A Quiet Stroll

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Owen wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up here, but somehow, it happened. The walk was a long one, but at least there had some sort of path here or he probably wouldn't have bothered at all. He checked by his side to see if Jami was still present, and he would smile faintly, before checking the course before him, careful not to trip over a stray vegetable or whatnot.

The wind was slightly chilly, but by no means freezing, and the distinct scent of fall hung in the air. The clouds patched the air slightly, but thankfully, it didn't seem like they would rain much at all. However, dew still dripped from the plants surrounding them, signalling that it may have rained recently.

"Y'know," he began, his eyes straying over towards the plants, and beyond that, the stables. "I've never actually been to this part. Seen it from a window - yeah - never bothered going." He let out a heavy breath, still rather tired, before blinking as if he'd just remembered something. He looked to her. "Didn't you say you wanted to fly or something?"

(had to retype this...first version was way better too)

The day had seemed to have gotten better since they had left the stuffy room. The fresh air must have been though cause. Jami returned the smile Owen gave when he had looked back. On the way to the Garden, Jami had released her wings again and had occasionally hovered for a couple steps every now and then. All the vegetables around them were full of mostly green from it being there season. They were still in the ground or on a plant, but they seemed to be healthy and nutritious anyway.

The weather was beautiful, just as it always was in the fall. She was glad for her clothing choice today. It had seemed to fit very nicely. Her white loose knit beret matched her fitting long sleeve shirt and her scarf. She was glad she wore her dark blue jeans instead of white pants though. The dirt from the garden would have ruined them. There was no need for stains.

"I came here once after meeting Leon while flying. He informed d me Yuuki was hurt here and I came to help her." Her thoughts moved off the topic quickly and Jami nodded her head to Owen's comment. Her wings started to flutter furiously. She shot up in the air and kept going until she felt she was at an appropriate height. Then she made a nose dive towards Owen, pulling up a few meters above his head. She continued on to a bunch of loops and spirals.

At Jami's statement, Owen looked rather confused, and he gave her a strange look. However, he didn't have enough time to question this before she took off. He watched her fly around, reeling backwards in surprise when the wind whipped past him, and he probably would have lost his balance if he hadn't struck out his crutch in time behind him. She made it look so effortless, but he made his best attempt not to feel any jealousy. He didn't fancy flying, but it would make his life a hell of a lot easier.

However, despite the display, the question still lingered strongly in his mind. He really wanted answers. "Hey," he called. "Who's Leon? And why was Yuuki hurt?" The name 'Leon' seemed almost painfully familiar, but he couldn't quite recall who it was. And why did stuff always seem to happen with Yuuki...?

Jami heard a sound voice off through her air stream and looked down. This time she went upright and slowly made her descent. "Leon? He was that bastard from the cliffs... I have to say he is a little less of an ass now but I still don't like him. Yuuki was hurt from that demon thign iside her." Jami found herself being quiet candid. She tucked a loose hair behind her ear, not wanting to mess up her beret. Her breathing was a bit heavy from working so hard. She really needed to go flying more, it was great exercise and would strengthen her back again.

Jami rolled her shoulder's and twister her trunk. "that felt great! I think I'll do that more often!" She smiled and Owen. Looking down brought her gaze to a little section of... were they carrots? She pulled one up and brushed the dirt of the best she could. It was a pretty good size so she held it out for Owen to have a look. "Isn't that cool?" Jami was acting just a tiny bit hyper from the sweet adrenaline in her veins.

"From the cliffs...?" It took a moment to register, but when it did, his expression twisted to that of a rather distasteful one. His eyes almost automatically trailed back to his foot again, which was slightly raised from the ground, still bandaged. He hadn't seen under those bandages in a while now, but the memory of the sight was still painfully fresh. "...Oh, him." He almost considered asking why Jami was with him - after all, they hadn't been on friendly terms. But he decided to let it lie. He didn't want to question everything.

"Demon thing... that was from the caves right..?" he murmured, half to himself. He tiredly watched Jami as she decided to react rather over excitedly to a... carrot? He made a face, looking from the orange vegetable to her face and back. "...It's a carrot, Jami." He turned his head away, uninterested. "I don't like that stuff much anyway." He almost felt bad for raining on her parade. A loud yawn slipped from his mouth, and he look around. "Is there somewhere to sit? We've been walking so much..." he complained.

Jami nodded as Owen registered who Leon was. She had a quick glance at his foot then back up. Those bandages would need to be changed again soon. No doubt it looked better hen last time, but she worried there might be infection she hadn't detected. Jami push the thoughts from her mind, deeming them unlikely. Jami nodded again when He asked about the caves. She hadn't wanted t talk to much again. It always got her in trouble.

