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<12/25/1971 ~ 06:55 | Fronas, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
The following morning was a Saturday, which meant there was no class at Dakota. That didn't stop a few of the students from training, whether it was inside of the facility's many dark rooms, or standing out in the field. After Danny and Taylor woke up from a good night's sleep and took care of breakfast with Jane, the plan to hang out and do as little as possible was replaced by the usual excitement.
Danny and Taylor used to have little else to do after school at their home in Kalamo, and normally, there would not have been a difference here either. Danny sure didn't try to train as hard as Jane normally would, but since they were also with Jane in person, this was already going to change. Despite her willingness to slow down her own training to help her friends, Jane wanted to get back on track again, dragging the two of them with her all the way to the edge of the forest.
In some reluctant agreement to practice so early in the morning, Jane led the way to a particular spot just shallow's deep into the woods due west. The density of vegetation there isn't normally high anyway, so it works best to keep an eye on the town at the same time. Danny simply followed Taylor, who was following Jane. At the same time, Jane was already explaining that she wanted to pitch in more training right here and now. It wasn't the worst of ideas, but Danny at least needed another few minutes to wake up. The sunlight was barely shining overhead the peaks of the hills; it must have been slightly earlier than seven A.M. He still had an entire hour of being awake before now since breakfast, but it just felt too early to pitch in any physical exercise.
Jane stopped only thirty meters deep into the woods, making it easy to see the way back into the field of Fronas. There was damp wild life everywhere, grass and trees teeming with broken branches and random variations of flowers, but the only animals around were a few birds nesting in the trees. Danny thought back to yesterday, when Jane told him about bats. He remembered seeing birds earlier, just when he and Taylor washed up here on what he believed was a small island. If birds and bats live here and aren't affected by Leray magic, then what else can live here under the same pretext? Does Leray magic only affect specific types of animals? And if it does, what's the incubation period per specimen?
"Here we are," Jane claimed. She stopped where she decided to remain, likely for their next training session.
Taylor wanted to be certain. "This is where we're training?" It sure wasn't much. Jane had no use of target dummies in the area this time. A single Fire Ball could potentially light the entire forest on fire. Wasn't Jane worried about that in the slightest?
Jane answered, "Correct. You, Danny, and me as well. We're going to continue training right here."
"Um..." Danny still had a hard time thinking of anything yet, but it was quickly coming back to him. After retaining the memories of last night, he successfully invoked Radial Stars just outside of Jane's house. It happened thirty minutes into watching the ProCom news, and he managed to get Radial Stars to work on a calm mind. After all, Danny only needed one spell to use for protection. Of course, Jane didn't know any of that, which means his next thing to learn is whatever Taylor was currently aiming for. But what about Jane? "What do you have to train for?"
"Silly," Jane judged, getting up in Danny's face. She was still somehow full of that same energy as she was yesterday. Danny wondered if this was a side effect of Leray magic. With all of its amazing properties, anything was possible. "Even the best can get better... And I'm not really that good yet anyway."
"I understand," Taylor remembered. "You want to get that Electro-Ball down, don't you?"
"Someone's been paying attention," Jane accommodated. "I'm not far off, so this is where we will try things."
"Electro-Ball?" Danny repeated. It must have been some kind of spell Jane was rusty with. At least he now knew that even people like her have issues. After how difficult it was for him to master so much as a single invocation of Radial Stars, hearing Jane having trouble with a small elemental ability actually made Leray magic as a whole appear impossible to learn. It would take an entire lifetime. Wait a minute! What about the veil? "Hey Jane? What happens if we end up lighting the forest on fire? We should really go back to the dark room instead."
Jane almost appeared to be caught by the surprise question. She hadn't thought of that before. The veil of protection only affects people and the creatures affected by magic, not physical objects, and defiantly not vegetation. Then again, there were plenty of workarounds for such situations. "Not to worry," Jane reassured. "I took the liberty of learning Water Blast. It's not a good attack skill, but it works wonders putting out any fires."
That's just irresponsible. Danny wanted to simply shrug this off his shoulders, knowing it would be disastrous to try and argue with such a moron. Still, if the forest does catch on fire, it will be entirely Jane's responsibility to fix it. He hadn't learned about this Water Blast skill, and to his knowledge, neither has Taylor. So she'll have to do it all by herself if anyone's Fire Ball does cause issues. In that case, Danny had already stopped worrying about it. Now that he remembered everything before, his concerns regarding yesterday's thoughts returned to him too, but he decided to save it for now. "I'll be learning Fire Ball then."
"Me too," Taylor compared. "I'll probably get it faster than you though."
"Don't be too sure," Danny retorted. "I did manage to invoke Radial Stars last night."
"So you were practicing!" Taylor concluded. She had some doubts whether his idea before was just an excuse for something else, but if Danny learned Radial Stars, the notion that he was slacking off was hardly the case at all. Oh no! Taylor just now realized that she spoke of this aloud, making it clear that she didn't believe his testimony before!
"Of course I've been practicing!" Danny issued. "What do ya think I did outside last night? Hang out in the cold with a thumb up my ass?"
"Testy..." He obviously didn't want to talk about it either. Taylor didn't mean to make him any grouchier than he already was, so she didn't say much else.
Jane on the other hand gave both of them several looks, and for a brief moment, it made Taylor a little nervous. After Jane continued to tease Taylor about Danny again while he was away, this only brought up the memory of that moment. Danny was not able to pick up on the inaudible notations. The awkward silence was only short lived once Jane picked up the pieces again. "It's settled then. I'll practice my Electro-Ball, Taylor will practice Fire Ball, and Danny will practice... Fire Ball?"
Taylor folded her arms in confidence while making sure Danny was all ears. "I'll be sure to add to the list shortly after."
"You think you're alone in that?" Danny challenged. "I'll be ahead of one Fire Ball too ya know."
"You're on!"
Jane thought back to a few weeks before, when she had other acquaintances that were as competitive, if not more than these two. But for whatever reason there was, neither one of them ended up graduating. Jane knew what it was all about back then, but refused to think about it any further now. Those days were already gone and done with. At least now, a real training session was on between the three of them.
Before Jane's wishes could be granted, Taylor turned out to be a buzz kill with the constant need for information. "Hey Jane? Why do we have to learn every single elemental attack?"
