When Wynne asked if she had anything to give to Regan, Jade considered passing. After all, they parted ways forever, right? No hard feelings. Regan was adamant there would be no other way to reach her, refusing to disclose the address where banshees got their correspondence. This was breaking the rules, so to speak. And Jade loved breaking dumb rules, but she always respected Regan’s decision over everything.

But there was still conflict in Jade’s heart, so she consulted with her cats over the following days. Concluding, thanks to Lullaby’s wise input, that she couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to reach out. Except, she had nothing to give Regan, nothing she hadn’t already taken with her. More consulting was needed for Jade to have her lightbulb moment. See, there wasn’t a thing Regan needed from her currently, not with Wynne and Elias going after her. But in the future, maybe, possibly, if something came up and minds suddenly changed (as unlikely as that was to ever happen), she wanted Regan to know where she stood. 

Jade figured a change of mind wouldn’t be enough for Regan’s stubborn ass to leave Ireland and what she believed to be her duty behind. No, Jade knew she’d try to make it work, somehow. No matter how miserable she felt. So Jade wanted to give Regan a hand, all the way from Wicked’s Rest, on the chance that Regan felt like her own desires didn’t matter enough to tip the scales. Regan had always been a little weak for Jade’s big-brained logic, hadn’t she? So she ended up handing Wynne a small envelope before they left for Ireland. The outside read: “Break in case of emergency”, and then below, “DO NOT break. OPEN” for Regan and Wynne’s more literal brains.

If Regan were to ever open the envelope, she’d find… a letter. It starts with a dramatic opening, “Regan. Hey…if you are reading this it means [del: I‘m]… things are not looking good”.

“Things might be super mega bad, right now, actually. And I know you wanna stick to your guns, I know you think there’s a way to turn this around and make it work. A last-second 3-pointer that’s gonna fix it all and make your granny cheer (I watched Space Jam, I think that’s how basketball works). I almost wanna believe in you, cause that’s all I do. But please… hear me out. Ireland isn’t the end of it. You can do what you must do here. I should’ve said it. You should’ve stayed. I wanted you to. But that’s not why I’m writing to you. I want you to stop thinking about everyone else but yourself. You are a person too. [del:You’re my] But if you can’t think about you, think about me, okay? You enjoy doing that a lot too.” 

The message is followed by a list titled: “69 reasons why we should be together (number 69 will make your jaw drop)”. Jade started the list months before Ireland was even on the horizon, back when Regan was still pretending there was nothing going on between them. She never planned on finishing it, cause she got the girl, but desperate times called for desperate measures. 

The list… is a bit of a mess. Parts heartfelt, part inside jokes, the numbers are not in order, cause, why would they, it’s Jade? Number 12 talks about both of them being nosy, which totally means they would have all the tea about the town, followed by Number 36, a simple “We can share clothes”. Number 20 is “You need someone to watch whales decompose with, I happen to have my Google alerts on”. Number 69 is just a winky face, but number 66 says, “bog sex might happen”. Number 17 mentions how opposites attract, while Number 18 points out that they’re more similar than either wants to admit. Number 52 is “We’d never run out of things to talk about”. Number 47 is “Porcupines deserve to be held too, in fact, they might need it more than others”. Number 10 reads, “Chemistry that should be studied in a lab, actually”, and Number 2, “I’d give up on hearing music for the rest of my life if that meant hearing your voice whisper my name again”.

At the bottom of the list, there’s Number 1, and it says: “I love you, and you love me. That’s not changing in this lifetime. So not doing something about it? Super irresponsible”

The letter ends with,

“Prove me right”. 

Anri: If you had the ability to control a large number of people, would you use it? If so, would you use it to further your own needs or only for the sake of others/the greater good?

— あ ざ ボ

Celty: Do you have a purpose or goal in your life? If so, what is it?

— あ ざ ボ

  Hmm. Putting it plain and simply, the only things I truly want out of life is to be happy. Well, that and I would like to get the chance to achieve my dream of being an author.

Shinra: Would you keep a secret from someone close to you for their benefit? For your own benefit?

— あ ざ ボ

  That would honestly depend on what it was. A small difference between my muse and I is the fact that I’m not one to really lie. But I do tell white lies from time to time. But only to protect people. That’s not much better in the end but there’s nothing truly serious that I’ve kept from anyone.

Mikado: Do you think you are an average person or an extraordinary one? What, if anything, do you think is unique about yourself?

— あ ざ ボ

  Hmm. I would personally deem myself not exactly ordinary. I mean, in my own opinion, there’s nothing really particularly interesting about me but at the same time, I wouldn’t deem myself normal per se either. But like my muse, being normal is something that I long to be. As for unique about myself? I’d say my experiences. I’ve been through more pain than I let on and somehow, I like that about myself because it shows how able I am to pull through.

Izaya: Do you think that chaos makes the world more interesting, or do you prefer that everything is in order?

— あ ざ ボ

  I would personally prefer if everything were in order. Call me boring, but I much prefer having a peaceful life rather than an unruly one.

Chikage: Do you consider yourself physically resilient? Emotionally resilient?

— あ ざ ボ

  I would say I’m more mentally resilient. I’d say I’m a pretty strong person mentally. I’ve been through quite a lot within my twenty three years of life and I don’t think I would be here right now if I wasn’t mentally strong in all honesty.

The holiday carnival was definitely a first for Lena. Her family stopped celebrating Christmas a long time ago. When she was younger, they used to do all sorts of things to follow with tradition, like go to New Haven, build snowmen and bake cookies. As she grew up, however, the traditions faded into nothing and she wound up receiving cash as opposed to well thought out presents or even a stocking full of surprises. Still, though, Lena didn't let that affect her. While she may not celebrate it like most people, she liked how the holidays brought out the good in most people.

For the first time in a few years, Lena had holiday themed plans with someone that wasn't family. That was how she found herself in the carnival in the first place, standing around and waiting for him by the gigantic Christmas tree. A smile couldn't help itself from appearing on her face as she watched people with their friends and families. She was watching little children dance and play and their parents chasing after them. It was almost magical. The only thing missing was a little bit of snow, but that was the New Haven-born part of her.

After a few moments of standing around, she saw Ethan approach. The smile on her face instantly got wider, a bright friendly gleam in her eyes. "Hey!" She greeted happily, adding a wave to her expression.