She started humming to herself, only to realize– Music! I need to write down everything as soon as I can, or I’m going to forget this stuff…
She couldn’t wait to get back to her room. She had so much to steal! Er…temporarily borrow, that is. So she wandered as quickly as she could, only to stop when her stomach rumbled at the sweet smell of baking bread. I can wait until after I’ve eaten… Need to eat to grow, after all!
She grinned and made her way towards the delicious smell, entering a bustling bakery. Thankfully, some things didn’t change. It looked just like one of those small-town bakeries she’d seen in all the TV shows! Only minus the glass. Like a kid in a candy store, she walked over to the shelves of lovingly displayed noms, trying to decide what she wanted. It all smelled so good!
She peeked around, trying to find a plastic sack to put her choice in, or even tongs to pick it up when she realized everyone else was simply grabbing it with their hands and walking towards the counter. Apparently, hygiene wasn’t that eminent a thing here. Also, it appeared no one stole because of the big burly dude guarding the door and watching her like a hawk that she’d just noticed. She smiled sweetly at him, then turned back to the bread.
Unfortunately, there were no names of anything written down. She’d need to make labels a thing too, just as soon as she taught the plebs to read. The only thing that was ‘labeled’ were numbers written in what looked like paint on each shelf. From 1-10, everything had a number. She assumed it was probably in the copper nuts because though Elisa hadn’t told her much about money, she had told her the price of bread, which seemed to match.
Grabbing a croissant drizzled with chocolate and a sweetbread that smelled of peaches, she walked to the counter, inwardly celebrating. Chocolate is a thing here, hallelujah! She smiled and held up her choices to the lady at the counter. The lady noted what she had and said simply, “4 Nuts.” Grinning, Jade pulled out a silver leaf and handed it to the lady, making sure to graze her hand when she passed it over. The lady handed her six little bronze nuts in return, and she cheerfully pocketed those.
“Thanks! Have a good day!” She chirped at the rather brusque saleslady, who had already moved onto the next person. She made her way back to the door, pausing to study the big brute. She looked way, way up at him, still grinning. “Hi, I’m Jade. You’ll probably see me a bunch. What’s your name?” She hadn’t wanted to ask the saleslady her name because she didn’t seem super friendly and she was busy, but brute here was just standing there glaring at people, so obviously he had more time.
He seemed a little startled that she was talking to him, and he stared her down for a moment before saying directly, “Tom.”
Nodding and make sure to brush her arm against his as she lurched out, she chirped at him too, “Okay. See you later Tom! Have a good day!” It just seemed like the right thing to say to people at work.
Munching happily on her chocolate croissant, she almost groaned aloud from sheer pleasure. The nurses had never let her have much chocolate, saying her system couldn’t handle it. Well ptooey on them, she was going to eat as much as she wanted now! Finishing it quite handily, she was licking her fingers as she finally got back to The Green Dragon.
She opened the door to a mostly empty common room. Seeing only Raphael talking to Jessica and Kaylee, who were attempting to clean as he growled at them, she spread her arms wide and declared, “Honey, I’m home! Didja miss me?”
Chapter Eight – Rumors
They were gaping at her like she was crazy...and maybe she was. Too many reruns at the hospital, but they had filled her time. Netflix and other streaming sites had been her very bestest friends. Finally, Jessica came to her rescue, asking politely, “Welcome back, Jade. Did you find what you were looking for?”
Jade tried to bounce cheerfully over to them, but probably appeared more like a demented baby gazelle. “I did! I met some really nice people and some horrid jerks.” She wasn’t staring pointedly at Raphael here, nope, not at all. He was glaring right back at her again though, so she didn’t feel very guilty about it. So far the jerks had all been connected to that academy place.
Completely ignoring her, he turned back to Jessica and Kaylee. “As I was saying, everyone else has been sent out, but no one has found her yet. Go out for a bit and see if you can find someone who knows who she is, but make sure you’re back in time to make dinner.”
Jade just listened, interested. Who exactly were they trying to find? “Whoya looking for?” She interjected.
Seeming just to want to shut her up, Raph glared and growled brusquely, “None of your business.”
“But maybe she saw something! She’s been out there for hours.” Kaylee piped up.
Now he was glaring at Kaylee like she was crazy. “You think this one, who’s had a glazed look 90% of the time I’ve seen her, would have been perceptive enough to notice something?”
Kaylee winced, but considered Jade as if measuring her. Jade stared unblinkingly at her, trying really hard not to space out. She didn’t stare off into space during her mental musings that often, did she? If so, so what? She’d been alone most of the time before, so she lived in her own brain. She was still getting used to having people around all the time. Finally, Kaylee glanced away and muttered rebelliously, “It still wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
Raphael was still glowering, but finally he bit off the words, “Fine. Ask.” Obviously, he wasn’t going to do so himself. Kaylee was still sulking at his harsh manner, so Jessica was the graceful mediator once again.
“Jade, did you happen to see the zombie healer?”
She choked on the bread she’d started nibbling on in the interim. Coughing and crying because she couldn’t get air, it took a minute for her to stop wheezing. When she finally got herself under control, she asked with a nervous chuckle, “Did I see what now?”
Raphael gave a triumphant snort as if to say ‘I told you so.’ Meanwhile, Jessica forged on, looking both determined and concerned. “The zombie healer. Well I mean, I don’t think she was really a zombie, but people say she was all covered in blood, so a little girl called her a zombie. She’s a healer.”
Yup, they were so talking about her. She couldn’t believe the gossip vine was this strong. She’d have to be careful what she did in public… Nonchalantly, she asked, “Why are you looking for her?”
Kaylee seemed excited by her evasiveness as she interjected, “So you DID see her!”
Jade glanced at the ground guiltily and asked again, “I might have. Why are you looking for her?”
At this point, even Raphael looked a little excited. He had come real close and was now looming over her. “Tell me what you know.”
Jade glared up at him, before setting her bread down on a table and standing up, forcing him to take a step back as she glared up at his large figure. “I asked you a question. Why are you looking for her?” She was getting annoyed now. Why couldn’t they just answer the dang question? Disliking the fact that she was still being looked down on by Raphael, she turned around, climbed onto the bench of the table and turned back around, crossing her arms over her chest. Now SHE was looking down on him! Only by about six inches, but still! Why does he have to be so dang tall? It’s not fair.