For quite a while, there was nothing but silence in the room Jay and Lana were sharing. They were both lost in their own thoughts, and yet they were aware of one another at the same time. Jay kept on giving Lana sideways glances just to make sure that she wasn't going to say anything that would rub her the wrong way. She was positive that Lana had something to tell her about recent events, but she didn't even know where to start in convincing Lana to actually talk about it.
When the quiet finally broke, it was Lana who shattered the silence. "Is there something that you wanted to ask me?" she questioned, her voice far too kind and open for the situation they were in. Jay was still positive that Lana was dancing around the truth, coming close enough to kiss it but never quite closing the distance.
"I think that you know something about what's been happening here recently," Jay finally confessed, her gaze hardening into something sharp and interrogative. "If you're aware of something involving the Skylian Mages, you should just go on and tell us. We have too much to get done to let up now."
"I feel like you already know what I'm aware of," Lana remarked with a shake of her head. "In fact, you should know about the things that I've been thinking. They're about you, and I'm positive that you've been hiding them as of late because you aren't sure that you can trust us."
Jay didn't know how to respond to that at first, so she instead looked down at the ground. "If you're trying to get me to talk more about the past, it isn't going to work. I don't like to think about stuff that happened before we started our search for the Skylian Mages," she told Lana, trying to keep her tone from bordering into a territory that sounded too harsh.
"I know that you don't like to think about it, but you should really try to open up and trust us enough to say what you've been thinking all this time. If you want my opinion, there's a reason that you and Arian were chosen to bring the group together. You haven't admitted it yet, but there's most certainly a cause for you two being paired together of all people. It all starts with you actually deciding that you can open up to us and trust us with the information that you've been hiding since you started assembling the group," Lana continued.
Jay fell silent at her words, unwilling to offer a cohesive response. She didn't know how Lana could be so calm about all of this when she felt like she was going to explode on the inside. Of course she didn't want to talk about it. Would anybody feel comfortable with freely sharing information in her position? Of course not. It would be ridiculous to assume that. Jay almost wished that she hadn't asked anything of Lana in the first place, but she was positive that it wouldn't have gotten her anywhere.
"If you really know something about me and Arian, then why don't you at least say what's going on with him?" Jay questioned. "How is he connected to all of this? I know how I tie in with Lyloc, but he... He's a bit of a different story, and it's important for us to find out how he's involved with her."
"I've already mentioned it," Lana confessed. "But if I'm not going to share your secret with the rest of the group, it's only fair that I give him the same treatment. I'm not going to be saying a word until I have solid proof. Right now, I only have suspicions. I know who you are, but I need to find out a bit more in order to say for sure who Arian is and how he ties in with Lyloc."
Jay let out a small sigh, almost having expected her to give that response but not wanting to believe it. She closed her eyes briefly and allowed the silence to fall in around her. She didn't know where to even start in figuring out what was happening with Arian. She was aware that he was a young person who had been forced to fight far too early, but that applied to her as well, and she was positive that their situations were completely different. She just didn't know where the distinction was, and she wouldn't be aware until she was able to take a step back and take note of where the line in the sand was drawn and who could have sketched it in the first place.
"If you want my opinion, we're going to figure out what happened with him soon enough. Your secret is going to wind up coming out as well. We have fewer Skylian Mages to collect than we realize. There's an elaborate ruse being pulled off right now, and it's keeping the truth from coming to light. There aren't many people left for us to discover, and I think it's time for us to admit that," Lana went on.
Jay bit her lip, still unwilling to meet Lana's gaze. She was almost positive that Lana's eyes would try to wrestle the truth out of her if she even tried to press honesty out of the other girl. Lana was simply too perceptive, and even though Jay was naturally distant and stoic, she wouldn't even be able to survive an inquiry from Lana if it lasted for long enough.
"We should probably get ready to go and find out where our next target is," Lana remarked, swiftly changing the subject as soon as she realized that she wasn't going to be learning anything else from Jay. "We've got a lot to get done, and I would rather not wait any longer than we have to."