The rejection of the carrot was surprising. Who would hate carrots! they were delicious! Jami ate them once a day in her village to help her eyes, her mom had told her. Either way, like them or not, she put the carrot back in the ground. Her nails got some dirt under them but she didn't care. A quick look around showed a open space in the garden. "How is there? Is your leg bothering you?" She was a bit worried but she was trying not to be to emotional.

He noticed Jami was being rather quiet, or at least, quiet by her standards. He raised an eyebrow, wondering if he'd done anything wrong without realising it. He noticed her glance down at his foot again, and he tried to grin in a somewhat reassuring way.

At her suggestion, he looked out towards the space, and frowned. It was muddy. And it wasn't merely the grime he was bothered about - he could've dealt with that without batting an eyelid. But mud, he saw, wasn't the most stable support for his footing. He quickly found that he would prefer standing than to risk slipping over. He shook his head. "I dun' wanna fall," he shrugged. "It's bothering me, of course it is. But trust me, I'm used to this. I've been disabled before.." he trailed off slightly, looking out at the garden with a rather blank expression.

Jami looked around again, where would be a good place to sit? Her worry showed after his comment of i bothering him. She was half suprisewd Owen had had been 'dsabled' before. "Really? What did you do?" she asked truly interested. She herself got hurt quite a lot but hearing about others injuries was always interesting.

Jami finally gave up looking around and went over to a pile of wood and gave it a good stare. It must have been for making a sectioned off area of the garden or for holding up heavier plants but Jami had other plans. She picked up some nails that were laying by the wood and went over to the muddy space. A couple boards later, there was a nice plat form on top if the mud.

Jami decided to take the rest of the wood and make a simple bench, more like a stool. short on height but big on booty space. It didn't take very long, and it didn't look half bad either. Happy with her quick work she turned back to Owen. "That better?" She smiled wide, glad to show of her building skillz.

(MAGICALLY APPEARING BENCH MATERIALS!)

(MAGIIIICC. Blame Rendaz!)

"Well," he began, not sure quite where to begin. "I, um... It..." He trailed off, suddenly regretting bringing it up at all. It wasn't something he wanted to recollect at this point - a memory better left rotting in the past. Instead, he tried to shift the subject onto something slightly related. "...My dad has a weird foot too," he said. "It's prosthetic. Sometimes he likes to show it off."

He watched Jami start to build... something, he wasn't quite sure what it was, but he continued to talk through it. "He got it loads of years ago... When we were trying to chop down a tree in our garden. He let me borrow the axe, and then..." He trailed off, an eyebrow raised, wondering if Jami would get the implication. "...It didn't come clean off or nothing. But it got badly infected and he had to get it amputated." He chuckled. "Didn't tell anyone else it was my fault though. He always blamed himself."

His mouth twisted into a grin when he saw what she had created. "Ha. Is that for me?" He stepped forward carefully onto the muddy surface. The crutches sunk in slightly, and after experimentally pressing them down, he found that they'd be able to take his weight without slipping too much. It took two more careful steps like this until he reached the bench, to which he held out his elbow, expecting assistance onto it. The bench was a little low for him, and he couldn't be too certain if it would even hold.

Jami had been listening to Owen's story the whole time she had been building. "Yeah use it all, i don't need to sit!" To explain she hovered in the air and lay on her stomach. As Owen stepped forward she up-righted herself and held his elbow. No need to make him fall. Jami guided him over to the low stool. The was enough room to put up his leg if he wanted. She didn't cut the boards so they where still quite long. Even while helping Owen to sit on her quick little invention she admired how she had put supports on the board holing the rest of the contraption up.

"So... you cut his foot of huh? That's not to bad, Like you said he has a replacement."

As Jami helped him, he carefully lowered himself onto the stool, taking a big sigh of relief once he was seated. Of course, said problem of sitting would be nullified if he'd been equipped with a wheelchair instead of crutches - although that would probably cause more problems than it would fix. He slowly lifted his leg onto the bench, leaning back on his hand to look at Jami as she hovered. "That's pretty convenient," he observed.

Although, at her following comment, he did find himself suppressing the urge to frown. "It wasn't that easy," he shrugged. "He had to give up his job as a fireman. I always kinda saw him as a hero, but..." His eyebrows creased as he trailed off. He wasn't sure he wanted to share this with Jami. He cracked a forced smile. "Funny, isn't it? We both ended up losing a foot... Like father like son." He looked off into the distance.

