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If it ever would become safe. They could always hope. But as long as he would be chased by the government and she would be seen as an accomplish, the likelihood it becoming safe was incredibly slim. They could hope, but probably shouldn't expect it any time soon. They would need a major revolution to bring magicians and non-magicians together. If that ever happened, then they would probably be free.

There was of course the chance that the guards would give up spying on her family members when she failed to show up. But that would most likely not happen for many years to come. They probably realized that Leilani and Jonathan would stay away for a while until they felt safe with visiting the people they trusted. How long might they wait for the two escapees? Five years? Maybe even ten. Maybe more. The worst about the situation was that they had no way of checking if someone were spying on her family once they thought it might be safe. Jonathan doubted Leilani knew how to use spells to look after skilled spies that had been trained in hiding magic for ages. He didn't know much about magic, but teaching oneself such things was probably extremely hard, especially when they didn't even have books that could help them. On top of that, Jonathan wouldn't be able to help her at all when it came to magic. He didn't know enough about it, he couldn't use it, and she couldn't practice on him. Of course when he thought about her practicing on people he did think about safe magic, like healing or finding people.

"Agreed. Once it's safe we'll go." He told her, though he didn't mention his concern over the time it would take. At least a few years, but maybe never. That was certainly things she did not want to hear.

"We should get to sleep. It's best to start walking when the suns first light hits you." Jonathan then said. "At least during summer. If you did the same during winter, then you would get incredibly lazy considering it rarely comes up." He chuckled. It was a pretty bad joke. Though considering he'd been all alone for so long, it might have been excusable. "Could you throw water on the fire?" He asked. It didn't seem too much to ask for since she had been refilling the bottle quite a lot. It was definitely easier than collecting dirt from all around and throw at it until it finally stopped burning. He should probably watch out. Her magic might just make him lazy.
 
"Hmm, I guess travelling would be really slow as well in that case considering how early the sun sets." Leilani said, still smiling, it might not have been the best joke ever but it was still amusing. Without too much trouble she pulled forth enough watrer to douse the fire with enough water to dampen the remains of the branches and the surrounding ground thouroughly so that the fire wouldn't start up on it's own just because some parts were still smouldering. Leilani proceeded to take out her sweater she had stuffed in her bag and pulling it over her head, glad she kept a sweater tucked in her bag in case it got cold instead of carrying a jacket to work everyday and if it started raining she could just keep the raindrops away from her. The chill that had started to seep through her blouse after the fire went out was quickly replaced by a cosy warmth and even if she would start freezing like hell in the early morning hours she would at least fall asleep feeling warm, she had camped a handful of times as a child, although in a tent, and in her experience the late night to early morning hours were the worst since they tended to be so cold even if the day was warm. Remembering the meat that still were stuck in the ground Leilani went over to a bush and grabbed a few large leaves that she wrapped the meat in before placing them in the bag, it would have been immensly helpful if she had anything else to carry them in but her bag was unfortunately not filled with helpful items to use when on the run.

"I suppose sleeping on the ground is something to get used to," she said with a doubtful look at the forest floor. "If I wake up with spiders nesting in my hair or ants in my clothes I'm not going to be very happy." Choosing a spot with a layer of moss and grass that probably would be as comfortable as one could be when sleeping on the ground Leilani curled up as small as she could make herself, wishing to wake up free from any creepy guests the next morning, if she could even fall asleep. Despite the relative soft spot she'd found the cold ground was hard, jutting into her hip and shoulder, and Leilani doubted she would fall asleep easily, not to mention her thoughts still being a mess and the tiredness she had felt earlier didn't seem to still be around. Despite believing otherwise she fell asleep rather quickly, barely having time to wish Jonathan a good night, while wondering how good it could actually be and she was out like a light.

What woke her was the cold, the crisp morning air seeped through her clothes and caused her to fumble about for her covers vaguely wondering if she forgot to close the window the night before, her eyes shot open when her hands brushed across slightly damp grass instead of her bed. Reality crashed down on her as recent events came back to her and she contemplated if it was worth a try to go back to sleep but decided against it, Jonathan had wanted them to leave early and it was not that tempting to stay on the ground anyway. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, pulling a hand through her hair, removing a few pieces of moss that clung to it, Leilani cowered a large yawn with her hand, what she wouldn't give for some coffee right now, definitely not a morning person the only reason she had woken up by herself was the fact she had slept on the ground.

Looking around to see if Jonathan was awake before standing up, brushing off her jeans as she did so. "Morning," another yawn followed her greeting when he was up. "Did you sleep well?" Although there was no doubt that Jonathan was a lot more used then her when it came to sleeping outside and wake up early both to keep safe and because of the all else but soft ground. "The apple tree is just a bit past those trees over there by the way," she said while pointing a bit to the left of where they had been headed yesterday, remembering his suggestion about today's meals.
 
"Don't worry about that." Jonathan told her while laying down on the ground. "They'll probably crawl into your mouth and you'll swallow them without thinking about it." He weren't even joking. If she only knew how many insects people swallowed unknowingly in their sleep. He didn't get an answer though. Maybe she was already sleeping. That was good. He had been afraid she would have a hard time in the beginning. But it seemed like she had gotten exhausted enough to drift of immediately. "Good night." Jonathan whispered before closing his eyes and letting himself drift off into a dreamland.

He didn't dream much though. He just fell asleep and suddenly woke up, only remembering the dark from having closed his eyes. Sometimes he wondered if he actually dreamed and just forgot about it once he woke up, or if he was abnormal and just couldn't dream for some reason. Considering he couldn't be affected by magic it might not be completely impossible not to dream. If his father hadn't talked so much about dreams and how to interpret them, then he wouldn't even have known that people actually dreamed all the time.

The teen woke up to the noise of something moving close to him. For a moment he had completely forgotten about Leilani, thus rushed to sit up to see what animal had closed in on him. There was no animal in sight. Just a female getting some moss out of her hair.

