Lunamor

Jenny glared at him angrily. Roy thought that Ed was useless, expendable. He’s not wrong. He’d taken down a cyclops near single-handedly. He was getting better at fighting, at protecting them. Not that it was the only reason he deserved to be there, of course, but it was something even Roy should see as logical. But he just wanted Ed dead, and it probably would never matter how vital Ed was to the quest. @Weaver of Lights

Jenny nodded. He wanted to help her. To be honest, if she were trying to help Ed get rid of a voice in his head, she’d want to be exposed to it too. That didn’t make her feel any less guilty, though it was nice to hear that he wasn’t too bothered by it for now. ”Thanks.” She spoke softly but genuinely. She really did appreciate his willingness to put up with this for her. It helped confirm that he really did love her, although she had already known that.

Jenny’s eyes looked like they were filled with sadness. She trusted that Ed believed what he said, but he was wrong. It was her fault that he’d been exposed to the voice. ”It is.” The growling briefly distracted her. It sounded like it might be a dog. She looked around, trying to spot it. Maybe she could pet it. That would help make her feel better.

“Oh.” So it had been her fault. Jenny paused for a moment awkwardly, feeling too guilty to make eye contact. ”I’m really sorry.” Something bad was coming. Did that mean the voice was going to hurt Ed? She had to stop it. But that might require drastic measures. He wouldn’t like it. Was it worth destroying his happiness because of something that admittedly might not end up happening?

Ed was relaxing more, that was good. “Is it ok if I ask what it was about?” Jenny wasn’t sure if she was prying too much, but she was concerned. Maybe she could help him if she knew what the nightmare was. She hoped that it wasn’t her fault. She kept on messing everything up for him and her guilt about it was weighing on her.

“Bad dream?” Jenny couldn’t read Ed’s expression to figure out how he was feeling. She did notice that he had been tensed up, however. That wasn’t a very good sign. She pulled him a bit closer, trying to comfort him in case he needed it.

Jenny felt Ed twitching and turned to look at him. “Are you ok?” She then realized that he was asleep. Maybe he was having a nightmare. She shook his shoulder gently, trying to wake him up. He might be fine, but she didn’t want to risk it. Nightmares had the potential to be especially bad for demigods. Particularly when she’d already been reckless enough to allow the voice to invade his dream.

Jenny smiled and snuggled a little closer. She wasn’t sure what to say, but she felt like she didn’t need to say anything. She was perfectly content to sit with Ed and point out the occasional animal they passed by. Everything felt safe again, and she managed to actually relax.

Jenny leaned against him too. She used this as an opportunity to look out the window again, as she couldn’t see his face from the angle they were sitting at. She still continued to point out the animals they passed, but she was quieter now. While she was still incredibly tired, she didn’t want to sleep at all. She turned her head to look at him again. ”I love you.” This was a bit unprompted, but she wanted to say it. He was making her so happy and he needed to know that.

Jenny wasn’t too familiar with dogs, but from what she had seen and heard she assumed that she would like them. She’d have to pet Ed’s dog too. “Cats. They’re really cute.” She smiled softly, thinking of her old cat Johnathan. She managed to block out the traumatic memories associated with him. She wouldn’t let them ruin her train ride.

Jenny nodded, relieved that the sheep were friendly. She’d heard about goats being mean and head butting people before, so maybe she’d just admire them from a distance. She wasn’t too worried about the snakes. Regular ones were practically harmless when compared with basilisks. She kept switching her attention between the window and Ed, wishing that she could look at them both at the same time. ”What’s your favorite animal that you have?”

Jenny’s eyes lit up when he mentioned the sheep. Her brand new dream could be fulfilled! ”That’s so cool! Do you think the sheep would let me pet them?” She was gonna try regardless, but wanted to be prepared. She didn’t want to lose a finger. Sheep seemed like they were pretty docile, though.

Jenny finally turned to look at Ed and smiled. He was so sweet. ”What all do you guys have?” She had already wanted to visit his home, but now she was doubly excited about it. Did he live on a farm, maybe? Hopefully he had sheep she could pet.

“Do you have animals?” Before Ed could respond, she saw a sheep. It looked very, very fluffy. She now desperately wanted to pet one. ”Oh, a sheep! That’s new!” She hadn’t made eye contact with Ed yet, still completely engrossed by the view outside. This train was even better than she had expected.

Ed had assumed correctly. Jenny had her face pressed against the glass, watching the scenery zoom by. She was absolutely fascinated by the train, happy that she had seen the white puffs of smoke and heard the whistle a few times. It was noisier than she had expected, but she was too excited for that to bother her. ”Look, there’s a cow! And a horse!” She was particularly thrilled to see the farm animals standing in fields. You didn’t tend to see things like cows back at camp. This excitement was evidenced by her pointing out every single one she saw.

“Oh, ok.” Jenny decided to believe him. She couldn’t spot any grievous arm wounds from a distance, and he’d probably already been given enough ambrosia or nectar to fix anything dangerous. ”Do you still need Gift? It’s completely ok if you do.” She hoped he didn’t, though, both for his sake and Elsie’s.

Jenny looked back to see if Terrance was still using Gift as a walking stick and noticed him fiddling with something on his arm. Had it been hurt? He seemed like the sort of person who would try to hide an injury. She’d better make sure he was ok. ”Watcha doing?”

“Thank you, Elsie.” Elsie said she would be fine, and she didn’t seem like she was a liar. She was relieved that Ed wouldn’t end up having to carry her. Jenny squeezed his hand and spoke to him quietly. ”I really do appreciate the offer, Ed.”

Jenny shook her head adamantly. ”I don’t want to tire you out more. You’ve already helped me a ton.” ”I would appreciate it, but only if it isn’t too much effort on your part. I don’t want to tire you out too. If I can make it until tomorrow, I think some ambrosia will return me to normal.” She tried to keep her voice firm, but the exhaustion still tinged it slightly.

“I’m so sorry, I’m really glad you’re ok.” Why had Terrance left the group? She wanted to admonish him for it, but he had clearly already learned his lesson. Hopefully. Jenny noticed Ed’s legs shaking and felt a pang of guilt. “I think I’m ok to walk the rest of the way.” This technically wasn’t a lie. She could probably make it the rest of the way now that she had gotten some sleep, although it certainly wasn’t going to be pleasant.

“What happened?” Jenny tried to get a better look at Terrance’s head without getting too close to him. Had he fallen again and hit his head? That was probably a worse cause than being attacked by a monster. It meant that this would keep happening.

Jenny noticed them approaching and shakily stood up. Terrance was with them, that was good. As they got closer, however, she saw that there was blood on his head. She stumbled over, concerned. He’d been hurt. ”Are you ok, Terrance?” @The Aspiring Archivist @Random Bystander

Jenny tried to protest, but Ed and Elsie left too quickly. She made an effort to follow them, but lost sight of the pair rapidly. She sighed and plopped down on the ground, anxious. Having no idea what was going on was a very unpleasant sensation, almost as bad as being too useless to help.