Jodie didn't really want to do anything with Amulet of Zulo. Yet, at the same time, she could sense that Nathan was curious about it. Stepping back, she furrowed her brow and looked at the dog collars her fiancé had set down at some point. If the necklace did what the book said, she didn't want to use it on them. And the idea of becoming someone else didn't hold any attraction. Which left her wondering what to do. Finding herself leaning toward saying they should chuck the medallion and find out if someone had asked her grandmama to do a sewing project for them, she found as well that she wouldn't know where to look, as Patricija Lara didn't keep any records of who she was sewing something for.
"At least, not that I ever knew," Jodie thought as she gave Nathan a look.
He knew that look in her eye, had seen it he didn't know how many times. Though he was mildly curious about the necklace and whether it did what the book said, he could also see a point in getting rid of it, as it seemed that using it could lead to trouble. Ready to tell his fiancé that they should get rid of it, noting that it looked like Jodie had already decided this, he was taken aback when she said, "I think we should at least try an experiment."
Still surprised by what he'd heard, Nathan answered, "Okay," in a hesitant tone before he asked, "So, how should we try this experiment?"
"Well, not on the dog collars by themselves, obviously," Jodi returned and worrying her lip, she mulled over the problem, unaware that Nathan was also doing the same.
The two standing inches from each other, both lost in their own thoughts, it was Jodie who eventually stated, "I don't know about you, but I do not relish the idea of becoming someone else. Nor do I like the idea of becoming an animal. There is so much that could go wrong, including how exactly are we to use the amulet to change back. Especially if we don't have hands, fingers, anything to grasp with."
He wanted to point out that there were creature who had hands and fingers, ways to grasp things, but kept the information to himself. Seeing no way they could turn themselves into such an animal, Nathan asked, "So, what do you suggest we do? Because I have nothing."
Arms crossed across her torso again, Jodie thought for a moment before she said, "What happens if we combine two things together? Would we become something that’s a hybrid of the two? Or would one overrule the other and we'd end up turning into one or the other," and seeing the look on her fiancé's face, she explained, "Suppose I used a new dress and something of yours, which isn't to say I would. Would I become a combination of you and a version of myself? Or would I turn in you? Or a form of myself?"
Nathan understood what she was driving it, but found he didn't know how to answer. Shaking his head, he replied, "I honestly don't know."
Her mind still working out the particulars, Jodie reached for the Amulet of Zulo, picked it up, and after considering whether to try and put it in her pants pocket or wear it, she draped the chain around neck and tucked the medallion inside her shirt. An idea starting to form, she said, "I think I know what to do. How about we discuss it over the dinner? You bring the dog collars, and I'll bring my suggestions."
"Dinner sounds great," Nathan answered and picking up the dog collars from where he'd set them, he and his fiancé left the former house of Patricija Lara.
Their meal taken at a sandwich shoppe a couple streets away, it was after they'd ordered, gotten their food, and sat down in a booth near the back of the restaurant that they felt ready to broach the subject. The only other table occupied being on the other end of the restaurant, Nathan leaned forward to start on his meal as he listened as Jodie proposed the idea that they each purchase a shirt. Afterward, holding a shirt and one of the collars, they touch the necklace to an exposed part of their skin, like it had said in the book. Taking a bite, chewing and swallowing, the woman finished with, "We can find out if the thing is magical, not have to risk becoming someone else, as the shirts will be new and that should mean we'll just turn into another version of ourselves, and if we are unhappy, we change back in twelve hours."
Everything sounded all right to Nathan, but he didn't say this at first. Chewing slowly on his food, he went over all what he'd been told. After a couple more bites, he suggested, "What if, to guarantee we become a different version of ourselves, we each buy a shirt like what we wore when we were younger," and seeing the look on Jodie's face, he hastily added, "And I don't mean when we were like children. I mean like, ten years ago, when we were sixteen or seventeen?"
"Do you think it would work to make us younger?" Jodie inquired after she'd taken a sip of her soda.
"I don't see why not," Nathan answered before he took the remained few bites of his sandwich and reached for the bag of crisps that had come with, but didn't open them.
Across from him, Jodie thought over what her fiancé had said and tried to recall what she'd worn when she'd been about seventeen. Folding up the last half of her sandwich in the paper wrapping it had come in, she drank the rest of her pop and when she was finished, she said, "I think you've got a good idea there. We both knew each back then, had only started dating a couple years previous, so I don't think we have to worry about becoming strangers to each other," as she stood.
Trash collected, Nathan nodded at this and commented, "Yeah. That's another reason not to make ourselves too young," and dumping the stuff in the appropriate receptacle, he walked out of the sandwich shoppe with Jodie and toward his car.
Conversation turning to the finer details, including what to do if the necklace was a fake, in which they decided to take it to a pawn store, they headed for the nearest department store. There, they told each other, "See you in a bit," as they wandered off to find a shirt or some other garment like what they worn when they'd been sixteen, seventeen years old.
For Jodie, it was simple. When she'd been that age, she'd worn ripped jeans and baseball style shirts. Still a bit of tomboy, she'd been more so ten years ago when she'd been into the skateboarding scene. Heading for the teen section, she browsed the jeans first, but couldn't find anything distressed. Heading over to the shirts next, she ignored the ones that were almost like what she'd worn, but had cute slogans and images printed on them, and instead browsed until she found a shirt with black, three-quarter length sleeves and a white bodice. Looking like something she'd have worn, she checked the size, found it was a size larger than what she'd had ten years prior, and searched until she found one that was a size lower. Satisfied, she headed for the check-out, keeping an eye out for Nathan as she went.
In the teen boy's section, her fiancé was having a harder time. When he'd been seventeen, his shirts had either had rude sayings on them or the name of a band he was into. Finding nothing with a rude message, he browsed the band shirts, but was disappointed he didn't recognise any of the groups. Trying to remember what other shirts he'd worn, if any, knowing that they'd all been short sleeve, he was about ready to give up when he found accidentally a few shirt that had band logos on them from those he listened to. Finding some that were popular ten years previous, he had only a minor issue with sizing, as they were all larger than what he wore or smaller. Settling on a size smaller, he hoped it wouldn't cause too much of an issue as he took the shirt off the hanger and made his way to the front of the store where he found Jodie already waiting for him.
Their purchases made, they headed to the apartment they shared. Each taking the tags off their shirts, they discussed whether to use the Amulet of Zulo in private or in their shared bedroom. Neither seeing a problem with the idea of the bedroom, it was Jodie who then asked, "Which collar will you choose?" as she withdrew the necklace from inside her shirt, but didn't take it off.
“Probably take the black one, as it seems to be a colour you'd find a male dog wearing," Nathan said as they headed for the bedroom.
Jodie, seeing the logic in this, walked with him, and when he handed her the red collar, she took it. Inside the room she dropped the shirt she'd bought on the bed and took off the necklace. Looking at Nathan, who'd also dropped his purchase on the bed, she asked, "Ready?" and when he nodded, she took a deep breath, dropped the collar onto the shirt, and making sure the two were touching, she reached down, laid her hand on both and pressed the Amulet of Zulo to all three. Gasping when she felt a sharp prick, she shook her head when her fiancé inquired, “What’s wrong,” handed him the necklace, and watched as he did the same as she had.