"Just as usual I suppose." He replied. Had he slept well? He hadn't had a bad sleep at least, but he weren't sure if it could be called well. He didn't have much to compare to, so the usual it was.

Standing up, he stretched his body so that his muscles could wake up and the blood flow around a bit faster. "Let's go for the apples immediately. There's not much to do except for get on out way after all." He told her before starting to walking in the direction she had pointed out to him. "So, it was your first night outside. How did you sleep?" He asked her. It was a bit hard to even imagine someone like her, whom was used to a nice and warm bed, having had a good nights sleep in the cold grass. Sure, it was only cold during the early mornings, but that could disrupt ones sleep tremendously. Lucky her she hadn't become a fugitive during the winter period. Hopefully they could be somewhere slightly warm once that period came. Trying to find shelter and warmth in a snow covered landscape wasn't the easiest thing to do for a labeled criminal.
 
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Better than I would have thought actually," she said, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she followed Jonathan towards the fruit tree, feeling just a little stiff after the hours spent on the ground. "It was not comfortable but seeing as I did sleep like a log it it can't have been too bad, besides it could have been a lot worse." Like it probably would be when they reached the mountain and there would be no grass to soften the ground and no chance to grow it herself or if it had been winter, sleeping outside in the cold she didn't even want to think about, coming from a much warmer place than this part of the land Leilani didn't like the cold very much although she at the same time liked the snow. On a more positive note after the night outside she had not found any unwanted insects on her, at least not so far and the one good thing about winter was that insects and animals like bears would not be around.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Reaching the apple tree that thankfully had a lot of apples that had yet to fall to the ground and become spoiled Leilani reached up to gather what would fit in her bag, only reaching the lowest branches without trouble but there were plenty to pluck from any height so she didn't have to use magic to gather them. Not the biggest of apples but they were sweet with a hint of sourness, not much a of a breakfast maybe and not a substitute for coffee, but it filled the stomach at least for a while. Having picked enough apples to last a while without making the bag ridiculously heavy Leilani threw away an apple core from one she had been eating, while knowing people that actually ate the entire apple, core included, Leilani had never been able to even try to be that thourough when eating them.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Do you take the mountain way often or is that something rare?" Curious to know how much he knew about traversing a mountain since her knowledge about it went as deep as you could get from looking at them from a distance, and also realising she knew nothing about where he had been in the past, rarely the same time twice but that didn't mean he never did it. "Is there a way across the mountain or do we have to climb?" She asked, falling into step with him in the direction they had been headed yesterday before stopping. "Don't tell me there is tunnels," she added, if she had disliked the sewers then that was nothing compared to her unease of being underground that deep.[/BCOLOR]
 
"Just wait until we get up into the mountains. You'll be lucky if your back won't run away from you." Jonathan grinned before he started to pick their breakfast. He couldn't burden himself with too many as that would slow him down even if he didn't notice it, and they would rot if he had more than he could eat. So he settled on seven, plus the one he was currently eating. If they could last a week, then he would most likely be able to eat all of them.

The whole apple was soon gone as they started to walk towards the mountain. Even the apple core got swallowed as he had learned to not waste anything as long as it wasn't poisonous. His father had even wanted him to eat the liver, brain, stomach, and all the other organs from animals if food was hard to come by. Jonathan did eat the most of it, but he had never been able to stomach a brain. Even he had limits.

Then Leilani started to question him. Jonathan looked back at her with an almost apologetic but still entertained smirk. Of course there would be tunnels. "While we could climb, that would be far too dangerous for both of us. I'm no expert in mountain climbing and I'm not going to risk my life just because I'm on the run." He told her. People might climb in the mountains for fun, but that was an incredible inconvenient way of travel if you actually wanted to travel fast. "And while there are other ways around the mountain, they are both longer and more dangerous than the tunnels. Don't worry about it, I always get my hand on maps when I get into a new territory. I make sure I'm prepared no matter which escape route I take. We'll get through this mountain in no time." Jonathan assured her before looking forward and continuing to walk.

"But no, I don't take mountain ways very often. I'm not completely unfamiliar with it though. It happens once, maybe twice a year during summers. It would be suicide to try it during winter. There's nothing to eat up there during that time." He replied to her first question before adding. "I mainly go through forests and cities. I try to avoid too open spaces as much as possible. Even if it's on a way people rarely takes, there's still the possibility to be spotted. In a crowd however, there will be so many people no one will take notice of you as long as you act normal. Remember that."
 
"Sounds lovely," Sleeping on rock was probably about as uncomfortable as he said but they wouldn't be on the mountain forever and maybe it was something you would get used to after a while. It would be much worse spending the nights inside the tunnels, she couldn't imagine it would be very nice even if they could keep a fire going during the night, they would be quite protected at least, not that that made it any better in reality though.

But maybe she should just start accepting that whatever she didn't like would happen in some way or other and stop her wishful thinking that there may be another way around it and try to see the positive side instead. "Great," she huffed, blowing out a small resigned sigh at the thought. The thought of travelling underground didn't seem to bother Jonathan much but Leilani would rather take the more risky way around the peaks than take the way below, almost anyway since with no experience at all she was convinced she'd end up falling quite quickly. The weather could switch quickly in the mountains as well so that was another reason it was safer and faster to go through instead of over the mountains, logic was not always a good thing.

She could take the enclosed space without too much trouble, with only the slight, irrational fear that the massive amount of rock above would suddenly cave in after stayig solid for who knew how long, but she wasn't claustrofobic although she wouldn't exactly like to live deep below ground either for that matter. "If I light up our way and you are in charge of finding the way then I know who to blame if we get lost at least," she teased, deciding to ignore the problem until it actually was in front of her.

