Jasper later returned home to his house, staring mournfully at the door. He had made a new friend and a connection in a position of power, but despite this new development, he felt pretty gloomy about his prospects. A paper was taped to the door, and upon reading the heading, Jasper found it was the information about his trip that Yaffe had promised. He sighed, yanking the paper off the door, resolving to read it later. He pushed the door open with an exaggerated sigh as if the universe would take pity on him and suddenly reverse the effects of his fate. "I'm home," he shouted to the house. Nobody answered, and who would? It's not like anyone else was there. Just like he liked it. He sauntered into his house like he owned the place, which he did. Almost immediately after he walked down the long hallway and flopped on the couch, he heard his doorbell ring. He grumbled and reluctantly stood up, going to the door. He opened it, finding Lily on the other side.
"Hey, Jasper. I heard about your call to the human world."
"Put away that smirk, I feel bad enough about it already." His grip tightened on the door.
"Careful with that door, goat boy. It's mahogany."
"I know, I bought it."
"Are you gonna let me in or not? I'm gonna help you pack."
Jasper sighed. "Sure. I could use someone to talk to, anyway." He stepped to the side, and Lily walked in like she owned the place, which she didn't.
"Have you read the info yet?"
"I was gonna do it later."
"You have three days, goat boy. Chop chop!"
Jasper collapsed on the couch. "Exactly! I have three days! Let me mourn my body before I'm left to die!"
"It's not that bad," Lily said, sitting on the armrest of the couch.
"It is! My hands are already losing their pigment!" He held up his previously black-stained hands, which were already starting to look a little patchy. "I'm gonna lose my beloved horns, and my tail, oh my tail!" He threw his hands in the air. "And I have to leave my house and my nice bed and my lazy solitude! And I'll have to eat all the time and drink water and sleep every day, and humans are so fragile! I just wanna stay home."
"It'll be fine. Just, come on. Take a look at what circumstances you'll be put in. Then we'll see if you have anything to actually complain about," Lily chuckled quietly.
"Lily, for heaven's sake, I have more than enough to complain about."
"Hush, now hand over the paper." Jasper handed over the sheet of paper, and Lily started to read. "Alright, you'll be given an apartment in Washington state, the United States. I don't know much about living there, I was sent to Germany. Rent is about 1k a month, that's more than I had to pay. You'll be in the body of a 25 year old man, has PTSD from an abusive childhood."
"Childhood?! I don't even have parents!"
Lily ignored him. "It says you'll be hispanic. Oh, and look. You'll be fluent in Spanish and can keep that skill when you come back."
"Oh joy."
"Hush, let me finish." Lily tapped his horn. "You start out with around five thousand dollars in the bank to get you on your feet and a fridge full of food. You keep your name and identity and will have a preset backstory. When people ask you about your hometown, you'll be able to answer all questions with perfect accuracy. You have a bachelor's degree in astrophysics, but haven't gotten hired in your field yet."
"What the heck is astrophysics?"
"Studying the stars and planets and looking for habitable planets beyond the solar system."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because I chose to minor in it. My human body was a college student." Lily wove her hand dismissively. "It has some rules listed, like you can't turn back into your true form until the end of a year's time, or else you'll get another six months tacked onto your sentence with limited communication with Fury headquarters. You can't tell anyone else that you are a Fury, with some exceptions, like with a close human friend if the information is necessary, or another Fury. There's a few other rules, but that's basically it, along with a packing list."
"They gave me a packing list?"
"Trust me, you'll need it. You'd be surprised exactly how high maintenance a human body is."
"Oh great, now I'm even more fragile."
"Never underestimate humans, Jasper. You'd be surprised how determined they are."
"How determined can they be? How much can they have to live for?" Jasper propped himself up on his elbows.
"Oh, you have no idea." Lily's eyes narrowed, and Jasper sighed defeatedly before flopping facedown back into the couch. "This will be good for you, Jasper. You'll be able to do your work so much more efficiently, you'll be able to judge the actions of the accused much better, and for heaven's sake there will be much less people dying from you doing your work!"
"Who are you, my mom?"
