Through the night, Star had found a large tree that had branches spitting off into many directions at once, creating a large dip that she could sleep in relatively comfortably.
...
That morning, she felt much better. It was different to be woken up by the sun rather than artificial light. She felt... good. Happy to be away from the lab. Yesterday had been a very long day.
She jumped down the tree, clicking her earring back in to take a mental break. She considered looking for Firetail and Gluzze again, but ultimately decided against it. She needed some time to figure things out on her own.
She shivered in the cool morning air and made her way back to the town. At the bare minimum she needed food and water. She hadn't eaten all day yesterday. Once she made it into the town, the first thing she did was head to the highschool. She wanted to get some things straight while she could. She didn't know why she wanted to do this rather than simply run, but she saw how easily she could get caught. Besides, there may be people there who could help her.
Once she entered, she ended up talking to a lot of people. Something along the lines of a principal, police officer, guidance counselor, and so on. She created a story that she had escaped a bad from a bad household another county over and wanted to enroll in the school system. They told her to fill out a few things and come back Monday. It turned out that it was Friday. She hadn't wanted to immediately start talking about the laboratory, unsure if they would trust her, or vise versa.
She was surprised that they didn't really question her situation, but she figured it was because she was 16, and it was a small town and they brushed it off. She then walked around town, pick-pocketing where she could for money. She didn't feel great about it, but she also really needed food.
After she had a little bit of cash, she bought a big 'Gatorade' and some snacks before backtracking to the forest.
--
When Jaguar got the news that Star had escaped once again, he was enraged with the guards that he practically locked the Laboratory down. More guards were called in and new patrol routes were put in place. He again checked the security footage, finding it to be tampered with. "So, we've got a little rat, don't we." He growled.
--
Damien woke up and rubbed his eyes. He saw Gluzze was still sleeping soundly in the corner of the room and Firetail was peering out a window. He looked like he hadn't slept at all. "Did you get any sleep?" Damien asked. "No, I've been watching for guards and keeping an eye on her." Firetail replied, glancing over at him while gesturing towards Gluzze.
Damien looked at her. "One of us has to be with her at all times." He stated. "Yeah, can't really have her hurting herself, but at the same time we can't just keep knocking her out every time she gets like that." Fire said.
"Hey, you two kinda look like the same species," Firetail changed topics. "She has been having black fur spread over her body some, than disappear. Is that a defense mechanism or something?" He asked.
Damien shook his head. "No, quite the opposite. It's some type of 'evil' that comes from this place called the Abyss. It tries to drag us down there. If you escape, some of it always comes back with you." He said.
"Oh, is she gonna be trying destroy the world tomorrow or something?" He joked with a chuckle. "Though I don't know how much she would conquer before having a complete mental breakdown." He pondered.
"No, I don't think so." Damien said. "It was a rhetorical- okay so sorry if I'm asking a lot of questions but how much do we need to keep an eye on it? Like how far can it spread before it becomes a big problem?" Fire asked, leaning against the wall.
"It's fine. It shouldn't be a problem as long as it doesn't cover all of her body." Damien replied. "Okay. And again, thanks for taking out those trackers last night. It'll make hiding a hell of a lot easier." Fire said.
"It sure will." Damien said. They were silent for a minute before Fire spoke up again. "Hey, sorry to ask you this, but could you watch her for a few hours? I've got to find a job, because frankly I don't feel like dumpster diving for food." He asked. Damien nodded. "Sure thing." He replied.