"When we have passed the mountain and are done in Quillos can we at least head south after that? Unless we find anything before that of course." She added, looking sideways at Jonathan. "I haven't been to the ocean in a long while and it's much warmer there as well," It would have been much warmer and comfortable if they headed closer to where she grew up but since that was an island off the coast that would be both hard and a stupid thing to do. But the southern coast was warm enough even if the climate was still temperate it was not at all as cold as it could get around these more northern parts.
 
"It's no big deal even if we get lost." Jonathan chuckled. "I've been lost hundreds of times before. As long as you can find food and keep on walking, you will eventually find your way again. We're outlaws, it's not like anyone will be waiting for us to come back." He continued, but had to stop and think about that last sentence for a moment and then corrected himself. "Except for some angry guards that wants to throw us in jail of course. But I'm rather fond of disappointing them, so let's make them wait a bit longer." The teen gave a mischievous grin. While the guards were annoying, they weren't much of a threat to him. He knew how to get away from them. It was the special task force that was the problem. They knew exactly which magic they could use to fool him, and what they had to do without magic to take him. Last time had been a far too close call.

"I don't mind." Jonathan confirmed. He usually tried to travel to warmer places during winter, but it wasn't always he could. It all depended on how the guards moved and if they left an opening in that direction. He rarely made up plans for where to go weeks in advance. If he did then he might have to be disappointed as he couldn't move freely. Often times it was just to go in the direction that was available and safe for him, and not the once he preferred to take. "But it will depend on if we can find a safe route. So I can't promise a warm winter." He then added. He didn't want to promise something he couldn't keep, and they didn't have such luxury to choose their way however they wished every time.

"Did you know that it's safer to travel during winter? All the clothing you have to wear to keep warm hides most of your body, so no one recognizes you. In the summer you would die of a heat stroke if you wore that much. So maybe a bit of snow wouldn't hurt." Jonathan told her teasingly. It wasn't too hard to hide during summer either. Just put on a hat, cap or hood to hide the hair, make sure not to look people in the eye, and pretend to be a normal kid. No one ever thought anything of him even after the guards told them who they were searching for. Though they were pretty cautious of telling people about him. They probably didn't want too much rumors going around about the non-magicians being hunted down. That's probably why there weren't any wanted posters of him. Leilani was different though. She had done an illegal act, and they wouldn't even have to lie about it. They could put up wanted posters of her without the public wondering what was going on. She might have to hide much more than him once they got into the cities. Maybe if they tried to make him look a bit less girly. A disguise would be a big help. Especially if she could play off the opposite gender.

"Hey, how would you feel about pretending to be a guy once we get into town?" He asked. Better bringing it up now than later. Now she would get at least a week to think about it. Cross dressing didn't seem like the most liked activity, so he'd rather check with her to see if it was completely out of the question or if she would be up for it. Otherwise he could steal a wig and make her a blonde. If they were searching for a brunette, then they would pass her without a second glance. A man wouldn't even need the first glance though.
 
[BCOLOR=transparent]"As long as there is a chance I'm satisfied." Of course the guards would always be a problem, even if they could travel between cities without any real danger of being seen the city itself could have very many guards for various reasons especially if the guards tried to spread out and predict their movements. And meybe they tried closing off many places in the south to see if they could flush her and Jonathan out due to the cold, depending on how much the guards thought ahead like that. "If it wasn't so cold I would like winter a whole lot more," she said, pushing back strands of hair from her face. "I first saw snow when I was around 13 so I actually like it, it's just the cold I can't get used to." But it made a lot of sense that it was easier to hide in winter, when everyone wore so much clothes that you could hardly tell if it was a guy or a girl you were looking at.[/BCOLOR]

Getting warmer clothes seemed to be another issue, Jonathan didn't seem like he had any in the small bag he carried and you probably didn't earn that much money as a fugitive, of course she had money but it would be very stupid to try and go back and get them at the moment. "I suppose there isn't many times we get an oppurtunity to pay for what we need?" Normally Leilani would never think of stealing but if her survival depended on it there wasn't much to do about that but get used to it.

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I wouldn't mind terribly," Leilani said after some thinking. "I've never been much of a girly girl so dressing as a guy shouldn't be a problem, something tells me guys would be more hesitant to dress as girls." She added with a grin, getting a girl to dress in less girly pants and a shirt like many already were using was probably a lot easier than to convince a guy to wear a dress or skirt, but the latter mental image was considerably funnier. "I don't know about my hair though, not many guys wear it this long."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]While cutting it all off didn't appeal that much to Leilani she used to wear it quite short when she was younger but it had taken years to save it out to its current length, on the other hand being a fugitive didn't exactly allow you that many luxuries, least of all superficial ones. "I guess wearing a cap or a hood could hide the hair but it'd still be pretty obvious in case I had to remove it or lost it somehow."[/BCOLOR]
 
"I've never minded dressing as a girl though." Jonathan said casually. While it certainly didn't help him keep an image of a young man, it had definitely helped him to get through certain situations. If the guards were searching for a small boy, then they wouldn't give a single glance towards the girls. He had sneaked past them quite a few times that way. "A cap can hide it just fine, I know a few tricks to make it stick to the head no matter how windy it is. It usually takes awhile to get it off though." He then told her. When he were in cities with very high security, it was always important to hide his face. A cap helped with that, but as Leilani pointed out, it could fall off. So he had learnt a few techniques to make it stick.

"As for the money issue, there's always people needing extra help in their shop. Usually it has to do with carrying and unpacking boxes, but it's better than nothing. It's just to ask around until you find something. But it's usually not very well paid and only for a few hours. The best is to try and find night jobs. It's much safer as the guards won't be able to see too well in the dark, and as long as you don't do anything illegal they will most likely not walk up to you. Plus, it gives a bit more money per hour than day jobs." Jonathan continued, explaining about the jobs. "There's always jobs to get, the problem is that if the area is too guarded, then it might be too dangerous to take a job, and that's when you don't." He then added. It always depended on the guards actions.

