Chapter Text
Jinxx sighed as he packed the last bit of his clothing into a suitcase. This was it. Andy's school year was over. Failing algebra meant he hadn't graduated, but they were all moving out to LA. Can't stop plans just because one little menial bit doesn't work out. Ashley and Sandra were already there. They'd been taking turns staying with Jake, helping him get a grip on the world.
"You ready?" Andy's head poked in the doorway.
"Yeah, kid. Are you?"
A grin painted Andy's face. "Dude I've been ready for months. Let's get the hell out of here."
Jinxx followed his charge down the steep stairway into an ornate living room.
"You sure about this, Andrew?" Augustus asked, standing from his favorite chair and placing his book on the side table.
Andy smiled. "Absolutely."
The old Mystic nodded, pulling Andy in for a hug. "You'll always be welcome here, Andrew. And if you have any questions, either of you," he shot a pointed look at Jinxx. "You're always welcome to call."
"Thank you, elder Augustus," Jinxx said with a slight bow.
"Hey, none of that," Augustus insisted, reaching a hand out to pull Jinxx into the hug as well. "You boys be careful out there. Look after each other. All of you."
Jinxx and Andy both nodded, then they loaded up into Jinxx's SUV and headed out.
"It's not that dangerous, right?" Andy asked, hesitantly.
With a slow sigh and a swallow, Jinxx responded. "Los Angeles has a reputation for a reason. There are all kinds of creatures out there, because their differences are easily overlooked among all the crazy. With any luck, we will be, too."
"I'm sensing a 'but,'" Andy added.
Jinxx sighed again. "There are many different beings, not all of them peaceful. But so long as we stay out of Daethlysk territory, we should be okay."
"I never understood that, ya know."
"Understood what?"
Andy cleared his throat. "Why the Daethlysk people are so vehemently against the Majiks and Prophets."
Jinxx flicked the switch to his cruise control and relaxed a bit. "They are creatures of chaos, Andy. They resent having to answer to any higher power."
"But," Andy started, a note of frustration in his voice. "Don't they have their own appointed leaders,"
Jinxx just laughed. "Honestly, their population is so small, that's unnecessary." He shrugged a bit. "Mostly they don't even talk to each other. When important decisions present, they take a vote from the whole population."
Andy scoffed. "What about interspecies diplomacy?"
"You really think a species with no internal diplomacy is the least bit interested in interacting with other beings?"
"Well they must have some form of agreement with other beings otherwise they'd be constantly at war." Andy rolled down his window and lit a cigarette.
Jinxx wobbled his head a bit. "The Council decided a long time ago that the only way to handle the Daethlysk people was to manage the activities of everyone else around them. A couple hundred years ago they agreed to a territory treaty. Sort of. But there has been an unwritten agreement that wherever they make up their territory, everyone else leaves them alone. They must legally own the property, like any other being, of course. Any property legally owned by a Daethlysk is theirs, and the other beings essentially stay away."
Andy groaned. "How does it not get out of hand? Like, couldn't they potentially own half the country?"
The Mystic smirked. "That would require organization. They're not the type. And they don't really desire riches. Trust me, they've been offered grandure. They all turn it down. They prefer the lower middle class, living among the masses where they can cause the most chaos."
A growl of irritation followed Andy's slow drag on his cigarette. "Guess I know what I'm reading on the road. Anywhere we can stop so I can use the library?"
Jinxx glanced out at the road signs around them. "Probably not for an hour or so. Why don't you try to sleep?"
Andy groaned. "I don't sleep well without-" he cut himself short.
"Without who?"
Andy sighed. "Without, ah," he cleared his throat. "Um, without Ash. Not since..."
"Since he got himself blown up?" Jinxx offered.
"Yeah. I dunno. I mean Scout helps sometimes. But I dunno, the really bad ones still seem to cling past the waking state. With Ash, when I wake I'm so concerned about him that the vision doesn't linger. Because for weeks in the Healer's Mansion I had to be careful not to jostle his wings."
Jinxx let out a humming sound that roughly translated to pure sarcasm. "And it has nothing to do with the way he smells, or his sharp cheek bones or the tattoo across his abs you couldn't keep your fingers off of when he was unconscious?"
"I'm straight. And I'm going to marry Scout. We've been talking about it for months. She graduates in December and then she's gonna come out to LA and we're gonna get married and she's gonna be an actress."
The Mystic sighed at the indignation in Andy's voice. "At least one of those things is true."
Andy rolled his eyes. "Look, I know Ashley is in love with me. I've known since the start. He can hide behind whatever busty, tattooed blonde he wants. I'm not blind. I'm just choosing to look away. I'm not interested and he knows it."
Jinxx scoffed. "Look kid. I know you don't want to accept this. I understand. But I see the way you look at him. I'm not blind, either. But at least Ashley isn't in denial."
The sound Andy responded with was somewhere between a growl and a groan. For a fleeting moment, Jinxx wished he'd recorded it so he could torture Ashley. But maybe it was in the band's best interest if he didn't.
"Please, do explain why all you Majiks keep trying to marry me off to him." Andy groaned, flicking his cigarette butt out the window and then rolling it up.
Jinxx snorted. "We see a lot more than we let on. We may not see events of the future - that's the job of the Prophets. But we can see the bonds that connect people, like ribbons tied from one soul to another. Those of us who were in the infirmary when Ashley was almost dead had the fortune of watching the bond between the two of you form." He sighed a bit. "Most bonds just latch into each person's soul. Yours..."
Andy coughed a bit. "Ours, what?"
With a slow sigh, Jinxx glanced at Andy, trying to look him in the eye. He couldn't, so he settled for paying very close attention to the road. "Ashley's is latched in. But your end just wraps around you. Like it's waiting for something to officially allow it to take root."
Andy shook his head in confusion. "I love Ashley. You know that. Just like I love Sandra and you."
Jinxx shook his head. "If that were the case, it would have latched in. Your bond with me latched at the ceremony to transfer you from Augustus's care to mine. Sandra's was already latched in when I met her years ago. But, that's not something to concern yourself with. Whatever the bond is waiting for, it will happen, or the bond will break entirely. And since I don't think anything could come between you and Ashley, the former is most likely."
The Prophet gave a heavy sigh. "Why is my life so damn complicated?"
Jinxx didn't respond. He just watched carefully as Andy pulled out the spiral notebook he'd been using recently for lyrics. Well, maybe the band would get a song out of all the complication.