She rummaged through her clothes picking out her only pair of denim shorts and a loose, black t-shirt with a pessimistic 'Emo'-like slogan saying 'Life's A B*tch' in bold white letters. She thought it fitting for her current situation, and her overall mood that day.
She didn't have any decent workwear, so Edda let her borrow a pair of her work boots. They were brown ankle boots with laces, a small heel and good grip. They were slim and surprisingly light but were a bit too big. Jaz was a six, sometimes a seven if they were small sizing. These were a very big size seven. She put them on and walked back into the living room.
Skye was waiting for her by the door, exactly as she'd promised. She gave Jaz a whimsical smile and cocked her head back signalling for Jaz to follow her.
They walked for what seemed like forever. Up to the enormous dome building, turning right towards the surrounding southwesterly woods that then led them through a vast maze of oak, birch and ash trees. They were so tall Jaz could barely see the top of them even when she craned her neck all the way back. She had never imagined that England could have so many untouched forests, so mystical and deep. She could imagine goblins and elves peering behind trunks, or Robin Hood swinging by.
She felt completely calm underneath the green covering though she had never felt that way before. Then again, she'd always lived in a town. Her house had a few trees scattered at the end of the back garden but nothing like this. They must have been hundreds of years old.
How have they kept it safe for so long? Is it a preserved site? Who owns the land? These were questions she wasn't sure whether to ask. Maybe it was a secret and they didn't want their territory to be known to the outside.
Jaz was an outsider. And probably always would be.
She felt oddly at peace under the protective covering of all the old trees, with their bird companions chirping away high up in their branches. She could hear much more clearly than ever and the sound was at times very uncomfortable and pierced her eardrums. Despite that, it added to the illusion of being held close by all the wildlife around her, as if Mother Nature was grasping her in a warm, earthy embrace. Jaz's facetious mental voice wasn't sure how to respond to that. Instead, she smirked under her breath.
Skye turned around and eyed Jaz with the same smile she had given her before: a curious mixture of lightheartedness and mischievousness, as if she was laughing inwardly at some private joke, probably involving Jaz.
“Bet you're wondering how we came to be in this place, huh?” Skye commented.
Jaz's brows flicked up in surprise. What was it with these people? Sometimes they seemed to know her trail of thought. As if they could read her mind.
Maybe Skye really had and that was the private joke. Jaz balked, hating her extreme paranoia. She scolded herself: what else would a newbie be thinking when she was finally getting to see the outside? It didn't take a clairvoyant to work that one out.
But still...