#also evidence for me caring about significant dates: could've published this yesterday but i wanted to post the new chapter on my birthday

[longroadstonowhere]

okay y’all, is my birthday and i have to spend a majority of it at work, so i’m gonna drop this new chapter of wild child on y’all this morning

it’s a bit short, but as i’ve mentioned before, the rest of the story has been rough drafted, so i should be publishing it all within the next month or so (as evidenced by how there’s actually a set number of chapters for the fic now) - the only reason it might take a bit longer is cuz i like when numbers match up so i might spring for some kind of significant date, haha

(1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ao3)

"This place is huuuge!" John said, his words distorted a little by the window he was currently smashing his face against. It was still early enough in the evening that he could see how the roads leading up to the airport's parking garages twisted around each other, making complicated loops that had to run around the whole complex. He could almost pretend they were on the edge of an epic car chase, one that would have his dad swerving between lanes, taking supersharp turns to throw off their pursuers until the only course left... was straight onto the tarmac!

Distracted by trying to compose the perfect high-octane music score, John didn't realize his dad was saying something to him until he was almost done talking. "... Thankfully we'll be able to park fairly close to our terminal, since getting from one end of the airport to the other can be quite the journey, It wouldn't do to miss our light due to such a silly thing as that."

"Uh, yeah, sure, that would probably be real bad... So hey! What kind of plane are we flying on, anyway? Is it one of those super cool double-decker ones? It'd be so awesome to climb a flight of stairs when you're actually flying waaaay above the clouds!"

His dad chuckled. "Sorry John, but I'm afraid those kinds of plans are usually reserved for international flights, not domestic ones."

"Oh." There went another possibility to reenact some cool movie moments. "Well, whatever kind of plane it is, it'll still be really cool to really be flying. Do the tops of clouds look different from the bottoms? I mean, they look kinda different in the movies, but movies make a lot of stuff look different."

"It depends on the kind of cloud," Jade piped up from the backseat. She and Bec were sprawled out together, soaking up every minute they could before they had to get on the plane separately - Bec was way too big for any airline to let him ride with the passengers, sadly. "I got to see a few different formations on our trip from the island, and the cumulus clouds looked pretty much the same from above and below, but the stratus clouds will look way different cuz the sun hits them in different ways."

John twisted around in his seat as he said, "That's right, I totally forgot you've been in a plane before, Jade! That's so cool!" Then he frowned. "Wait, that means you got the chance to fly before I did. That's lame."

Jade laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. She showed a little too much of her teeth when she did, so it looked kinda weird, but John was almost impressed she'd picked up such a classic childish expression, Of course, he had to shower her how the pros did it.

John's masterful expression provoked Jade into making another face back at him, and soon the two were embroiled in a contest to see who could make the most unhumanly ridiculous face possible. By the time Dad parked the car, no victor had been declared, but John was in physical pain from all the laughing.

Security lines were boring. And slow. No wonder movie heroes always skip them, John thought as he waited for his dad to finish collecting all the stuff he'd had to take out of his pockets. He'd let Jade and John go first, which was probably the gentlemanly thing to do, but it also meant they had to wait when all John wanted to do was run around and look at all the neat airport shops. He bounced in place until, finally, his dad had tied his shoelaces into the perfect knot. "Our gate is A5," he said, with a gesture of his hand, which clearly meant 'go ahead'.

John didn't ask twice - he was off like a shot, tearing past the other people in the hall on the way to their gate. He didn't get very far, though - as he turned a corner, he stopped short, in awe of the sight before him.

He'd entered what looked like the main hub for all the branches of the airport, a two-story open room with tables and chairs scattered around, a few of them taken up by travelers getting in a quick bite. The truly spectacular thing, however, was that the entire outer wall was made of glass, letting him see the airplanes as they trucked around between gates. The sun was almost done setting, but it still scattered a few golden beams across the sky. It was one of the most beautiful things John had ever seen in real life.

Staring out the window, John didn't notice his dad catching up to him until his hand came down on his shoulder. He looked up into his dad's face, who smiled and said, "Exciting, isn't it?" John just nodded, words failing him for once. "We'd best make our way to the gate, then. Wouldn't want to miss our flight, after all."

Paul leaned back in his seat and rolled his shoulders, taking a break from reading his novel. Checking his watch, it looked like they were about two thirds through their flight. He'd taken a small nap earlier, but he'd never been able to sleep well outside of a bed.

He glanced at John on his left, who was leaning against the wall of the plane, completely unconscious. It even looked like he was drooling a little. Paul grinned and took out his Blackberry to get a quick photo. These doohickies are certainly more convenient than carrying a proper camera around, even if the pictures aren't quite as good, he mused. It looked like John was taking his first flight well, though.

On his other side, Jade also seemed to be sleeping, though it was hard to tell if she was truly out or just keeping very still. She had adapted to life in this country extraordinarily well so far, but she still held many unconscious habits from her time living alone.

