Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Twenty-Five: Confrontation

Colt took a step back, and his eyes went wide with a sense of falsified alarm before he cleared his throat and glanced to the ground once again. "It seems that you truly do mean that I should leave my previous endeavors behind to focus on other things," he murmured. When he looked up once again, everything about him seemed composed and relaxed. Jay could tell that all of his previous tension was nothing more than a distant memory, and if she had to guess, it wouldn't be an issue throughout her future interactions with him. 

"As a matter of fact, that is what I mean," Jubilee responded with a shrug. "Why don't you make this easier on us all and just come with us? I can tell that you're completely miserable in your current job, so there's no point for you to stick around. I don't want you to run back there when you have a much better chance of enjoying yourself around here."

"I feel like there's a bit more to it than that," Colt told her evenly. Still, he didn't object at all to her proposal, and when he continued, something about him almost bordered on being agreeable. "I believe that we have quite a bit to discuss before we can consider this subject resolved though. Why don't we speak somewhere a bit more private? There are some people who have eyes and ears everywhere. I feel like you know that better than anyone."

Jubilee laughed at his words, and she shook her head in a way that made it seem as if she was playing it off as opposed to plainly objecting. "Alright then. If you want private, I'm sure that we can do something like that. Any suggestions for a place to go, you four?" she questioned, suddenly referring to the other members of the group. 

Jay didn't have an answer for her, but Lana most certainly did. "There was a small patch of forested land near the entrance to the town. That should offer us with a bit of cover and privacy, wouldn't you say?" she questioned. "If anyone tries to eavesdrop on us, I'll know. There are some perks that come with being the person that I am."

Jay was positive that Lana was referring to her robotic makeup, and Jubilee seemed to catch onto this as well. The Fire mage simply nodded before she started to walk away, her two ponytails swaying as she moved further from the nearby town where they had found Colt in the first place. She silently implied that everyone else was meant to follow her, so Jay did so without a moment of hesitation. At long last, they were making progress in coming together as a team, and that was what mattered most. 

The trip to the quiet area of trees nearby seemed to take both an eternity and no time at all simultaneously. Jay was desperate to hear what Colt had to say, making the moments drag on like nothing else, but at the same time, she was almost afraid of his words as well. The paradox bothered her, and she found her stomach knotting itself a dozen times over out of a blend of fear and anticipation. 

The trees all seemed to be leaning in, ready to listen with everything they had at their disposal despite not truly being sentient. Jay watched as the branches swayed overhead in a gentle breeze as the six members of the group formed a small circle at the center of a clearing that was only just barely large enough for all of them to stand together. She glanced around at the others who were around her, smiling to herself as she realized how much things had changed in the past few weeks since she first began to search for the Skylian Mages. 

"Go on and talk," Jubilee instructed Colt, pulling Jay away from her thoughts immediately. Jay pressed her shoulders back in a show of confidence as she watched Colt through narrowed eyes. She didn't know what she was meant to be expecting from this conversation, but she was going to stick it out regardless. 

Colt watched Jubilee with a critical gaze, undoubtedly dissatisfied with her bluntness, before he answered. "You can call me Colt Curre. I'm an information gatherer working with the Otholle company, though I suspect that you already knew about that. They've been asking me to find out as much as I can about various subjects, but I want out. Then again, Jubilee is incredibly nosey, so I suspect that you were already aware of that as well."