Tails hadn't really slept much that night, having anxiety about the upcoming trip. What would Jhelbor look like when they got there? Would the mermaids still be there? What if something happened to their little group when they got there?
Still, that morning he was down in the main room looking for Cho and whoever was going to go too.
Sonic arrived in the main room a few minutes after Tails. He wouldn't have forced Tails to join the group traveling to Jhelbor, but he was glad he was coming along. They'd been apart for too long after the Mother's rescue.
"Morning," he greeted the little fox, stretching his arms up in the air and yawning.
"Morning Sonic." Tails was glad Sonic was coming along also. It would have been hard having to choose between his best friend and his new friend. "Are you all set?"
"Ready as I'm gonna be." Sonic put a hand on one strap of his backpack, thinking of the scraps of silk in the outside pocket. It had been easy to find, but expensive, so there weren't many- but still, having them made him feel confident. Almost as confident as he was used to being.
He looked around. No Cho yet, or if she was here, she wasn't anywhere near them.
It wasn't too difficult to determine when Cho had been planning to leave. The terseness of her response in the journals should have given Hood the hint that she could take care of herself, and didn't need to say anything further to him.
Of course, he'd gotten exactly the opposite message. Oh, not that she couldn't take care of herself, because he knew that she was more than capable. And maybe it wasn't that she had anything else to say to him as much as he couldn't let her go that easily. They were friends, and while nothing had changed as far as he was concerned, his long silence may have had unintended consequences.
Maybe he just wanted to make sure that she would be all right. Bret, too. At least they would be going together. Hood wouldn't want to see either of them out alone.
And there she was, standing beside a horse, its saddlebags packed and ready to go. Somehow, he wasn't sure what to say.
"So you're really going?" he tried, walking towards her, voice raised just enough to carry.
Cho was checking on her book again, because obviously it was the most important part of her provisions. She probably needed to stop doing that. The thing had been ridiculously expensive. Of course, all books in this world seemed to be ridiculously expensive. Given what they contained, she could understand why.
Hood's voice caught her off guard. She hadn't been expecting him to be here, and certainly not to be here for her. She nodded, a bit mechanically, and bit her lip. What was she supposed to say?? What did he want? She wasn't sure, but given the amount of danger she was riding towards, she should figure it out. Oh, wait-- that made sense. Hood was smart enough to realize this might be the last time he saw her. He didn't want to leave things unsaid. Even if they were things that didn't matter, people always regretted leaving them unsaid. "Yes. Really going."
And yeah, this felt stilted, and vaguely awkward. All the more reason Hood was glad to have caught her before she left. He didn't want her going off and leaving things so strained between them, even if he hadn't been aware they were strained in the first place.
His voice was kind; concerned, but not patronizing. "You got everything you need?"
Everything? Oh, not even close. The list of things she needed was long and largely impossible. That wasn't what he meant, though. When people asked if you had everything you needed, they meant your sweater and your cell phone charger and your plane ticket and good walking shoes. They were never talking about things like confidence or certainty or closure or connection. "I think so. I hired a guide." She looked around again for Thrace, but he still hadn't arrived. "We've got everything he said we would need. I guess you can't really prepare beyond that."
Thrace was precisely fifteen minutes later than the agreed-upon time, timed exactly; he'd brought with him the horses he'd managed to buy, on short notice (he'd fronted most of the money himself; they'd be able to sell them again just as easily in Landing), and they were stocked for the first day of travel, from Dangerfield to Landing.
He glanced over the assembled group, and gave them a nod. "We need to get going," he told Cho. "If we leave now, we can make it to Landing before the fishing boats leave tomorrow morning." Easier to rent one when they were all in harbor.
"Good morning." She nodded, and glanced at the clock she could just see through the open window of the inn. "You're late." She didn't sound angry, but it wasn't something she was happy about, and mostly that was evident because she'd brought it up at all. "Please don't make a habit of it. I don't want to waste time." She didn't mind Thrace, and maybe he had a good reason for being late, but at the moment she did not feel like she had the luxury of dawdling. Cho wanted to be gone from this place, and she wanted it now.
Interesting. Thrace had seen a lot of different reactions to lateness. This one was quiet, but quick enough on the ball that it probably actually was important to her.
He gave a nod, and if that was ironic, there was hardly a trace of the irony to be seen in his expression or demeanor. "Of course," he said.
And if Cho saw any trace of irony, she didn't acknowledge it. Of course, she was also distracted and uneasy. "Thank you."All right, she was packed up and ready to go and they had their guide. Now the only thing left to do was get on the horse.
Unfortunately, she wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to do that. Well, no, she knew in theory. But her animal, which she'd specifically chosen earlier for its patience, also happened to be enormous. Gentle giant was probably as good a phrase as any. At the stables Thrace had brought her to where she'd purchased him, there had been a platform with stairs. Here, there was not.
Cho looked at the stirrup, dangling at about chest height. Technically she knew she could get her foot into it. It was what would happen directly after that that worried her.
pretend he's not lateproducescoffeeNovember 2 2009, 01:08:28 UTC
Sanae got there relatively early, pretty used to getting up at weird hours and not needing much sleep anyway. He looked over the group assembling- he didn't actually know any of these people. That was alright, though. After all, he'd probably get to know them pretty well on this little trip.
