Well, I missed both my self-imposed deadline, as well as the story's anniversary—it's kind of hard to believe I've been writing this fic for over a year now—but I managed to save it as a Christmas present for all of you. Enjoy the longest chapter so far.
My POV
God, this night was horrible.
This time it took me 3 straight hours of lying on the bed, plus 2 more hours of pacing around the room before I even began feeling sleepy. And now that I've woken up the sun isn't even close to rising yet. It's 6:30am.
And the room's gotten colder overnight—still far from "freezing to death", but enough to be annoyingly uncomfortable—so I resorted to pacing around the room again to try and warm up.
At least Kieri looked to be faring a little better than before. Well, aside from the nightmare she was having earlier at least...
After a while, I sat down on my bed, rubbing my face. Last night was too close a call. I'd almost forgotten to factor in my lack of magic, something that thankfully no one had noticed earlier on. I sincerely hoped that I could actually use magic here; that would make things so much easier.
But there's no way of knowing for sure until Kieri starts mentoring me. I could probably not have magic at all, but it's something I can't explain either way. There's probably some sort of birth defect out there that prevents people from having magic that could justify it...
...Or it would give me away way too soon. I haven't been with the group that long, but spotting my lie even this early on would be a huge blow to our mutual trust...
I sighed. This is too hard.
I rubbed my face again, only now noticing the light amount of stubble on my chin. Huh, maybe I should buy a razor later today. Hopefully they have a safety razor instead of just a blade...
I grabbed my glasses from their spot on the nearby bedside table. They were a little smudged and covered in dust and snow, accompanied by several small scratches.
Well, they're not going to clean themselves. At least it gives me something to do...
I had just finished cleaning the left lens (using the innkeeper's shirt) and started on the right when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked up.
Kieri was stirring.
I half-smiled to myself, and continued cleaning my glasses.
I heard her mutter something in Angelic.
"Good morning, Kieri." I said.
She looked up, blushing a little. "G-good morning." she replied.
I put my glasses on. "Okay, so uh..." I rubbed the back of my head. What was I about to say again?
"Sleep well?"
...
Well, it was something at least.
"...Yes." she said slowly, sitting up in her bed. "What about you?"
"Yeah..." I said. This kind of thing can happen...
...Actually, it's kind of worrying. I've always had a bit of trouble sleeping, but certainly not when I was THAT tired. Well, here's to hoping this kind of thing doesn't last long...
...
Awkward silences are the worst. We don't really have anything to say, do we? I could remind her about the shopping spree we have to do for the trip, but it would just be redundant; there's no way she forgot about it. And she just woke up; she has nothing to say.
...
...
This is boring.
...I feel at home now.
...
...
It must've been another half-hour—maybe more, I couldn't check my watch with Kieri in the room— before room service came...in the form of a young lady who was probably the innkeeper's daughter. They seemed to have the same hair tone and similar height, though I wasn't all that sure.
'Probably' was the key word in that sentence.
"Good morning." she said, holding two trays breakfast.
"Good morning." I replied.
"I hope you both slept well." she said. "I brought you both your breakfast for today." She smiled. "It's on the house." she added.
...But I'm here...I thought they're only doing that to Kieri...
Or maybe they've decided I also get the special treatment just because I slept in the same room as her.
And once again, that may be a little too much for it to be true. Sometimes my mind likes to come up with stuff it pretty much knows can never happen. No one's that much like...that; I forgot the words for it.
Unless they are.
Unless they aren't.
Okay, for now, don't be rude, and just say thank you-
Never mind, she already left. Goddamnit.
Anyway... Kieri had gotten out of bed and had put both trays on the bed, next to her. Both trays of breakfast looked a lot like a conventional American breakfast, only...a little excessive. Several eggs, strips of bacon, slices of French toast, waffles, more bacon for some reason, and a large glass of what looked like orange juice. Both trays were identical both in contents and amount.
Jeez, Kieri would be unable to eat half this stuff, with or without her meat allergy.
...
Kieri sighed. It wasn't hard for me to tell that she was upset at the special treatment.
"W-we s-shou-u..." the words died in her mouth. She took at deep breath and tried again. "We should share this with Buwaro and Rhea."
I looked up at her. "Hm?"
"W-well, they keep giving us their things for free, a-and...It just doesn't s-seem fair."