Of course She smiled as Owen addressed the convenience she had made. She was proud of her quick work. Though if she had the time she would have made it grand! "Hey, don't go talking all bleh now! Your foot isn't going to fall off. I say give it a few more months and you'll be able to start strengthening it. You tissues as far as I can detect are happily growing back, fabulous work cells are..." She trailed of thinking of molecules and anatomy...why wasn't she taking science? Maybe next semester.

Jami's accent suddenly went to an American accent, it was one she preferred around other's not from England. It wasn't a southern accent, but it defiantly wasn't a whinny guidette one. Mostly a nice middle state one. "So how was your dad with the new foot? If you don't mind my asking. My uncle almost lost an arm once, but I wasn't there when it happened. Mum sent my a letter.... Do you hear from them much?" Never mind the whole, be quiet task. It was an impossible one for her it seemed.

Jami wished her mother would talk to her more. She got a letter once every year on her birthday. Jami would always send a letter to say where she was staying when she had moved. It was a bit worrying thinking she wouldn't likely be getting one this year. She had told her mother she was going to school in Scotland, and she probably couldn't talk in a while...

"Hey, I didn't say it would," he defensively piped, putting his crutches down to the side. He paused. "You know, I might not have to wait a few months. Rein said he might be able to replace my foot with someone else's..." It was an idea he'd wanted to dismiss, mostly because of the risks he'd mentioned, but the more he thought about it, the more he considered taking it seriously. Did he really want to wait so long if there was a quick fix?

He chuckled - Jami seemed to be herself again. "He wasn't happy, yeah. He got over it after a few years. It's a good story to tell to his friends, even though he makes half of it up," he smirked. "Wrestled with a bear... like hell he did."

The following question was unexpected, and he had to think about it. "...I don't think I have a letter from them yet. But I think I'll get something for Christmas if they haven't forgotten about me," he joked darkly.

A Horrified look crossed her face, "A...a new new? That's decaying and most likely in worse condition then your own?! Owen! Don't do that! Wouldn't you rather have a healthy working foot that's YOUR foot, or someone else's who is DEAD. " Hopefully she could make him wish he had never even considered it. Hopeful Od would back her up on the thought.

She took a deep breath and flew once around the garden. "Sorry, just it's hard for a nurse to hear those things." She gave a little chuckle and moved on in her mind. Jami patted his leg very lightly and gave a shy smile.

Now her minisode was over she started to think about the ball again...

Jami's shocked reaction shouldn't have surprised him, seeing as the kind of things they were dealing with. He supposed that she was imagining a rotting zombie's foot than a fresh one from the recently deceased, but now that he thought about it, where exactly would he get a fresh corpse from?

He raised both of his arms, waving them as if he was trying to calm down an animal. "Hey, hey, I know, I felt that way too!" he insisted. "But... it'd be just like a transplant wouldn't it? I mean, I'm not gonna get one from those hugging zombies you see around here, but what if it was a good, healthy one? He said it could work." He also said that his body may violently reject it, or poison him, but he omitted those needless details.

He simply nodded at her apology, but he was still insistent on proving a point, whether or not he doubted his own side.

When The foot discussion was continued she looked down and shook her head. "Owen. If you did that, where would he even get it! Not to mention it wouldn't be equal, No one person's foot is the exact same as yours. You may have balance issues and two shoe sized. Even If Rein gets a close size it'll never be a perfect match and it will be extremely uncomfortable. Whilst having your own foot will be natural. Not to mention having your foot grow back would be less painless and way faster." She was now intensely looking at him. If he was serious she didn't want him to make the wrong decision.

After she left a pause for it too set in she continued. "I want to show you your foot soon. You will see how much it's healed. Why fake your body out by switching something it's working really had to do just for you, with something foreign. It would take so much longer for it to get accustom to the new foot and learn how to fix it and such, then if it continued on it's beautifully fast and constant repair as it is!" Jami had said so much but every word was truth and she was so into her side.

Jami's rant got to him, she defended her side so passionately after all. However, his thoughts were still conflicting. She seemed determined to prove that foot he possesed now was fine and healthy, but it wasn't. He hated it. Rein had said himself, it would never heal completely back to the way it was before. And it wasn't painless either - Owen couldn't walk on it at all because of it. Why don't you try walking around like this for a month or two and see how you like it! he wanted to snap, but he bit his lips before the words escaped.

He sighed, calming down and facing her. He lowered his arms. "Okay. Fine. I won't do it." The look he gave her was serious. "You happy?" He returned to his lounging position with his arm behind him - comfortable, but not completely relaxed.

However, no matter what Jami said, the thought still lingered. Walking, however awkwardly and uncomfortable, was better than not walking at all.

