Ship In A Bottle (A Monkie Kid Reader Insert)

Chapter 38: Morning Dew

'It's windy...' 

Nothing odd there. The city was usually this windy during the twilight hour. If anything, 'odd' better described the thin blanket of fog swirling from every step Xue took. The city was no stranger to fog, being a coastal city while also having many elevated areas, but fog doesn't often touch these streets that the woman frequented on her way to work.

That's right. Work. Usually, Xue would be scrambling around to get both her and Lily ready for training at the dojo, but well...No use getting ready for work either, with the Weather Station still being repaired from the winter incident. With that train of thought in mind, she watched each and every establishment she passed by. All still closed due to the early hour. Xue didn't pay too much attention at first, but soon had her eyes freeze on one of the buildings.

There it was. The dojo that Lily used to train in. Weeks after her disappearance, the place shut down for some reasons still unknown. She scrolled through the chat group of concerned parents who tried to reach out to the trainer...

To no response...

"Wow! Are you usually this quiet, partner?"

Xue jolted with a yelp, sighing when she recognized the face beside her. "Oh...Gibby...I forgot you're here."

Gibby tilted her head, only to shrug as she continued to float beside her.

That's right. Ever since the winter incident, Bell decided to perform that selective visibility spell on Xue. Days have passed since then, but she still has yet to get used to the floating ghost gibbon beside her. She'll have to get used to her eventually. Xue knew that. Which was why she decided that today was the perfect day for that.

"So, this ability of yours? Gut feelings? They'll help us find leftover serum right?" Asked Xue, a sense of urgency from her steps. Each step ignoring the cracks that resulted from the ping pong-related events of yesterday. "The serum used to cure the spider venom?"

"M-hmm!" Gibby nodded happily, floating in a loopy motion. "We need to go at the very top." Looking up, she used her hands as pretend binoculars before pointing at the highest point of the city. "There!"

"The observatory?" Xue squinted her eyes, trying to get a clearer view of the place. There it was, standing high where it could watch the stars during the night. The woman herself always wanted to see what was inside despite having to authorized access, the thought of stargazing through the giant telescope being a nice image in her mind.

Well, there was more to that, but that would she really admit something like that?

She sighed, shaking the thought out before focusing back at the task at hand. "Well, if that's where we're going, then we're taking the train."

Continuing her walk, she didn't mind the silence that Gibby was weirdly not interrupting, while the gibbon herself was left to wonder...

"...What's a train again?"

Thankfully it didn't take long for her to find out, followed Xue to the same subway station where she accompanied you to meet Red Son and the horned demon twins. She still chuckled at the memory, specifically the odd disguises the demon babysitters picked for themselves.

"What's so funny?" Xue smiled, finding Gibby's little giggles contagious. Though the stares that the woman was getting from the few people here reminded her that she probably looked weird, seemingly talking to herself. She swore she remembered something about being able to communicate with Gibby through her thoughts as well.

"I-I remembered s-something the last time I was here." Gibby struggled to speak between bits of laughter. "T-there were two p-people, and they were wearing really funny stuff! There was a flamingo hat, a-a pair of Monkey King fuzzy slippers, little light wire things-"