She blushed a little. "A-also...this might be a l-little too much food for just the two of us."
I looked back down at the trays, smirking. "Yeah, I see your point."
I picked them both up, one in each hand. "Well..." I gestured to the door.
Kieri quickly put her shoes on, and opened the door, walking out into the dark hallway, with me close behind.
Well, this is a familiar sight. Or rather, lack of sight; did it get somehow darker since last night?
Kieri looked around, squinting, straining to see which door was which.
"Kieri," I spoke up. "It's this door over here." I gestured to the door in question, the number 2 just barely visible.
She blushed a little at having missed that. I shrugged. "Buwaro and I had the same problem last night."
She walked up to the door and knocked.
No response.
They're still asleep; we just woke Rhea up with the knocking. But she was taking her time getting to the door.
Kieri knocked again, louder this time. There was faint muttering coming from inside the room, and I could hear footsteps. Okay, so she's up. I wonder what she thinks about the whole travelling to find Kazai plan now. She only ever got to hear it from Buwaro.
A loud sneeze suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts, almost making me drop the trays. I caught myself. I realized Kieri was nowhere to be seen...until I glanced down.
The tiny floppy-eared snow bunny was back.
Rhea opened the door, looking up at me. "Good morning, Jamal." she said, rather tired sounding.
"Good morning to you too." I droned, holding the trays on my arms out. "We got you guys breakfast."
"We?"
"Down here." Kieri squeaked. Rhea looked down in surprise.
"Well," she shrugged. "Can't say I'm not grateful for bringing us breakfast! Come on in!"
And having said that, she grabbed Kieri with her tail and went back inside.
"Buwaro! Wake up! Kieri's here!"
Buwaro woke up almost instantly at those words. He immediately threw the covers off of himself, and eagerly plucked Kieri up out of Rhea's tail. "Good morning, Snowy!"
"G-good morning to you too, Buwaro!" Kieri said, her blush noticeable even underneath her fur.
"Wow, the food looks great! The soup we got was kinda overpriced. How much did it cost?"
"A-actually," said Kieri, who was being nuzzled by Buwaro. "It's our breakfast; we got it for free..."
"Wow, it sure pays to be an angel," she turned to me with an odd look. "Or staying in the same room as one."
"Hey, hey." I raised my hands defensively. Rhea just rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"But anyway, if this is your food, why haven't either you eaten any of it?"
"Well," I decided to answer for Kieri here. "It's a big enough serving to share between the four of us; we thought it best to save you the expense of buying breakfast on your own."
"That's nice of you." she commented as she dug in.
We ate mostly in silence. Rhea and Buwaro happily ate a large portion of the servings, while I ate only the eggs, some toast and one of the glasses of juice. As for Kieri, she only ate one piece of toast; then again, considering she was a bunny at the moment, it must've been pretty filling.
And it was adorable watching her nibble on it.
Still a little tired.
"So anyway," I started. "What's the plan for now?"
"Buwaro filled me in on as much as he could." Rhea said. "We're gonna need to go shop for a lot of supplies. Extra clothing, extra food...today's gonna be dedicated to getting the supplies, and we leave tomorrow morning."
"Wait a second," Buwaro piped up, turning to me. "Didn't you say we'd be able to leave later today?"
"Oh yeah..." I rubbed the back of my head. "In hindsight, that might've been a stupid assumption."
In all honesty, I had completely forgotten that the group took a whole day to buy supplies before setting out to Riverside City. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I really did have gaps in my memory.
"First things first, however, we'll need a map. I think there's a bookstore further down the road from here."
"We'll be sure to stop by there after we get dressed." I said.
"Now that you mention it," Rhea suddenly realized. "What's with the getup?"
"The innkeeper gave us spare clothes for the time being. You know, while they wash our other clothing." Actually, come to think of it, why didn't they hand us our clothes earlier?
Kieri chose that particular moment to turn back into an Angel. And upon seeing the gown that she was still wearing, Rhea predictably sniggered. Kieri blushed in response.
"I have to say, uh," Rhea said, trying to hold back her laughter. "Sorta clashes with your hair. You really like blue, huh?"
"I-it's...not a personal choice." Kieri sighed. "As a water elemental, I'm required to wear a blue uniform. My sword was assigned to me...I even had to dye my hair blue..."