Jami sighed in relief. But he seemed a little ticked off. "Yes thank you. I really believe it'll be better this way." Jami hovered down closer to the bench and made her way behind the boy. She had a look around at the food again before addressing him," You seem .. tight, you need anything? Jami placed a hand on his shoulder lightly.

Some leaves from a near by tree blew across the dirt around them, trying to find a new destination. She smiled at all the different colors and took a deep breath. Why did Owen and herself keep fighting today. A white glow started in her hand and she put it to her head. A feeling of a clear mind was created. It was always a good way for her to stop getting upset. But of course it wasn't forever.

"Mmhmm." The agreement was quiet and curt - and he avoided eye contact with her. The thought still prevailed, but he didn't want to argue any more. Tensions had been running too high lately. Eventually, he turned his head to face her again as his shoulder was touched. An eyebrow raised. "I'm fine. Really." A smile twitched at the corner of his lips.

"Can't be bothered dealing with all this drama anyway," he yawned, stretching an arm out lazily before him. "There's just hardly anything to do... I mean, I know I never did much before, but now I keep noticing stuff that I wanna do but I can't." He blinked, hoping that he made sense. "Haven't turned to a lizard since... that time. I shouldn't, but I wanna. Would make some classes easier." His finger trailed the edge of the bench.

"What do you do when there's nothing to do anyway? Could use... suggestions," he smirked.

Jami was as always worrying. Owen was important to her and she kept upsetting him, and he himself was in a bad shape anyway. Jami placed here other hand on the oposite shoulder and leaned forward so she was speaking next to his head, "Are you sure? I give killer massages." She caught a hint of a smile from him and smile as well. Straightening her back she listened to his troubles.

"I have an idea of what you mean, maybe we can ask Od if would be OK.?" The thought of him changing was a controversial one in her head, If he did, he would be stronger, but also it may mess up the foot, she had no clue about Ruckarls anatomy, or any more information on Owen's changes other then it happens.

Jami's face had a devious smile and in a soft, flirtatious tone she replied, "Owen, there's a lot you can do, you just have to know where to find it."

"Killer, huh?" He raised a brow. "I don't think I'm ready to die just yet. Thanks though." His tone was laced with a playful sarcasm, and he raised a hand to touch her's lightly as it rested on his shoulder.

Her idea was dismissed with a lazy wave of his hand. "Nah. Wouldn't wanna bother him. He'd probably say no." Either that or he wouldn't care. "I can't anyway. Hurts quite a bit." A massive understatement. One that he wasn't inclined to develop further. He had already transformed once like this when he turned from the lizard to a human, and it wasn't anything he wanted to repeat without a vital reason.

It was her later comment that caught him by surprise, and he leaned away from her, giving her a strange look. "What's that supposed to mean?" he coughed, embarrassed.

Jami laughed a bit at his sarcasm. And agreed with his statement. He was absolutely right. The patient knows how they feel, so if it hurts, it hurts! And His last comment made her giggle even more then she was going to. "Oh don't mind it, I am just playing with you" She gave him a big smile. The reaction that was given was a fumy one.

Jami looked up at the sky then back at Owen. "So what do you want to do? I am out of idea's."

"Hmm." A half-amused chuckle hummed in his throat as a rather forced grin appeared on his lips. Just playing? Oh no, she did that on purpose, just to see his reaction. Cruel and cunning. He tried not to look like it bothered him. Not that it did too much though, but he'd only wished she'd warn him.

"I don't wanna... do anything," he shrugged, returning to his relaxed posture. Being the lazy bum he was, well, of course not. It felt like he'd only just sat down, and he had no intention of running off elsewhere yet. Laying on his back, he looked up to the clouds. The sight bored him quickly, and he closed his eyes. "I'm happy just sorta... talking."

Jami giggled and looked down at him as he layed back. She herself decided to as well but she laid on her stomach and hovered next to him. "Talking is nice, if you know what to talk about. If you are just talking random things, the other tends to loose interest, oui? Maybe we could play another game?" She brushed her hair behind her ears a bit angrily.

"Got any idea's? " She looked to him expectantly. Would her new friend would possibly share more with her then he had before, and as she may?

Owen gave her an incredulous look at her remarks. "Oh, and I thought talking was your profession?" he quipped as he turned his head to the side. An arm reached out to give her a nudge on the shoulder, with the intention to put her slightly off balance. Out of boredom, of course.

At the thought of a game, he paused, thinking. "How 'bout twenty questions or something? I'll think of something, and you gotta ask me questions about it, and I'll answer with a 'yes' or 'no' till you get it." He raised an eyebrow at Jami in a challenging manner. "Sound good? I already have my idea."