[ the anticipation is the worst part. jo's been organizing and planning this trip ever since the flood, ever since she snuck back into odin's study, and with four's help and the whispers heading around the city, it's been able to come to something. it's been able to grow and shift, from ideas to plans to an early morning meeting at the gates of the city and then they're off.

she doesn't necessary take a leading position, but as the organizer she finds herself checking in on everyone's she's spoken to already. making sure everyone knows how dangerous it's likely to be, knows they have this last chance to back out before it's all over. then it's making sure everyone has everything they need, packed the right stuff, and then...then they're off.

she buzzes around for most of that first day, calm and excited and determined, all at once. the journal is burning a hole in the back of her backpack, but she doesn't take out it. doesn't flip through the pages for the eighteen hundredth time like she has for the past few weeks. not even when they settle down to make camp, and she's doing another round before coming to stop by her own little tent, not sure if she'll even be able to sleep. after that feeling of falling, again and again and then the blackout, she's nervous. more than nervous.

but then she feels the pull, and she knows this was the right choice. the right idea.

they'll make it. ]

[ jo spends most of her time trying to get everyone to keep quiet, assuming that the only way to get around these scouts and the kingdom is by sneaking around. she does jump into a fight or two, stepping up behind people even if they don't see her to give them a quick boost before she moves on again. her power isn't anything she brags about, and she hates how she's most useful out of the line of fire, but she does what she can to get as many people through it as they can.

the canyon is so close. she can feel it in her chest, her bones. and the faster they can get through this and out, the better. they're all exhausted by the time they finally do, jo feeling it just as much as anyone who was doing actual fighting, but she doesn't stop. finds herself near the front of the group and keeps pushing. when she comes upon the large gash in the ground, she freezes up for a moment. takes in the sight in front of her.

there's something violent about this place, but the draw is even heavier. pulling her in, and in, and even she ends up slipping a bit as they make their way down the canyon. wouldn't that be ironic, killing herself before she even gets to see what this whole trip culminates to. ]