"Well..." Jane actually didn't consider before that Eliza skipped out on explaining how balls and bolts were an evolutionary stage of elemental magic. Luckily for them both, Jane was an expert herself to this degree. "You see, Fire Ball, Ice Ball, and Electro-Ball are all unguided projectiles, and they don't do any damage if your opponent dodges the attack. But those skills are all necessary preludes to learning the skills of Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, and Lightning Strike."
"So..." Danny tried to understand a little too quickly, and needed to reconfirm what she just said. "Are you saying that balls and bolts are different?"
"Yes," Jane continued. "Compare a Fire Ball to a Fire Bolt. The Fire Bolt has several advantages, being faster to travel, impacting the target with more speed and force. The power level increases, and the projectile homes in on the opponent. There is almost no downside to the upgrade in any way. It just takes much longer to learn, and using it in battle costs a little more MP energy than the unguided types do."
"I get it," Taylor confirmed. "You have to learn Ice Ball before learning Ice Bolt, and once you do, you've upgraded almost everything about that skill, and so on and so forth."
"That's how it works." Jane realized that the matter was much easier to explain than she thought. Danny and Taylor both exchanged looks, and prepared themselves to begin training immediately, but perhaps a further explanation wouldn't hurt. "All skills are like that though. Some magical spells are standalone, but others have upgradable forms. Of course, since they cost more magical energy, you have to train a lot on their lower versions before mastering any of them. And when you do, you'll be spending more MP for each time you use it."
Danny knew there must be over a thousand different spells, but disregarded the wonder for now. Fire Ball would have to be learned first, a much better skill for defending one's self.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Back To The Lab ~ Jeff Broadbent (Planetside 2 OST)
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Only several minutes passed before all three of them were trying to fire off skills they have not even mastered yet. Taylor and Danny stuck to Fire Ball, while Jane was testing all of her skills and abilities. After giving each other enough space and taking aim in directions that would not be too volatile to ignite, the three of them began to practice charging and releasing their energy towards the targeted spells.
"Fire Ball!" Jane hollered the name of the attack spell she was casting in progress, aiming her open hand towards the ground. In no difficulty whatsoever, Jane formed the same small red glyphring around her wrist, and shot a Fire Ball from her hand without any delay. The Fire Ball instantly traveled to and collided with the ground of the earth, proving how fast the attack is. It would be hard to dodge a normal Fire Ball attack, let alone whatever a Fire Bolt spell proves to be like.
Jane's Fire Ball caused some of the twigs it came into contact with to catch smoke. There was no visual of any open flames yet, but it seemed pretty close that Jane's Fire Ball was hot enough to cause some major damage if used against a person, or at least a burning sensation of pain. Jane immediately lowered her hand again, allowing for the small rotating red glyphring to follow as if that glyphring were a bracelet she was wearing bound to her skin. It faded away shortly after, and Jane gave herself a few seconds of a break.
Though there was no real need to look at anyone's energy scopes, Taylor was certain that Jane's training and usage of these abilities were causing her MP capacity to drain slowly over time after each magical ability is invoked. It would have to since that was the rule of using Leray magic. Eventually, if you use a lot of spells over little time, the MP reserves for that person deplete to zero percent, requiring passive regeneration before it can be used again. Taylor never felt what is was like to have zero MP and full HP levels. According to what her teacher explained earlier, that stage would not nullify the Leray magical protection effects due to the high HP remaining on top of it.
Taylor shook the thought away, taking her turn to try a Fire Ball attack. She knew what the glyphring looked like this time, and imagined the entire scenario happening in her mind like before with Radial Stars. After storing the energy into her hands and her idea of a glyphring, Taylor focused on what was to come next. First, there is the buzz of energy humming inside of her body as it is focused to her left hand. Then the glyphring needs to be created before releasing the rest of the energy through the ring.
Danny remained calm, watching how far from a Fire Ball Taylor was than before. This time, when Taylor raised her left arm, the same red glyphring formed around her wrist like it did with Jane's. Taylor finally chanted, "Fire Ball!" with full determination, but nothing came out, and the glyphring faded rather quickly. She was at least close to a successful invocation by the looks of it.
Jane disregarded how close Taylor was to her success. She had other things to focus on as well. Jane knew that she could perform an Ice Ball without fail, but she needed that same reminder in order to recall how to swap from one element to the next. In just short of time, she began charging another attack. Jane took very little time in order to charge up her MP energy. She did not even have to try and feel for it at this point, after being so used to invoking multiple magical attack spells. All of that stored energy was right in reach from her MP levels; she knew that without them, there would be nothing to help charge her MP energy. With little time to spare, Jane did the same thing as last time with Fire Ball, only she began thinking about the temperature difference and how to use an Ice Ball attack. With ice elemental magic involved, she had to imagine that her projectile was made of frozen icy cold water, and that her glyphring was an ice type as well. Glyphrings change in color and in symbols when elements used from it are changed. Jane knew this just as well as what all of the elemental glyphrings looked like without firsthand experience.
After it was time to release her energy, Jane formed the bright sky blue colored glyphring around her wrist, at the same size as the Fire Ball one took up. It was much smaller than the glyphring for Radial Stars, but that was not stopping her at all. Jane lifted her hand after the glyphring formed, once again proving that the glyphrings follow one's aim even after they are created. Jane pointed her open hand towards the same exact impact site she used before, planning to cool down that hot bush using an ice attack. Without ever needing to shut her eyes once, Jane knew exactly how to concentrate for any kind of spell. She disregarded everyone and everything else from her mind while trying to launch her attack with another loud chant. "Ice Ball!"
Since the Ice Ball projectile was only visible for a short second, Danny and Taylor could barely tell how it looked with their eyes. The ball itself was flying like a projectile, but it looked a lot more like a frozen collection of mist from the air collapsed into a single brightly colored sphere shooting quickly through the air. Once it impacted into the ground, the ball of ice exploded, spreading around an amazing white colored icy mist with it. The foliage at the impact point was thus covered in frost and dew. Jane's glyphring faded shortly after the ball of ice hit its mark, immediately cooling off the same part of the ground where Jane launched her Fire Ball attack seconds ago. It was rather impressive that she could use all of these additional attack spells on top of Eliza's initial expectations of other students.
With the thought in mind, Danny decided that he would try once again for a Fire Ball attack. He failed to come near invoking it yesterday, but this time, he knew something he did not before. Thanks to Eliza's pep talk with him earlier, Danny now understood that he will only succeed with any moment he realizes he is more than capable. By understanding that you can invoke a spell with utmost certainty, such determination affects the mind in a positive way. And what better time than right before Taylor beats him to it?