"Man, that sucks! But, you're in Medius now; I don't think we have any laws about colour-coding yourself down here..."
This conversation seems awfully familiar... It's surprising how little things have changed so far.
"If you're uncomfortable with it," I said. "You could just stop doing it."
"B-but I-"
"So, Snowy," Buwaro cut her off. "What is your favourite colour?"
"M-m-my favouri- What?"
"It's called being 'friendly'. That's what Buwaro does."
Seriously, it's almost like I didn't do anything. I mean, not that the conversation was sweet and all, but...
"U-uh," Kieri stuttered nervously. "W-well, I l-l-like...uh...m-my favourite..." And then she just said, in the tiniest voice ever. "It's purple."
Rhea, predictably, laughed loudly.
Buwaro, predictably, started going on about his fur. "Really?! My fur is purple! It's all-natural too!"
Kieri, predictably, was left a blushing mess.
It was the familiarity, ironically, that was bothering me. Having heard—or rather read—this conversation before...it was surreal actually being a part of it. Not to mention, all the previous events were slightly so different, and yet...this was playing out the exact same.
"Well, aren't you a lucky girl!"
...Okay, scratch that, Rhea teasing Kieri is bothering me more.
"Okay, would you stop teasing her?" I asked Rhea. "There's nothing wrong with liking purple. It's a really nice colour."
Rhea abruptly started coughing.
...
I rolled my eyes. I decided to move this conversation along a little more. Maybe if I participated more actively, it wouldn't put me off as much...
"So anyway, I've been meaning to ask," I said to Kieri. "Where are your wings? And your pendant?"
"I-I have it here, under my n-nightgown." she said. "I can control whether my wings are out or not."
"That's cool." Buwaro said, waving his own tiny pair of wings around. "I wish I could do that with mine."
"What are those things, anyway?" Rhea said, having recovered from her coughing fit. "The pendants?"
"T-they... they're holy emblems. They're earned through warrior training, and there are three in total; each of them has different effects." She pulled out her sun pendant to show us. "The sun emblem is what bestows us our wings, and it helps calm our hearts..." she pointed at Buwaro's star pendant. "The star gives us halos, and enhances concentration, for better magic control."
Rhea snickered to herself when Kieri said that.
"And the third pendant is a crescent moon. I-I think it's supposed to enhance physical strength. But all the emblems are specifically made for angels. I don't know how Buwaro can use his..."
Rhea thought for a moment. "Hmm... do you think I can't touch your pendant because I'm from Hell?"
"Huh?"
"Back at the lake," Rhea explained. "I tried to pick it up, but it burned my hand when I touched it." She glanced at Buwaro. "Could Buwaro try holding it?"
"Uh, sure." Kieri said, holding her pendant up for Buwaro. He raised his hand to grab it, but the moment it came into contact with his palm, he yelped and jerked his hand back.
"Sorry Buwaro, but I guess that confirms it." Rhea said. "But this isn't fair! I'm out of Hell, and it turns out I'm still damned!"
"Uh..." I started. There were a lot of things I wanted to point out, but for the life of me, I just didn't know where to start.
"Aw, come on, Rhea." Buwaro said. "The Ring wasn't that bad."
"Are you kidding?" Rhea said. "I was stuck there with only you for company, for nine months straight! If—or when—I go back, it'll be too soon."
Huh, so nine months is how long she was dead for.
"I honestly thought I'd go insane." she continued.
"Wait, can dead people go insane?" I asked.
"I was abo-" she cut herself off. "Actually, I guess?" she shrugged. "It's not like I really had anyone else to compare with, aside from Seymour."
"Who's Seymour?" Kieri and I asked simultaneously.
"Oh, I remember him!" Buwaro spoke up. "He was really nice and inspirational but also kind of ugly, too..."
Rhea just shot him a withering look. "Seymour was a daredevil who got sentenced to the ring for apparently 'stealing a lot'. The guy had been dead for decades, and when we found him he was dead set on swimming up the River Styx all the way to Heaven. He really didn't seem sane, at all."
Whatever face Kieri was making right now was probably not a good one. I pretended to hide a similar expression.
...
"So..."
"What?"
"I think we should get a move on with the shopping..." I said, maybe a little meeker than I intended.
