34 Ambush (1/2)

Everyone ate their fill and finished tearing down camp, making sure to eliminate all traces of their stay. They mounted their rested horses and rushed to the azure mine. It was easy to travel the short distance on horseback, so they arrived a little earlier than planned.

”It's only midday. Since we've got time, let's set up camp in the forest outside of the mine's entrance,” said Rydel, leading the way.

”Are you going to scout the mine?” asked Jack.

”Yeah, I'll scan the entrance and the nearest mineshafts,” replied Rydel. ”You two should be fine without me for a little while. If something happens, just contact me and I'll come back running.”

Nodding their heads, Jack and Slivia agreed with Rydel's plan, dismounted their horses, and tied them down in the nearby forest. There was no clearing, but they preferred it that way. By camping in a denser patch of the forest they could almost eliminate the chance of being discovered while Rydel was away.

As soon as Rydel's tent was up, he disappeared without a trace. Jack swallowed some saliva and nervousness now that he was alone with Slivia. Bowser was stretching near the fire pit when he felt Jack's sudden change and asked, 'Jack, what wrong?'

”Nothing's wrong buddy,” said Jack, trying to play it cool.

'But you feel different.' Bowser struggled to communicate clearly but his instincts were sharp enough to tell him that something was off.

Realizing that Bowser could sense his emotions, Jack shrunk a little. He didn't want to mention that awkward moment to anyone.

On the outside he was always confident and cool, trying his best to act like his favorite superhero, shameless and adaptable. But his inexperience with female relationships created more pressure than he anticipated.

When it was a game, it always worked out and it was easy to put on an act. But Jack was starting to understand that he wasn't Jack_J; he was Jack, a weird and awkward hybrid of Jack_J and Jackson Jones. This is something that he wouldn't want to admit and he would try his best to convince himself otherwise.

”Umm, what do you mean?”

Jack looked to Slivia and asked, ”What are you talking about?”

”You just said, 'Nothing's wrong buddy.' Why?” Slivia explained her confusion, wondering why he suddenly spoke and even called her buddy. Strangely enough, her heart ached a little when she heard him call her his buddy.

”No, no! I was talking with Bowser,” said Jack, putting up his hands after realizing his blunder. ”Sorry about the confusion. I didn't mean to call you buddy.”

”Oh, why not? Am I not your buddy?” Slivia didn't know why she said that, but she turned terrified the moment the words left her mouth.

Frozen where he stood, Jack's nerves reappeared with a vengeance. He stammered, ”That's, umm, not what I meant, but I wouldn't use that word, exactly…”

”Then… What word would you use?” Slivia's confidence was boosted a little by his reply, and since she had somehow asked already, she decided to commit to the conversation.

”Umm…” Jack's face paled slightly as he instantly regretted his open-ended answer. He tried this best to come up with a solution but drew blanks no matter what he tried. Suddenly, he thought of something. ”Bowser, stop that!”

Slivia followed Jack's pointed finger and saw Bowser using the rocks from the firepit like a backscratcher. Bowser was confused because he always did this, so he asked, 'What Bowser do wrong?'

'Nothing, just go with it and I'll give you an entire unihorn deer for yourself,' offered Jack.

'Okay!' the simple-minded fox's eyes lit up.

”What's wrong?” Slivia asked, being even more confused than Bowser.

”He's about to pee by the fire, but he knows better,” said Jack, picking up Bowser and carrying him to the outskirts of the camp.

'But Bowser no pee. Bowser know better,' argued the little fox.

'I know Bowser, but just go with it. Tonight, you'll have your own unihorn,' persuaded Jack, making sure to keep up the charade in front of Slivia.