Shoutout to Bruh_Vista for beta-reading and providing extensive feedback for this chapter!
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After her emotions returned to her, Jean immersed herself in them wholeheartedly. She was excited to be able to feel once again, and she wanted to make up for all the lost time. Whenever she had time, she would smile, laugh, frown, rage, fear, but among all the emotions available in the spectrum, she avoided sorrow and crying the most. Her life up to this point had been filled with it, and she wanted to balance out all the sorrow with positive and uplifting emotions.
To that end, Jean made a selfish decision. Goodbyes were often sorrowful and charged with emotion. Promises of returning safely never did put people's hearts at ease, especially since the world outside was so perilous, fraught with danger around every corner. So, before the first crow of the rooster signifying the crack of dawn, she hoisted Kili and left the Sect with her packed bags. She felt bad about doing it this way, but she really didn't want to exhaust herself by crying.
In order to avoid getting caught, Jean followed the path leading to the Sect's back entrance which was usually reserved for shipments and moving cargo. She pushed through the large, heavy doors and faced the world outside the Sect's walls. She took a deep breath. The sun hadn't risen, and the forests beyond were drenched in darkness. But it didn't feel as scary as she thought it to be.
"A little early for a walk," a voice called out to her from outside. Jean's head yanked in that direction and noticed a figure walking out from the shadows.
"Big Sis!" Jean exclaimed in surprise, before calming down, "I should have known."
Marie shrugged while revealing a sly smile. "Sneaking out in the middle of the night. One would think you are up to no good."
"I don't want to cry," Jean stated plainly.
"See, that's where you're mistaken," Marie chastised before pulling Jean into a hug, squishing the still-sleepy Kili between them. "You don't get to decide on this matter all by yourself. Farewells aren't just for you, they're for the people you leave behind as well."
Jean suppressed the heat making its way towards her eyes before croaking out, "You should know better than anyone else what lies in my future. Why, then, do you take part in this practice?"
Marie separated herself from Jean and said, "It is because I know what will happen - what you will do and what you will achieve on this journey - that I am here and wishing you a pleasant and fruitful journey."
"Be a bit more cryptic, why don't you?" Jean shot back with a sarcastic tone.
Marie clicked her tongue and flicked Jean on her forehead, "It seems my abrasive personality has rubbed off on you, no pun intended. Anyways, have a safe trip, try not to get into too much trouble, and make sure you return with all your body parts intact."
She then reached behind her and pulled out a wrapped package. "Just because of that snipe, I am going to ruin my surprise for you. It's a book. Read it. Understand it."
After stuffing the package into Jean's hands, she ruffled Kili's hair and whispered something into the girl's ear. She then finished with a loud statement, "Take care of your Jean for me. If she does anything stupid, you know what to do!"
Without waiting for another second, Marie turned around, walked through the doors and closed them behind her as she returned to the Sect, leaving Jean and the now partially awakened Kili by themselves.
"Umm..." Kili mumbled while rubbing her sleep-filled eyes. "Where are we?"
"We are going on a trip," Jean declared before picking up both their travel bags. "Come on, let's see how much progress we can make before sunrise."
As Jean started moving, she noticed Kili standing in place and squirming erratically.
"Kili? What's wrong?"
Kili's face turned a blushing red shade as she bit down on her lower lip in embarrassment.
"Umm..."
"What is it, Kili?"
"I-I need to go to the toilet," Kili mumbled in a low voice.
"..."
"That was a quick trip," Marie joked while approaching Jean as she stood outside the public toilets. "What did you learn? Did you gain anything out of it?"
"Oh, bite me!" Jean shot back.
"What's all this racket?" Matron Reva bellowed while swallowing a yawn. "Uh, Jean? Why are you standing with your bags packed?"
"She was about to sneak out in the middle of the night?" Marie blurted out while shooting a challenging wink in Jean's direction.
"You were what?!" Matron Reva exclaimed.
"I-I can explain," Jean chimed in immediately, hoping to quell the stout demoness's rage.
"Oh, you had better!"
And then, Jean narrated her entire story to the Matron. As she did so, the observing crowd grew in size as the other occupants of the sect started to converge. Jean had conveniently forgotten that the public bath and toilet were a high-traffic location, especially in the morning.
Ultimately, word got out, and Matron Reva left Jean no option other than to have breakfast first. After one of the most hearty and uncharacteristically heavy breakfasts of Jean's life, a horde followed her and Kili as they approached the Sect's exit (the front gates this time).