Danny concentrated like before after planting his feet steady into the dirt, and he could sense that Taylor was watching him on the side, trying to make sure she wins Fire Ball first. After remembering how Radial Stars worked like before, it was relatively easy to find the source of his MP energy using just sheer thought. All he had to do was sense the field around him and the energy affecting him inside and around his own essence, after which channeling that energy to a more specific area. After raising the buzz to his right hand, Danny knew that it was partial imagination and focus from then on.
Jane watched the two of them. Both Danny and Taylor were giving it another go at exactly the same time. Neither one of them were shutting their eyes either, proving how used they both are to open imaginative thinking by now. Both of them were at this point equally determined, but Jane knew that Taylor put in more practice hours than Danny had, and easily made her own predictions.
When they both tried to unleash their attacks together, both Danny and Taylor formed the correct small red glyphring around their wrists. Jane took little time to notice that Taylor was using her left hand, while Danny stuck with his right hand. Taylor was obviously left handed, but it didn't seem to bother her ability to concentrate one bit. It was actually surprising to notice that Danny was capable of creating a fire-based glyphring as well. Waiting to see which one of them will succeed in a Fire Ball attack, and which one will not, Jane was immediately taken for a further surprise. After hearing the both of them yell the words Fire Ball in succession, Danny and Taylor both ended up creating the perfect flaming projectile attack aimed straight forwards. This time, two Fire Balls traveled through in the distance instead of one, oozing through the air like a thick beam of light if it were to be sped up. The spheres of flames impacted separately on the barks of other trees. The attacks were not hot enough to spark any flames, but Jane had seen the result of the entire event come forward.
"Ha! I did it!" Taylor congratulated herself, feeling the amazing sensational excitement Jane mentioned earlier every time she could complete a new spell. It emphasized the feeling of self-improvement.
"So did I," Danny gloated.
"Huh?!" Taylor was glaring at Danny. Both his and her glyphring faded too quickly for her to be sure if he was telling the truth. She did notice two Fire Balls at once, but that second one could have come from Jane...
Jane took no time in explaining how good they both were getting. "You both did it, together, and at the exact same time." She noticed that Taylor and Danny were not happy to be on a stalemate with each other. "You're now tied neck and neck with how many abilities you can use at once. And," she added with much enthusiasm. "You both have already completed the weekend assignment's general requirements."
Taylor smiled, hatching another plan for the rest of this morning. "Who cares about that?" She continued the argument after giving Danny a sinister snide. "I'm going for three abilities now, and I'll be the first one there." When did Danny get so good at using Fire Ball? It doesn't matter. He's still slower to learn new skills!
"In your dreams," Danny denied.
Taylor immediately announced the next part of her skill plan. "I'm going for Ice Ball next."
Danny realized that she was as determined as he was to continue this hot streak of successful training. He also realized that with two attacks learned, the third could be learned even faster now. Being familiar with two spells would make it easier to learn the third, but not as easy as it would be to learn four spells having already learned three. That's how Eliza put it anyway. "I'm going for Electro-Ball."
Both Taylor and Jane gasped at his change in mind. Jane was the first to raise the simple concern. "I would only advise that if you're sure. Electro-Ball is harder to learn than Ice Ball or Fire Ball combined."
Taylor seemed excited suddenly. "That means I'll learn three first, and then I'll be better at magic than you." Taylor was pointing to Danny. Jane was in her own league right now, so that would take much more time and effort.
Jane wagged her finger at Taylor in denial. "Augh-awh-awh! You're forgetting that despite how much longer Danny's Electro-Ball will take him to learn, such a spell would retain a higher power level. So once he learns this third spell after you learn your Ice Ball, he'll technically be a little bit stronger than you."
"That's called thinking ahead," Danny added. He could see some of the defeat on Taylor's face, and immediately began to enjoy this short competition. Learning how to use Leray magic was much more fun than he ever could have imagined it to be, and this was still just the training phases of the life style here. Jane was obviously not done training either. He was just getting warmed up.
Jane wanted to confirm something before continuing her own Electro-Ball attack. "Now Danny, I'll probably learn Electro-Ball first, but I've been trying that one for a while now, so don't feel intimidated when I do get it mastered."
"That's okay," he allowed. "As long as I do better than Taylor, I've got nothing else to prove."
Taylor gritted her teeth together, realizing the challenge that had been cut out for her. She needed to learn Ice Ball, and fast. Then she could go with a separate attack all together, or learn Electro-Ball after Danny does for four spells.
Jane let the two of them continue their rigorous training tactics. She was far from done just yet, and returned her focus to her potential target locations. It was not going to be easy to use Electro-Ball. Jane remembered the glyphring for the attack skill. She had invoked it several times without actually launching the electrical projectile anywhere, but now was her chance to get it right again. She began to calm her nerves again, focusing on her MP energy like before. An electrical attack took slightly more MP than the other elements did, so she charged it up accordingly. When she imagined how the attack looked and released her energy like before, Jane ended up creating another small glyphring around her wrist. The glyphring this time was the strange color of a dark jade, right in between dark green and dark blue. The symbols on it were different as well, though Jane was more focused on the last part she had trouble with. After yelling, "Electro-Ball!" in high hopes that it would work, Jane's attack became anti-climactic when nothing shot from the center of the glyphring.
Danny and Taylor were briefly distracted. They knew Jane had troubles before, but it was an entirely different thing to see her fail in person at invoking a spell. Jane?! Failing an attack spell?! Danny exhaled with much pressure, realizing that an Electro-Ball will be difficult to achieve, but that was not about to stop him today.
Jane lowered her hand, trying to calm herself down for another attempt. From the corner of her eye, she could spot Taylor trying to invoke her next spell. It went about as well as Jane's attempt went. Nobody was going to just go from Fire Ball to Ice Ball on their first iteration. Luckily, it seemed as if she had gotten less upset after each failed attempt. Taylor was already adapting to the situation of the magical invocation protocols as professionally as she should for a student at Dakota academy.
