Vistus: Storm Queen

Dear Journal,

I miss my family. I miss Mikhael and Celese. I hope they are all doing well.

I have been here for a week, and it has been even more difficult than I thought it would be. My body is bruised and battered and it is difficult to write with a bandaged hand. I do not know if the teachers are being especially tough on me because I am so fragile, or if they feel the urgency of training as many Vistians as they can before the Shadow Mages take over. Either way, the pressure is weighing on me, and I want nothing more than to hide under my covers and sleep the semester away.

I have no friends to relay my troubles to either. It seemed the friendliness of the first day was just for show, as everyone has formed their groups, and I am not in any of them on account of being… well, me, I suppose. They are all strong and able-bodied Vistians. I can barely lift a sword.

I should stop. Wallowing in self-pity will not put me on the path I want any faster.

-

“This is so cool!”

Laerya’s voice echoed in the spacious room laden with couches and entertainment stations. A massive television screen hung on a faraway wall like the world’s largest painting. Wide windows as tall as the room itself gave a view of the bright sky and the city below them, lined with long window seats covered with pillows. An electronica beat thumped steadily from the speakers either side of the TV, causing small vibrations to thrum beneath the thin carpet floor.

“This is not what I expected when your friend said we’d be taking an airship,” said Akorri, his eyes wide with awe.

“She just had to go all out, didn’t she…” Laerya heard Elora mutter behind her. “It’s just one guy we’re after, you don’t need ‘Freya Luxury Airships’ for this.”

“You do if you’re travellin’ with me!” Laerya jumped as Jazz’s voice sounded next to her. She had assumed Jazz was the one piloting the airship. “No point in living if you ain't doing it in style!”

“This is why you still aren’t promoted, because you use the company’s resources on frivolities,” Elora muttered.

“I’m surprised you know what ‘frivolities’ means.”

“You calling me stupid?”

Laerya cut in before an argument could break out. Was this what she and Akorri had sounded like before they’d become friends? How did Jinny put up with us? she thought. “Jazz, who’s piloting this thing?” she asked.

“Oh, that’d be Jerome, good pilot, that guy.” Jazz waved a hand casually. “I’ll take over later today. I just had to check in on you guys n’ see your reactions to the airship!”

“It’s certainly… extravagant,” said Akorri.

“Isn’t it?” Jazz nodded enthusiastically. “The fact that it can even fit your dragon friend says a lot about how good it is!” She clapped Laerya's shoulder. “Anywho, we’ve gotta discuss our plan of action, so let’s head to the meeting room in an hour. For now I’ll leave you guys to get acquainted with ol’ Wyvi. Bedrooms are on the upper floor.”

“Wyvi…?” Akorri echoed to himself as Jazz left the room.

“So what now?” Jinny asked, shuffling her boot on the carpet. She watched as Shady tried to operate the remote control for the TV with one claw.

Laerya noticed Elora hadn’t left yet, and wasn’t sure whether to feel irritated or relieved. On the one hand, Elora clearly had a superiority complex, but they were kin, weren't they? She couldn’t be all bad. Granted Laerya wasn't ready to wear friendship bracelets with her or anything, but she was prepared to give Elora another chance.

Laerya watched Shady stab the remote, causing Jinny to rush over and take it away from him, and an idea came to her. They were in a room full of technology that probably only she was comfortable with. She couldn’t remember seeing any game consoles in Greenglade, and she knew Akorri didn’t have the chance to play anything when he lived alone. Maybe just this once, she could beat them at something she was terrible at. If nothing else, it would be a fun way to pass the time until the meeting.

“I know what we could do!” she proclaimed, hopping over to one of the consoles. She took one controller and waved the other around at the sea of bemused faces in front of her. “Who wants to play a game?”

“I’m not good with the newer stuff,” Akorri said.

“I’ve never really played a video game before,” Jinny mumbled, fiddling with her hair and eyeing the controller cautiously. 

“Damn, what do you do for fun?” Elora asked.

Jinny’s face immediately shifted to her old neutral expression. “Read,” she replied curtly.

Elora raised her eyebrow. “Nerd.”

Laerya sighed, rubbing her forehead with the controller. She forgot having Elora around would put Jinny on edge. She hoped if they played something they could all loosen up. “C’mon, let’s not stoop to name calling before we’ve even started kicking eachother’s butts,” she said, giving the controller a tap. “Shady, could you turn on the TV, please?”