"I mostly get what I need from nature, but stealing is sometimes necessary." He added, knowing that she probably suspected that to happen at some point anyway since she brought up the money issue. "Winter clothes can be made from animals like foxes, though if we're lucky we might find something thrown away. People don't care to wait until things are completely unusable before they decide to get something new." Normal clothes could be found in dumpsters everywhere, but winter jackets and boots in the right size could be a bit harder. They would probably have to hunt for the jackets, and steal for the boots. Jonathan had not learnt how to make shoes as of yet, and it didn't seem like he would anytime soon.

Forcing Leilani into a life as a fugitive was bad enough, but now she might have to steal to stay alive. If he could he would make sure that at least she stayed away from it. But at times they might not have a choice. If they had to be in a snow covered landscape in -30 degrees Celsius, then they couldn't walk around in summer shoes. Their feet would suffer frostbite within hours.

"At the very least we won't have to steal food. There's enough of that in nature." Well, except for the occasional farm raids he did. Technically speaking that was also stealing to take their food and sometimes even a chicken. But it didn't feel as bad as to take something from a store. Foxes and rabbits stole from the farmers all the time when they got the chance. He could just be considered another animal that sneaked in during the middle of the night and took what it needed to live. A fugitive had to be somewhat flexible with the rules, otherwise they wouldn't make it far.
 
"If you know how to get a cap to stay on no matter what I wont complain, with the risk of sounding superficial I'd very much like to keep my hair the way it is." She said, running a hand through said hair, forcing her fingers through some tangles that had formed. Not usually bothering too much with appearances or tons of makeup Leilani's one exception was her hair, she'd do much to avoid cutting it off although if it ever became neccessary she'd do it. Probably. "If we have to steal occasionally then there's nothing to do about it," she shrugged. "But maybe we can earn more money now since we are two people, I can also get jobs that require magic that you can't take." Of course they also needed to spend money for two on stuff they needed but maybe it would still be enough.

As they walked on through the day doing some small talk to break the silence occasionally, the monotony of it starting to get old by the afternoon, but slowly the forest changed around them, the ground became steeper and the forest grew thinner, rocks and big boulders lay scattered here and there as if thrown by a giant. It was no doubt they were gtting closer to the mountain. Eventually the trees gave way for tough shrubs and weeds able to live off little nutrition and harsher weather than in the protected forest and the mountain came into full view, or at least the mountain side came into view.

"I guess the good thing about the tunnels is that the ground wont be so steep all the time," she said after awhile, swerving to avoid an area of loose gravel that looked a little unstable to walk across. It would be pretty bad to slip and fall on their first day on the mountain, not that any day would be a good one to hurt yourself but the very first one would not be a good sign for the rest of the way. "Have you any idea where to find these tunnels or are we going around blind?"

Just a look around didn't reveal any tunnels, thankfully, but that didn't mean there were none of course, the entrances could be partially hidden or hard to reach. "Should we stay the night out here and find the tunnels tomorrow or should we just get it over with and go down them today?" She asked, truthfully she didn't mind if they stopped underground or above it, either way meant rest which her tired legs sceamed for, despite that they had walked in a pretty normal pace all day she was more tired than she would have thought. Then again she wasn't very used to walking this much and in a week or so she'd hopefully have started to get used to it.
 
Jonathan didn't point out the fact that they had to earn money for two, so it would be exactly the same as when he tried to earn money for only himself. The question was, would the government go public with Leilani being wanted, or would they try to catch her on their own without involving the general public. Because if she became a public wanted criminal, it would be dangerous for her to take any job, even with a disguise. Well, it did depend on how good a disguise they could make for her. But even with the best of disguises, something could still go wrong and someone could recognize her. They just had to see what happened once they got to the next town.

They walked all day long. It was the first time Jonathan had been speaking with someone for so long. At times they both were silent for a while, but eventually they picked up on a new topic. He was worried that Leilani might get tired by the terrain and the distance, but so far she didn't seem to fall behind at any point. Eventually they reached the edge of the mountain. The forest disappeared behind them and they headed uphill on the now rocky landscape.

"It's a bit further up. We should be able to reach them before it gets dark." Jonathan replied. He had memoriesed the maps already when he entered the last town. It was important to know every escape route there was in case he needed to leave fast like he had this time. There hadn't been any maps of the inside of the mountain though. He just knew that there was a tunnel leading in on one side and out on another. If it was a straight line or a labyrinth was unknown. But the worst that could happen was that they had to go back and take another route.

"We can stop now if you're tired of course." He then said after realizing that their walk already had been longer than what most people could take for a day. It wouldn't kill them to take a break already, though he would prefer if they could get to the tunnels and rest there. The further they got each day, the faster they would arrive in the next town. While towns were dangerous for them, it was also the most comfortable place, even if they had to sleep in stables. At the very least it had a roof and wasn't infested with bears or dangerous snakes. "But the air does hint about rain tonight, so a roof would be nice." Jonathan then warned her. He was good at picking up changes in the air. It wasn't too cloudy at the moment, but if he was right they might start coming in shortly before sundown, the rain might come during the night, possibly late evening. He could also be horribly wrong of course, the weather did change at times when the wind changed. So the rain filled clouds might start going into another direction before they arrived at their location.
 
Leilani looked up at the sky as he warned about the weather but except for a fey clouds she couldn't see any strong signs for rain, but of course Jonathan had been living outside for long enough to know what he was talking about. Besides in the mountains weather was known to change rather quickly sometimes so she wouldn't be too surprised if he was right. "Let's continue until we find the entrance to the tunnels," she said after a moment of inner struggle. "As you said it would be nice to have cover if it does rain and it can't be that much further until we reach the tunnel so we might just as well get it done today."

She would much rather have stopped for the night at once to get to sit down and let her aching legs get some rest but sleeping outside when it rained was enough of a threat to push her on. Besides she didn't like to appear weak, even if it only was a stupid bull headed idea in her mind, that also made it easier to just take one step after another without thinking of anything rleating rest or being tired. Maybe that part of her had been influenced by her brother and cousins, as children when they played she had tried to keep up all the time as she refused to be left behind and did everything to appear to be just as strong as them, if she actually succeeded was another thing entirely.