"We can wait for the boys to say something," Jay supplied quickly as she jumped to her feet. "For now, I want to know about how in the world you managed to figure out what you know about me. Just how much are you aware of? We've never met before all of this began, and yet--"
"I know things," Lana cut her off, shrugging her shoulders loosely. "It comes with the territory of what I do. The City of Steel is a place where people seek out knowledge. I'm no different. I created the City of Steel in the first place because I wanted to calm my own curiosity. I learned that you and Arian were coming to find me, and I was able to put the pieces together about where you came from and who you were rather easily from there. When you take a step back, it all makes sense... Though I suppose that you're not exactly privy to the information about Arian quite yet. I wouldn't worry about it... I'm sure that you'll find out soon enough."
"Quit talking in riddles," Jay sighed. "We're dealing with something serious right now, but you're still in the mood to dance around the answers? We have to figure out who the Skylian Mages are if we want to keep Skylia from slipping into catastrophe. It isn't that hard to say that you're suspicious of someone if you are. In fact, we need something like that. We don't have any leads, Lana. Coming to this town is something, but there are no guarantees that it will actually work. If you know something, just tell us already."
Lana shook her head. "I can't just do that, okay? If I reveal all of your secrets for the world to see, then this team will struggle to work together. I need everyone to come to trust one another on their own. Until you're willing to talk about your issues, then I can't talk about it. I'm not going to break the dynamic of this group before it's even complete," she answered.
"You said that there were a few left. You never mentioned that there were three of them after we started searching. Why didn't you get specific? It certainly would have been easier for you that way," Jay remarked, her eyes narrowing in Lana's direction.
"I said what I thought was accurate. Besides... I'm pretty sure that we both know what I'm talking about. Until you're ready to talk about it though, I will maintain my silence. Alright?" Lana questioned, her eyes narrowing in Jay's direction.
Jay nodded slowly. As much as she hated to admit it, she respected Lana's wishes to keep the truth of what she knew quiet. It would have broken the group's dynamic if they thought that they were constantly at risk of being exposed by one of their members. They needed to come and trust one another on their own.
Jay wished that she could do that, but she simply couldn't bridge the gap. She liked the rest of the group well enough, but there was no reason for her to want to talk about her history. It was too much for her to think about, so how was she supposed to talk about it openly with the rest of the team? It didn't seem possible.
If Lana's words were correct, then she was implying that Arian was in the same position as Jay. He clearly had secrets, and Jay was able to pick them apart to a degree. After all, Arian was so much younger than most other experienced fighters were, and he had an aversion to combat that seemed to go deeper than simply disliking the idea of violence. She didn't know how to describe it, but there was something going on, and she didn't like it in the slightest.
Arian confused her in more ways than one, if she was being honest. Jay knew that he was meant to be about her age, but while she understood her reasons for charging into battle, Arian's remained a mystery to her, further compounded by the fact that he disliked combat to such a degree. Something must have happened to make him realize that violence wasn't for him, that he wasn't meant to be a fighter, and yet he continued regardless. Jay simply wished that she could grasp that simple thread of information. She was sure that the rest of the story would fall apart as soon as she could get that piece of knowledge between her fingers.
A knock came at the door leading to the room where the boys were staying, and Jay snapped out of her trance immediately. Lana gave her a gentle smile to show that there were no hard feelings between them before moving to the entrance to the room. She opened it easily a moment later, but Jay continued to watch her from afar with wide, silent eyes.
She didn't understand Lana either, if she was being honest. On the surface, Lana seemed so honest and blatantly emotionally supportive, but that had never been something that Jay could comprehend easily. She knew that there were others who enjoyed allowing themselves to be vulnerable, but she had never been able to do it. If she had even a scrap of sensitivity inside, she shoved it aside the instant that everything went downhill anyways. Could she even access what few traces she had left that would potentially connect her to Lana's kind and open nature?
"Are we ready to get going?" Arian questioned, a light smile on his face. When Ronan and Lana nodded, all eyes turned to Jay in curiosity as to why she was taking so long to respond. She plastered a false smile on her face with reckless abandon and nodded. If the rest of her team recognized that something was wrong, they chose not to point it out, much to her relief, before moving towards the door and heading out into the hallway.
