Jay's Journey

Chapter 7

It was an hour since the horizon had swallowed the sun. A campfire crackled within a hastily constructed firepit of random assorted rocks. Countless stars shone in the vast sky above, and occasionally the bright streak of a shooting star made itself visible. Jay, Vayen, and Zira sat around the fire in quiet contemplation, silently thankful for the respite it gave from the surrounding night.

"So uh, I have to figure out what it means to be a girl." Jay began. There was no response from the other two, and it took a moment before the courage to speak was mustered again.

"Do... either of you have any answers or ideas?" Jay asked. Glancing between them, it was clear what the answer would be.

"I dunno." Vayen replied tersely.

"Everyone has always told me that I was a girl and that I was to be a woman but I never really grasped what made me those things. I supposed it was the biological characteristics someone is born with." Zira suggested.

"I always thought that too, but... I don't know, then it means that it'll be impossible for me to master my magic and..." Jay decided not to finish that sentence. Was it possible for either of them to even remotely get it? It was easy to say that this was just about magic. He just had to figure it out so he could master magic. But no, it was more than that. Jay wanted to be a woman. Maybe, if it was possible to figure it out how, it was possible for Jay to be one.

"That's true. If it is something else, then I'm not certain of it. Be aware though, my former impression is shared by many other people. It may be difficult to find the answer you need." Zira warned.

"But... I probably do need other people's help with this. Out here, I don't think I'll get any answers." Jay concluded.

"Do you mean to say we need to be around people?" Zira asked. The idea of going back to civilization often hung over him, and Jay knew it wasn't a solitary sentiment. Travelling the forests and surviving off of them wasn't the best long term plan, as they could only rely on plants. It was also mind numbingly dull. A majority of Jay's day was spent walking through forest. There wasn't anything to do. They didn't have any clothes to make or fields to tend or stories to read. It was just them and the wild.

"Yeah, I think I do." Jay answered. Vayen nodded.

"I agree, forest is drivin' me fuckin' crazy. We've had weeks a' this bullshit an' I'm tired of it." Vayen added.

"Hmmm, very well. In that case, we need to first make it back to trail. Trails lead to civilization, whether it be towns or cities. I approximately know where we've been going, so I can probably start navigating us in the direction of a trail starting tomorrow. Although, be aware that it might take days before we hit anything, and possibly longer until we hit civilization." Zira warned. Jay nodded.

"I'm okay with that."

"I don't care, I just wanna get the fuck outta here."

"Very well, tomorrow, we'll start." Zira promised.

And just like that, each of them turned away from the fire, lie down, closed their eyes, and drifted off to sleep. It wasn't hard, as they tired themselves out every single day to the point it was hard to keep their eyes open as they made the fire.

Zira gathered a few berries and other edible plants for the group to share. Then, using the position of the rising sun, she determined a direction different to the one the group had travelled priorly. Just like that, not even an hour after sunrise, the group was moving.

The most common obstacle was fallen logs. Leaves and twigs broke down and decayed quickly into the soil, but trees took longer. Their dry, dead wood took ages to wear away, so the three were constantly forced to climb over, duck under, or walk around them.