The scenery had changed; Sunny was not used to this. After all, it was his first time in a PTV, at least while being without cuffs blocking his hands or simply awake and well. If you don't take his motion sickness into account, obviously.
Yet, his mind was still stuck on something else, as his eyes kept a girl in check. It has been a week since his..."accident." Being open like that with someone was not like him, and Sunny will never acknowledge the existence of this afternoon, never.
Every word said during that time was never mentioned afterward. And there was no need to; the message was sent. And Sunny was pushed to change. Wanting to be alone and still having this weird desire to not be… a disappointment. To make things right for once…
'To give them a chance…'
But after this "moment," things had changed. First was the fact that Nephis came to the guest room every day, just to observe him. Honestly, it was quite unsettling to have someone looking at him in silence like that. With her aloof expression… Sunny was having shivers just by remembering it.
Worse, even when Jeanne had tried to launch a semblance of dialogue, it was met only with silence from both sides. One side because she didn't want to say anything, and the other because he didn't know how to react to that kind of situation.
Speaking of Jeanne, she was far more present for Sunny than before. Even if the rule of "no touching" was still in order, she seemed far happier than before while talking to him. Expressing her mind without restraint, even if it meant scolding him at the moment. It was weird to have her pointing out his bad thought. It was only showing at what point he was far from what he used to be…
All that was happening because Sunny was far more trusting in her than before. After all, willingly or not, when he was alone and his mind was moving without direction, he could still remember the warmth of her embrace…
The entire week had passed without much of a problem until this morning.
A choice had to be made. He knew what he wanted to do and what he needed to do…
Both were incompatible. At least from his point of view.
Staying or leaving…
Staying with the stranger that helped him until now or leaving back to the Outskirts. Even now, as much as he wanted to try, he still felt like he was chained to something far back from those people. Reminding him of his error and the repercussions of it.
Before, there wouldn't have been an ounce of doubt in him. But now...
Ashe asked him for an answer, and he was stuck with indecision. So, if he was not able to make a choice, could someone else make it for him? And surprisingly, it was not Jeanne or Ashe that took the lead on that.
Still not used to this method of transportation, Sunny asks his question, looking at the girl.
-"So I can't leave until I get the approval of your teacher, Ashe, Plume, Jeanne, and you? …"
The expressionless face looking at him finally gave a little reaction!
...It was a smug one.
-"Why ? If you really want to go, we can still throw you out of this PTV at the next sewer we pass by."
-"Weird thing to say when you are the one that made the first call..."
Now that the choice was made, not everyone was sure about it, but they quickly accepted the idea. No one had said that he can't really go afterward, right? So they can at least be sure that he was ready for when the moment will come.
Looking at him like he just spoiled her fun, Nephis turned her attention to the window. Standing next to Sunny was the mute bodyguard, who looked quite amused by the situation. Her shaky breath betraying a slight laugh.
Usually, in a PTV, isn't everyone facing the same direction? Or maybe it was just this one in particular that was a category on its own. Because they were the four in the back seat. Nephis, Plume, Jeanne, who was actually sleeping, and him. On the front seat stood Ashe and Dana, who were talking about their next destination.
Everyone, even him, was in an outfit made for walking in a forest or something like that. When he asked about the destination, Ashe only told him that this kind of thing wasn't spoken aloud. And since then, he had kept his silence until now.
Having a discussion with Nephis was clearly a bad idea. Jeanne was sleeping, which left him two options. Either talking to Plume or just waiting again in silence. It was rare to have the silent woman available, so…
Since she was "laughing" at him, that meant she was open to being interacted with, right?
-"So… Your name is… Plume?"
Surprised to be talked to, she took a second to give him a nod. A large smile beaming without restraint, not moving, waiting to see if the discussion was destined to continue or not. After all, she had already told him her name before, so for her, the question was destined to be followed by another one. For Sunny, since he got an answer and no weird reaction, it was like a green light for him to keep going.
-"Is there any meaning behind it?"
He didn't know how it was possible, but her smile grew even larger. Now searching in her pocket for something. Moments passed until she simply clicked her finger to get Dana's attention, followed by some move of hands, and one moment later, a book and a pencil flew in her way. Giving a thumbs-up to the driver, she turns back her attention to Sunny.
'So she isn't always with her tablet on her?'
She was writing at a speed that was… inhuman. Too fast, he doubted that the pencil knew that he could be used like this. Still, not even a second later, a page was shown to him.
-"[Yes, it means "feather" in one of the European countries. And you? Why "Sunless"?]"
So it was from a dead country; that would explain why it sounded weird on his tongue. His eyes looking at someone else for a second, he gave back all his attention to Plume.