The path away from the hotel was agonizing to Jay in a thousand different ways, and her stomach twisted angrily again and again with each passing step. She had felt almost safe with the rest of the team earlier in the day, as if she could perhaps begin to embrace them as her companions the way that she had opened her heart to others once in the past, but that had all fallen apart. In its place, she felt uncomfortable and almost suspicious about what they were meant to be doing.
It wasn't that she didn't have faith in them to support her. In fact, she did, and Jay understood that they would be her rock if she ever found that she needed such security. They were a team whether they admitted it or not, and Jay found them all to be nice and interesting people. It was Jay's own personal issues involving weakness that kept her from fully closing the gap between herself and the rest of the group. She couldn't talk about what had happened to shatter her so completely though. She just couldn't do it yet. Maybe she would be ready for it one day, but until then, she would be left to piece together the full mystery within the spaces that silence left behind, unsure as to what picture she was even trying to create in the first place.
~~~~~
Colt was tired of being sent around in circles.
He had received another order from those above him, saying that he had to go and search for more information once again. It was dizzying cycle that he was trapped in, and he detested it. Colt would go out into the field to try and learn more, but when he didn't find anything, he was simply told to figure it out. After all, someone as powerful and independent as the incredible Colt Curre would be more than able to figure out the truth behind a thousand different mysteries at once, right?
Wrong. He was getting incredibly sick of dealing with this. He had been on the job for years, but that didn't make it easier in the slightest. He felt as if his neck was on the end of a chain, and the people that he worked for enjoyed pulling on the other end just to see him run around in circles for their own amusement.
It wasn't as if anyone else ever tried to help Colt figure out what he needed to find. He simply received orders that he had to learn more, and he couldn't help but think that if there was a way for him to escape, he would have run away years ago. He had been in the group for as long as he could remember, for his entire life, but that didn't make it fun or at all enjoyable to put up with. Colt longed for a sudden surge of strength and confidence that he could utilize to finally give the world a piece of his mind. He wanted to pummel anyone who dared to tell him what to do, finally unleashing the anger that had lived inside for so long.
Colt made his way towards his next destination with a heavy heart after finishing his unfortunate conversation with Jubilee. It was clear as could be that she knew something, and Colt was more than willing to grab and hold on for dear life to anything that could be considered useful information. He was tired of being constantly dragged along without any evidence that he would even be able to find out what everyone was asking of him. To put it nicely, it was beyond frustrating to put up with, though Colt would have personally preferred to use a few stronger choice words to properly express how angry it made him.
He shoved his hands into his pockets before shaking his head and reaching up to slip the goggles that he always wore over his eyes. The cracks had never bothered him, and in a way, they were a sign of rebellion. The goggles were something that his damn superiors could never take away from him no matter how hard they tried to. For once, Colt had something that he could call his own that nobody would ever be able to tear away from his hands, and given how little independence he is, he loved that far more than most other people in his position would.
He closed his eyes as he stopped walking simply to breathe in the air of the night. If Colt had been in any other situation, he would have already found a way to get out. He was crafty, and if anything stood in his way, he would be able to escape it. The only exception to such a rule was the group that he worked for. No matter where he ran, they would always find him. They had their ways of tracking him regardless of how far he sprinted away. There was no way for him to simply escape no matter how desperate he was to find a way out.
Colt took off his goggles and stared at them, admiring his dark hair and hollow gray eyes in the broken glass. He looked as if he hadn't been living for years, and he wouldn't have even been surprised if such a statement was accurate. It certainly didn't feel as if he had been living like most others. In fact, he felt like he was nothing more than a hollow shell, and he wouldn't be able to fill in the spaces that his work had left inside of him until after he managed to escape the place that had done so much damage to him in the first place.
All he needed was a push. If he could get one little thing to happen to shove him over the edge and make him realize that he was doing the right thing by leaving, he would find a way to escape. He wouldn't be able to do it alone without putting himself in danger, but he could sure as hell find another group of people who would be willing to stick by him. Colt had access to information that no other people outside of his line of work did, so perhaps he could trade his knowledge for safety. It was something that he knew was risky, but staying where he was dangerous as well.