Paul sighed to himself. Uncle Harley, some of the decisions you made... I just can't understand them. His mother had never gone into much detail about why Uncle Harley never visited, she'd just said he needed a lot of space. He'd sent a couple letters filled with tales of his adventures, which his mother had used as bedtime stories, but they never had much in the way of personal sentiments, and he couldn't recall his mother sending any back. He'd never questioned that distance growing up - that's just how family was sometimes.

Now, though, he couldn't help but wonder how his mother had really felt about Uncle Harley's long absence from her life. Did he even know about me? Paul suddenly thought. He'd never met the man, after all, and he'd started his adventurous lifestyle long before Mother adopted him. As far as Uncle Harley knew, his sister had spent the rest of her life alone.

Paul shook his head, forcing the morose thoughts away. That's in the past now, for better or worse. He had to focus on taking care of Jade, not musing on what had led Uncle Harley to keep her isolated on that island. It was hard to think of the future, though, knowing what the most likely outcome of this trip was.

He looked at Jade's still face and took a deep breath. I have to do what's best for Jade. No matter what. With that resolve in his heart, he leaned back and closed his eyes, hoping for a little more rest before their trip together ended.

Jade stared out the car's window, watching the landscape race by. Bec was draped halfway across her body, making up for the time together they'd lost because of that airline's policies on traveling with dogs. The pilot on her flight off the island had been much more reasonable.

Then again, that had probably been considered "special circumstances". It still would've been nice to fly with him again.

Next to her, John was still chattering excitedly about their trip thus far. He'd been pretty groggy when they got off the plane, but all his usual energy had come back in a flash when he'd noticed the professional driver waiting for them with a sign that said "Egbert". Apparently he'd been sent by the woman they were here to visit, Doctor Lalonde. John had just been excited to have such a "celebrity moment" happen to him, as he'd repeated several times during the car ride thus far.

Mr. Egbert was listening to John from his position in the front seat, so Jade didn't feel too bad about keeping her attention on the world outside their car. It definitely seemed more... wild than the area around John's house. Not the same as her island, of course, but the only real sign of people was the road they were traveling on. Otherwise, it was all trees and rocks as far as she could tell. It would be nice to spend time here.

After some time, the car pulled around a curve and revealed a majestic, sprawling house nestled into a large clearing. Jade pressed against the window, trying to catch as many details as possible. "... Is that a river running through that place?" she asked, unable to trust her own eyes.

"Seriously??" John stretched toward her side of the car, trying to look out her window, but the car turned to drive toward the house before he could get a good view. "That sounds super awesome! Like a supervillain's lair! Hey, wait, she's not really a supervillain, right?" John turned towards his dad again. "Dad, we're not visiting a supervillain, right?"

Mr. Egbert chuckled. "Son, Dr. Lalonde is a kind and generous woman. She was the one who paid for our flight here, you know, and arranged for the excellent service of our chauffeur here." He nodded respectfully to the driver, who murmured "Thank you kindly" in response.

As the car pulled up to the house, John kept talking. "I dunno, supervillains can be really charming, and this could all be some kind of trap. Paying for the hero's transportation is a total villain move."

Now Mr. Egbert frowned. "John, your imagination is a powerful tool, but while we are Dr. Lalonde's guests, I trust that you'll treat her with respect. Understood?"

John slumped back in his seat. "Fiiiiiiiine." Quieter, he said, "That's way less cool, though."

When the car stopped, Jade let Bec out first so he could get some of the kinks out of his legs. He'd had to stay in that traveling container for a really long time. For her part, Jade got out and looked up at the house again. It was a pretty ridiculous house, really - it looked way bigger than any person really needed, and building your house on top of a river just seemed unnecessarily dangerous. There was something about the place that felt... weirdly familiar, though...

Jade's attempts at placing that feeling were interrupted by a loud voice from the house. "Oh! My! GOSH! You're here! You're all here!" A woman with short blonde hair wearing some kind of labcoat dress was rushing down the path towards them. "Please, please, let Noah take care of your luggage, you've had a long trip and I'm sure you're all completely exhausted!" She came closer showing all her teeth in a wide grin, and Jade had to suppress the urge to run up a tree. She'd gotten better with figuring out when people were just being friendly, but...

Fortunately the woman seemed to be focused on Mr. Egbert for now - they were talking about how the trip went, which seemed useless to her, but whatever kept the doctor's attention off her for now would work. She watched as Bec poked around the landscape, staying within a fairly close distance in case he was needed. It was good she was able to bring hi, She'd have to thank Dr. Lalonde for that, right? Mr. Egbert would probably expect that of her.

"Oh, what am I doing, blabbing your ears off out here! Come in, please, we'll all have plenty of time to get to know each other." She gestured toward the front door and they all slowly made their way into the house.