Continuing up the mountain as dusk slowly fell her pace slowed partly as she tried to avoid tripping and partially because she was starting to have trouble ignoring how tired she was getting. It was far from dark but the diminishing light made it harder to distinguish details on the ground and Leilani decided it was a good idea to keep rock climbing to the day time, and that taking the tunnels might actually be a good idea now that she was starting to see how it looked on a mountain.

By now they'd reached high enough for the mountain sides to become so steep it was hard to keep going straight up and they had to start following natural trails that snaked up the mountain side instead. "Is that just a play of the light or is that place up there darker than the rest?" Leilani asked as dusk had settled, making it hard to be really certain of anything when everything seemed to be in greyscale. The part she pointed at was just a normal cliff face but it was uneven and had rough edges pointing out and shallow indentions creating dark shadows, some which might be deeper than they appeared at first glance. "I'm prepared to do anything for this to be a the place where the tunnel is located," she added, too tired to get reckless and rush ahead without looking. Lifting a hand in front of her she willed forth a small light, just enough for them to see better.
 
They kept walking upwards until it was no longer possible, at that time they went onto the natural trails as far as they went. As Leilani spoke again, in hopes of having found what they were looking for, Jonathan squinted his eyes towards the mountain before shaking his head. "Sorry, it's just a trick of the light." He told her slightly apologetic. He hadn't really have to look at all to know that it wasn't the right opening, the map was memorized, and there was nothing on it at that point of the mountain. "Don't worry, we're just gonna follow this path which will stop just around that corner, then we'll climb a small bit and then we should be there." He told her.

Just as he had said, once they had climbed up an easily climbed mountain wall, they could clearly see the opening just some meters to their right. "Seems like we've made it. Great job Leilani." Jonathan praised her, knowing that the mountain couldn't have been easy for her just after having walked through a forest all day long with only a small lunch break. They were just on time as they already could feel some drops of water falling down on them. Shortly after they had entered the tunnel, the rain started to pour down.

"Phew, we're lucky. We wouldn't have been able to climb that last bit if the mountain had been wet." It would have been extremely unlucky if they would have been forced to stop just minutes before they would have reached the cave. But climbing on wet rocks were nothing less than suicidal. It became far too slippery. Even walking on straight ground could be dangerous, especially if they were on higher altitudes, as slipping could make one fall off the edge.

"Are you okay? The mountains are a bit demanding on the body, but it should be somewhat easy from here on. Maybe we'll have to crawl sometimes, and we might find some climbing points, but they're rarely as heavy as the outside of the mountain is." Jonathan spoke as he took out an apple from his bag. The rest of the meat had been eaten for lunch, and they had not been hunting for any snakes during the day, so for now the apples had to do. Hopefully the rain would be over early in the morning so he could try and get something. While there were some animals in the tunnels they would be hard to catch since it was so dark. Just as he thought it he did remember Leilani. She had powers, she could make sure it wasn't dark. He had to stop forgetting such things.

"If you see any scorpions, try to crush them with a rock. They're not poisonous here, but it hurts a lot if they sting you. And it's always good with some extra meat." He then said. While those things were natural to him, he knew that everything was new to her. So better tell her about it so she wouldn't let chances to food disappear, or get stung by an unpleasant creatures.
 
Beyond tired and slightly winded from the climb up the quite forgiving wall Leilani sent a slightly shaky smile Jonathan's way. "Oh, I'm fine," she assured him. "Just peachy. It was only the altitude that made the last bit a tad difficult." Not even bothering to sound more convincing, instead she found as good of a place as she could and sat down. Still, despite being very tired at the end of the day she was also relieved that he at least didn't try to baby her just because she was a girl or not used to this much walking, it would have been much more frustrating if they paused all the time just because she was a little tired and therefore couldn't travel as fast as they needed.

Since there was no bushes growing inside the mountain and the rain made anything lying outside the tunnel unusable she couldn't just light a fire, she was not good enough with fire magic to keep one going without fuel, but maybe she could create firewood. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a branch from a bush, one that wasn't that important when it came to healing, in not too long of a time the small piece had grown in size, she was too tired to grow it too big besides it was difficult when not having any soil for it.

Keeping part of it she arranged the rest in a pile before lighting it with a small flame, fresh wood was not the same as dry wood when it came to fires, fresh wood had a tendency to send of more sparks but that wasn't that great of a risk here where everything was stone. The fire lit up the dark tunnel entrance and in the damp evening the warmth that it spread was very welcome.

"Scorpions!? While I think it's good to try new stuff I draw the line at insects and intestines." Leilani said with a disgusted grimace. Sure if she was starving and had no choice then maybe she would be desperate enough to eat anything but she was not starving at the moment so that wasn't something she had to find out at the moment. "But if I see a scorpion I'll make sure to try to kill it so you can have it, I on the other hand need to be a lot hungrier than I am now to try anything like that."

Having finished her rabbit meat earlier she pulled out an apple as an evening meal, a second one disappearing just as fast before she flipped the flap on her bag shut. "Do you think it would help any if I coloured my hair?" She then asked. "If I somehow would loose my cap or hood or whatever I will be wearing people might not recognize me instantly if I have blonde or light brown hair. Of course that is if we can get ahold of hair-dye." Sometimes a different hair colour was enough for people to not recognize you at once unless they knew you, that would have to wait until the next town they came to but it could be a decent cover, and a better alternative than cutting of her hair or risk being seen instantly in her opinion.
 
