Renegades: KotLC

Planning- 23

Sophie pulled out of the hug, quickly thanking Kenna before leading her, Rajni, and Iggy down the stairs and back towards their bedroom. Once inside, she immediately went back to packing her things, needing to busy herself before the tears could fall. Forget, she told herself. Forget, forget, forget. It was all she could do to control her emotions. 

Thankfully, Kenna and Rajni had their own packing to do, and Iggy was returned to Sophie. He, too, understood to keep his distance, snuggling up inside one of the hoodie's pockets. As she sat, she was briefly relieved of the pain stabbing her side. She'd done well to mask the pain so far, though she felt that, had she walked around without rest any longer, her secret would be revealed soon enough. She busied herself by stuffing things into her bag, distracting from both the physical and emotional pains that lingered close.

Despite Evander's claim that there would be no need, Sophie packed a few of her favorite outfits anyway, including a hoodie with yet another anime reference, this one being a family of three: woman with dark hair, blond, and a young girl with pink hair and... horns? Kenna and her anime. She also packed a single, elven outfit; it wasn't because she was being sentimental, but a preparation should she ever need it again. She was done being sentimental. For her, it was just a complicated way of spelling "weak". She was done being weak. 

So, she packed the rest of her things: Ella; her iPod; her memory log, which she really needed to start using again; the jewelry gifts from Rajni and Evander; and the final thing she'd need: "Iggy," Sophie called. The little imp's head peeked out from the hoodie pocket, his curious eyes meeting hers as his ears perked. She called him again and he came running, climbing up her arm and perching onto his shoulder. 

"You can't hide there," Sophie told him. "You'll be outside the apartments today, so we can't let humans spot you." 

Iggy moved up her shoulder and clung to the back of her neck, hidden beneath her hair. She tried to set him into the other pocket of her backpack, but he held tight to her hood. 

"I don't think he wants to go back in there," Rajni said. 

"He gladly went inside when he was sneaking here in the first place." Sophie glared at the imp, hoping he'd get the message. I told you not to come in the first place. It's your fault you can't sleep in your cage, or eat your food. He remained hidden in the hood she wore. Get in. The bag. 

Whether it was her persistence, or the tone of her message, Sophie didn't quite know. Though, it had gotten the job done, and he crept into the backpack's empty pocket, hanging his head in a most dramatic way as he went. 

"Poor Iggy," Rajni said, peering over Sophie's shoulder. Sophie's hand, instinctively, went to hide her wound. To her relief, Rajni didn't seem to notice.

"Not really," Sophie said. "He wasn't supposed to be here in the first place." 

"Still..." Rajni frowned a final time, before moving to finish her packing. Sophie sighed, removing her hand from her side as she watched Rajni pull something from under her pillow. A kazoo. Stuffing it into a grocery bag full of random junk such as odd stones, bottle caps, and coins from around the world, Rajni tied the bag shut. Sophie hadn't known she collected. Taking this into mind, Rajni might enjoy collecting seashells. There were some cool ones back where Sophie had used to live, as they'd lived fairly close to the beach. 

"Do we know where Evander's taking us?" Sophie asked as she zipped up her own bag.

"Actually," Kenna realized. "I don't recall him ever telling us. Ray, do you remember anything like that?" 

She shook her head. "It's probably a surprise! Ooh, or another adventure!" 

Someone knocked on the door, and Koen popped into the room. "You guys aren't ready? Girls are slow." He dodged a pillow, and Sophie found the source of the throw to be Kenna, who's arm stayed extended towards his face.