"Yes, of course." she cleared her throat. "So, again, first things first, we'll need to get a map. I might've lost our old map at the lake or something because I can't find it anymore."
"Well, that's unfortunate." I deadpanned. "Let's just go get dressed already." I stood up, gesturing for Kieri to do the same.
We stepped out of the room, and walked up to our room. I opened the door, and, sure enough, Kieri's uniform and my jacket and pants were there, on one of the beds.
"You go first." I said. "I'll wait outside."
She walked in, and closed the door behind her.
When Rhea said that she knew her way around, I had been expecting her to find the bookstore within ten minutes. That was nearly half an hour ago.
Farun's not that big, maybe four or five kilometres lengthwise, but it had taken an annoyingly long time to find the bookstore regardless.
Warm air welcomed us as we went inside, and I couldn't help but sigh in relief. I mean, I've been stuck out there for a longer period of time, but...I guess it's just that big a relief to be somewhere warm. Even with my newly washed jacket on...
"Alright," Rhea said. "They should have a map somewhere around here. Hopefully it doesn't cost too much; we might need to save money if we're in this for the long haul." She turned to Kieri. "Would you mind watching Buwaro for me? I don't want him setting fire to anything."
I just split off from the group and walked around, inspecting the bookstore.
It was decently sized, even for such a small town, and it seemed to have a great deal of books in good condition. The books themselves ranged from children's books, to novels, and even a couple of encyclopaedias.
Those might actually come in handy. I'll need as much information about Medius as I can get.
Though I might want to invest in a smaller, cheaper book that's both easier to carry, and won't piss Rhea off as an expensive suggestion.
Let's see here... Anatomy might help in understanding the physiology of other races, but I don't think I desperately need that...Magic could probably work out for me, so I'll keep it in mind...and Alchemy-
Wait, Alchemy. I forgot about Alchemy.
Now that is what I need. Taking what will eventually happen into account, I'd definitely need stuff like the Rainbow Reverie to keep up. It would help a lot if I had better knowledge of the subject should I ever need to make potions myself.
Alchemy it is.
I picked up the book that had caught my eye. It was fairly small compared to the others, about 200 pages long. Judging by its size, title (The Illustrated Alchemist Apprentice's Guide), and a quick skim through the first few dozen pages, it was perfect.
It had detailed, but straightforward descriptions, recipes, and the like; the one thing that felt off was that the illustrations were drawn by a not very steady hand, but they were clear enough for me.
Let's go with this one. Now, to find Rhea and discuss...how I'll justify randomly grabbing an Alchemy book...
Well, first I have to find her. It's difficult when she's less than half my height and completely hidden by the bookshelves.
I walked around, peeking behind each bookshelf to find Rhea, until something caught my eye: a calendar on the wall.
More specifically, the date on the calendar; heck, the month it was on:
March 5th.
That can't be right. Last I remember it was November-
Wait. Last I remember...
I glanced around to make sure no one was looking and snuck a glance at my watch.
One little thing about my watch I hadn't mentioned yet, is that it's one of those watches that shows the date of the month. Right now, the number displayed was a five. And as far as I could tell, the watch itself was keeping track of Farun's local time; the shadows outside indicated it was close to noon, while my watch's hands read 11:35.
...Huh.
I hid my watch in my sleeve again and brushed my hair out of my face.
Did I actually lose some of my actual memories of the past 4 months? I should've already gone back to school by this date! And yet I don't remember anything past the last few weeks of the previous school year!
Shit, I might've missed something important from the pages that were released in those four mo-!
"Okay, where's Jamal?"
Thank you Rhea, for snapping me out of another freak out.
I followed the sound of her voice, and I quickly found her by a small stand with maps on it. She was holding one of those maps in her hand, and Buwaro and Kieri were both next to her.
"I'm here."
"Good," Rhea said. "'Cause I got ourselves a map right here."
"You were right, Jamal!" Buwaro said. "Snowy's brother definitely went to Riverside, like you said!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Rhea shot back. "But it is the closest one, and the most likely, so that's where we're heading."
"What's it like?" Buwaro asked.
"Well," I started, cutting Rhea's comment off before she even finished opening her mouth. "It's, uh...a lot bigger than Farun. And...it's next to a river."
...
"Yes, I know that that's a little obvious, but even if I had been there before, I don't remember anything about it."