Jonathan rolled his eyes when she told him her line was drawn at insects. "Just you wait until those apples of yours are gone. Then you'll beg for some scorpions after ten hours of walking." He smirked before biting into the apple. It would be important for her to eat properly when they had to walk such long distances, otherwise she would not only loose far too much weight, she would also get more and more exhausted until she wouldn't be able to go any further. But he was sure it wouldn't take long for her to get used to it. If she started to become sick because of lack of food she would probably realize she had to eat. If nothing else he would just have to tell her it was time to eat whether she liked it or not, and if not he could just tell her he would leave her there because she slowed her down. Of course he wouldn't, not before they were in a safe town so she could move on on her own. But it might help her get a bit of motivation for the more scary foods.

"It probably could." He then replied to her question. "You should probably go for blonde though. Sometimes they are told to just watch out after a brown haired person without specify if it's light or dark brown." Jonathan then added. If it wasn't a very special color, then they often got lazy and didn't give much information except for the most necessary to identify them. As far as Jonathan knew, it was his hair they mainly looked after because of his unique color for such a young kid. Or at least he looked like a young kid. But with Leilani they could both find her with the help of magic, so they didn't need to be too specific with her appearance. And they most likely would look more after a woman with a kid companion with a weird hair color. Thus it would be good if Leilani could play a male, as it would make the two less suspicious in towns where the guards already knew about him.

"You should try to get some sleep once you're done eating. You'll need all the rest you can get." Jonathan then told her. He was so used to walking such distances, so his body could make it pretty well even if he lost a bit of rest. Leilani though didn't seem like the training type, and probably didn't have much muscle mass. She seemed as strong as an average female. Until her body adjusted she would need a lot of food, a lot of rest, and maybe a bit more breaks than he had given her so far. Jonathan hadn't experienced muscle fever in many years, but there were a big chance that Leilani did. Especially in the legs. Well, now when they were inside the mountain they could probably take it a bit slower. There weren't any danger in there. No humans to attack them, no big animals to attack them, and no poisonous animals to bite them. Though the last one did change from region to region.
 
She would have to be pretty starved before she willingly put something even resembling an insect or worm in her mouth, as a child she had not even been able to eat the worm like candy made of jelly. Of course she had never been so hungry she was on the brink of starving though so maybe what was considered edible changed after a day or two without food but she had not been that long without food yet and hopefully she wouldn't have to find out, although that was probably too hopeful considering how things had gone so far.

"I hope this won't sound whiny but this floor is so uncomfortable it's hard to imagine sleeping on it." Leilani said having finished her last apple and thrown the small core on the fire. "I will use the fact that this is my second night outside in my defense though," she added. Having her sweatshirt on for warmth and her bag as a pillow it wasn't that bad at first, but in a matter of minutes the stone was pressing painfully against her shoulder and hip so she had to flip over on her back. For some odd reson it felt less vulnerable lying curled on the side than it did lying outstretched and she also prefered lying on her side but for as long as they were in the tunnels it didn't seem like an option to sleep in any other way than on her back.

Next morning Leilani woke just as ungodly early as the day before, stiff and cold she clambered to her feet and stretched to at least try and get her body working again. As soon as she moved she became aware of the muscle fever, mostly in her legs but apparent throughout her body and she couldn't keep back a groan as she stretched out the protesting muscles. She wasn't the most active person but even when she did do something that resulted in muscle fever it usually wasn't this intense, of course usually she didn't walk all day for two days straight. During the night the fire had burned out and the remains were barely warm at all any longer, to be on the safe side Leilani doused it with some water just so she woudn't have to worry she was the reason a stray spark started a fire. Sure there were ony rocks around and even outside any vegetation found was wet but Leilani could easily worry about small things like that, especially if it came to fire.

The area where they were now was pretty bright considering it was in a mountain, but the sun could spread some light into the cave opening unlike the area further in where total darkness waited and would be what they saw, or didn't see, until they found their way out again. "Well, there's no use dawdling I guess," Leilani said, holding back a wince as she stood up from the now drenched fireplace, at least muscle fever tended to feel better if you moved around and thankfully only stuck around for a few days, mostly. Holding out her hand a light appeared once more, hovering just above her skin. The orb created enough light for them to see their surroundings quite clearly, now that there were no guards around she didn't have to keep a constant control on the light to keep it from being to strong.
 
Jonathan chuckled at her comment. "You'll only get free passes for complaining the first week." He told her while lying down on his back. He had learned long ago that on stone ground it was best not to try lying on the sides or the stomach.

The next day, Jonathan went up before the sun had started to rise. With the end of the rain, snakes would start to make their way out again to try and hunt their prey. Of course he let Leilani sleep for a while longer. While he thought it necessary for her to learn how to hunt in case they had to split up, or just got tired of each other after years, he still thought it more necessary for her to rest for now. There would be a lot of chances for her to learn the art of hunting. It was always good to start during daytime with newbies though.

As the sun rose, he came back with three dead snakes which all were impaled on a stick. He also had a few sticks so that Leilani might be able to do the trick she had done the other day, and make a fire again. While he weren't going to cook them immediately, he did think it was a good idea to do it during their lunch break. At that point they would still be close enough to the opening for the smoke to travel towards it instead of getting stuck with them. Further in and they would suffocate if they tried to cook them. Except if Leilani had some trick for that too, or if they could find an opening in the ceiling. Sometimes there were openings the smoke could travel through even deep into the mountains. They weren't always visible though, so one would have to be careful to test it out.

Leilani woke up and seemed to have a hard time when she stretched. "Muscle fever?" He smirked knowingly. While he had been young at the time, he could still remember the few first weeks with his dad when his body constantly hurt. His father hadn't been better off, as he also was new to running away.

"A thing you should know is that we won't have any sense of time in here. So it's just to trust our inner body clocks for when to eat, sleep and walk." Jonathan told her. They would most likely screw it up. He always did, and her body was already so tired it probably thought it was night already. Most likely they would get out during the night when they thought it was daytime, or the opposite. It happened to him every year.

"Shall we play some game on the way?" He asked her, mostly because he wanted her to forget the pain in her muscles.