Shady huffed, frowning and gesturing to Jinny with his snout. Jinny, who now held the remote, raised an eyebrow at him before holding the device out. Shady stared at it, eyes flicking to each button.

“The green one,” Jinny whispered.

Shady carefully tapped the green button, which was much too small for his claw, and the TV screen flickered to life. He gave a satisfied nod.

“Alright…” Laerya shifted through the games library displayed on the screen. Never tried this, never heard of this one - oh, Kiyake's been on the leaderboards for this!

“Wow, there are a lot of games here,” said Akorri.

“I think most of these are from Jazz's personal collection,” Elora said. “I recognise some of these from her house.”

They continued to scroll through the list of games. Instead of playing a competitive game, Akorri managed to find a co-operative one in Jazz's library of older titles. Luckily for them, there were enough controllers for each of them to be able to play, even Elora. "I used to play this with a couple friends. It's a lot of fun to play together," he had said as he loaded up the game. "Now Lae won't have to worry about losing to anyone."

"Ha, ha," said Laerya flatly, though she had to admit she was excited to play a game where she could work together with everyone. Kiyake only had one of those, and she had only played it with Laerya once.

A melodic flute played as the dated yet colourful title screen came to life, the words Legends of the Void scrawled in cursive font flashing on a library background.

"I would've preferred to kick your butts, but I guess this works," Elora said.

"But now we can kick monster butt together!" Akorri replied, his excitement sounding completely genuine. Woah, he's peppy, Laerya thought, taken aback by how surprised she was to hear Akorri without his snark.

They proceeded to the main menu and selected their characters. They were all simple 'classes' that Laerya had seen before in older games. She picked the Knight, while Akorri went for the Ranger, and Elora chose the Monk. Laerya noticed Jinny's eyes narrowing ever so slightly as she hovered over the Mage. In the end, she selected the Summoner.

They spent the time before the meeting defeating monsters together, with Laerya and Elora cheering whenever they managed to take down a particularly hard one. Akorri led the group and found the most treasure chests, due to both his knowledge of the game and his insistence on exploring every nook and cranny. Jinny always dealt the most amount of damage to enemies while taking the least amount herself. "You sure you never played this before?" Akorri had asked. Jinny simply shook her head, but a satisfied smirk played on her lips.

Right after they took down the boss of Pirate's Cove, who Jinny managed to beat after everyone else died, Jazz popped into the room and announced, "Meeting time, guys! Let's go!"

Laerya sighed, not wanting to put the game down. She couldn't help finding that funny considering her dislike of them. Nevertheless she turned it off and followed everyone into the meeting room. She consoled herself with the fact that if they were on an airship, they had a long journey, which meant they could play after the meeting.

-

"Welcome to your first briefing aboard the Red Wyvern!"

Jazz stood at the front of the room, an electronic screen displaying a city map behind her. The rest of the group sat at the large desk in the centre of the room, Jinny, Akorri and Laerya sitting together while Elora stared them down on the other side. Shady poked his head in through the door, as he could not fit with the table taking up most of the space. Long, rectangular tables with snacks and coffee machines stood at the end of the room, the sweet smell of carrot cake coaxing a growl from Laerya's stomach. The dull thump of electronic music from the main room could still be heard faintly through the walls.

"Help yourselves to drinks and food." Jazz gestured to the tables. "I'll explain the situation in a bit. First..." She looked to Elora. "I'd like to talk about us."

"We couldn't do this alone?" Elora grunted.

"No." Jazz smirked. "I mean, we could, but where's the fun in that? In all seriousness, I need Lae and her friends to know just who it is they're workin' with." Her eyes gleamed when Elora looked down at the table. "I ain't singling you out; they need to know about me, too. That's how I do things here."

Elora clawed at the table, her ears down. "Fine. It's only fair." She sounded like she had to force the words out.

Laerya tilted her head, brimming with curiosity. It looked like she was about to get some answers on her 'cousin' and Jazz's relationship. She glanced at Elora's faint claw marks on the table. Laerya figured Elora would be reluctant to air her dirty laundry, but the way she looked Lae would think she was about to get all her teeth pulled. Just what happened for Jazz to warrant an apology, and why was Elora this apprehensive to give it? Laerya leaned in, too curious to even feel ashamed of her nosiness.