He wasn't sure why he volunteered to do, except that he'd always been sort of the protector sort. It was a hard habit to shake, and even though this little lady seemed very strong willed, it wouldn't hurt to tag along. Seemed like he wasn't the only one to think so, either.
Bret came out, carrying all of his worldly possessions, which amounted to a couple changes of clothes, a bit of food, and a pair of glasses he'd found in the wizardry clothes. He didn't need them, of course, but...alright, he sort of did.
He looked around, feeling awkward. He wasn't sure what was going on yet, but he figured if he was in the general vicinity of the group he probably wouldn't get left behind. And when Cho was less busy, he could go talk to her. For now, he just stood there, watching everyone getting ready.
[for the sake of convenience, this is chronologically before Hood's thread with Cho]itworks_bitchesNovember 2 2009, 06:17:36 UTC
Hood had no intention of returning to Jhelbor, and saw little point in leaving the human territories now, when they'd just arrived and so little was still known.
Still, if Cho was determined to go, he was determined to catch her before she did; to try and convince her not to, or at least not to go alone.
Which... judging by the way Bret walked in carrying basically everything he had, that seemed like a moot point. Though rather than being reassured, Hood found himself even more concerned. He didn't want anything to happen to either of them. They had been two of his closest friends, once.
"Good morning, Bret," he said, hoping he sounded cheery enough. "You going with Cho?"
"Oh. Hood. Hey." He hadn't spoken to Hood in so long. Hadn't said goodbye to him. He tried not to let the sudden sadness he felt at these facts show in his face.
"Yeh. I am. You?" He wouldn't be surprised. Hood had proven time and again to be one of the most adventurous worldwalkers, to an extent that almost seemed intentionally dangerous. He figured that Hood would fit right into this situation.
The question took Hood a little aback. But, he supposed, it was a logical assumption given his past behavior. A dangerous and likely completely reckless quest for negligible gain? Yeah, he could see where Bret might come to that conclusion.
"I... no, actually. Not this time. There's a lot we still don't know about the native humans here. I was thinking I might stay and investigate."
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Still, that morning he was down in the main room looking for Cho and whoever was going to go too.
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"Morning," he greeted the little fox, stretching his arms up in the air and yawning.
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He looked around. No Cho yet, or if she was here, she wasn't anywhere near them.
"Just wish I knew what she was after," he said.
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Of course, he'd gotten exactly the opposite message. Oh, not that she couldn't take care of herself, because he knew that she was more than capable. And maybe it wasn't that she had anything else to say to him as much as he couldn't let her go that easily. They were friends, and while nothing had changed as far as he was concerned, his long silence may have had unintended consequences.
Maybe he just wanted to make sure that she would be all right. Bret, too. At least they would be going together. Hood wouldn't want to see either of them out alone.
And there she was, standing beside a horse, its saddlebags packed and ready to go. Somehow, he wasn't sure what to say.
"So you're really going?" he tried, walking towards her, voice raised just enough to carry.
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Hood's voice caught her off guard. She hadn't been expecting him to be here, and certainly not to be here for her. She nodded, a bit mechanically, and bit her lip. What was she supposed to say?? What did he want? She wasn't sure, but given the amount of danger she was riding towards, she should figure it out. Oh, wait-- that made sense. Hood was smart enough to realize this might be the last time he saw her. He didn't want to leave things unsaid. Even if they were things that didn't matter, people always regretted leaving them unsaid. "Yes. Really going."
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His voice was kind; concerned, but not patronizing. "You got everything you need?"
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He glanced over the assembled group, and gave them a nod. "We need to get going," he told Cho. "If we leave now, we can make it to Landing before the fishing boats leave tomorrow morning." Easier to rent one when they were all in harbor.
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He gave a nod, and if that was ironic, there was hardly a trace of the irony to be seen in his expression or demeanor. "Of course," he said.
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Unfortunately, she wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to do that. Well, no, she knew in theory. But her animal, which she'd specifically chosen earlier for its patience, also happened to be enormous. Gentle giant was probably as good a phrase as any. At the stables Thrace had brought her to where she'd purchased him, there had been a platform with stairs. Here, there was not.
Cho looked at the stirrup, dangling at about chest height. Technically she knew she could get her foot into it. It was what would happen directly after that that worried her.
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He wasn't sure why he volunteered to do, except that he'd always been sort of the protector sort. It was a hard habit to shake, and even though this little lady seemed very strong willed, it wouldn't hurt to tag along. Seemed like he wasn't the only one to think so, either.
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He looked around, feeling awkward. He wasn't sure what was going on yet, but he figured if he was in the general vicinity of the group he probably wouldn't get left behind. And when Cho was less busy, he could go talk to her. For now, he just stood there, watching everyone getting ready.
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Still, if Cho was determined to go, he was determined to catch her before she did; to try and convince her not to, or at least not to go alone.
Which... judging by the way Bret walked in carrying basically everything he had, that seemed like a moot point. Though rather than being reassured, Hood found himself even more concerned. He didn't want anything to happen to either of them. They had been two of his closest friends, once.
"Good morning, Bret," he said, hoping he sounded cheery enough. "You going with Cho?"
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"Yeh. I am. You?" He wouldn't be surprised. Hood had proven time and again to be one of the most adventurous worldwalkers, to an extent that almost seemed intentionally dangerous. He figured that Hood would fit right into this situation.
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"I... no, actually. Not this time. There's a lot we still don't know about the native humans here. I was thinking I might stay and investigate."
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