"I'll be right back, okay? Stay here." Jack said to Niso as he slipped on his heli-pack and left the lair. He pulled out his Wu detector after flying for a good while, seeing that he was finally getting close to one. He wasn't sure how far away he was from the lair but knew he's been gone for a long time already. Hopefully, Chase wouldn't notice his absence since the warlord had been busy with an intense training session when he snuck out. Snuck out? He didn't sneak out, he can leave whenever he pleases, he's not being held there against his will.
The young man landed when he saw that he was only a couple yards from the Wu, figuring he should walk to rest of the way to see what his surroundings are. He can do this. He can easily get a Wu on his own, he's done it before. Sort of.
Has he taught you to how to sit yet? Roll over? Play dead? Beg?
Jack shook his head, now was not the time to think about this. He was out in unknown territory, surrounded by trees and who knows what could be living in these woods?
You two are awfully touchy for only being together for a month.
"She's just jealous, she admitted it herself." Jack said to himself and checked the Wu detector, the orb glowing brighter. He was only a foot or so away from it, hopefully, it was on the ground and he wouldn't have to do any climbing.
How do you know that you're nothing more than a warm body to him?
Jack stopped and sighed. She's wrong, he knows that she's wrong but he couldn't help himself from thinking that the witch had a point.
How do you know that once he gets what he wants he won't toss you aside like some toy to use whenever he pleases?
"That's not going to happen, it's not." Jack pushed the thoughts aside and moved on. "I'm going to prove that I'm not useless, that I can hold out on my own and I'm going to get this Wu-" Jack froze when he heard a loud growl. "That doesn't sound good." Jack turned around and saw himself face-to-face with a large bear. "That doesn't look good either." Jack screamed when the bear roared in his face and the young man took off. Jack activated his heli-pack, but the bear swiped at one of his propellers and prevented him from flying away. Jack cursed at the bear and ran to the closest tree. He dug his nails into the bark and climb to the closest branch, hugging it when he finally reached it. "Please don't eat me! I'm stringy and albinos don't taste good!" Jack opened an eye and saw that the bear was glaring at him, unable to climb the tree. "Hah! You big furry bitch! Can't get your fat self up here, can you?" Jack screamed again when the bear roared again. He patted his belt and groaned when he discovered that he had left his mini-bots at the lair.
The young man gasped when the bear was suddenly tackled by a panther, it took a moment for him to realize that it was Niso. Niso growled at the bear, giving it a warning to leave. The bear responded with a roar and a swipe at Niso. The panther easily jumped to the side and avoided the attack. Niso lunged forward and slammed his head against the bear's chest, making it stumble back. Niso went back on his hind legs and clawed the bear's face open, blood spilling all over the grass. The bear lowered his head and stepped back, showing that he was defeated. Niso roared at the bear and the larger animal turned around and ran away.
"Go Niso! That's my panther! For once I'm thankful that you didn't listen to me." Jack said.
"Spicer." Jack flinched when he heard Chase and saw the older man standing next to the tree, arms crossed and not looking amused.
"You tattled on me, didn't you." Jack accused. Niso pawed at his nose, showing that he had indeed 'tattled'. "So, how was your training?" Jack asked in a sing-song voice, kicking his feet as he spoke.
"Get down. Right now." Chase stated.
"I'm in trouble aren't I?"
"I'll let you answer that question yourself."
"I shouldn't be. I just went out, I'm allowed to leave whenever I want to." Jack huffed.
"That may be, but it is proper to tell the person you are currently mated to and living with that you plan on going after a Wu on your own, traveling to an area you know nothing about and risking getting attacked by the wildlife."
"Just because you're not wrong, doesn't mean I'm admitting that you're right." Jack said and started his attempt at climbing down the tree.
"We'll get to that later."
"I didn't do anything wro-" Jack yelped when he lost his grip and fell out of the tree, landing right into Chase's arms.
"Chase Young, pleased to meet you." Chase said with a smirk.
"Chase Young? As in, Chase Young, the greatest super evil genius of all time, Chase Young?" Jack held his hands together as he spoke.
"I do have a certain reputation." The two tried to keep a straight face but broke out into laughter a moment later.
"Not exactly how this went the first time, I didn't land princess-style." Jack said between laughs.
"Nor are you putting your feet in my face." Chase chuckled.
"I was giving you my Wu! It was a sign of respect!" Jack protested.
"And me dropping you was a sign of you really needing to wash your feet." Chase said as he started to walk towards the lair.
"I wash myself!"
"But you tend to forget clean socks."
"I'm too busy doing genius things!"
"Thankfully the warriors take care of your laundry needs now or you'd wouldn't smell as enticing as you do now." Chase rubbed his nose into Jack's hair and inhaled.
"Don't smell my hair, that's weird." Jack weakly pushed Chase's face away. "And you can put me down, I can walk on my own."
"Are you sure of that." Chase glanced down and Jack saw that they were in the middle of a stream.
"When did we?"
"We were too busy arguing about your cleanliness for you to realize that I was crossing this stream." Chase answered.
"Okay, you can carry me for a little longer." Jack wrapped his arms around Chase's neck and pulled himself higher up, trying to avoid getting his clothes wet.
"I am surely blessed with the honor of carrying the Jack Spicer across the treacherous and life-threatening water current."
"There's no need to be a dick." Jack muttered.
"You're the one hanging from my neck like a damsel in distress." Chase raised a brow.
"If my heli-pack wasn't currently broken, I'd fly away right now."
"How bad is your gadget damaged?"
"The stupid bear snapped a propeller, nothing much." Jack adjusted himself so he was more comfortable, deciding to just enjoy the ride instead of having to walk all the way back to lair.
"Are you injured?"
"Some scraps on my fingers from the tree climbing, a splinter or something in my thumb, but nothing fatal."
"Good, I'm already running low on medical supplies because of you."
"I'm going to ignore that comment and pretend that you were actually just worried about me."
"Of course, I'm worried. An injured mate is simply not allowed."
"Because they're no longer useful." Jack said very softly, the words barely leaving his lips, making it impossible for Chase to understand what was said. Jack rested his head against Chase's shoulder and the two were silent for the rest of the walk with Niso following behind.
"Jack, did you hurt yourself again?" Wuya asked when she saw the young man being carried in.
"I'm fine." Jack said as Chase put him down on the ground.
"Besides being attacked by a bear." Chase added.
"Chase!" Jack snapped.
"A bear? You were attacked by a bear?" Wuya flew around Jack several times, checking for injuries that he may have missed. "You stupid, stupid boy. This is why you do not go out on your own like that. You might be a genius in some subjects, but dealing in the outdoors in not one of them."
"Sorry, mom." Jack muttered.
"Don't use that tone of voice with me, young man." Wuya stopped when she heard what she had just said. "What's happening to me?" She shook her head and flew away.
"Let's take care of your hands." Chase slipped an arm around Jack's hips. "We might have to do a more thorough search to make sure the rest of you wasn't harmed." The warlord whispered into Jack's ear.
"Care to help me..." Jack stiffened up, everything Wuya had said the night before running through his head again. "I-I need to go." Jack stepped away from Chase.
"Go where?"
"I really need to pee." Jack said quickly and ran away.