"Alright, let's start with introductions! I'll go first." Jazz stood up straighter, her reddish snout pointing upwards. "I'm Jasmine Locspur, working for the Pest Control unit, Tananshia branch." She saluted. "I play video games and annoy people in my spare time."

Elora rolled her eyes, while Laeyra snickered.

"Blue eyes, you're up!" Jazz pointed at Jinny, who shrank back in her chair, hiding behind her silver hair.

"Her name's not 'Blue eyes'," Akorri murmured.

"'Course it's not, that's why I'm doing this intro stuff in the first place, to get to know her, and you!" Jazz grinned. "Told ya I was annoying."

Jinny moved the hair from her eye, her hand shaking, and she took a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself. "I'm Jinny Ninkei. I used to live in Greenglade."

Jazz nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

"Um..." Jinny trembled again, and Laerya gave her a pat on the shoulder to reassure her. "I... read in my spare time."

"What's your favourite genre?" Jazz asked.

"Adventure. And, um, folklore, I suppose."

Jazz nodded eagerly. "And who's your fine friend over there?" She pointed at Shady, who blinked calmly back at her. "How on Vistus did you manage to befriend a dragon?"

"Oh, that's Shady." A faint smile found its way to Jinny's face. "I found him in the forest outside Greenglade. He was in bad shape because hunters were after him, so I helped him out until he recovered. He's very nice, but doesn't say much. He understands everyone perfectly, but I don't think he's been around Vistians enough to speak. He likes flying and eating. He'll eat pretty much anything I offer him, even plants. Did you know dragons are omnivores?" Her blue eyes sparkled.

"I did not!" Jazz's grin stretched wider and she clicked her fingers. "Guess we have our resident dragon expert on board! Glad to meet ya, Jinny and Shady."

Jinny smiled back, while Shady dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Okay, Redhead, your go." Jazz looked expectantly at Akorri.

He rubbed his head, a thoughtful look on his face. "Well, I'm Akorri Lowe. There isn't that much to me." He smirked, catching Laerya's glance. "Don't worry, I look after Lae well."

"She is a bit tough to manage, ain't she?" Jazz snickered.

"Hey! Akorri doesn't manage me!" Laerya protested. "And you aren't any better!" She pointed an accusing finger at Jazz, clearly playing up her indignation. "Didn't you almost fall face-first into a volcano last time?"

"No, because you caught me!" Jazz flashed another grin. "And you were just returnin' the favour from when I saved you from fallin' off that cliff."

Laerya pouted. "Oh, bah."

Elora raised her eyebrow while Jazz chuckled. "Okay, Akorri, what kinda stuff do you like to do?" Jazz asked him.

"Apart from saving Lae's ass, you mean?" Akorri replied.

"Hey, you already used me as a joke once." Laerya shook a finger at him. "Answer the question properly."

"Sure, it was a joke." Akorri smiled smugly when Laerya frowned back at him. "Okay, okay. Uh, let's see... I like reading, and... hmm." He drummed his fingers on the table, matching the quiet thump, thump of the electro beats outside. "I'm not much of a hobbyist. I guess I like travelling with these guys? Seeing the world's pretty cool."

Jazz nodded sagely. "Mhm, mhm, good answer." She pointed at Laerya with a flourish, but before she could speak, Elora cut in.

"Do we need to do this for everyone? We're wasting time."

Jazz glared at her. "Well, now we do more than ever," she said with a gleeful grin, clearly reveling in her pettiness. "Go ahead, Lae."

Laerya had to admit Elora had a point, especially since it felt like she was being used in their little spat. Though she wasn't happy, she went along with it anyway, if only to appease Jazz. "I'm Laerya Lightningdancer," she said. "I like exploring the world. One day I'd love to go beyond Vistus and see what's really out there."

"You mean like space?" Elora asked, her eyes wide with genuine curiosity.

"Yeah!"

"Ain't your friend Feri workin' on that?" Jazz leaned against the wall, biting the tip of a pointer she had flourished from somewhere.

Laerya thought back. She remembered him mentioning space travel before the whole mess at Greenglade. That felt like ages ago now, though. So much happened to her between now and then that she had forgotten about it, and Fericeus's focus had probably shifted, too. "He was, but I think he's got something else to do right now," she said. She had a pretty good idea what that was.

