Lunamor

Jenny nodded silently. She didn’t want to elaborate in front of the others. “Oh, oh no!” Jenny quickly hobbled over to Elsie as fast as she could on wobbling legs. Elsie was crying. Was she hurt or had something bad happened to Terrance? She eventually reached the girl and knelt down next to her. ”Are you ok?”

Jenny sat on what she assumed was the ground. She couldn’t see a thing, but she knew that something was very, very wrong. After a while of sitting in the wrongness, she heard a noise. It also sounded wrong. It was someone crying. She moved in its direction, and finally saw something. It was herself, kneeling on the ground next to an indistinct form. She was holding up her shaking hands, staring at them. Jenny inched closer and saw that they were covered in blood. She reached out towards her doppelgänger, trying to see if she could somehow comfort her. The girl’s head snapped to look at her, and Jenny realized that she hadn’t been crying. She’d been laughing. The sudden stop in motion woke up Jenny, and her head jerked upwards. She frantically looked around before realizing that she was still being carried by Ed. She held up her hands. They were covered in blood and had started to shake. Hearing Elsie yelling for Terrance, she opted to ignore that for the moment. ”Is Terrance ok? What happened?” @Random Bystander

Ed seemed like he wasn’t struggling to carry her, which was good. Hopefully the walk to the train wouldn’t be too long. She’d feel awful if he overspent his energy because of her. Jenny was still extremely tired, so she soon drifted off to sleep.

“Thanks!” Jenny looped her arms around Ed’s neck and let them dangle below it. She hoped that she wasn’t too heavy. She didn’t want to end up being too much of a burden on Ed. Gift was probably helping to prevent that, though. It really was handy. Thank you too, Gift!

Jenny nodded, already breathing heavily after a few steps. For some reason, she was becoming incredibly tired incredibly quickly. It was odd, and it was even odder that she wasn’t curious about why. ”Could I maybe get a piggyback ride?” She felt bad asking Ed for this when he was probably exhausted too, but if she collapsed then that would just make things worse.

Jenny smiled back. Elsie seemed to still be happy. That probably meant she wasn’t upset with Jenny. She visibly leaned on Gift more heavily, wishing that everyone else would hurry up. Walking wouldn’t make her tiredness lessen any, but it would shorten the amount of time she had to stay on her feet. @Weaver of Lights

“Oh, sorry! They’re those two.” She pointed at Harold and Rob, using an arm for each. She should’ve realized that Elsie would have no idea who she was talking about.

Jenny considered arguing against his decision, but decided that it wasn’t worth it. He’d never have to swear it because she’d never stop believing him. She squeezed his hand. It also felt reassuring that Ed was willing to swear on the River Styx for her. She gestured vaguely in the direction they had been heading. ”We’re going that way, I think. Harold and Rob would know better than I would, they were the ones who found the train.”

Jenny smiled with relief. ”You don’t have to. I believe you.” You should make him swear. He’s offering it, what’s the harm? She was worried that she might have to leave him, if she got too dangerous to be around. That would send Ed to an awful fate. He also shouldn’t be stopped from leaving her if he wanted to. She hated the idea of forcing him to stay with her even if he was unhappy. Jenny waved at Elsie as she approached.

“Please don’t leave.” Jenny said this quickly. With Ed’s history of low self-esteem and her general ineptness when it came to reading social cues, she didn’t realize that he was joking. She was already on edge about the possibility of losing him, anyways.

”I think Elsie’s great. She seems like a really kind person. She tamed a crow and gave me Skittles!” Jenny’s voice quieted. ”I think Terrance doesn’t like me, though. He’s being friendly to Elsie because he thinks that she’s also an outcast who’ll get hated for what she is. That means he just doesn’t like me.”

Jenny playfully bumped his shoulder, retrieved her bag, then waited for the others to get ready to leave. She was getting nervous again, so she distracted herself with thoughts of the train. It was quite effective. She smiled back. Elsie didn’t seem to hate her, at least. Do you really think that girl just happened to conveniently run into your group?