For several more attempts of magical spells coming from each person, it all turned out to be failures while the dozens of minutes passed. Jane felt that this time would finally work out in her favor, and charged her MP energy again. Even after failing to get it right so many times, Jane became so used to this that the time it took to charge her energy, release it into an electrical glyphring, and channeling the rest of the charged energy to her hands - was cut into a third of what it once was. It took less than one small second of time for Jane to make the glyphring appear, aim her and hand at the target of her choice to try and make something happen. Even after several failed attempts, training with the same skills makes one get used to it rather quickly. Jane knew that a ball of electricity is exactly what she wanted. It would still be her very first electrical type attack ever invoked by her, but that did not change the fact that she knew her next attempt would be more than just an attempt. There comes a time when the state of mind of trying an attack over and over shifts to pure certainty, that the next time will yield an actual result instead of anything less. Jane was so focused on that way of thinking, that after she shot the ball of electricity from her hand, she was not even aware that she truly succeeded until much after it impacted on the bark of a tree in front of her.
The sphere of electricity was pretty while traveling at such a high speed. Despite being visible for less than a second before impact, Danny and Taylor got to study what one looked like. The ball of energy was about the same color as Jane's electrical glyphring was, but the sphere itself was sparking and arcing with electrical energy that gave it a dynamic work of art in midair. Just getting close to the trajectory of this thing could zap anyone in range without a direct hit. The collision into the tree was even more graphical than what was to be expected. After the tree took that hit, small faint blue strings of electrical arcs zoomed outward from the impact site for another second of time. The entire event was unbelievable.
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Jane was impressed in her own abilities. She even forgot to yell out the chant of Electro-Ball. Jane knew that she could replicate that result again after learning how to use it for the first time. She glanced back at the others with a proud happy smile in her own accomplishment.
Danny seemed slightly nervous, now that the skill he wanted to get in touch with was going to be a difficult one to get by on. Taylor would surely master Ice Ball before he can learn Electro-Ball just like Jane already has done. On the other hand, Electro-Ball is more powerful than Ice Ball, even if the power level difference is by a hair. Now was not the time to stop and admit defeat.
With little said, Jane realized that neither Danny nor Taylor were ready to call it a day. Now that she learned all three of her elemental ball attacks, she decided to change pace with her other style of training.
Taylor was still studying how to shoot an Ice Ball such as before, but she took some notice to Jane's sudden change in style and tactics for her method of training. Jane pulled out her hidden daggers, which this time she hid behind her boots somehow. After drawing both small blades into both her hands, Jane totally changed her stance. Jane was now standing differently with her knees half bent. What she did next brought back a certain memory.
It was the same thing as before, in the hallway of Dakota when Taylor first met Jane in person. Jane didn't flail around mistakenly. Her movements and transitions were expertly timed and well-coordinated. Where did she even learn how to wield those things anyway? Taylor became much more impressed with what came next. Jane began slashing into the air in front of her, like she was pretending to attack someone at close range. After a quick slice, Jane then suddenly performed a back-flip somersault out of the blue, making her other dagger slash her imaginary target at the same time. Jane managed to attain distance backwards from where she was standing, and landed her flip perfectly, ready to keep going at it. Jane then kicked her foot high into the air twice, in the form of a double kick, after which she ducked down on both feet, sliding around on her hands while spinning in place with one leg out. Taylor recognized what it looked like, that Jane had just went from a high kick into a low spinning sweep to make the imaginary opponent trip and fall down. But she was performing all of these random combinations as if they were at the back of her head. There was no way Jane could have just learned that. It seemed awkward to see Jane doing these things before imagining her invisible targets, though it sure didn't bother her to think about it.
The attention Jane was drawing from Taylor eventually went noticed by Danny as well. She became her own performance show of close combat tactics, making clean low sweeps, strikes mixed in with punches, and a few special spins that allowed her to back away in the form of a dodge. Jane paused in the middle, realizing that Danny and Taylor were both staring at her again with their prying eyes. "What?"
Taylor looked at the floor for a brief moment before admitting how intense Jane was being right now. "We've never seen anyone move like that, not outside of an action movie anyway."
"Any weapon can be used in battle, right?" Danny was the one asking a question that he already knew the answer too, but he wanted to hear what Jane had to add to one of Eliza's lectures. Jane couldn't possibly know more than her own teacher, but she sure didn't pick up those moves from her either. Jane must have taken some sort of outside class on top of her current one.
"That's right," Jane agreed. "Daggers alone don't inflict high amounts of damage, so I've learned to mix in combination strikes and styles with it. I learned how to move around like that from Mr. Mire. He left Dakota, though it was before we officially finished."
"Well you seem to have it down well," Taylor complimented.
Jane accepted, "Thank you. It's what I need to do in future battles, once my long-range tactics fail. You have to be prepared for anything in the field."
"I think I would be comfortable with a blaster."
Jane gave Danny a quick study. He was serious about what he meant, indicating he already had a look at the dark room cache of weapons. "In that case, Blast Shot is the name of your official skill when using a blaster weapon. You can't just randomly aim and shoot expecting it to work. It will still fire magical energy without using your own, but it has less of an effect than Radial Stars if you don't let the weapon siphon your own energy. And to do that, the skill name is called Blast Shot. You have to learn to invoke magical properties into projectile attacks even when they come from weapons."
"I, didn't know that," Danny hinged. Why didn't Eliza explain that when she was confronting him about it before? Maybe she did, and only Jane made sense in talking about it. But that means the blaster weapon is useful!
"It's okay," Jane tolerated. "Even my own combination that you two were just watching, it's only as effective as it can get. I should be able to infuse magical properties into my daggers when using them. It costs MP while I use them to strike a target like that, but infusing your weapons with non-elemental magical energy increases the damage level significantly."
"How do you do that?" Taylor quizzed.
Jane softly answered, "It's not used in the form of a glyphring. To infuse a weapon, you have to create what is known as a magical attack aura around the part of the weapon you use to deal damage with, and you must attack your enemy before that aura runs out of power on its own. I could even go as far as creating an attack aura around my foot or my fist, increasing the damage from a simple punch or kick, but I haven't been able to successfully do that yet. So I wouldn't expect anyone else to be too familiar with it, unless that is what they choose to start with."
"Blast Shot?" Danny repeated.
Jane was remembering a little more about the blaster weapon. "Blast Shot is a low power level attack that allows you to shoot magical energy from the blaster itself, and once you get the hang of it, the attack aura from the energy ball it shoots costs practically little MP energy. But if you try to fire a training blaster without your energy, it will only have the same effect visually. If you don't siphon energy from your own aura, you will have less luck dealing damage than using Water Blast." The reference there was simple. Water Blast doesn't do anything except blast a person with water. It just gets them wet without any damage. "The next evolutionary skill from there is Scatter Beam. With a power level of three, Scatter Beam fires a barrage of energy shots from the blaster, as if you were shooting from a shot gun, dealing much more damage at less accuracy from a distance."