"Well, whenever he makes a breakthrough, you can bet me n' Jovi will be the first ones building a ship that'll take us out there," Jazz said, a faraway look in her eye. She cleared her throat. "But for now, back to business down here on this humble li'l airship." She whipped the pointer in Elora's direction. "You, Hothead! Tell us about yourself!"

"Humble little airship?" Akorri mouthed to Jinny.

Elora's red eyes blazed like fire as she clawed at the table again. "My name's Elora Flamefur, not 'Hothead'," she growled, standing up from her chair, "and you know that."

Jazz simply smiled back at her, but it was an unsettling smile that Laerya had never seen on her before. Like a hunter observing its prey.

Elora faced the rest of the group, standing upright and folding her arms. "I worked with Jazz in Pest Control for a while. Yes," she said, seeing Laerya's surprised expression, "I was a Peacekeeper."

"Now tell them why you aren't anymore," Jazz said, her 'smile' boring into Elora.

Elora sighed deeply, and for the first time since Laerya had met her, she saw a flicker of fear on the Lucive's face before she crushed it with a glare. "Okay. But let me preface this by saying I'm really sorry about what happened, Jazz." She sounded earnest, but pride battled with fear on her face, making her look angry. "I got carried away."

"Tell them," Jazz goaded quietly, the smile never leaving her. Provoking the prey into making its move. Her ripped ear twitched visibly.

"I will, okay?" Elora's hackles rose and she looked at the floor. She let out another sigh, cleared her throat, and began.

-

Elora paced around the cabin, her black fur bristling. “I could’ve had him, Jazz!” she exclaimed. “I was this close!”

Jazz folded her arms. “Yeah! To killing him!”

Elora snorted, rolling her eyes. “Please. You know I wasn’t gonna go that far.”

“Do I?”

Elora paused, her eyes narrowing. That was not what she expected Jazz to say. They had been going on jobs together for a while now, and they fought well together. Jazz was a powerhouse once she got going, her laidback demeanour hiding a calculating, expert fighter. With her blasters, she could defeat almost anyone. For a hollow-blood, she was astoundingly competent.

She didn’t hold a candle to Elora, of course, but she came close enough, so to hear her suggesting what she was felt not only hypocritical, but traitorous as well. “You wanna say that again?” Elora said.

Jazz lowered her head, but her brown eyes remained fixed on Elora, as if she was afraid of breaking contact. “You fight well, Elora. Better than damn near anyone else on this ship.” She gestured to the empty cabin, everyone else having gone to give the two some space. “But you’ve gotta learn to reel it in a little! Did you even see how close your flames were to Strawbly? You could’ve burned her!”

“Pfft. What, we suddenly care about Strawbly now?” Elora raised an eyebrow. “I doubt she’d even have cared if I set her on fire. Terros, it'd probably excite her.”

“The point is that you shouldn’t hurt your own teammates!” Jazz rubbed her temple, letting out an exasperated sigh. “And that wouldn’t even be a risk in the first place if you just paid attention to what you were doing!”

Elora frowned. Why on Vistus was Jazz lecturing her, anyway? She wasn’t her boss. They were barely equals. “Dude, why are you getting on my case? If you’d let me be we could’ve caught that damn criminal!”

“If I’d let you be you would’ve killed him.” Jazz’s voice was hard, a mountain standing in the brunt of a storm. “No, don’t fight me on that.” She raised her head, her gaze rock steady. “I saw you, Elora. That gleam in your eye when you had him beneath you. Your arms, both of them, on fire. The terror in his eyes…”

Elora knew Jazz was spouting bullcrap, but the Feln was so earnest, Elora decided to humour her a little. “I knew what I was doing. It was just an act of intimidation. Looks like you fell for it, too.” There was no way she would’ve killed him. She had been about to rein in her magic at that very moment, anyway. The moment Jazz robbed her of.

“Elora, look. You’re my friend, kinda, and I’m just warnin’ ya,” Jazz said, leaning her hand on a table, “I just think you should dial it back a bit when things get intense.”

Damn hypocrite.

“You don’t,” Elora retorted. “I’ve seen how you get. You even shot off a limb once! Who’re you to lecture me on dialing it back?”

“Sometimes shots like those are necessary to incapacitate the criminal,” Jazz replied. Uh-oh. Looks like she’d entered Serious Mode. Elora noticed it whenever she spoke formally. “And unlike some of my other colleagues, I never aim for the heart.”

