12 Chapter Four || This Crazy Lady

The following morning, the girl and the fox made their way to the forest edge. Essairyn had moved the black claw into her magic cache and decided to travel to the town below the cliff where the forest was situated.

Other than delving deeper into the forest, or trying to get to the other side where that megacity was shrouded in mist, the optimal option was to travel the sweeping expanse below.

From her vantage point above the ancient tree, Essairyn had plotted out a potential adventuring path. After visiting the first town, she would make her way northeast through the other towns to the metropolis that spanned the right horizon.

"Are you ready?" asked Essairyn once they exited the forest.

"Of course! I'm glad to be out of those woods," answered Akari, stretching her legs.

"…But you're a fox."

"What does that have to do with anything?" bristled Akari, "Can't a spirit travel like any other creature? Besides, I'm a god; I can go wherever I want, hmph."

Essairyn sighed amusedly, "I suppose so. This is a different world after all." Perhaps animals weren't confined to the wilderness.

The girl offered her forearm to the alleged spirit god. The god in question grudging accepted, hopped on, and trotted up to her shoulder. Essairyn smiled and then strolled to the edge of the precipice.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in the invigorating cliff air and scrunched her face in contentment. She stretched out her arms to her side before raising them above her head. She then put them on her hips and gazed out at the landscape below, satisfied.

"HELLOOO WORLD!" Essairyn hollered, waving her arms enthusiastically, "ARE YOU READYY?!"

Akari's skin jumped in fright at Essairyn's random shouting.

"What the heck!" Akari shouted in vexation.

Essairyn burst out laughing.

The fox gave a little disgruntled huff.

"You're so weird!"

If foxes could cross their arms, Akari surely would have in this moment. But paying the vexed fox no mind, Essairyn scooped a secure hand around Akari's back.

"Come on! Let's go!" she shouted, taking a crouched step towards the precipice.

"Huh? What're you-" Akari began before her voice died in strangled screams as they fell through open air. Essairyn had leapt from the cliff in an arc, and the two were now accelerating towards the bottom.

Catching her breath, Akari screeched, "You're insaneee!!" to a jauntily falling Essairyn.

The girl was getting a kick out of the panicking fox, and she felt a strange sense of adrenaline torrenting throughout her. If she didn't know she could fly, she'd never willingly jump off a point hundreds of feet high.

She also wasn't sure whether she still believed this world was real even after a night's sleep and she subconsciously wanted to wake up, or whether she was pushing the boundaries to confirm this wasn't a dream in a dream and she could do anything.

Suddenly, Essairyn was brought out of her musings and realized that her hand had slipped from Akari's back. She began to fall faster than the fox, and Akari goggled down at Essairyn in alarm. They were already more than halfway down the cliff.

Before Akari gained substantial distance between them, Essairyn reached a hand towards the fox and released a bolt of magic. It sparked around Akari and slowed her descent. The bewildered fox looked at the girl who had drifted further away in the process.

But Essairyn nonchalantly casted the magic around her, and she too began falling slower. She then casted another spell, and a magic circle appeared underneath her. She landed on the circle with a soft thump and thereby stopped her descent.

She looked up at the steadily descending Akari. As soon as the fox also landed, the magic circle started moving toward the ground at an incline. Once they neared the bottom, Akari jumped off into the grass, muttering obscure profanities.

"Whew!" Essairyn breathed as she stepped down, "That was exciting!"

Akari only glared in response. She was stuck with this crazy lady. But, the fox couldn't deny the rush received in her adventurous soul from the jump.

"Looks like this leads to the nearby town," Essairyn said, pointing at the wide, dirt road a few feet away. She had purposefully flown near the roadside and walked from the grass onto the bare earth.

Akari followed, commenting, "Aren't you going to fly to the town? That'd be much quicker."

Essairyn pursed her lips, reasoning, "I could, but you can probably only use so much magic in a day, right? Even though I'm not tired, I might as well conserve it for now."

"Hm, I guess that's right," Akari murmured, "Revealing what magic you have to strangers is probably not a good idea anyway, especially since you're human."

Essairyn nodded, and the two strolled briskly on their way.

Before long, a medium sized wagon appeared from behind the bend of the cliffs. It looked to be made of cherrywood and was drawn by four stout horses. It had an arched roof, a shuttered window on the left side, and a windowed door on the right. Green curtains draped across a window in the front, and metal accented doors closed the back.

It soon caught up with the two adventurers as the morning melted into the afternoon.

"Hello there, young miss," greeted the middle-aged driver, slowing down his wagon to match their pace.

"Oh? A fox spirit?" he remarked, noticing that the creature walking beside her was not a small dog as he had thought.

"Why're you traveling the roads on foot with a fox spirit, miss?"

Clamor arose from inside the wagon as he spoke, and a little head popped out from in-between the green seat curtains. It was a young boy.

"Huh? A girl? And a fox spirit?" observed the older boy, "What're you doing with a fox spirit?"

"Now now, don't be rude, Gerran," a gentle voice corrected from inside.

The little boy scrunched up his face in dissatisfaction.

"It's Jerry, not Gerran, mother!"

The mother laughed and parted the green curtains.

"Oh my, what's a pretty young lady doing out here in the middle of the roads by herself?" she exclaimed softly, "And what's this? A fox spirit indeed!"

Essairyn smiled politely at the family, and Akari rolled her eyes.

"I have a name you know," retorted Akari, startling the woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You two are..?" she asked.

Essairyn glanced from the father to the son and back to the mother again. They seemed like perfectly ordinary and safe people. Besides, maybe she could get a ride to the neighboring town if she was friendly.

"Essairyn," she replied, "And this is Akari."

"Akari?" the man echoed thoughtfully, "That name sounds awfully familiar for some reason."

The woman shooed away her husband's remark, saying, "Essairyn, if you're going to the next town, why don't you and Akari travel with us in the wagon? It'd be much quicker and safer than walking. And I wouldn't feel right leaving a girl like you to fend for yourself."

Essairyn smiled gratefully, replying, "That's kind of you to offer. Thank you."