351 Finding Jins Shrine (1/2)
Overhearing her name, Eliza looked away from the powerful Minokawa and saw Jack staring warmly into Appa's eyes.
”Would you like that, Appa? You can be honest,” Jack insisted that the condor answer his question.
”Honestly… yes. I would prefer that. She cares for my wings and feathers. I like that.” The condor nodded, not hiding his true feeling from his mutual companion.
”Then after you take us to Trodar, we'll transfer the mutual seal to Eliza, okay? I think that would be for the best.”
”What?!” Baffled, Eliza stuck her head in front of Jack's. ”Are you kidding me? Why would we do that? How would we do that?”
”Calm down, Eliza.” Jack grabbed her shoulders as the party realized what was going on. ”Are you saying that you wouldn't like to have Appa as a beast companion?”
”No! Of course not! That's just too crazy of a thing for you to mention so casually, Jack,” stated Eliza. ”Is that even possible?”
”Thanks to Daruun it is.” Jack pecked her on the forehead, startling her and keeping her from arguing. ”Now, shall we go?”
”Um, where are we going?” That familiar voice reminded Jack of the last party member as she exited the women's tent. ”Are we going to meet Jin now?”
”Yeah, we'll meet Jin now. Then, we'll hurry back so we can go meet Eedaj so you can finally learn the truth behind the fall of your race, Daliea.”
Looking Jack in the eye, the grey-skinned beauty smiled. ”Thank you, Jack. Then I'm glad we're hurrying.”
”Also, I think I found you a new beast companion, but we'll talk about that when we reach Trodar,” Jack added. ”Now hop on Appa and let's go!”
Not letting the party waste time, Jack nudged his wives toward the condor. Lina was the first to climb on and roll in his freshly brushed feathers. Once everyone was ready, including Phoro who casually laid across the condor's dack, they were off.
Five minutes passed as the team was taken to the deepest part of the valley, where a small yet powerful waterfall had created a pond below.
”So you're lv. 49 now… We have such a strong husband, don't we?” Eliza joked as she grabbed Maura's hand.
”Yeah, but we won't get left behind.” More comfortable than ever around Eliza, Maura wasn't anywhere near as shy as before. Her time spent most around Lina and Eliza helped her a lot with her confidence as a woman.
”Right! And with a second powerful companion, I'll be sure to catch up!” Eliza proudly stated, combing her hands through Appa's feathers.
Jack smiled. ”You do realize Appa's also lv. 49, right?”
”Really?! I mean… I guess that makes sense.” Eliza shrugged. ”Maybe you're only doing this so you can protect me better.”
”Maybe…”
With that on his mind, Jack started to wonder what beasts would be perfect for his party members, and which ones would combo well.
”Jack? Jaaack?”
”Big Bro?!”
Startled awake from thought, Jack looked to Lina and Maura. ”What's wrong?”
”We're here, Jack,” Maura replied. ”Aren't you going to open the shrine or help us find the entrance?”
”Right!” hopping to the ground, Jack reviewed his map tab and made sure they were right on top of the shrine. ”Hmm… It should be right here.”