So that was what Jazz told herself to sleep better at night.

Elora snorted. Jazz’s high and mighty attitude was starting to grate on her nerves. “Get off your high horse, dude. In the heat of battle we all go a little crazy. Let’s just leave it at that.” She clicked her tongue. “Besides, there’s no rule against killing the Pest unless you’re explicitly ordered not to.”

“That doesn’t mean you should, it’s a last resort thing!” Jazz pressed her fingers to her head in exasperation.

“I don’t know why you’re so holier than thou about this shit,” Elora said. “We kill monsters already. What difference does a person make?”

Jazz’s eyes widened, and she balled the hand leaning on the table into a fist. She spoke, her tone condescending, but brimming with shock.

“You sure you’re not the monster here?”

Elora froze.

What?

What…?

Jazz stared her down, challenging her.

She was serious?

How… how dare she? Calling me a monster? Anger and hurt burned inside her. She took a step towards Jazz. She had never expected Jazz to insult her to her face like this. “You take that back,” she hissed.

“No,” Jazz murmured. “It’s true. I knew you were callous, but I didn’t think you actually had no respect for Vistian life.”

Ah, there was the knife. Jazz needed something to twist in Elora’s gut, after all.

“You don’t know what you’re on about, so you better shut up, or--”

“You’ve been like this since I met you, Elora, and you’ve only gotten worse with each mission. Why did you join the Peacekeepers?” Jazz’s voice trembled ever so slightly, but she held firm. “So you could just sate your pyromania? Cause destruction? Kill people?”

Oh, no.

“Take that back, you hypocritical bitch!” Elora’s body moved on its own, lunged forward, grabbed Jazz’s ear to yank her forward, her fist burst into flame. She ignored Jazz’s gasp of pain, her body trembling with red hot fury.

I'm a murderer, am I?

Jazz had no right to accuse her of being a killer.

Who did she think she was?

She was no better than Elora.

Not for a second.

The damn stupid bitch just needed a--

“Aah!” Jazz’s agonised screech stopped time.

Elora froze again, her anger gone in a second as she took in what she was doing. She felt the scalding hot fur of Jazz’s ear in her fist as she twisted it, and it was…

Oh, Vacerus, her ear was on fire.

“No…” Elora released Jazz immediately, the Feln crashing to the ground and wailing, her ear ablaze. “No… Oh Vacerus, please no…” She ran to grab the first aid kit hanging on the wall, but there was only so much she knew about actually putting out fires. She only caused them.

“I'll be back in a second. Please hold on, Jazz.” Elora’s heart clenched in pain as she ran out of the cabin to fetch Jovi, tears stinging her eyes.

How could she do that?

She wasn't like that.

Oh, but she was. And she had done it.

She had actually done it. She had lost control and injured her own friend, maybe even disfigured her. That hadn’t been a small flame. That had been a fire born of anger, one that set forests ablaze when given the chance. Jazz had warned her, and she didn’t listen. Jazz was right.

Jazz was right.

Elora ran blindly through the ship, chanting her new mantra.

-

Laerya's blood turned cold. She wasn't sure what to think, but apprehension clawed its way into her heart as she looked from Elora to Jazz's torn ear. Elora had done that to her? Laerya had always assumed it had been a beast of some sort. Jazz had never mentioned it. Laerya's ears lowered; she felt partially responsible. Elora was her kin, however distant, and she had burnt half of her friend's ear off.

Laerya searched Jazz's face for some kind of reaction, but all she did was twitch her ear. At least she had finally stopped smiling, taking on a more natural neutral expression.

Laerya didn't want to think of Elora as cruel. She barely knew her, but beneath her anger, there was sincerity. After all, Elora had gone on this mission to apologise for what she had done. Clearly she felt remorse.

"I was... I still am reckless and anger prone," Elora said, her fingers biting into her arm, "but that doesn't excuse what I did. I left the Peacekeepers because I didn't want to to let my anger get the best of me. I never wanted to hurt you or anyone else innocent again."

Laerya nodded. This was good. She was still apprehensive about Elora, but knew how difficult it could be to swallow pride and seek forgiveness.

Jazz put the pointer to her chin thoughtfully.

"I went on this assignment to make up for what I did," said Elora. "I'm gonna give it my all. I promise."

