Jamal could barely sleep well, and it was only a few more hours until he just gave up going for comfort. He felt alright though, as he pulled off the thin covers and walked about. It was still quite dark outside, although it looked to be a sliver of light starting to come up. So about two or so more hours of dawn maybe? The man could care less, as he moved towards the back, near the stairs.
He quite literally considered going back up, but stopped in his tracks and used some logic. Jamal quickly decided not to find out whether that pair was still going at it, and regardless wasn't his cup of tea to be listening to. Passing the escalation, he reach a glass door, which he opened towards a courtyard. Luckily for him, there was a one-story tall wall, so as long as he didn't completely use his power, he should probably be fine.
Taking off his shoes, he felt the nice crunch of the soft grass, as he took a deep breath. Realizing that he was only wearing pants since he didn't bother replacing the shirt that was messed up, Jamal still stayed as he began to do some basic pushups to warm himself up. Doing a quick 3 sets of 50 pushups, Jamal felt relieved to continue, as he controlled his ignition of the fire. The fire barely covered his body, as Jamal began to comfortably move about the space. Eager to continue onward, he began shadowboxing in the air, while using certain moves like his blade to switch things up.
This was a much better way to pass up time, as by the time he was starting to steam from the evaporating sweat, sunrise was mere minutes away. Taking a good breather, he heard steps behind him, and turned around to see Leon watching him.
"How long you've been there?" Jamal simply asked, as his flames started to disappear.
"A good ten minutes, I didn't wish to disturb you." Leon began to approach him yawning, "How you'd sleep?"
"I rather not get into detail."
"You heard it too?"
"Yep. So I decided to sleep downstairs, but it obviously wasn't the best option. So I've been out here for like an hour or so?"
"I see. Well, I finally got that room now though, so no need to fight about it." Leon joked around.
With that, Jamal laughed at the joke, as he patted the man's shoulder. Sheesh, was that a dumb decision that accelerated all of this. This entire moment was because of what happened in Suruthum. What a totally smart choice, huh?
"It's fine. I'm finally adapting." Jamal continued back indoors, as his flames completely disappeared and back to the front of the building.
"Good to know, I'm proud of your progress."
Nodding, Jamal found some type of newspaper in front of the complex, and as he opened the door, had quickly looked both ways. In some distance, the man could see some boy in a bicycle throwing the papers in front of buildings. Free service I guess, he shrugged, as he returned back with it.
"Free newspaper. We could learn a lot from this." Jamal told Leon, sliding it onto the table. "You want to know something weird though? Apparently, this region or area is some type of autonomous area? What's that supposed to mean? Youden surely controls here?"
"You don't know?" Leon looked at him, with Jamal shaking his head. "Long story short, sometime after I'm assuming you left, Youden formed a blockade over the city, so no supplies came about. The defenders put up a good resistance, and apparently, they had a month-long battle here. Eventually though, with limited success, the remaining leaders in this coastal stronghold decided to make a deal with Youden to end the violence. Essentially, they still make most of their decisions and have slightly more rights compared to the mainland. However, this is still a part of Youdenia, and at any time can Youden declare martial law and reintegrate the city completely into the nation. Even parts of the Yodenian Navy is docked here at the naval port here. At least, that's what one of the people from here had told me when I was still President."
Understanding the quick history lesson. Jamal returned his gaze back onto the newspaper. Nothing really note-worthy was there for him to look at, until he flipped to the next page. His eyes widened in fear, as his finger began to tremble over the large print reading, "Jamal Wrint Sighted In Port-O-Bea?".
Skimming through, he could see how there were several accounts of people seeing the man in flames in that alleyway, and even admitting that he said he was Jamal. Why did that woman appear and he proceeded to do stupid things? The article continued by saying as while the person couldn't be verified, the local police would look into it, as well as a minor military presence within the city. There were even final comments warning locals to beware of him and his power, as well as him possibly being with the group and others.
"Read this real quick." Jamal handed the paper to Leon, as he heard the stairs creaking.
Looking back up, he could see Ula holding Laken, as well as Fonda coming down the stairs. At least he was finally going to have a good meal to devour.
"Good morning." Ula went in for a quick kiss, "You weren't in bed when I woke up."
"Yeah, I had my reasons." Jamal turned his head towards the corner, as Ula and Fonda could see his makeshift bed.