"We don't have moms, Jasper." Jasper grumbled in response. Her voice softened. "Hey, I get it. I was upset when I was sent, too. I'm sure you remember. But it'll be okay. You get to be a little lazy for a while, and you get to learn something new. You'll come out of this with new skills and a lot more to know. Just please, let me help you pack or hang out with you before you go."
"Fine," Jasper said, his voice a little muffled by the couch. He pushed himself up and sat back on his heels. "I suppose the first course of action is getting a suitcase or two."
The first course of action was actually getting everything on the packing list, but Lily bought him some suitcases anyway. They went to Crow's Clutter, a store run by the Fury headquarters and several Furies who really didn't like the vengeful spirit work that others gravitated to. It had anything a Fury would need, everything from food and new beds to hairstyling products, trinkets, toys, or office supplies and more. The employees had to spend two years in a human body working retail to get the job, a thought that made Jasper bristle like somebody had played a bad note. Jasper looked around aimlessly while Lily consulted the list. "Come on, pay attention," she hissed. "Or I'll pick out that shampoo you hate."
"Right," Jasper sighed. "I was distracted. Sorry." They continued walking through the aisles, when an employee in the trademark black vest hopped in front of them.
"Hi!" he chirped, the wide smile on his face showing off his fangs. He had bat wings, and blue eyes, and generally looked a little strange, even for a Fury. "How can I help you?" Lily froze for a moment, a little startled, but Jasper spoke up."
"I think we're fine, thanks."
"No, we're having trouble finding some human medicine, like cough medicine or ibuprofen. Can you direct us to the aisle?"
"Oh! Well, one of you must be being sent to the human world! Congratulations, it's beautiful there."
Lily noticed the scowl on Jasper's face and laughed lightly. "Jasper is going. But he's not happy about it."
"Why would I be?" Jasper asked.
"If it makes you feel better, the humans make excellent chocolate, and there's always so much to do. I didn't mind taking the time off of my avenging duties to be there. Their candy is great, and it's generally accepted that you should be asleep at night. It's very relaxing, and nobody's going to bother you while you're sleeping."
"That sounds nice, I guess," Jasper muttered. "I'm still not exactly excited to go."
"I wasn't either, but I warmed up to the place real quick. The humans are great, you'll love them." The man shrugged. "Anyway, enough of that. I'll show you the way to the medicine." Jasper just grumbled and followed the man, starting to complain a little less. "How long have you two been friends?"
"Seventy years this June," Jasper said, his scowl starting to morph into a smile.
"Really? That's a long time, longer than I've been married."
"You're married?" Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise. Most Furies didn't get married, though a few did date. Since they lived so long, most Furies were more careful who they chose to spend their life with.
The man smiled fondly, his brown hair catching the light and his eyes lighting up like he was about to break into a musical number in a play. "Yes, my beloved Josephine. I miss her dearly, but I get to visit her this month. I'm getting sent to the human world."
"Is she human?" Jasper asked, a little bewildered. Marriage was rare enough among the Furies, but being married to a human was even rarer. Some thought it was a bad idea, but there were no rules against it. Chances were if a human managed to attract the affections of a Fury, they would become lifelong friends at the very minimum. Furies were fiercely loyal, and tended to stay with friends or loved ones until they died and protect them from any harm.
"Yes," the man nodded. "And we've been married for twenty years."
"Twenty years, really? How long do humans live anyway?"
"Eighty or ninety years on average."
"Do they really?" Jasper raised an eyebrow, starting to feel a little curious. He tried to squash the feeling, but curiosity is a rather tenacious thing. However, it wasn't something Jasper was used to feeling. It was a rather human trait, and lucky for him, he was slowly becoming human.
"They do," the man nodded, smiling as he continued to lead Lily and Jasper down the long aisles.
"Weird. How do they squeeze so much meaning out of such a short life?"
"It's just their tenacity, I guess. Despite their apparent fragility, they seem really adamant about not dying. It's interesting being among them, and I haven't met a single Fury who hasn't come home from the human world without bringing back a little bit of humanity with them. It really changes you, yeah."
"See what I mean?" Lily said with a smile, nudging Jasper with her elbow. "It's going to be fine." Jasper only let out a small grumble, but he seemed somewhat less upset about going.