The day passed fast for the teen, though he could guess it went slower for the muscled fevered girl. Towards lunch he asked Leilani if she could start a fire for the snakes while they ate their lunch, which consisted of apples again. The snakes would be eaten during the next three days, either for lunch or dinner. It all depended on when they needed them. They gave more energy than apples, so if they needed an extra boost, which they probably would thanks to the dark and having no sun shining on them, then they would take it to lunch. Maybe even breakfast if needed.

After lunch they kept on walking for some hours. Jonathan made sure to go a bit slower than usual since Leilani's muscles weren't completely in the game that particular day. Then suddenly.

"Stop." Jonathan told her before falling dead silent. "Tone down the light." He whispered to her before making a sign for her to be silent also. "Someone's here." He only made the mouth movements and let her read his lips instead of hearing his words. It was probably not a guard, but it could be a robber, or something like that.

"Who's there." A male voice shouted from somewhere. It startled Jonathan so much he jumped halfway to the ceiling. He hadn't expected a robber to ask that. Usually they just attacked once they knew someone was close by.

"Depends on who's asking." Jonathan said, giving Leilani a sign to drop the light completely, just in case. Now he heard footsteps coming close from around a corner. Soon they could also see a light appearing on the side of the wall. Jonathan backed a few steps and pulled Leilani with him. He didn't want to be too close to a stranger, even if they weren't going to attack.

Rounding the corner came a young man, maybe 25 at most. He was holding a torch. Odd. Most magicians just did as Leilani. That way their hands could be free if they needed them. The man didn't walk closer to them, he just let the light of the torch fall over them and seemingly he examined them. "You're explorers?" He asked, not completely convinced. As he asked he reached for something in his pocket. Jonathan immediately reacted and quickly brought out his knife.

"Wow, easy there mate." The man said, backing a few steps. "I just need to check a thing okay? It's not a weapon or anything." He tried to convince the boy, but Jonathan was as skeptical as always. The man brought up a stone and held it forward. Unknowingly to Jonathan and Leilani, the stone could sense magical powers and would lit up if there was some close by. But since Jonathan had put himself in front of Leilani and the stone worked on magic, he became a human shield and it didn't pick up on any of them.

"You're not magicians." He stated and smiled.

"What's that to you?" Jonathan asked.

"Don't worry. I'm a friend." The man said. "My name is Phillip Lorien. I come from a town deep in these mountains called Noumagi. We've built a society for people like you, and me, where no magician's will ever reach." He explained, and it started to dawn on Jonathan. Had he truly found it? "What do you say? Want to come and check it out at least?" Phillip asked making a motion with his hand for them to follow. Jonathan looked at Leilani for a second, slightly in doubt. But then he put away his knife and made a gesture with his head for them to follow the man.

"Don't use your magic." He whispered to Leilani. "Just in case." He weren't sure what those people thought about magician, but they certainly wouldn't want one among them. Jonathan wasn't sure what to do about Leilani now. He couldn't leave her alone. Maybe he would have to leave Noumagi for a while, make sure that Leilani could take care of herself and then eventually get back there.
 
Leilani only grunted in response, too tired and stiff to actually answer, Jonathan looked way too alert and at ease than was normal in her eyes normally she would never even be awake this early, not without a serious alarm clock but sleeping outside had a way of waking you up early. The snakes he had managed to catch and the small pile of branches by his side told her he had most likely been up for awhile already. "The only sense of time my inner clock has is when to eat and sleep," she answered with a small grin, the most she could muster for now. Sure some muscle fever might not be the end of the world but it almost felt like that to her at the moment. "It's not as accustomed to working when it's time to wake up or start walking."

The day passed like the other two had mostly, consisting of walking and more walking while talking and playing some games to pass the time except when they stopped for awhile to cook the snakes Joathan had caugth before she was awake and eat some apples for lunch. Which was getting rather repetetive by now by the way. Compared to the two other days though this one was worse, every step was painful, even after awhile when her muscles were warmed up and the pain lessened the ache never left. At least it wouldn't stay forever, just until her body got used to the constant walking.

Startled by Jonathan's sudden warning, she snapped her hand closed and the light vanished in an instant, straining her eyes she tried to see through the darkness and spot what had made Jonathan react, but she saw nothing of course. Not until a light became visable as a man turned a corner, he couldn't be that much older then the two of them, a few years at the most. What caught her attention the most though was the torch, someone with magic would take the easier way of creating their own light, this man was either a bit unusual or he had little or no magic.

As it wasn't a guard she was not as scared as she probably should be meeting a stranger in a dark tunnel, but firstly she wasn't alone and secondly she had grown up protected and in a safe environment and suspicion against others wasn't her first instinct, probably something she should work on considering her new life as a fugitive.

Leilani nodded slightly to show she heard what Jonathan said, if this really was the hidden community that Jonathan and his father had searched for then it wasn't guaranteed that she would be accepted. Somehow this guy seemed to be able to detect magic but hadn't noticed she was a magician, if what they used was magical in itself then Jonathan's immunity must have blocked her in some way and it would be smart to use that for now.

Following the young man, or Philip as he'd introduced himself as, Leilani kept herself busy thinking, if they had really stumbled upon this hidden city then Jonathan must be safe now, no magic had been able to find this city, she had no idea how that worked but apparently it did. So that meant he could finally relax and live normally, she on the other hand would have a harder time unless she as well was allowed to stay despite her magic. But maybe the guards would give up on her sooner than they would Jonathan a bit hopeful perhaps but it was better than nothing. For now though they would be safe, and her magic might not be a problem if even if they found out, she could promise not to use it if that made it easier, possibly a hopeful thought but better be positive than waste time worrying over something that couldn't be changed.

"This place is certainly well hidden," Leilani said after some walking. "If we hadn't stumbled upon you like this we would most likely have just passed through the mountain without seeing it. Were you just out for a stroll or do you have a way to notice when people pass through the tunnels?" They had no magic to help them but because of that they must have developed a lot of new ways to get by, or perhaps old ways that had been common before magic spread to every person.
 