"No way, you guys really didn't end up next to them, did you?" Fonda began to laugh.
"Shut up, and go make me something to eat." Jamal attempted to joke.
"I'm not a servant. Make your own meal." Fonda teased him back, before heading towards the kitchen in the back to make her own breakfast.
"I got it Jamal. Just give me some time." Ula handed him Laken, "I'll be back."
Jamal smiled at her, as Laken was still asleep in his own arms and Ula following Fonda. This boy didn't get enough rest yet, and yet he himself felt alright.
"Jamal?" Leon said, with Jamal turning back. "You understand what this might mean?"
"Yeah, I'm not so happy about it either. That may or may not be in our favor, depending on what Youden's done in the region. Let's hope for the best."
With more creaks coming, the men turned around to see Heskins and Brat coming down the stairs themselves, looking eager to be there.
"Anyone here slept good at all, besides Laken here?" Heskins started up, "Cause even by myself on the third floor, I could still hear them for two hours."
"Two hours!" Jamal was shocked, "Holy fuc-, flies!"
"Yeah, they were constructing alright." Brat began to break down. "Building this complex up from scratch. Jamal, you think they were helping you build up in the hotel too?"
"Is he good?" Leon looked at Jamal with some worry. "I don't get it."
"It's an inside joke. I'm not even going into detail."
With that, the men just stayed silent as they made their way into the kitchen. The two females were really cooking it up in there, except it was really Ula doing all of the work, and Fonda finishing the final touches for her own meal.
"Morning guys." Ula greeted them, as they returned the favor.
Within the next fifteen minutes, Ula had finished cooking up some oatmeal, since all they'd been eating were eggs the entire trip. Eager to get the day started, Jamal cleared his throat after testing the hot meal.
"Okay, y'all. I'm not waiting on the other two for obvious reasons, but let me cut to the chase. I found today's newspaper outside, and I might have been spotted." Jamal spat out.
"Wait what!" almost everyone except Jamal and Leon said.
"I know what this looks like, but I can ensure you guys that it's not confirmed yet." Jamal attempted to calm them, as Laken began to stir awake, "Morning buddy."
"Jamal, you do know what we've done for here right? They're going to recognize you from a mile away." Ula put her hand on his.
"It'll be fine, I'm not too worried." Jamal laughed, as if this was common.
"We aren't worried for now, but let's see how long that lasts until they bring in the entire military to examine every building." Fonda devoured the fruit within her own oatmeal.
Before any more discussion could continue, they all heard more creaks coming from the stairs. Here we go now, Jamal almost rolled his eyes as a figure reached the kitchen door. Alice seemed awake, although she seemed to be in a mess. Her hair was stretched in different places, and the female was wearing Hops's shirt with some white stains on it. Jeez, this man really did probably go off like a bomb, Jamal quickly assumed as he noted the female wasn't even wearing pants. Luckily for everyone there, the shirt was too big for her, as Alice made her way to get a bowl and fill it up with oatmeal. No one had said a word to her yet, before she finally turned around and looked at them.
"Well, good morning? No manners today?" she raised a brow.
"My morning was spent in discomfort, but hey, at least Hops made you, er-, forget about it. It was a rough night for us." Jamal couldn't think of anything to say that was appropriate, as Laken began pulling his cheek.
"Yeah, I slept really good though." she began to laugh, before looking at herself. "Wow, that man really made me squ-"
"Anyway, with the children awake, you should probably catch up with what just happened, and you can tell your "Ryan" all about it." Jamal quickly said, before anyone could say anything else. "Now sit down and pay attention."
.....
The woman held the backpack over her shoulders tightly, as the sword sheath swayed to her side. Leaving her home after all these years was hard, but it wasn't like she wasn't going to come back. It was only thirty minutes away by foot, so if Sera really need to return, the option was there. But for now, she didn't need it, as in the distance, she could see a brick complex higher than its surroundings.
The sword pulsed with more gentle energy, signaling to her that she was going in the right direction. Jamal Wrint and his team were in there and she couldn't wait to see if she had made the right choice. Because if she hadn't, her father and all those innocent people would have died for nothing, and she would look stupid for it. With some newfound determination, she began to briskly walk towards the building, and await her own future.