Jazz continued bumping the pointer against her chin, staring at Elora. Minutes seemed to pass with them looking at each other, the rest of the group waiting for Jazz's verdict with bated breath. 

Thump.

Thump.

The beat of the music filled the silence.

Laerya would not blame her for not forgiving Elora. If someone had burnt her ear off, she wouldn't exactly be rushing to greet them with open arms either. Now that she understood Jazz's frostiness, she felt the girl was entirely in the right, but beneath her aggressive exterior, Elora seemed genuinely regretful. I'd give her a second chance, she found herself thinking.

"Don't disappoint me, Flamefur." Jazz didn't smile, but the malice was gone from her voice.

Elora exhaled deeply, sitting back down and rubbing her temple. She looked like she wanted to say something, but just sighed again, looking back at Jazz with the cocky grin that Laerya had come to understand was her normal expression. No wonder she and Jazz were friends.

"So what are we up against?" Elora asked.

"So!" Jazz thwacked the pointer at the screen, causing it to zoom in on a section on the map. Names of restaurants and hotels flickered above simple pictures of buildings.

Pine Gates Hotel? Laerya thought. These were pretty high end places. She remembered having trouble getting a room in a hotel, barely having enough money on her at the time. Its name was pretty similar too... all these place names are kinda familiar... Oh! Recognition dawned on her and she blurted out, "This is Chrome's Edge!"

"So it is, Lae, so it is." Jazz nodded. "Y'been here before?"

"Yeah, when I went to see the Chrome Tower. It's one of the most lively cities in Nemon. Lots of bright lights, parades, massive malls, that kinda thing." Laerya peered at the map. "Looks like this is one of the more fancy streets."

"There's been reports of illusion-based crimes in this area, mostly robberies." Jazz circled the street with her pointer. "Our task is to find the guy responsible and stop him."

Laerya nodded. She remembered how disoriented she felt trying to navigate the crowds. In such a busy city, crime was to be expected. All the colourful pulsing lights would certainly mask Light magic well, too.

"Why can't the police do it?" Akorri asked.

"They've tried, but I mean, they asked for our help. This guy must be giving them the runaround." Jazz tapped the screen and pulled up a more detailed view of the area. Crowds of nondescript faces filled the streets, surrounded by tall buildings. "They can't even find the guy. Every victim reports seeing a different face. He could be any one of these people, or none of 'em."

Laerya had not run into many illusionists; in fact, the only one she knew was Kiyake, and she couldn't picture the girl doing anything like this with her magic. She was not entirely sure how they would deal with this person, and hoped finding him would not be too difficult a task.

"So how do we sniff him out?" Akorri asked, voicing Laerya's thoughts.

"I've got tech that'll see right through his spells," said Jazz. "I guess he's been disabling the scanners at the banks, but he won't expect ours!"

"I think we should each split up with a scanner and patrol the city," Elora suggested. "We'll cover more ground that way."

Laerya didn't like the idea of Jinny and Akorri leaving her side. She knew both of them could hold their own in fights, especially if Jinny had Shady with her, but the illusionist was enough of a threat to alert the Peacekeepers. She didn't want them in danger if she could help it. That being said, Elora's plan made sense. The more people there were patrolling, the more likely they were to find the criminal...

"Um." Jinny cleared her throat, looking firmly at the table. "I-is it okay if I, um, make a suggestion?"

"Sure," Elora and Jazz chorused.

"Well, dealing with crowds isn't... um, I'm not... Let me start again." Jinny shook her head, meeting Elora and Jazz's gazes for a moment before she had to look away again. "How far do the scanners reach?"

"They're Peacekeeper tech, so pretty far," said Jazz. "Why,  what're ya thinkin'?"

"Can they scan from the sky?"

Jazz looked from Jinny to Shady, a grin slowly forming. "Ah, okay... For what you're thinkin', if you stay by the roofs, that could work."

"Why, what's the idea?" Laerya asked.

"Shady and I can scan while we're flying," Jinny explained. "That way, if we're careful, we'll remain undetected, and we can cover a lot of ground. Hopefully."

"A big dragon'd certainly stand out in a city like Chrome's Edge," Elora said. "So long as he can stay hidden up there, he'll be a big help."

Shady grunted, nodding.