"How do you know all of this stuff?" Danny requested. "Is there some simplified guide book for all of these different attacks?"
"Actually," Jane shifted. "There is. I'll get one for you once we all graduate from Dakota."
"... Right." Danny swept his foot back slightly and kept his voice calm. He had a feeling that graduations would have to wait, for him and Taylor, but Jane didn't need to hear about that yet. "I'm going to focus on Electro-Ball again."
"Take your time," Jane allowed. "I've still got some ways to go myself. I don't know how to use any of the bolt attacks."
"You're kidding," Taylor stopped. "Fire Bolt? Ice Bolt? Even Thunderbolt? You can't use any of them?"
"I thought it was Lightning Strike," Danny derailed.
Jane nodded at their behavior. "I can't know everything all at the same time you know. I am still just a first year student like you two are. And Lightning Strike is the same thing as Thunderbolt. They just have multiple names is all."
Danny figured it was that simple, but it sure was confusing. Why give one ability more than one name to chant? Isn't the point to correctly remember which attacks do what? Lightning Strike and Thunderbolt are exactly the same then. Before it hurt his head anymore, Danny got back to training using the same directional targets of trees he had before. Taylor did the same, making some room for Jane to follow in the same footsteps. She however wanted to continue with her close combat stances instead of her magical abilities. Learning magic was left to Danny and Taylor.
Much more time passed, nearly an hour to be exact before Taylor finally did it. "Ice Ball!" was the last thing she yelled before her icy colored glyphring lit up and shot a ball of ice from the palm of her hand. Before the ball even hit the bulk of some random tree, Taylor was already celebrating, jumping up and down in succession. "Yes! I got it!"
"Good job Taylor," Jane congratulated. She really is getting faster, but that was to be expected with all Jane taught the two of them.
Danny glanced back at Taylor and Jane, remembering his earlier concerns. After being reminded about the issue of timing and priorities, his thoughts only haunted his ability to focus on magic. On second thought, Electro-Ball can wait. This is more important. After noticing how well Taylor was fitting in with the town of Fronas, Dakota, and even with Jane, Danny knew this was not going to be easy... But this has to be done. If he just keeps stalling this any further, it will be even harder to let go of any attachments formed here. Danny steadily approached Taylor, pecking his finger on her shoulder.
It was a bit unexpected for Danny to halfway sneak up like that, but Taylor wasn't frightened by it at all. After having learned a new ability a few seconds ago, she was still in a very forgiving mood. "Hey Danny. Like my Ice Ball?"
Danny quickly shot a glance at Jane without saying a word. It took him a moment to decide something, and even Taylor could read that some kind of heavy thought was bothering him already. "Jane? Taylor and I need to have a talk."
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Chapter Theme Shift: Into The Mist ~ Two Worlds 2 OST
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"Oh..." Jane didn't see this coming, but to see it happening before her sparkled her entire chain of thought. Finally! Danny was going to have a private chat with Taylor. Jane could tell what this was going to be about, and remembered back to last night when she was teasing Taylor about it. "Sure. Go ahead." Jane didn't want to be the awkward thorn in this cute mix up. "I'll be right over here." Jane slowly sunk backwards a little deeper behind some of the trees, intentionally giving the two of them their well-deserved privacy.
"What's this about," Taylor asked. Danny was looking straight into her eyes as she was to his, but he had a rather serious and demanding look about something. Before Danny said much else, he grabbed her by the hand, leading her away from Jane, marching deeper into the woods. Though his actions totally surprised Taylor, he didn't stop himself for anything. It was a short walk over a few stumps and fallen twigs, but Danny made certain to put distance between him and Jane, making Taylor more nervous.
Taylor felt like she was going to collapse at any moment. Just last night, Jane was bugging her on about liking Danny, and here he was, leading her away to privacy, holding her hand. It couldn't be true! Did Danny really have a crush on Taylor this entire time? Oh, what to say to him... The nervous warm pulse from Danny's firm grip had Taylor's heart racing already, her thoughts going everywhere at once. This had to be a coincidence!
Finally, Danny decided that this was far enough, and let go of Taylor's hand, preparing to explain to her most curious expression, but the words didn't come to him so quickly. This was harder to admit openly than it was to himself. After all, Taylor was the last person he would want to let down if this went the other way.
"Wh— what is this about?" Taylor pleaded. She could only hope it was unrelated to anything Jane was going on about before, or anything unrelated to her falling off that cliff. Danny was never the type to ask a girl out like this before though. Just calm down!
"It's about our mission, remember?" Danny was pressuring Taylor to recall the real reason they are here, and what needs to be done. His tone became firm so quickly, allowing his frustration to easily be shared aloud. "I don't hate any of this Leray stuff okay, but it's time we got moving to the airport. I'm done stalling."
"What?" This was the last thing Taylor expected from him. Actually, asking her out was the last expected scenario, but now that it was already in her head, Danny went to an entirely different direction than she was anticipating. While it was relieving to hear that he was going on about something different, the words he was saying now weren't all that calming either. "But we both agreed to enroll in Dakota. Remember what we discussed with Kain?" Danny was supposed to wait for Jane to graduate before even making a move.
"What little money Kain loses won't hurt him," Danny argued. "Even if graduation is close, we don't have the time and luxury to hang around here, playing with fire magic."
Unbelievable! This wasn't what she agreed to at all. Taylor snapped, "What's wrong with you?" Her expression had quickly transformed in to an intermediate form of anger and being upset about the thought of leaving.
"What's wrong with me?!" Danny reversed. "I'm the one trying to figure out how to get to Junon's airport. And from what I've learned, it's illegal for any Leray wielder to challenge us to a battle if we don't have official Leray licenses. As long as we don't graduate, we won't have to worry about that problem at all. We've been approaching this problem in reverse."
"But what about Jane? We promised to travel together with her to Junon." Taylor knew she was just looking for every excuse she could, but this one sounded valid after saying it aloud. Though she had only met Jane Venn just recently, she wasn't a person she could just walk away from like that.