Colt shoved his goggles back around his neck before forcing himself to keep walking. He sighed bitterly and shook his head. All he was asking for was an escape rope, but the universe didn't want to provide it to him. He was too good for this, and it was about time that he actually had the chance to prove it.
~~~~~
The first thing Jay noticed upon walking into the bar that night was how loud it was.
There were far more people in the area than she had been expecting. The sun was still descending lazily on the horizon, but given how many people were stumbling about drunkenly, it seemed like the middle of the night. Jay pinched at her nose to keep from being overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol. The scent was so strong that it almost gave her a headache right away.
Ronan appeared to be in much the same position, and Arian suddenly looked a lot paler than usual. "Why does it smell so bad?" Ronan questioned. He watched as a man at a nearby table picked up a bottle and drained half of it in a single swig, prompting him to let out a sigh. "Oh."
"Yeah," Lana remarked with a nervous laugh and a glance down at the floor. "The good thing is that everyone is probably going to be a bit more lax with information if they're under alcoholic influences. We have to take advantage of that if we want to try and figure out more about the Skylian Mages."
Jay released her nose as she slowly got used to the overpowering spell of alcohol around the main area of the tavern, but she could still feel the threat of a headache pounding in the back of her mind. She glanced around the room to try and find any signs of people who may know what they were doing.
Eventually, Jay found her eyes settling on a girl who stood behind the bar on the other side of the tavern. She had mahogany hair that was tied into two ponytails that were perfect and entrancing. Her skin was a warm tan that invited the attention of others. Her eyes were a deep brown color, and she was concentrating on pouring a drink for one of the patrons sitting in front of her. Her figure was beyond being impressive, a mix of muscles and curves that captivated anyone who dared to stare at her for too long. Every motion was poetry personified, and Jay could tell that she had more than a little bit of experience with working at the tavern.
Lana seemed to have picked up on Jay's staring at the girl as well, and she nodded before gesturing that the rest of the group followed her the other end of the tavern. They began to weave in between the noisy patrons of the bar, ignoring shouts of joy as a new song took over the speakers. A few people rolled their eyes before taking mighty gulps from their own cups, and Jay couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the people there. She didn't understand how any of them were alright with looking so blatantly foolish. It was simply beyond her, though she supposed that she wasn't meant to understand situations of this sort. Jay had never been the type to enjoy party atmospheres, instead preferring to find her enjoyment through swinging a sword and being left to think about the tactical advantages of an upcoming battle. While others found it boring, it was perfect for her, and that was what mattered most.
The girl with mahogany hair was wearing an apron over a red shirt and stylish black leggings that hugged the lower half of her body perfectly. A name tag was positioned over the right side of her collarbone, pinned to the apron and sitting perfectly straight. It read 'Jubilee', and Jay certainly thought such a name fit her. She wasn't sure of how exactly to describe it, but she thought that it was the perfect title for such a naturally poetic person.
"What can I get you?" Jubilee asked, her voice a slow drawl that distracted from how attentive her sweet eyes were. Jay could feel Jubilee's critical gaze from beneath the surface, and she was positive that Jubilee was observing every little flaw that she was doing her best to hide. It was clear that the other girl was beyond being simply perceptive, having long since passed over into new territory that invited the attention of all those around her.
"We were just wondering if you would like to talk with us for a while," Ronan said, a wide and friendly smile on his face. He slid his way into an available seat at the bar, and Lana took a place beside him. Arian stood behind Lana while Jay did the same behind Ronan, and the four watched Jubilee with clear curiosity.
"Oh? That's not something you hear often around here," Jubilee commented. She reached for a towel and began scrubbing down an area of the counter that had been cleared away a moment ago. There was still something inquisitive about her that Jay decided she would rather not probe further on, understanding that Jubilee likely had her reasons for being the way she was.
"Have you happened to hear anything interesting lately regarding people who have been around for quite some time?" Lana questioned. Her phrasing danced around the subject while still making it clear that she was talking about immortals if someone looked closely enough. "We'd be happy to listen to anything that you have to say."
