"Jace, are you even listening to me?" I sighed , reaching over to tap him on his shoulder just as he turned. Seeing me staring back at him he coughed.
"You wanted to talk and this way no one will interrupt us." Jace explained and I blinked, looking at him then the door behind me. "Is something wrong?" He asked when my attention returned to him.
"Apart from being alone with you nothing's wrong." I replied arms crossed against my chest as I raised an eyerbrow at him. "This doesn't look just a little weird to have me in your room?"
"Now that you keep pointing it out it does. Ailis, I only brought you here to talk about why you feel the need to chase after your murderer." He told me, grimacing when I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Do you have any idea how much pain that...monster put me through? How much I've lost because of him? Let me remind you that he took my parents, my home and to finish it my life from me." I snapped and he sighed, rubbing at his forehead. "If someone did the same thing to you would you go after them?"
"I doubt it, Ailis because I would think before I rushed out there." Jace answered and I snorted, stepping past the mind mage before I moved further into the room. "Now you're the one doing the ignoring." He muttered, following close behind me as I wandered the room.
"I'm not ignoring you, mage. I just need a moment to get my head together. It hasn't been easy for me since I...came back and you're not exactly making it easier by following me around." I pointed out my hand reaching out to lightly brush the table in the center of the room, touching the oak. "I mean I like having you around just...not right now." I added lifting my head to see him looking directly back at me and for a brief moment our eyes locked. It took me longer than I wanted to admit before I shook my head, breaking eye contact with him as I looked towards the door.
"Ailis, please don't tell me you're thinking about going after him." Jace started and I spun around, the mind mage actually cringing when my eyes narrowed at him. I even took a step towards him before I halted.
"I need some fresh air." I snapped, panting despite the fact I no longer had the need to breathe. But as I rushed towards the door Jace was suddenly right now and I slammed right into him before I could stop myself, pinning him against the door. Jace let out a gasp and his face turned red long enough to make me hurriedly step back, afraid I'd injured him.
Once he got his breath back, his face still slightly pink he rubbed his stomach with an open palm. "That was a little extreme." Jace coughed and I crossed my arms, my lower lip quivering as I fought to stay angry though when my eyes welled I shook my head. "I didn't mean to upset you but you can't just go after a murderer. He's probably expecting someone to come after him." Jace tried to explain as I sniffed, equal parts furious with him and the one who had caused me to spark at the cost of my human life.
"I don't want your help, mage. I can get by all on my own." I growled, tears streaming down my face. "Why won't you just leave me alone?" I whispered and Jace fixed me with a tiny smile, his hand moving from his stomach. The door was so close and even with Jace blocking it I knew I could just push him out of my way so when his arms wrapped around me I wondered why I wasn't running. He removed an arm from around my waist and when I felt his hand gently stroking my hair the dam burst and I started to sob, burying my head in his cloak.
Jace didn't seem to care, slowly stroking my hair when he heard me sobbing for my mom and dad, my hands now gripping his cloak from the back. After a few more minutes my sobs quitened and with tears streaking my face I sniffed and Jace gave me a weak smile. "Feeling any better?" He asked and I raised my head, not sure how to answer that.
Thinking I cleared my throat, giving me the smallest smile I could manage and he returned it. "I...I..." I trailed off with a loud sigh, lowering my head so he couldn't see my eyes.
"It's alright." Jace answered and I raised my head again. "You don't have to do everything on your own you know." He added as I wiped at my eyes with my palm.
"If I can't go after my murderer what should I do instead?" I asked in a quiet voice and Jace gave me a tiny smile. "You could try and not laugh at me, Jace." I grumbled pushing away from him before I folded my arms against my chest.
"I'm not laughing at you, Ailis. How about we talk about this?" Jace suggested and I shook my head chewing my lip when he sighed. "Why not?"
"I don't want to talk about what happened to me and my family. I want to do something to forget about it. Not that I can think of anything right now." I admitted and he nodded, gently taking my hand and with a flash we were outside in the fresh air. Shielding my eyes against the bright sunlight I squinted and Jace actually chuckled, leading me by the hand without giving me a moment to react.
Even though I knew I could easily break free I chose to follow Jace in the hope he had some idea as to what I should do instead of chasing after my murderer. When we started walking along a narrow path I ended up walking directly behind Jace as the mind mage hurried along and that made me wonder if he was afraid that someone would notice the zombie following him.
I really hope he's not ashamed to be seen with me. Jace doesn't seem to be put off by what I look like but you never really know what anyone thinks about you. Except maybe you can if you could read minds...
"Ailis, are you still with me?" Jace called and I blinked, stopping myself just in time so I didn't collide with him. Seeing me blink at him he gave me a tiny smile and I snorted hoping he didn't notice my cheeks darkening. "We're here." He added, moving close to a door.
"Where is here exactly?" I asked Jace as he grasped the doorknob, turning it to reveal a familiar room and that brought a tiny smile to my face. "Your office?"
"Yes. I thought we could work together on finding your murderer." Jace explained as he walked into the office closing the door once I entered. Seeing me with both eyebrows raised he chuckled. "Once we figure out where he is we'll figure out our next move."
"Maybe you should have told me that instead of making me think you didn't want to help. I don't know if zombies can get headaches but I'm starting to think they can right now." I complained as I headed towards his chair. Once I reached it I turned as Jace leant against the closed door with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised at me, a tiny smirk on his face.
"Alright, Ailis. Now where should we start looking?" Jace sighed as I wandered around the room my eyes travelling the room until I heard him clear his throat. "Ailis?"
"How about Innistrad since that is where I woke up?" I suggested and he gave me a nod, heading over to a large bookcase. As I watched on he started to walk back and forth his eyes travelling the spines of the books lining the bookcase which gave me a few minutes to study him.
I wish he would just hurry up and show me how to planeswalk again. I could be chasing after that monster right now. Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll be eaten by a werewolf or a zombie...hmm. Okay that just sounds weird to me now.
"Here we are. All the areas we need to explore are marked in this book." Jace explained as he walked over holding a large tome in his hands. Curious, I wandered over as he set the book on the desk. As I peered at the pages I noticed a few sketches and I cringed at the drawings of werewolfs, zombies and a few other creatures I had never seen before. Seeing the look of unease on my face Jace shook his head. "Don't worry, Ailis. You don't need to worry about those creatures. Ever since Avacyn came back she and the church will protect you from those monsters."
"Hmph. But whose going to protect me from them? I doubt they would be very hospitable to someone who's not exactly living but not dead either." I pointed out and Jace snorted at me though I saw a hint of a smile on his face at the face I pulled.