While Laerya was glad Jinny and Shady would be relatively safe, that still left one of her friends unaccounted for. "Akorri, are you going to go with them?" she asked.

"Nah. I can sneak through big cities, no problem," Akorri replied. "Did you forget?"

"Kinda, yeah." Laerya didn't exactly make an effort to remember Akorri's past and especially not right now, given that the kind of dubious activities he had engaged in weren't too far off from what this illusionist was doing.

"Why, what did you do?" Elora asked.

"Ah-hah!" Jazz jabbed her pointer at Akorri. "You were a thief, weren't ya? The Red Rogue, right?"

Laerya froze, and Akorri's face paled.

"Now I know why you're familiar! Terros, that was buggin' me. Don't worry," Jazz rushed to add, waving her hands upon seeing Akorri's blanched face, "I'm not gonna arrest or report ya. Far as I'm concerned you never did anything serious enough to end up on the Peacekeepers' radar, I just saw your photo in a couple police reports once or twice."

Akorri recovered slightly. "Okay, but what kind of law enforcement lets a known thief go free?" he asked.

"Do you want to go to jail?" Jazz replied.

"No."

"Thought so. Besides, if Lae's with you, I figured she'd set you straight by now."

Akorri rubbed his head. "She has, yeah. I'm not exactly proud of what I've done anyway."

Laerya knew Akorri was struggling with the weight of his past, and didn't want him to dwell on it further. "Anyway, Akorri will be patrolling on foot with us, then," she said.

Jazz zoomed the map back out to display more of the higher end district. It was quite a large area full of facilities designed for entertainment, with cinemas, magic shops and theatres surrounded by various banks, hotels and restaurants. They had a lot of ground to cover. "We know this guy's likely gonna be where there's lots of money, so that's either walking banks, or actual ones," said Jazz.

"Walking banks?" Laerya echoed.

"Rich people," Jazz clarified. "Alright, now listen up. I'm gonna assign you your positions...”

-

The techno ambience of the main room melted to a quiet, smooth melody playing from a nearby speaker. The dim room was illuminated only by the light of the television screen and the colour-changing beams of the approaching city shining through the large window. Day had given way to night many hours ago, and the crew had split up for some solitude after another round of Legends of the Void.

Jinny sat on the window seat, leaning back on the comfortable cushion and staring out at the neon skyline, its reflection painting the water below with multi coloured splashes. The window engulfed her, allowing her an excellent view of Chrome’s Edge. She watched purple ripple to blue and pink and back again on the calm waves, transfixed by the simple beauty of it. The softness of the cushion combined with the slow melody of violins and the view of the luminous city at night gave her a sense of peace she only felt flying on Shady in the dark. Her body felt lighter, her mind felt fuzzy, and for the first time today, she could finally relax.

The pleasant softness taking hold of her body did not let up when she saw Akorri approach. She glanced over at him before looking back to the skyline, not even moving her head.

Akorri sat opposite her on the seat, letting out a content sigh. “Figured you wouldn’t be in bed yet,” he said quietly, his soft voice melting into the violin and piano. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing, really. Just enjoying the view,” said Jinny,  her voice coming out in a slight drawl from relaxation.

Akorri looked out the window at the skyline and nodded appreciatively. He said nothing for a while, and Jinny was content to watch the view with him. If Laerya were here, she would no doubt try to break the silence. For once, Jinny didn’t need it broken.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she realised she had never felt so relaxed around another person. She didn’t know why, but Akorri’s presence calmed her. Her parents always said something to put her on edge, to say nothing of the Greengladers themselves and their snide remarks. Not even her magic instructor, Alex, could put her at ease. Laerya and Shady came very close, but if there was anyone Jinny wanted to enjoy this nostalgic atmosphere with, it was Akorri. 

She wasn’t sure how much time passed with the both of them bathed in the faint, kaleidoscopic radiance of the night skyline, but eventually she drank in enough of the scenery to force her head to face Akorri. She watched the lights bounce off his face, caught up in the changing patterns dancing on his fur, until he eventually turned to meet her gaze. “Hm?” he murmured.

“Nothing, I was just thinking,” Jinny replied, quickly averting her gaze, her cheeks warm. She hadn’t meant to do that. 

“What about?” 

Not you, that's for sure! Nope, not at all! “Uh… I’m not sure, actually.” Jinny shook her head. “It’s a bit hard to concentrate on anything at the moment.”