Rhea raised an eyebrow. "Smooth."
"Oh, and also," I said, showing Rhea the book. "Mind if we get this as well?"
"I'm tempted to ask 'why'."
"It just...sort of caught my eye." I defended. "And besides, if this goes on for the 'long haul', the knowledge might come in handy."
She just eyed the book.
And then she shrugged.
"Whatever, I'll allow it." she said, turning around and heading for the counter. "Just so long as it doesn't cost too much; we're trying to save up."
Well, that was awkward.
But at least it worked. I now have something to not only learn crucial information with, but to also entertain myself with during the trip.
Rhea's POV
Next stop: the grocery store.
At least this one was a little easier to find than the bookstore.
"Okay, so how much food are we gonna need?" I asked myself aloud.
"A little over six meals' worth." Jamal replied. "I did the math. It'd take us at least two days to get to Riverside on foot. We'll have to pack a little extra just in case."
"Got it." I split off from him and walked down the aisle, looking around. I was vaguely aware of Kieri following me.
It was fairly big and well stocked with food, most of which could've been brought in from the outside world. I didn't quite remember it like this, but then again, I didn't visit Farun all that often, and then after I died...
I scratched my chest again. I guess this little itch isn't going to stop any time soon...
I grabbed a bag from a nearby rack, and put a few loaves of bread inside. Then I put some more in just in case. Jamal said a little over six meals' worth...for four people that would be...
Eh, this looks like enough bread.
Now to the vegetable section. As much as I preferred meat over most other foods, I had to admit I kinda missed vegetables as well.
Let's see here, we got broccoli, radishes, cabbages and carro-
I chuckled to myself.
I grabbed a small bunch of carrots and showed them to Kieri. "Want some? These seem perfect for you!"
The look on her face was hilarious to look at! But then Jamal had somehow snuck up on me and...
"That's not funny."
"Wha?"
"Stop teasing her."
"You're no fun."
He just shrugged and left, holding a bag of what I assumed was fruit.
Seriously, it's like every little joke I make just ticks him off!
I put the carrots in my bag and grabbed a few other vegetable to go along. Once I was done, I followed Jamal to the counter. Apparently he'd already gotten the rest of our food.
I propped myself up on my tail to put my bags on the counter. Jamal put his own bags next to mine.
"Jamal?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you keep spoiling my fun?" I glared at him.
"Oh, um...I just think it comes off as insensitive, Rhea." He replied a little nervously. "I mean, I'm fairly certain she dislikes it."
"Well, that's-" I stopped myself. "...I guess you're right. I'll try to stop."
I wondered what exactly came over me there. I mean, yeah, I was being insensitive, but that's the first time I've...actually admitted that...
No wonder I went to Hell.
Kieri's POV
We decided to eat lunch at a small restaurant not far from the inn. I had already eaten here, so when Rhea suggested having lunch out, I was the one that chose where.
...It's not like there were that many other options...
Thankfully, when we arrived, the place was virtually empty. It meant that Buwaro would be less likely to be caught as he ate, since he had to take his bandana off in order to do so. Speaking of which...
Rhea had been trying to teach Buwaro how to use his fork properly, and neither of them finished their plates yet. Jamal, on the other hand, ordered a smaller plate and had finished a little earlier than I had.
"Okay, I think I got it this time." Clink. "Never mind, I dropped it again."
"Buwaro, come on! It isn't that hard!" Rhea said in annoyance.
"Rhea, did you ever notice that his fingers are mostly claws and can't actually bend?" Jamal added flatly.
"Still!"
"There we go! I got it!"
Buwaro, now successfully holding his fork between his claws, resumed eating his food.
I sipped my glass of water. It was still about half full.
Jamal spoke up after a minute or so. "So, Kieri..."
"What is it, Jamal?"
"About...teaching me magic again?"
"Wait, what?" Rhea asked, looking up from her plate.
"I forgot more than just my memories; I don't remember how to use magic." he told Rhea.
"How does that work?" she asked in disbelief.
"I don't know," he said. "But that's how it is for me..."
He turned back to me.
"Shall we start now?" he asked.
I nodded. I wasn't entirely sure how well I could teach him... if he knew magic before, then it shouldn't be too hard, I suppose.
"I...don't really know where to start. After a while of being able to use it, you...just start taking it for granted...um..."
