THE MOMENT
"Not so fun on this end...," Jennifer wished she wasn't the one being chased. She liked to focus on the positives, and she could at least say it was a nice day for it. The sun was out, but there was a crisp chill in the air that cooled her down. She felt like she could've run for hours, and she might have to.
The crowd of villagers chasing her through the town screamed raucously, almost cheerfully bordering on glee. Their torches were more for show; it was broad daylight. But, the pitchforks were designed to be intimidating and the villagers waved them around as threateningly, and as safely as they could while running.
The citizens believed there was a certain charm to a good, old-fashioned angry mob, and a lot of them put in the extra effort to decorate their pitchforks. They came in different colors, some with extra spikes, or even complicated fixtures to add a torch to their pitchfork for extra personality.
Jennifer ran down the main dirt road of the small village at a moderate pace to conserve energy, and the crowd wasn't far behind. It made for a worrying scene for any outsider. The whole thing almost resembled some grim parade marching through town at jogging speed. And that was the sight Jubilee happened upon.
"HEY STOP!" Jubilee dashed forward and put herself between the young woman and the crowd chasing her. She was genuinely surprised when the crowd instantly halted even without using any of her powers to influence them. She could create a warm, welcoming aura to put others at ease; but, she hadn't yet.
"What's wrong?" One of the villagers at the head of the pack asked. He relaxed and rested his golden pitchfork on the ground as the rest of the villagers lowered their weapons.
"Are you okay?" Jubilee was surprised when the young woman asked from behind her.
"I'm fine, are you okay?" She was there to help.
"Yeah,... why wouldn't I be?" Jennifer asked.
"I..," she looked over at the crowd milling around peacefully, giving her polite patience. Jubilee had been feeling down lately. She was usually quicker to adapt; but, her mind seemed to be moving a touch slower since the new year. She chalked it up to the holidays and not sleeping well. She was clever enough to guess things weren't what they initially seemed, but she couldn't quite put together how. "Do you want them chasing you?" she asked. Jennifer, and the crowd laughed.
"Well, I wish they weren't; but, it's my turn," she said.
"Ohhhhh, I'm sorry!" Jubilee finally caught up to the situation. "SORRY GUYS!" She raised her voice and apologized to the villagers as well. They all laughed and smiled as the older man at the head of the pack lifted his golden pitchfork again.
"Break time!" he shouted and the crowd started to disperse. "Since we've stopped anyway," he nodded and smiled at Jubilee. "Welcome to our town, you're welcome to stay and join in the festivities, we'll be having quite a feast once the sun goes down," he waved goodbye and headed off.
"I hope I didn't ruin it!?" Jubilee asked Jennifer. The young woman was the last one left. "Hi, I'm Jubilee," she introduced herself.
"Jennifer," she shook Jubilee's hand and smiled. "Not at all,-"
"Jenny? Have we met before? I know that name...," Jubilee interrupted the explanation Jennifer was about to give her.
"Jennifer," she repeated with a stern tone and a warm smile to make it clear. "I don't think we've met, it's a common name though," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you had a Jennifer or two in your life."
"Yeah," Jubilee nodded. "Sorry, it's weird. I know that name, but I don't know where I know it from. I can't remember where I heard it, and I don't know anyone named Jenny...," she repeated.
"What about Jennifer? It's a whole different name, you know," she was trying to be patient; but, her name wasn't 'Jenny'.
"No, you're right sorry. What were you going to say? I interrupted you again I guess...," Jubilee apologized one more time.
"I was just going to thank you for interrupting the chase," Jennifer smiled. "You didn't ruin anything. It's a small village with not much to do, and there's nothing like a good, old-fashioned angry mob with torches and pitchforks to liven things up. The only thing we're missing is the anger. It's a community night out event every month, though it's not the best position to be out in front. I have to keep running. Anyone running with the crowd I can take a rest at any time; it's way more fun that way," she smiled. "Are you going to join in, or stay for the feast?"
"No, thank you," Jubilee shook her head as she started walking away while trying to process her thoughts. "I'm not in the mood to have fun right now, I guess...,"