Akorri grinned. “Yeah, I get what you mean.” He leaned his head back, looking outside. “Even though we’re facing danger tomorrow, it seems so far away right now thanks to all this.” He lazily waved his hand at the room.

Jinny couldn’t even muster the energy to worry about tomorrow, thankfully. Nevertheless, something occurred to her regarding her companions. “Do you think Laerya’s scared?” she asked.

“No. She lives for bringing criminals to justice.” Akorri smirked.

“But she puts herself in danger a lot. Tomorrow, there’s no guarantee we’ll all escape unscathed, let alone catch the criminal.”

“I don’t think the situation is that dire. He’s just a thief.” Akorri rubbed his head, looking away briefly. “Jazz didn’t mention him injuring anyone.”

“You’re right, but I still…” Jinny sighed. If she wasn’t worried right now, why was she forcing herself to be? Because I always am, she answered herself. It feels wrong to be so calm about this. Like if I’m not worrying, something bad will happen... 

“Lae’s just naturally reckless,” Akorri said quietly. “We’re more cautious. That’s why we’re the ones who talk sense into her.”

Jinny smiled faintly. “That’s true. But I just wish… I wish it wasn’t so hard for me to face danger, like her.”

“Me too.” Akorri sighed. “Me too.”

Jinny’s heart warmed with appreciation. She knew Akorri would understand. It made her feel less alone. “I think, when the situation calls for it, you have no trouble stepping up to the plate,” she said.

Akorri smiled wide. “Oh, I do, but… thank you.” He fiddled with his tail. “Y’know, it means a lot to hear that. I try… so hard.”

Jinny put a hand to her chest, surprised by how emphatically he spoke. She felt the urge to hug him, but as she leaned forward, she stopped. He would think that's weird. She patted his arm instead.  “You’re brave, Akorri,” she murmured. “Lae’s naturally fearless, like you said, but you are truly brave.”

Akorri paused for a second, then looked down, pulling his purple poncho up to his chin. “So are you,” he said, his voice muffled by the cloth. Jinny was caught between amusement and embarrassment. Did he really think that way? She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing, giving him a small smile before turning to the window.

Silence stretched between them again, and Jinny closed her eyes. She figured she should go to bed soon.

“So I’ve been reading Cherry Moon,” Akorri said suddenly.

What? Did he say Cherry Moon?

Jinny’s eyes flew open at the namedrop, her attention snapping to Akorri like a dog-pet hearing food clattering into its bowl. All thoughts of their impending mission were tossed unceremoniously out the window. “Yes…?” she said cautiously, trying not to show too much enthusiasm. The last time she mentioned her favourite book series to someone, they had rejected it outright. She didn’t want to get her hopes up.

“I got to the part where Cherry has to give Cocoa up to the Lunar Guardian.”

Oh, that part’s so sad… Jinny thought. But did Akorri feel the same way? “Yeah…?”

“And oh dear Vacerus, I don’t know if I can keep reading--”

Oh no.

“--I don’t want Cherry to give him up! They’ve been through so much together!”

Yes!

Jinny lunged forward until her face was an inch away from Akorri’s, her eyes sparkling and her tail wagging a mile a minute. “I know! It’s so sad!” she said. “Just when you think Cherry’s going to clear the Guardian’s trial, she’s asked to give up her best friend…”

Akorri blinked, his cheeks colouring pink. He froze in that position for a few moments before smiling warmly. “Yeah. It was unexpected. And so cruel,” he replied.

Jinny nodded emphatically, her hair bouncing. “But, um, how come you’re reading it?” she asked.

“Well… You mention it a lot, so I got curious.” Akorri looked away. “I figured if you like it, it must be good.” In a quieter voice he murmured, “Besides, it’s your favourite series…” He looked like he wanted to say more, but only cleared his throat.

Jinny’s heart swelled. Akorri was reading Cherry Moon, and he actually liked it! She was so incredibly touched that he had started reading it because she liked it. She hadn’t known this feeling before. In Greenglade, nobody cared when she talked about it. But Akorri…

Excitement flooded Jinny, all thoughts of sleep pushed aside. She had so many thoughts on the books, and now she had someone to share them with! 

It was going to be a fun evening.

As the airship sailed lazily to Chrome’s Edge, they continued to discuss the book series well into the night, their troubles forgotten.