Why of all times did I have to forget what I was going to say?
Rhea took over. "Well, as someone who can barely use magic to begin with, my recommendation is, uh, just focus on your hands."
"Y-yeah." I continued. "Try to focus and bring out your magic on your own. I-if you could use it before, you s-shouldn't have too much of a problem."
"Okay, I think I get it..." he said. He looked down at his hand; judging by his facial expression he was trying to focus his magic. After a few moments, his hand flashed dimly, and he flinched.
"Oh! I think you got it!" Buwaro said excitedly.
Jamal took a deep breath and tried again. This time, the dim glow appeared almost immediately. He smiled.
"So..." he started. "How do I tell what element my magic-?"
At that moment, his hand suddenly filled up with water, spilling onto his shoe and the ground. He jerked back in his seat, causing the remainder of the water to splash on the ground as well.
"Hah..." he looked at his now wet hand in what might have been bewilderment. He just stared at it for a few seconds. And then a grin started to form. "Well..." he wiped his hand on his leg. "Water magic it is!"
I myself felt the corners of my mouth form a smile. "That's great news!"
"Ooh, ooh!" Buwaro spoke up. "Let me try!"
"No!" Rhea interrupted him. "Fire magic is much more dangerous than that. Remember all those times back in Hell you messed up with your flame breath?"
"And besides," Jamal continued. "None of us, and no one we know and have on hand, for that matter, can use fire magic, so we can't teach you any spells even if you learn to control it properly."
"Oh..."
"At least, no one that's actually good at it..." Rhea pondered. "Anyway, that reminds me, there's one other place we'd have to go to..."
Jake's POV
It was early afternoon; the shop was empty now except for me. I was left to contemplate the nature of my job here...or rather I was wondering what Snake was up to right now. She failed to show up for the Summer Sun celebration, effectively disappearing for the better part of the year, only to turn up months after the winter solstice to ask for clothing for a human friend who...needed it, for some reason.
Well, whatever forces were at work, they seemed to be paying attention to me, because guess who chose to walk through the door right as I was thinking about her.
"Hey Snake, what's up?" I greeted her. "Nice of you to drop by again. Say, what did your friend think of the clothes I-"
She was followed inside the store by three other people. The one in front was wearing said clothes.
...to be fair, maybe Rhea should've mentioned that the guy was pretty short. Maybe then I wouldn't've given him a coat meant for someone nearly a foot taller than he was.
He was pretty broad-shouldered, however, so that seemed to help. He was also wearing a bandana over his mouth, for some reason. I could just see...red eyes and a white lock of hair poking out from under his hat?
"...oh, Oh wow."
"Hello!" he waved cheerfully. At least he didn't seem to mind the clothes. Going to have to look into his hair and eye colour later, though.
He was followed by a significantly taller guy who looked to be in his late teens. He had medium length, dark hair and dark hazel eyes hidden behind glasses. He wore a purple jacket and dark pants, along with a bored expression on his face.
And then I looked to the side and noticed the sweet little angel walking alongside them.
"Why, hello there!"
"Huh?"
If I hadn't been distracted by her good looks, I would've noticed the tall guy taking his glasses off and facepalming.
"So, did it hurt?"
"E-excuse me?" That was a cute accent she had here.
"When you fell from Heaven?" I probably should've said it as one sentence.
"N-no?" No? Wait a second...
"Damn it, J, would you stop putting the moves on random girls for one second?"
I turned my attention away from the girl and focused on Rhea.
"Putting the- what?" the short guy wandered, apparently not realising what just happened.
"Well, in any case..." Rhea said. "These are my friends: Kieri," she gestured at the young girl, "Jamal," she gestures at the tall guy, "and Buwaro." She gestures to the shorter one wearing the longcoat.
"I'll be leaving town with them tomorrow."
"What?!" She can't be serious! "You just got back! I haven't seen you in a while..."
"Yeah, well...things happen." She shrugged. "I just came here for a favour or two...and to say goodbye."
It didn't feel fair. But I guess it was time to move on...
"Alright. So, what do you need?"
"First things first, Kieri needs a sheath for her sword."
What? "She has a sword?"
"Yeah!" Buwaro said, patting her on the back. "She's really strong!"
Speaking of sheaths...
