Watching Sara with careful eyes Akeli muttered an obscene comment under her breath, though worry still shone in her eyes. "I don't care if you're pretty," she mumbled, and probably would have punced Xav's arm if he hadn't been injured. "Just...don't die. I'm not having anything to do with your lifeless body."

Leaning her head on her hand, which was resting on the marble table, Akeli surveyed their surroundings with a small sigh. It was sumptuously decorated, with lots of fancy carvings and paintings and whatnot from what seemed like foreign places. Glancing at the multiple pictures of two humans standing in various settings Akeli wondered where Sara was in all of this. 

Cracking the fingers on her free hand Akeli turned blue eyes on Sara's green, letting her know mentally that she was going to be hurt if she did something even somewhat untoward towards Xavier.

--

"Don't call me Nursey," Sara snapped peevishly as she waited for Xavier to take his shirt off. Eyes widening slightly at the severity of the wound Sara grumbled under her breath as she wrapped the towel around her hand. "This is going to hurt," she said, biting her lip as she began dabbing at the damaged skin.

As the blood was slowly cleaned off Sara could tell that the healing process was actually quite far. Some of the blood was already coagulating, from what she could see. Grateful that she wouldn't have to deal with a constant trickle from the guy's wound she wiped the towel some more, green eyes troubled.

Three long gashes lay parallel to each other across his abdomen, the middle one slightly shorter than the others. They weren't particularly wide but they were almost an inch or two deep. Wincing Sara put the bloody towel down and reached for the needle.

"This...is really going to hurt," she commented in a slightly quavery voice as she threaded the needle, poking the sharp tip into her thumb to make sure it was sharp enough. Wiping the needle with an alcohol pad Sara gripped it tightly in one hand, thread trailing out from the end. "Ready?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Without waiting for a reply Sara swabbed the first cut with another alcohol pad and then began sewing, sweat beading on her forehead at the sight. After an intense ten minutes the first wound was done, several little knots all lined up in a jagged row.

"I don't care if you're pretty," Akeli mumbled back at Xavier and the young boy sighed. If Akeli wasn't jabbing back at him at his nickname for her, then she really was worried. He frowned and turned his gaze away from hers, hating how much his pain was worrying her. He stretched out one of his wings to lightly brush against her as Sara promised the pain that was going to come. He gave her a mock yawn and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, Doc. I'm kinda used to pain," he said as he placed one hand on his pant leg. He was about to pull the jeans up to reveal the wound to Sara, but he paused. With a quick bl
ink of his eyes, he instead, rested his hand on his leg. He didn't want to show anymore wounds. Akeli was already worried enough as it was.

"Aki, really. It's not that bad. I'd never leave you like this. Never. Okay?" he asked, his deep blue eyes searching hers. "You can't get rid of me that--" he began, but cut himself off when he felt a throbbing on the wound. He glanced down and saw the needle stuck in his skin. Already, Sara has woven a few stitches in and Xavier looked away, face taking on a slightly green hue.

"Could have warned me," he muttered and grimaced when she pushed another stroke through. He stopped himself from looking down at her work. Just the thought of the needle puncturing his skin made him sick. No, just the thought of the needle itself was enough to make his stomach knot. It seemed an eternity before she tied the string, officially sealing the wound.

"You know? I don't think the other ones need stitches. That one seemed to be the deepest," he said edgily. He would do anything to not have that needle back under his skin again. From the thought, he shivered. He blinked his eyes a few times, exhaustion and lightheadedness from the blood loss catching up with him. The room swirled around him and he gripped the edges of his chair from falling over.

"Great," he moaned as he closed his eyes.

Sara stood up and put the needle on the table, her ex
pression unfathomable. "If you wish," she said after a moment, giving the guy a look. "But don't blame me when you start bleeding again or if it heals ragged. Now, do you want some iodine on the cut and a few aspirins? Those don't hurt."

Putting out the medicine where the kid could reach it Sara slumped on a third chair and groaned. It would be two hours till her parents came home and these kids hardly looked fit to go. "You've got some time, and you obviously need rest," she began hestitantly, playing with the hem of her t-shirt. "Would you mind telling me the whole story behind the wings and powers? I...want to know if it has anything to do with what happened to me today."