"Medium Sis, don't go!" Dora wailed. "At least leave Kili. Why are you taking her with you?!"
"Take good care of yourself, child," Matron Reva choked out between her sniffles. "Eat on time - I know that mages at your realm don't really need to eat so regularly, so what I mean to say is that you shouldn't forget to have filling meals whenever possible."
"If you get into trouble, run the other direction," Markus advised with a wavering voice. "Although I'd love to go with you, I am tied down with Sect responsibilities."
"I've already said my goodbyes," Marie said with a snort. "But a second goodbye don't hurt nobody."
And with that, Marie pulled Jean and Kili into a hug. This started a chain reaction, where everyone started to dogpile around them, causing the size of the hug to balloon from three to six to twelve to twenty people altogether.
"G-Guys..." Jean mumbled, her voice turning into a gravelly croak.
"Guys..." She repeated as the hug grew tighter and warmer.
"Guys- WAAAAAAAHHHH~!" And the floodgates opened. Jean broke down into a hysterical cry, collapsing onto her knees.
"Hey, hey!" Matron Reva blurted out as she pushed all the huggers away. "Woah! Calm down!"
"THIS *sniff* This is so embarrassing- WAAAAAAH~!" Jean couldn't control her tears. "I'm *sniff* going to miss you guys *cough* soooo~ much- WAAAAAAH~!"
"..."
The scene lasted for exactly five minutes and twenty seconds, during which the crowd dispersed awkwardly. In the Sect members' eyes, Jean was always a figure to be feared. If anyone got hurt or did something stupid that ended up causing bodily harm, Jean would rain down unparalleled fury on the transgressors. Thus, over time, she had turned into the official boogeyman of the Sect. In fact, this had gone on for so long that it turned into an inside joke with some members circulating a caricature sketch of Jean with the large text "If you die, I kill you!" above and below the drawing. Markus found it distasteful, but Jean found it hilarious and, as punishment, had the sketcher turn the thing into a stamp and printed copies of it to be posted above all the dangerous equipment in the Maker-Space.
Jean cleaned herself with a quick flurry of spells and looked at the remaining members. "Although I'm leaving, it doesn't mean that you guys are free to do as you wish. Always follow safety protocols, and make sure to keep yourself and your environment clean, if you get hurt or ill get it treated immediately. I have tasked Matron Reva with conducting the weekly checkups. If I find anything stupid written in there when I return, there will be hell to pay. And I swear on my departed mother that if I find a report of Huron cutting himself with the whittling knife once again, I will personally remove all of his fingers. And don't worry, I know a person who makes very life-like prosthetics. So look on the bright side, it is easier to find replacement parts made out of wood or metal than flesh."
The boy in question shuddered and quickly hid himself behind his taller peers.
"A demon that cries is still a demon," the boy mumbled to himself.
"Alright! We're leaving, Kili," Jean declared before walking down the steps with the bags strapped over her back.
Jean walked with purpose but without a destination. She would go where her feet would take her. She had given herself one year. One entire year to learn, practice, and grow.
She looked behind her and saw Kili walking with the same level of enthusiasm. Maybe it was the result of monkey-see-monkey-do, but it did fill Jean with more confidence and motivation.
Maybe it was the workings of fate, as Marie would put it, but Jean's destination was set the moment she stepped out of the Sect. Although she walked without direction, her internal compass was drawn, either through coincidence or purpose, towards a singular destination.
Jean caught Kili's figure slipping down her back and hoisted her securely once again. Letting out a heavy breath, she pushed aside the ramshackle fencing and looked towards the destitute and desiccated lands that lay beyond. She leapt over an artificial ravine, formed by magic and land manipulation, and walked on for a few kilometres.
The world was silent here. There were no sounds of birds, rodents, or even insects. And the plants had all but died, leaving nothing but barren earth slowly turning into sand. The land ahead was a toxic black shade and reeked of death.
"Wait here," she instructed Kili while lowering the tired girl to the ground. "I need to check something first."
After ensuring that Kili was securely situated, Jean leapt into a light jog (which was closer to the running speed of an average human). She circled eastwards for a few kilometres before decelerating and coming to a halt.
She released a heavy breath through quivering lips as she looked ahead, at a conspicuous and unnatural pit.
"I'm back, Mother," she whispered, though her voice echoed ominously all over the barren lands.
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