Danny understood Taylor's desire to stay with her new energetic friend, but this was hardly the time to wait on Jane. "But that course of action will take us months to get to Junon. Jane might want to travel all over Sprawn Valley since she is going on some sort of magical quest of magic land, but we won't make it in time if we don't pick up our pace right now." Danny knew he sounded harsh by rushing this, but he knew what kind of wall he was up against here. Taylor looked away, denying his own flawless logic. "I got in touch with Nyar two days ago again, with a slight change of plans. I was told that our parents were going to pay Nyar to come here since he is closer, so he'll be the first to expect us there. But what do you think happens when Nyar lands here and doesn't find us? You want to let him down?"
"I don't want to leave," Taylor admitted. Though she was still eying him only from her peripheral sight, she could see Danny's hazel eyes come into focus on her expression, trying to read her very thoughts.
Surely, she was kidding. He knew from the beginning that Leray magic always excited Taylor to the fullest, and he let himself accept that even after all said and done. But this isn't about having fun anymore. "Taylor, we don't belong here. Learning how to use magic isn't going to change that either. If we don't make it in time, our parents are going to wonder where the hell we are."
"But I'd rather stay here." Taylor simply repeated the statement she made earlier, but her tone sounded much more firm and constrained.
Danny tilted his head in confusion. "You'd rather stay here in crazy land, instead of going back home? Be with your family, the ones who raised you?! You're telling me that your family reunion is just not important anymore?"
How dare he get into her personal business like that! Stupid Danny always has to wreck everything she builds for herself. "I thought you were into this magic stuff," Taylor stiffened. "I guess that was just a lie too."
"I've had enough of this! You're acting like a child!" Danny yelled. He didn't like being this difficult with Taylor, especially since they never had an argument like this in the past. Why the hell is she so keen on being left behind? None of this makes any sense. Nobody could possibly like magic that much to abandon their own family!
"I'm not the one planning on leaving other people behind like that."
Danny realized what Taylor meant with her analogy; that Jane would wake up one day, surprised that he and Taylor left without even saying goodbye. But it was necessary for the purpose! "Jane isn't your only friend," he pressured. "You have more back home. I know that Kalamo is not the magical world you want it to be, but you can't just abandon your family."
"I am not leaving!" Taylor promised while turning to face her soon to be former friend, glaring back into his eyes to establish her confidence for her independent decision. "And that's that." She turned around, folding in her arms. It was practically close enough to pouting, but it was also clear that Taylor was not just going to leave with Danny.
In all his life, Danny had never seen her behave this way before. Taylor would not give into any of his words, and trying to force her after her remark was something out of his moral boundaries too. "Why are you making this difficult?!" Danny demand. "Don't you miss your mom or dad one bit?"
"No! I don't!" Taylor just then turned around to face him again after what she had just admitted aloud, but she nearly shuttered at what she just did, realizing her own words spoken aloud sent a shiver down her spine. Danny wasn't supposed to know anything about that.
"Wha..." Danny didn't even know how to respond. Taylor didn't miss her home? He never noticed anything bad about her family before. They weren't abusive, or drug dealing morons, or anything of the sort. He had been to her house before in more or less the same circumstances of visiting Jane's family. "I-I don't understand." Danny had to let her speak on her own, unable to comprehend so much as a way of figuring this out.
Taylor puffed and exhaled, realizing that she was now at a disadvantage. Danny now knew her small secret she never wanted to share with anybody. It's pointless trying to hold it all in now. "Danny? I can't go back." She eyed him so direct and precise, hoping he would hear him promise to let her stay.
"Mind telling me why?"
As predicted, Taylor had no choice but to explain the entire situation. It was hard to even think about it, but she did her best. "It's a long story..." Taylor didn't want to continue.
Danny saw a total change in Taylor's mood. It went from aggressive to miserable in just seconds, and he immediately grew more curious to what this was about. "Please," he whispered. "Just tell me."
Taylor didn't expect Danny to be so calm about this. He's often terrible at talking to people or listening to girls, but he seemed more than interested and focused in her current mood. Still, this is not his business to know! Taylor thought of something else to say, some sort of dismissive phrase or clause, but nothing helpful came to mind. She could only struggle, mentally choking over her own scattered thoughts and fears.
"Taylor..." Danny had to remain calm, even if this was freaking him out inside. There is obviously something heavy bothering her. It must be something unrelated to Sprawn Valley if home is the source of this terrible look on her face. "We're friends no matter what. You can tell me anything."
Having no more available options in her to fight this, Taylor simply accepted the gravity of the situation, and dumped the weight of her troubles onto Danny so direct. "Have you ever heard of the Banshee unit?"
"Uh-no." Danny had never recalled hearing about that at all. "What does that have to do with you?"
Taylor was nodding, sad just having to explain this story to anybody. At least Danny was not a stranger to her. Whether this made it more or less difficult couldn't be determined right now. Everything just hurts! Everything before, it's all coming back again! "Kalamo has a long history about supporting a dictatorship, a communist government."
"I'm aware of that..." Danny recalled several political events back home, but things had recently changed a bit. Someone new took charge less than four years ago, and nobody has said anything about the rumored continued slavery runs. The last dictator would steal people from their homes and force them to work in the mines, but it was far less intense than one hundred years ago, with similar people doing the same things with more invasive methods. Now, Kalamo was practically sucked dry of their own resources, so forced labor was not really in demand right now. That's about the gist of it.
Taylor continued on, regretting every detail. "Well now it's being transformed into a kingdom, a full monarch."
"What? I didn't hear anything about that." Danny had not paid much attention to the political news in Kalamo for the past few months, since he was preparing for the cruise. But this was rather big for their home nation; it changes everything!
She replied, "That's because you don't keep up with world events and the news. The changes to the political system are already made for the most part."
"I don't trust our own media to tell us the truth," he defended. Even the internet there is strictly monitored and filtered. It's impossible to get information in the most normal sense.
"Yeah," Taylor agreed. "Neither do I. I got my information from my parents, about three months ago."
Three months? How did this happen under everyone's eyes for so long? Danny wanted to know every detail, but he couldn't even come up with anything to ask. There was already too much more to figure out. He simply waited for Taylor to continue.
She had to take her time, since every word she brought up held heavy on her breath. "In light of the new monarch, a new unit was created to support the king after he took full office. That unit is called the Banshee Empire. Their jobs are all related to personal security, cooking, cleaning, anything that was specifically for the king. There are hundreds of jobs for hundreds of reasons. Being a Banshee would be like living in a castle, doing whatever someone tells you to. But you would also become rich from those jobs, earning loads of cash while being close to the personal chain of command. It's essentially like the royal caste."