"No problem. I saw one floating around lately..." I said, and walked into storage. I rummaged around all the spare clothing. Jeez, whoever was in charge of cleaning really needs to realise that they have to organise everything back here...
Okay, found it. I brought it back to the counter with me and handed it to Rhea. "It was sold to us a couple days ago. Looks pretty fancy."
As Rhea payed up, the girl, Carrie I think her name was, took the sheath in her hands in surprise.
"Th-this is mine! I thought I lost it when..." she stuttered a little.
Wait, the sheath had been hers the whole time?
Snake and Buwaro were elated to see things work out for her, but Jamal...I thought I saw his expression darken...either that or it just stayed the same, probably doesn't care that much.
"Also, can I have your mail address?" Rhea asked me. "Just because I'm leaving again doesn't mean I'm not keeping in touch with you this time."
"You got it." I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down my address. "Just be sure to tell me which city you're heading to whenever you write."
She nodded. I folded the paper and handed it to her.
I looked up at her friends. "Hope you have some fun with your-" Buwaro had just piled a bunch of really garish clothes on Carrie. And Jamal had somehow teleported to the far side of the room.
"Well, seems like you have your hands full, huh?"
She sighed. "Yup."
"May I ask," I said. "Why are you travelling with them, again?"
"Well, Kieri got separated from her brother a few days ago, so we're helping her look for him. I've known her of all of two days, but she's a really nice kid."
"Oh. What about Buwaro and Jamal?"
"I met Buwaro a while back. I made a promise to his older sister that I'd take care of him for her. As for Jamal, we sort of stumbled upon him not long after meeting Kieri. He's an amnesiac and pretty distant to boot; even if he means well, it's hard to tell."
"Oh hey, that rhymed." I chuckled. She just rolled her eyes. And speak of the devil, Jamal walked over to the counter, holding a black shirt and a scarf.
"Don't mind me, just gonna buy something to stay warm." He said, putting both items on the counter.
"I said we're trying to save up here." She grunted at him.
"And I say I don't want to freeze to death out there." He shot back calmly.
"Also, I was in the middle of a moment here!"
I grinned. "Seems like you found someone to keep up the banter with, huh?"
"Shut it, J."
She handed me the money for the shirt and scarf.
"But hey, look on the bright side," I said, intending to reassure her. "Didn't you always say you wanted to explore Fragaria one day? Take it as your chance!"
"Yeah, you're right..." she climbed onto the table and hugged me. "I'm gonna miss you, J. Try not to set anything on fire."
I smiled at her and patted her on the back. "No promises, Snake. Good luck."
Buwaro's POV
After getting a sheath for Snowy's sword, Jamal and Rhea started having a discussion on whether or not to buy "sleeping bags" for the trip, whatever those were. My best guess were bags you could sleep in...I imagine they'd be large.
"The map says there's a rest stop at the halfway point. We should be able to reach it by nightfall." I heard Rhea argue.
"We can't guarantee that for sure." Jamal countered. "And besides, you yourself said that that's an older map."
I noticed Snowy glancing around, out of the corner of my eye.
"What's wrong, Snowy?" I asked her.
"Oh, um," she stuttered, her face slowly turning red again. I wondered why she kept doing that. "It's just...Rhea saying goodbye to her friend...it reminds me, I have someone to say goodbye too as well."
"Really?"
"Yes. They're a friend I made when I first arrived."
Snowy has more friends down here?
"Why don't you ask them to come along?" I suggested immediately.
She looked surprised. Maybe she hadn't thought of that? We could bring whoever it was along too!
"Well...we are almost done with buying supplies for all of us...but I-I don't think we have enough for one more person..."
"Come on, Snowy," I replied. "It'll be fine! Go on!"
She looked nervous, but then she smiled and nodded. She walked to a nearby building and went inside.
I wonder how this friend of hers is like.
"Okay, fine, we'll take sleeping bags." Rhea groaned after a few minutes. "But we need to figure out how to make more money; I still have a great deal, but not enough to carry us past Riverside if we need to go that far."
"Well, that's fair." Jamal answered. "Buwaro, Kieri, we're gonna make one last stop before we go back to the inn." He turned to me. "Wait, where's Kieri?"
"She went to-"
At that moment Snowy walked back into view.
"Oh, hey! How did it go?" I asked her.
"...they weren't there." she sighed. She looked upset.