That stone made Jonathan a bit nervous. It was obviously something that could detect magic, considering Phillips reaction to its non-reaction. Depending on how the city was built, they might have more of those lying around just to make sure no magicians infiltrates their lair. Well, if worse came to worse they would just have to explain themselves. Leilani was an outcast because of quite a horrible crime. Attacking a guard was as bad as betraying the country. Maybe they would be lenient towards her since she didn't have a place among normal people either. Otherwise they might have to leave. In worst case scenario they might wish to kill her just so that their secret wouldn't get out.

As Jonathan tried to think about a way to keep Leilani's magic abilities a secret, without him shielding her all the time, he vaguely heard the girl speak. That was a good question. Had he known that people walked around in the tunnels? Otherwise, why had he been there? What would he have done if he had met a magician? And how have they been able to hide their city from the magicians searching after them?

"We patrol these mountains daily to make sure no one comes too close to our base. What use does a secret city have if people found it, right?" Phillip laughed just before he stopped at a dead end. He put his hand on the wall and waited for ten seconds, then it started to shine around his hand and a secret door opened itself. "We've been able to use the magic in the stones to keep ourselves hidden. It would be a miracle if someone were able to accidentally put their hand on the right place and keep it there for the time necessary for the door to open. But considering there is a chance that people are awfully lucky, we still don't want to take any chances." He explained before blowing out the torch.

From inside the door a bright light shone up a whole underground city. The ceiling and walls were covered with shining stones, making it seem like the middle of the day, and there were huts everywhere. They had entered an enormous cave that looked as if it was a shopping mall with stone stairs up to the next level. While Jonathan understood how no one could stumble in there by accident, he could not understand how non of the guards could find them. And why did they have to patrol every day? They were completely safe from intruders except for the guards, which they didn't seem to have any problems with anyways. It didn't add up.

"Does the stones conceal your location too for those searching after you with magic?" The teen asked, trying not to let himself loose his jaw at the sight. It was quite beautiful even though the light blue lightning coming from the stones seemed slightly unnatural. But it was probably easy getting used to with some time. He wondered though if they ever stopped shining. And if not, did they have a way to make their homes dark even though the outside shone like a Christmas tree? Otherwise it must be a pain for their bodies to know the difference between night and day.

"No, it doesn't." Phillip replied. "But we have other ways to take care of that." He then assured them before closing the door behind the them and then moving forward. What other ways could that be? It was suspicious. How odd of Jonathan to finally having found his dream and not being able to enjoy it. But of course he couldn't trust someone he had just met, and there were so many inconsistencies in his explanation. Maybe everything would fall into place with time.

People passing them looked slightly curious, obviously they were a small enough community so that everyone knew everyone. A newbie stood out as much as a whale on dry land. "If you want to rest then I can show you to a hut. We have a lot of empty houses for when newcomers get here. If you're hungry I can ask someone to get you something. Otherwise it will be dinner in a few hours, the towns people usually eat together." Phillip smiled friendly as he looked back at them. "We can take a tour of the town tomorrow."

Jonathan thought about it for some moments. It would be best if he and Leilani got some time alone for now. "We ate just a little while ago, we'll make it for a few more hours." He told the man. It was a bit of a lie. Not only had they eaten only an apple to lunch, and breakfast, but it had been quite a few hours since. At least four, maybe five. but they did have more apples and snakes to satisfy themselves with if they couldn't make it until dinner. If they didn't eat them they would rot, so better get to it.

Phillip left them at one of the uninhabited huts. He patted Jonathan on the head, believing he was a kid, and then gave Leilani a farewell kiss on the hand before heading off with a promise to return for them to dinner. He also warned them that curious villagers might want to great them, so they should be prepared for a surprise visit. Once gone Jonathan sat down on a chair at a table and looked over at Leilani. "What do you think?" He asked, wondering if Leilani also had felt something weird about the place. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was wrong. At least now he had gotten an answer to how they slept in that light at night. At the top of the windows, there were thick rolled up curtains which would block any light.
 
Since the city was located deep below the mountain Leilani had little hope for the place being very bright or comfortable but the sight that met her as the hidden door sung open was breathtaking. The entire cave, which was enormous, was lit up by thousands of shining rocks imbedded into the walls and the roof shining a pale blue light on everything. Strewn throughout the cave were several huts, nothing too big but certainly enough to live in and then there was the shops, without magic they had actually managed tobuild a sort of shopping mall with stairs connecting the levels.

When Jonathan denied the offer for some food before dinner Leilani was both disappointed and glad, some real food would have been very apreciated but at the same time she wanted to speak with Jonathan before being confronted by more people here. Besides they wouldn't starve, if they became very hungry they had the snakes and the remaining apples to eat. It was apparent when Philip left that he too had looked to Jonathan's appearance and thought of him as a kid, but even if they didn't know him yet Philip at east deserved some extra points for being well mannered.

"I think it seems like a great place with some charming people," Leilani answered, taking a seat by the table opposite Jonathan. "Almost too great. This place is amazing, it's a safe haven for all people without magic but how is it kept safe? Sure, they can detect magic users and prevent them from finding this place." How they were prevented was another good question, where they just directed away from the city or was it something more violent? "Besides I'd really like to know how they keep this place a secret to the guards, not only can the people here be tracked like me but the guards can certainly use some form of magic to track a city down, so what's their secret?"

Shifting in her seat Leilani looked out through the window, the sparkling, light blue light than shone from the walls and ceilings were truly eyecatching, it was hard to stop admiring it, until your eyes started to ache from the light. "While I don't like to distrust people before knowng them or their motives I'd really like to get some answers about this city if only to sate my curiosity." And she would really like to know their stance on magicians before they found out that she was one, it would be nice to know if it was very important to prevent them from finding out about her or not.
 
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