Jay's Journey

Chapter 10

It was immediately clear to Jay that not only were things different now, but changes would have to be made. Late at night, after the Omnocean trip, Jay found that his magemark had vastly expanded. Cracks crawled across his chest and back and split off down into his stomach and upper legs. They stopped up at his collarbone and went almost down the knee. His shoulders were also covered in the things.

An appearance change was necessary. The next day at work, the bonnet was completely gone. Instead, Jay's hair was tied up in a bun, which it was barely long enough to do. When asked about the date, he just said it hadn't gone well. It was a difficult night to reflect on. Wanted posters had been discovered and Jay was absolutely certain that Akire's death was at Madame Midnight's hands. Why she killed him was another question that didn't have any obvious answers. There was a slight chance that it was something else, but considering the strange darkness within that alley, it was probably her.

Once Jay was back, both Vayen and Zira were waiting. Vayen usually fell asleep before Jay now that he had a difficult job, and Zira hardly ever said a word. A conversation was in order, but about what?

" Jay, I saw more fliers today calling for you, they're everywhere." Zira observed.

"Yes. Thankfully, my appearance from back then has changed, and they didn't get the best sketch anyway." Jay pointed out.

"Still, it's a risk to all our safety. Additionally, I do believe my activities are beginning to draw the guards' attention. We need a plan going forward, because my instincts are telling me that if we don't, something bad will happen." Zira said.

"Whaddawe do?" Vayen wondered, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall.

"We have a few options. The first is that I go out less frequently, and Jay takes further measures to alter his appearance." Zira proposed.

"That uh, that doesn't really get rid of the danger though. It just makes it less dangerous." Jay pointed out.

"Yes, that's the flaw in that plan. However, that would allow us to progress as currently, which has been rather successful, at least by the standards of survival. Jay, have you been making progress in figuring out what Ashe said?" Zira asked. Jay shook his head.

"Not really. There was no way to truly ask anyone and well... now it's even worse." Jay said.

"Yeah, nobody asks 'bout shit like that." Vayen added.

"We've gone over that option, but there's another. The next one would be leaving Lunabae." Zira presented. Vayen stood straight up and Jay went completely still.

"And go back to the woods?!" Vayen asked.

"We don't have to go back to the way things were before. This course of action gives us more diverse options. The big questions it brings up are when we leave and where we leave to." Zira elaborated.

"Well, I wanna collect my paycheck, worked hard for that shit." Vayen said.

"As do I. It would be good to have money for the road, since we will be travelling through towns, without a doubt." Jay added. Zira nodded, taking in their suggestions.

"I'm far more flexible with when we leave, so that's up to you. Next, where do we go?" Zira wondered.

"Where can we go?" Jay wondered in response. Zira considered what she knew regarding world geography. Where was Lunabae on that world map Zira always remembered?

"There are two options if we take into account avoiding the wilderness. The first is travelling South by land, essentially going in the direction we were travelling before. We'll run into several other coastal cities, and we can easily turn inland if need be. If we take that option, we're betting on disappearing into a crowd." Zira began.