Sunny was not sure why, but he could swear that he saw a weird expression passing by the girl's face. It gave him once again a shiver, as his attention was now turned to the sleeping woman. Her blonde hair was now tousled; her bun was just a glimpse of what it used to be. Still, she looks at peace. So why did she still look like she was exhausted to the bone?
- "I'm not sure, but… Aren't the Awakened stuck to the dream world while sleeping?"
Still looking at them through the mirror at disposition, it was Ashe that answered the question.
-"Yes, they are. But that doesn't apply to Jeanne since she is a Master. Oh, you didn't know?"
His eyes were bulging out of their sockets; of course he didn't know about it! But that would explain how she was able to keep an eye on him every day without being restrained by her sleep. Still, he would not kill him to ask her more questions when she recovered enough.
Luckily for him, Ashe was in a good mood, so he got a little more information.
-"We have two Masters with us. Jeanne is one of them, and the second is Nephis' teacher."
-"Wait, so I need to get a Master's approval on top of yours?"
-"Honestly, if you can get my teacher's favor, you'll get mine as well."
Right now, Sunny was kind of lost. Getting the approval sounded nice to his ear, but concretely, how can he do that? Like, for Jeanne, it was obvious that she would look at his health. But what about the other? I could still merely visualize some of them, but Nephis? What could he do to get her approval? She is master of nothing, a student like him with the same age.
The worst part was that she seemed to know what he was thinking about, since she looked at him with this same smug face!
-"I hope that a storm is coming…"
- "Oh, you little … !"
Containing his laugh the best he can, Sunny moved toward Plume as if asking for her help. Only for her to look at him with a gaze that he could easily translate.
It's not my war, kiddo.
It would be a lie if someone dared to say that the ride had been calm after that. Still in the front seat, both figures were smiling in silence. As for the backseat, only Plume had noticed that the sleeping Master had now her lips slightly curled up her lips.
Sunny may or may not have regretted his previous choice of words. Nephis was terrifying. But hey, Plume had decided to protect him at the end before anyone could get hurt. And it was only after she got to wake up Jeanne that he knew that this journey was already ending or at least on hold. If he wanted to be happy about something, it might be the fact that he had been able to overcome his motion sickness.
It looks like he needed just a little bit of time to get used to the sensation.
Some doors opened, but only three people moved out of the PTV. Sunny wasn't one of them. Staying behind with Nephis and Plume with an intrigued look. As he wanted to ask the bodyguard, the young girl took the initiative; for once, her voice did not have this particular infuriating tone.
-"A little tip for you: don't close your eyes and keep your focus on one point. I don't want you to throw up on me."
-"What are you even talking—"
His sentence was cut out by the noise, something closer to the SpellTech than anything else. Light was flashing through the windows as Ashe, Jeanne, and Diana ran back to the PTV. Fasten their belt as the doctor started to give some instruction. She was directly staring at him.
-"Don't worry. Weird. Very weird. But fast. Eyes open. Focus on one point. Don't push. The first time is hard. Might faint. Not dangerous. Just… otherworldly. Hold tight."
-"See? I told you. Now, do your best to not throw up."
Jeanne gave a sharp look at Nephis, but only for a second because the vehicle was moving once again. And the atmosphere had changed from one extreme to another. No one was talking; all were focused on their breathing, and so, Sunny did the same.
One instant, he was in a car. One instant later, Sunny's view was like in a kaleidoscope. Form was merging and separating to create something new. Colors were ever-changing, except for one point, the one he was told to focus on.
He could still feel his body as he kept taking long and deep breaths. But everything was messed up; a strange sound was ringing in his ears, and both a lack and a strong smell were there at the same time. And as for the taste…
The best way to describe it would be that he could taste the past, the present, and the future at the same time.
His head was getting lighter and lighter; keeping his focus was getting hard. But just to prove Nephis wrong, he pushed himself against Jeanne's guidance. His spiteful nature will surely get him in trouble, but now it was the last thing that kept him from fainting.
Thirty-five seconds later, Sunny started to feel like something was getting pulled out of him. Reality was distorting itself, then, like a spring, it pushed back to its original form.
It took a second for Sunny to realize that the thing he was experiencing had stopped. His mind, still trying to figure things out, was taking time to make him feel things normally. His sight started to get back, followed by his smell and taste. In front of him, Nephis looked a bit paler than before. Same for everyone else.
He wanted to say something, but he felt suddenly sick. Jeanne was already opening the door for him as he ran to the closest bush.
It was awful.
It was…
Looking at the view in front of him, Sunny was at a loss for words. Any urge to empty his stomach had been washed out by what he was seeing.
-"Where are…we?"
One unique gray-braided-hair woman moved to join him. He could see that Ashe was still a little amused by his reaction.
-"Our hideout for the next year."
In front of him was the interior of a cave, with a giant lake in the middle, and beside it stood proudly a magnificent palace.