Letting go of the fabric Sara traced the palm of one hand with a finger, shivering at the memory of calling up the earthquake and vine. What had she felt then? Exhilaration? Power? Release? It had almost been calming to finally be using all the power, but now Sara simply felt afraid of herself. Of what she could do. 

Closing her hand Sara shook her head and dispelled such thoughts. Maybe the story these kids might tell her would shed some light on the situation.

--

Akeli sighed and brushed her hand on Xav's wing as it came near, the closeness comforting her. Her face had a pale cast to it as she had been unable to look away as Sara had sewn the wound shut, her hands moving quickly albeit the sickened look on the other girl's face. Despite the distrust Akeli felt she also knew she was in debt to this stranger, since she'd actually been quite accepting of the two.

You never know. She's probably shocked and within the next minute she'll just jump up and phone the police. Akeli sighed at the pessimistic thoughts and fluttered her own wings in distress at Xav's pained voice. She didn't like seeing the strongest thing in her life so weak and helpless. 

Putting her hand lightly on Xavier's shoulder Akeli closed her eyes and prayed to anyone, anything, that Xavier would stay alive. Without him she wasn't sure what she would do. She didn't know a thing about the outside world, about all the thing's she had seen.

And she was fairly certain Sara would die if Xavier didn't wake up. 

Xavier grabbed for the medicine and eyed the Aspirin warily. He shifted his gaze to Akeli and frowned. "Aki, do you think we'll like, die or something if we take human medication?" he asked as he attempted to pop the child lock from the small container. Just then, he figured he really didn't care. He popped the top with a small grunt and downed a couple of the caplets.

Her hand touched his shoulder and he froze. When he turned his head around, he could see Akeli's eyes closed as she focused on something in her mind. That's it. No more wallowing in self-pity for me, Xavier thought to himself. With a tight breath that he managed to suck in, he pushed himself to his feet. He brushed aside one of Akeli's red locks from her face and grabbed her chin gently in his hold.

"Akeli, you listen to me when I tell you that I'm not leaving you. I could never ever do that. Nothing could ever tear me away from you," he said, his face only a breath from hers now; his strong voice turning into a whisper so only she could hear. "Never."

Akeli breathed in a sigh and gave Xav an uncertain look, shivering slightly at the touch of his fingers on her skin. Putting a hand on his arm she smiled gently and shook her head, the movement nearly bringing their noses into a head-on collision.

"You'd better be certain of that Xav," she whispered in a menacing tone, shifting her head so her mouth lay next to his ear. "Because if you go I will spend the rest of my days hunting for you or whomever was responsible for your leaving." Akeli's blue eyes were warm though, and she chuckled loudly at her statement.

"Now, we shouldn't be so serious," she said, leaning back slightly and grinning. "I be you're already healing," she added with a small nod. At the loud cough from nearby Akeli sighed and brushed her hair awkwardly, impatience showing on her cat-like face.

"Oh fine then," she muttered, growling a little at Sara. "If you're going to be so insistent." Biting her lips Akeli wondered where to start, and decided that the very beginning was probably a good idea."

"It began a bunch of years back. Two decades, maybe? There was this huge corporation that has a lot of control all over the world, and they wanted to cause some sort of man-made apocalypse. So they started experimenting, to find the perfect human or whatever. I'm not to sure why. Anyways, they got tons of these kids from all over the place, mostly orphans or unwanted kids. A few of them were even sold by their parents for money."

Akeli's voice was quiet now, almost as if she were afraid to be repeating this tale in front of Sara.

"They came up with this group of kids, some kidnapped, sold, or simply test-tube babies. Like, they were grown in the lab. Their names were Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel. There was one other as well, Dylan. They were created to be the new super-race, I think. But they escaped and almost managed to bring this company down. Only, some years ago they disappeared. I'm pretty sure they were killed by this company."

Grimacing Akeli closed her eyes and bunched her hands up on her knees, trying to control her frenzied breathing. They were getting close to the part she didn't want to remember. Something she'd been trying to forget since she and Xavier had escaped.

"So, they, well, tried again. It began with me and...Xavier. I'm Akeli by the way. Anyways, I'm not to sure of our origins, but if we had parents I don't know what I would do if I found them."