"Okay..." Danny still didn't know what this had to do with her. If being a Banshee means all of that...
"But not anybody just becomes a Banshee by asking. It's supposed to be an honorary request. It's more like a list of names and families that are supposedly in line to become Banshees for any random particular job there. And my family is somehow on that list."
"What?!"
"They don't let people over a certain age participate, and I'm an only child. By lottery, I'm supposed to be the next in line Banshee along with many others. My parents plan to send me off to the new castle and be an honorary member."
"That's..." Danny wanted to congratulate her, but she was refusing to return home. If this really was as glorious as it sounded, she should be begging to go home. Knowing the state Kalamo is always in, luck was never on the side of the people. There has to be a catch to all of this.
Taylor continued, despite Danny's barrage of questions he had not even asked yet. "I've recently learned from true sources, even people I used to know who were branded Banshees before me. I've met mothers who sent their daughters away there, and fathers who send their sons."
"And?"
"And what nobody talks about is the role of young Banshees. The men often perform hard labor as you would expect, but it's often dangerous and results in many casualties. But the role of women there is unspeakable in that land. I would be required and expected to fulfill the roles of a royal entertainer. That can naturally mean a lot of things. Cooking, cleaning like a maid, talent performances, and more. But they don't just keep you with one job the entire time either."
Danny looked at the grass below him. It wasn't making any sense. The things she was saying were easy to imagine given the situation, so what was she so afraid of? Something seemed a little strange about this though. There is no way their media would want to cover something like that, not if there is a secret understanding about something else.
"Think about that. Women's duties!" Taylor knew what she was talking about, but hopefully she didn't have to spell it out to Danny's hard head.
"Duties such as..."
Taylor slapped her face with the palm of her hand, showing him how stupid he was being. Perhaps he just never paid much attention. "You know what I'm talking about! Entertainment jobs, pleasing men, even the king if he so requests. Those are only half of the unspeakable things we would be expected to do."
Danny's jaw dropped while his body froze. He couldn't believe what Taylor was saying just now, but she wasn't kidding either. After admitting what she didn't want to continue talking about, he could see her eyes watering up. "N— no! That can't be right!" Say again Taylor. Correct those words, as they can't be true!
"It is," Taylor promised. "I checked every way I could. Plenty of maidens who become Banshees don't return and communicate back with their families. Some of them are killed by selfish greedy men of the castle, but almost all of them are turned into slaves themselves, abused and rapped if their unlucky enough. I'd have to guess that all of them fall into such an unlucky category, since nobody is allowed to leave the royal service whenever they want." Her additional context brought it all out into the open, the reason it was so unspeakable. By some hellish tragedy, the castle was trying to start up an underage sex-trading system, under the guise of 'honorary work.'
Danny could feel all of his muscles shaking. This was not possible. The Banshee kingdom doesn't have any right to do this to people. And even if they don't care, wouldn't this still somehow become a popular rumor, such a negative affiliation that would drive the entire nation to direct rebellion? Taylor never had to worry about things like this before. Why would she keep something like this from him? What the hell is going on in this world?! Frozen by choice of language and the stabbing pain of the truth, it was too difficult to imagine Taylor getting involved with something like that. She was already tearing up, unable to completely wipe away her eyes. Danny wanted to stop her from saying more, but he just couldn't move.
Taylor, a sex slave to the new kingdom of Kalamo? What are people like that doing in office? And why are they trying to recruit people like her? From the sounds of it, being honored as a potential member must be more like a warning, a sheet of paper that forces you to go and live the rest of life by somebody else's directive.
"I've already tried talking to my parents!" she fussed. "They don't care, they don't even believe me. They want me to become a Banshee only to make more money, help pay off their debts!"
"Stop!" he finally screamed. He couldn't hide his own upset expression. He didn't know what to do or what to think, and now his eyes glazing over a thin gloss of remorse linked only in sympathy. How could this be happening? All this time, Taylor had all of this bullshit to deal with?
Taylor was not done. She felt a little more serious, after realizing that Danny finally understood how dangerous it was for her in Kalamo. "My own parents would rather sell me out as a harlot to help their finances, than to just stay poor and raise me like your family raises you. They don't even have to comply with that Banshee contract, but they're more stubborn than you can be."
So it is a family choice?! "I don't believe this!" Danny's emotions were swirling around, holding his hands to his head in disarray. It felt like anger, but he wasn't too sure anymore. Taylor had to be wrong about this somewhere. She is only fifteen years old! They can't just take her for their own selfish desires! It's wrong on so many levels!
"Why do you think I went on this stupid trip with you?!"
Danny once again became dumbstruck. What the hell was she saying? Taylor thought the trip to America was meaningless? Why even go?
"I don't care about New York, or North America, or even Nyar. I wasn't going to mind his company anyway, since he wouldn't have anything to do with sending me away like that, but I got my parents' permission to take vacation in New York with you. It was my only opportunity to help myself. I only left to get the hell away from them." Taylor was breathing a lot faster, after all that she kept inside of her came bursting through, and Danny was being forced to hear every word of it. Still, the feeling and thought of her family stung like a razor. "I never want to see my family again!" Taylor's voice was messed up from the tears, but it didn't stop her from yelling at the top of her lungs either. Jane must have heard some of it after she screamed it so violently, but it didn't matter now.
Danny couldn't think of anything to say anymore. Taylor was beginning to collapse, putting her entire face into both her hands while sobbing. As unbelievable as it was, Taylor would never lie about something like this. She wants to stay away from her home that badly! Instinctively, Danny moved in, hugging Taylor and grasping her tightly. Taylor stiffened for just a second by the surprise, and quickly swapped the position of her arms. Danny let her head sink in below his neck, since he was naturally taller than her by two inches.
Taylor didn't care about Danny's need to get out of here anymore, but with him here right now, she let it all out, crying for as long as she needed to. She could feel herself trembling, as if she'd melt if she let go of him right now.
Danny and Taylor were locked in this stance for over a silent minute. Once Danny finally got his mind back into reality, it allowed him to make several connections he never made before. Taylor tagged on the vacation to get away from Kalamo forever; it had nothing to do with having fun in New York. She probably planned on running away in the other country the first chance she got, and getting stuck here instead was not the end of the line for her either. If Nyar and her parents can't find her, than she obviously can't become a Banshee slave. That's of course assuming she could remain hidden in the first place.