Jubilee stopped moving for a split second, seemingly examining a streak on the countertop, before continuing her methodical scrubbing. "Depends on what sort of people you're talking about," she remarked in response, her voice detached and airy. She shrugged and leaned against the counter as she draped the towel over a rack off to her left. "Though I suppose that I know exactly what you're here to ask about... Hanilia, aren't you?"
Jay was almost surprised at how quickly Jubilee had been able to pick up on such information, but she did her best to shelve her shock and make it appear as if she didn't know what Jubilee was talking about. "What if we are?" Jay questioned, her eyes narrowing. It was a threat that was hidden beneath the surface, a thousand layers of sickeningly sweet kindness on top.
Jubilee let out a small chuckle and shook her head. "I am not your enemy," she assured Jay before reaching out her hand to take Lana's fingers between her own. "You can call me Jubilee. I think that introductions are pretty important, you know. Especially when it comes to dealing with people of that nature. Names and faces have a lot of power. An identity can change the game forever. Knowing a person's history will alter your opinion of them forever too. I think it's best to keep things clear-cut and concise when you're in these sorts of shoes. There's not much room for error when you're walking on a high wire, eh?"
Jay processed Jubilee's words carefully, and she couldn't help but think back to the philosophy about names and faces. She had heard it before from people who understood the value of one's identity. In truth, she had heard such words countless times from one person in particular, and Jay had come to believe them quite some time ago. She admired Jubilee's honesty when it came to such a concept, and she had to admit that she felt the same way. It was partially why she didn't want to tell the rest of the group about her past and why she had been dragged into the search for the Skylian Mages in the first place.
"You're a Hanilia," Arian concluded, his eyes narrowing. "What are you doing in a place like this? You should be out there... I don't know... Saving the world or something! That's what Hanilia have always done, and I think it's really important that we have other people to fill the gap since the Skylox Heroes aren't around to make sure that everyone is safe."
Jubilee clicked her tongue before Jay could properly react to Arian's words. "I never said that I was anything. However, if that's the conclusion that you came to, I suppose that I can't sway your opinion. I have to say that I rather like you four though... There's something about you that simply sits well with me, but... You seem to be a bit out of the loop. After all, this is not the place to be searching for information if you want to learn more about Hanilia," she remarked.
"It isn't? What are you talking about?" Lana asked, her head tilting lightly to the side in confusion. "We just came by here because we know that a lot of information gets traded in this tavern when night falls."
"You chose well to come here as opposed to other bars, but there's a better spot if you want to hear about where Hanilia can be found. There's been an effort recently by a certain group of people to expand Hanilia influence, you see. If you want my opinion, you can find all the information that you could possibly want to know back at their base," Jubilee explained.
"And just where is their base?" Jay inquired. This was the first that she was hearing of any groups that were experts on Hanilia. Chances were that this was a recent development. If it had created before her search for the Skylian Mages began, Jay certainly would have come across it when she and Arian were doing research on where they were meant to begin their investigation of the planet.
"It's in a castle. I'm sure that you all remember the old place where the Skylox Heroes lived and trained, yeah? They took up residency in there, and they're apparently planning on making it a hub for all of the Hanilia who are around in this current generation. I'm honestly shocked that you haven't heard about it," Jubilee said with a shrug. "The project was only started a short while ago, but given what you're looking into, it feels like something you would want to know about."
"Excuse me?" Jay questioned. She wanted to say more, but she simply couldn't force the words to form. There was no way that Jubilee was being serious about that, right? Why would anyone decide to take over the palace where the Skylox Heroes were? Why hadn't she heard about it? The castle was a piece of Skylia's history, and it felt wrong that they were running inside and stomping all over the memories of heroes who had died in the name of keeping Skylia and its people safe from the Fearbringers.
Jay's first thought as she realized all of this was that she had to get out. She had escape the smell of alcohol and the damn noise that rang in her ears like the most aggravating bell ever created. Her body moved without her command, and she was running towards the door before she knew it. Something unrecognizable was mounting in her chest, and she couldn't tell if it was anger, sadness, grief, or some mix of the three. She didn't even care if anyone chased after her. All she wanted to do was think in that moment, but somehow, Jay was positive that even if she had all the time in the world to process this information, she would never fully come to terms with it.
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I slept so much today yeet
-Digital