Jenny nodded and reluctantly stood up, leaning on Gift. She didn’t want to leave, but she knew that it was important for them to keep moving. Staying still would only draw more monsters and bring them closer to failing to complete their quest in time. ”Sorry.” She said this a bit sheepishly.

Eza just stood there, watching Lum leave. They were going to get themself killed, or at least captured. They’d get Eza in trouble too, if she stayed with them. They didn’t seem to care about the consequences, about going up in flames and risking burning others along with them. Apparently, they didn’t care about Eza either. She didn’t have fancy luck powers to protect her. She very well might not survive whatever stunt they pulled next. They hadn’t even bothered to thank her for stealing the bandages. So she vanished into the shadows without making a sound. Survival was more important than this person who was admittedly still practically a stranger. She owed them nothing. Eza stayed still for a moment. Then, she found herself stealthily tailing Lum, silent and unseen. She didn’t know what she expected to happen. There was little point in following them if she planned to stay out of whatever trouble they drew. This was stupid. They didn’t care about her, she should just leave. Treat them with the same indifference they treated her with. But she couldn’t be alone again.

Jenny blushed more, but didn’t dare let go. She was getting rather embarrassed, but it was worth it. Hopefully people weren’t watching.

Jenny kissed him softly. 8 - 8, tied again. She blushed, but not as much as last time. She seemed to be getting less and less embarrassed, although she didn’t think that it would completely fade any time soon.

“I love you too.” Jenny placed her hand on the side of Ed’s face, shaking slightly. She’d fight for him too. She hoped she could also make him feel this way. She ran her thumb across his cheek, smiling.

Jenny eventually opened her eyes again. She didn’t say anything, just looking at him. He made her feel safe. She was terrified for herself, for him, for the quest, but he somehow managed to make it all seem ok. Jenny knew that when she let go it would all come rushing back, so she continued to hold on. It felt like she was in the eye of a storm.

Ed would fight for her. Maybe… maybe he could help, somehow. He already was, in a way. She closed her eyes, focusing on his arms wrapped around her, his forehead against hers. Jenny found herself trusting that he could help her despite all evidence seeming to point to the contrary. ”Thank you.” She wanted to say more, but she was choking up. He said she gave him something to survive for. That meant he was starting to feel better, too.

“If it hurts you, then it’s not worth it.” Jenny said this forcefully, staring at Ed with deep sincerity. Her voice then faded into a quiet terror, breaking slightly. ”I don’t know what it can do. I don’t know how it can hurt you. I could lose you, Ed. I love you. I’d much rather have an annoying voice in my head than put you in that sort of danger.”

“We do.” You can’t. ”I just don’t know where to start. I don’t want to make it too mad, either. It gets cruel when it’s angry. It scares me.” She pulled back slightly and looked at Ed with fear in her dark eyes. ”What if I accidentally bring it to your dreams again? What if it hurts you?”

“I trust you.” You shouldn’t. ”It’s just very persistent. I think it isn’t winning right now, though.” It’s only a matter of time. Jenny hugged Ed a little tighter. She trusted him. She had to make sure she wouldn’t hurt him.

“I’m thinking that I want to believe you. The voice is thinking that I shouldn’t.” Jenny spoke quietly. She didn’t want anyone else to hear about the voice. Only some people knew about it, and they didn’t know the full extent. Ed was the only person who understood it completely, and she wanted to keep it that way. She didn’t want everyone to think she was even crazier.

Jenny smiled and looked up at Ed. What he said made sense. Maybe people just didn’t know her well enough. Then why don’t people ever want to get to know you? Her smiled faded until it was slight, but it remained. She needed to hold out hope, assume the best. It’s what kept her going; she couldn’t lose that. She finally hugged Ed back.

As strange as it sounds, we'd be dead if not for that dragon. In the confusion, we managed to slip away.