Danny suddenly thought back to their last conversation with Kain. Danny was the reluctant one to get into Leray magic at all, since it was already decided they would leave from Fronas and head back to the airport. Taylor wanted to join the Dakota academy to get her mind off of home. Maybe she was interested in that magic stuff too, but it explained her unusual excitement regarding it. Her every reaction from learning Leray magic was just a partial facade the whole time! It worked well to hide her real intentions. They have already stayed here for a week longer than expected too, nowhere closer to Junon than they were since they arrived in Fronas to begin with.
Danny then got hung up on the intense details. How would you like it if your parents decided to sell out your body, and risk your life every day just to get out of an economic slump? It was only three months ago, so it's not like Taylor was expecting this either. In spite of everything that happened since their arrival here, he once believed life doesn't get crazier than invoking magical spells. Apparently, it could get much worse. Kalamo was not a great country, nor was it known for its liberties. Danny knew this by heart since he had to live there forever, but this place by comparison is beyond freedom.
The inhabitants of Sprawn Valley, or at least the ones in Fronas have established their own way of life, and nobody disturbs others until the law is broken. What better way to resolve national conflict than to let things happen as they would? But that wasn't helping right now. Danny had never-ever seen Taylor this messed up before, and there was no immediate cure to the problem either. Right now, she's trembling and crying her heart out in total fear of ever returning back home. For once she returns, she'll officially be sent off to the Banshee Empire and turned into a slave. How could her parents not know about it? Ugh! That doesn't matter right now! If Taylor returns home, her life will be ruined. If she stays here, Nyar will track them down eventually. However...
Taylor felt Danny hold her arms, pushing back just enough to face her again. Danny looked into Taylor's blue eyes, making certain that she knows what to do. "Listen to me closely Taylor. You're not becoming a Banshee slave." He saw the mood in her expression lift immediately, mostly full of curiosity for the moment. "We'll stay here, travel around with Jane when she is ready."
"Ah— but..." Taylor could see the seriousness in Danny's eyes. He was going to stay, just for her? No, it was even more than that. He's trying to protect her!
Danny filled in the details before Taylor got them messed up. "I know that I can't hide forever. And I do have a family I should be getting back to... I think at some point in time, we'll be too close to Junon's airport to avoid it. So in the meantime, I'll think of something else to fix this."
"It's not something I can just get out of." Taylor began to sink her head down again. "What's the point? When Nyar finds us, he'll just send me back. My parents might even come here themselves. My life is already over."
Danny shook his head at Taylor's excuse. "No! I'm not letting anyone take you to become a Banshee!" Screw that! It's her own damn life! Nobody has the right to take that away from her. "Even if all that body slaving stuff isn't true, you still resent the very idea of that title and position, with all your heart and breath. So I'll make sure that nothing like that ever happens to you."
Taylor felt her body go numb. It felt more as if she was filling up like a balloon, becoming light enough to float off the dirt of the forest. The way he made such promise was unlike anything she had heard come out of his mouth before. Taylor didn't even have the words to give him any gratitude, and she could already feel her face getting hot.
Danny was expecting something out of Taylor by now, even if it wasn't a big thank you. Instead, she hugged him back, just like before. He exhaled slowly, making sure she was okay. No way! His mind repeated. "I promise you won't have that kind of fate." You deserve better than that Taylor... Just stay with me.
Jane couldn't stop tapping her foot. It has been several minutes since Danny pulled Taylor away. Either they ditched her to get a room, or something else was going on. Seeing it pointless to wait around for any more than a dozen minutes, Jane began to take off, walking towards the path they traveled on. Only after taking four steps did she suddenly notice Danny and Taylor in the distance, partially hidden by the foliage. She stopped, wondering if she didn't even have to go far to find them. The real reason was that they were both finding their way back to her, finished with whatever they were really up to. They had been a distance off for some time, but were closer now because they must have gotten as bored as she did.
Danny walked closely beside Taylor, who was staring at the ground mostly to avoid tripping over any of the tree stumps poking from the soil. Jane was already in front of his view, waiting for the both of them. Danny already knew what was about to happen here. Taylor's face was dark red around her eyes. It was strikingly obvious that she had been crying her eyes out earlier, and Jane was bound to pick up on that any second now even at this distance.
Taylor felt a little colder than she did before. Even for the morning breeze, it was still near the lower sixties, and she was without a jacket of any kind. Despite having to choose between three sets of outfits that Kain gave the both of them, she didn't have much to wear for breezy weather. Now that Jane was here, she would know by now that Taylor was not feeling great anymore, and naturally jump in to figure it out, but this was not something she could repeat again in the same day.
Jane watched as the two of them got even closer. Danny was sort of hugging towards Taylor's side, but something was wrong. They weren't moving with the same energy as before, and Taylor was avoiding as much eye contact with her as possible. Jane took a step closer, forcing Danny and Taylor to stop. Just then, Taylor looked up at Jane, but only for a second. It was more than enough time to notice the stain of heavy tears. "Taylor? Wh— what happened?! Hey! What did you do?"
Danny responded to Jane's natural sympathy for Taylor, but while keeping in mind that she didn't need this right now. "Training's over. We're going home now."
Taylor shivered for a split second, realizing that Danny of course meant home to the Fronas medical facility. With no desire to hang around here any longer, she already began taking steps, causing Danny to follow along.
"But..." Jane was at a loss for words. That obviously didn't go well. What was that even about? "What about—" Jane couldn't continue, since Danny and Taylor were just walking away towards Fronas without her. Whatever her peril was about, Jane was obviously not part of it. Jane couldn't help but feel left out. It had to be something that was far from her own business, for Taylor to ignore her as well? Whatever was going on between them, it has to be more serious than considering a relationship with each other. Would either of them trust Jane after today, for anything?
Danny and Taylor both walked with lost desires back to the medical facility to get some rest. Obviously, Taylor was the one who needed it, but Danny was still going to be wide-awake after this morning, after hearing all of that. It was too early in the day to give up on everything else. Right now, Taylor was the priority. Leaving Sprawn Valley is not going to be an option until Taylor can be completely protected from what threatens her future from the outside. She would never walk back into her family's arms after they've been pulling a stunt like that. It sure was not a vacation for either of them, but it might as well be a way to hide out for now.