"What?"
"Who are you talking about?" Jamal asked her.
"A friend I made here." she said. "They left three days ago to who knows where."
...
Rhea broke the silence.
"So..." she started. "We...should go buy those sleeping bags?"
"Yes, yes, of course." Jamal said quickly. "Come on, guys. Let's go."
My POV
The four of us had an early start next morning. He woke up sometime before sunrise, had breakfast, each took a shower (except for Buwaro, both because he couldn't risk being seen in the public showers and because he hated water) and took a last minute bathroom break before exiting the inn fully dressed and ready for travel.
Or at least, Kieri and I were ready. It took Buwaro a little longer to do his...business. And Rhea needed to help him actually do it. It makes sense when you think about it; a lifetime of never having to eat, and therefore...expel anything was gonna bite him sooner or later now that he's on Medius. It's also pretty clear that Kieri, Kazai and Sanjulo had to go through a similar ordeal.
The innkeeper had given Kieri a thick, forest green jacket, what looked to be a thermos, and a generous amount of money. Her sword was sheathed on her belt. I had put on the black long-sleeved shirt I bought from Jake's shop over my T-shirt and under my jacket, and wrapped the scarf around my neck and partially over my mouth.
Just my luck it was pink. On the plus side, it was a dark shade of pink. Really compliments the jacket.
Kieri had a satchel with our food supply inside, along with her purse. I was left to carry the sleeping bags and—at my insistence—the map. Rhea was in charge of all the things she managed to get from her house, and Buwaro only had Thadius to worry about.
And my mind kept drifting to that "friend" Kieri had who had never been mentioned in the comi-.
"Okay, we're ready." Rhea said as she stepped out of the inn, with the disguised Buwaro in tow.
"Took you guys long enough." I said. "And don't bother replying, I feel like I don't want to hear it."
"You're right you don't wanna hear it, Jamal." She groaned. It was hard to tell under his bandana, but it seems like he found it just as unpleasant as Rhea did.
"Well then." I shrugged. "We good to go?"
"Yeah, everything's packed on our end." Rhea said. "And it seems you two are ready as well."
"Y-yeah..." Kieri said. "The innkeeper gave us a g-generous amount of money for the trip. You should take it." She showed Rhea the small purse.
"What, why? It's your money!"
"It's best if you take it, Rhea. I have very little experience handling money, you know how best to use it."
"She has a point." I said.
Rhea sighed. "Okay, fine..."
"...it feels...disingenuous." Kieri muttered.
"Hm?" I glanced at her.
"N-nothing." She looked away.
I knew for a fact what she thought was disingenuous. But even if she could've shrugged off the questions, the look on her face spoke volumes.
Rhea immediately picked up on it. "Doesn't sound like nothing."
"The innkeeper was only nice to me because I'm an angel." Kieri blurted out. "I...I hate that..."
I looked down. I didn't really know how to comfort her for this one. However, Buwaro wasn't gonna just stand by and not comfort her. He stepped forward, throwing Thadius out of his hands as he did.
I didn't even focus on what he was saying to Kieri. All I could thing about as I watched Thadius soar up into the air was that he had a nice arm. And those thoughts went from surprise to panic as Thadius started coming back down
I grabbed Buwaro by the shoulders and yanked him out of the way as Thadius landed on the ground with an unsettlingly loud thud.
"Jeez, watch where you throw that thing!"
"Huh, it's been a while since he's done that." Rhea muttered.
"Wait, does this happen often?" Kieri asked, clearly worried.
"...more often than I'd like to admit, Snowy." Buwaro groaned, slumping.
I stood him back up. "Let's just go already, guys. The faster we make progress, the better off we'll be."
I picked Thadius up off the ground, and handed it- I mean her to Buwaro. That thing was pretty heavy; to me it feels like it could crack a normal person's skull open or something.
Best make sure to stay safe around Thadius. Or teach Buwaro how to aim a little better when he throws her around.
A/N: And so the journey finally begins. Will things stay on track, or will they go off the rails? And who is that mysterious friend Kieri mentioned she had?
InvictusValeyard: Well, only time will really tell if anything happens between the two.
Guest: Jamal isn't really the type to tell stories, much less scary ones, especially since he doesn't know any well enough to tell, not taking into account possible slip-ups regarding technology or locations.