Pausing Akeli took a deep breath.

"Listen, I grew up in a place known as the 'School'. It's basically a huge lab designed to create and contain people like me and Xavier. I remember from a young age being tested on like...like, a lab rat, stuck with needles and tortured so they could find the extent of my abilities. Running through mazes, and if I didn't go fast enough, burned or shocked so badly I could barely move afterwards. Or having to fighting Erasers, the big wolf-guys, with only my hands and feet. Every time you succeeded they'd give you some water and then send more after you. Half the time I barely made it out alive.

"When I was twelve, I think, I never kept track of the years, Xavier escaped and promised he'd come back for me. A few days ago he did, and got me out of there. So yeah, my goal is to bring down the School and the corporation that backs it."

"Where do I come in?" Sara asked quietly, not looking at the two of them. There was a guilty flush to her face, as if she was grateful she had escaped those horrors, yet ashamed that she felt that way.

"There were some mutants I knew, they never gained any abilities. Most of the time they were culled, but some were sent back into the real world. I'm guessing you're one...only, do you live with your parents?"

Sara shook her head silently. "I was adopted when I was seven. They're not my biological parents." 

"I'm more than certain," he whispered back to her. He had a lot more things he had planned out for the two of them, but he wasn't planning on telling that to her yet. He sighed when Sara interrupted them, but the noise turned into a chuckle as Akeli rounded on Sara once again. Amused by his friend's annoyance, he backed himself against the counter, needing some type of support, but not trying to make it obvious.

He snuck a glance down at his wounds while Akeli told the story. His fingers ran over the bumpy lines and he blinked. It is healing already, he thought. He wasn't as close to death as he was before and without the excruciating pain, he realized just how close to death's door he had come. Oh, Shay was going to pay for this.

"When I was twelve, I think, I never kept track of the years, Xavier escaped and promised he'd come back for me. A few days ago he did, and got me out of there." he heard Akeli continue and he grinned. Of course I'd go back for you, he thought to himself, not voicing the thoughts out loud.

"Okay. So now that we're all caught up and stuff, I think I'm going to get some rest," he said and his gaze slided to Sara's. "Thanks for the hospitality, Nursey, but I think we've stayed our welcome. Now, I think I'll go outside and find a comfortable tree to sleep in," he said with a slight nod in Akeli's direction. He walked past the two girls and let his hands rest on the back door.

The shadows of the forest seemed even more eerie to him as he peered through the glass door. With Shay out there, he knew he was in no condition to defend himelf. The thought scared him. The Aspirin was beginning to kick in and Xavier sighed in relief. Now that he couldn't feel pain, he also seemed to have more energy back. He held up one hand, palm facing down. He then held his other hand beneath it, palm up and right under the other hand.

With his brows knitted in concentration, blue ooze seemed from his palm from the top hand and onto the bottom. He smiled and let the goo absorb into his hand again. "Easy enough. It'll burn Shay's fur off if he decides to attack again," Xavier muttered to himself.

Akeli glanced at Sara doubtfully before pushing out her chair and following in Xavier's footsteps. Just about the walk out the backdoor for a second time this day she sighed and smiled. "Thanks, I guess," she said in a low voice before jogging into the darkness.

Pushing her hair behind her ears Akeli scanned the dim clearing, her night vision spotting Xav's tall form easily. Increasing her pace she trotted up to him and said out of the darkness, "Preparing yourself?", a smirk on her lips. Flicking her wrist she summoned a similar ball of energy, though this was made of pulsing flames that lit up the surrounding area.

"Seeing as you lack the ability to see in the dark," Akeli continued, a bit of her old fiery attitude starting up again, "I thought I'd give you some help." Thrusting her hand skywards she let the ball of fire hang in the air, casting eerie shadows in a small circle around the two. Looking around she spotted an ancient pine, thick branches looking wonderfully comfortable to exhausted mutant. 

"Does that look alright to you?" Akeli asked, a slight frown on her face. To be honest she wasn't sure if Erasers could climb or not, since they weren't entirely wolves. Perhaps, with their blunt claws, they couldn't. It would be a small comfort if that were the case. Pushing up the sleeves of her hoodie Akeli glanced around to make sure there weren't any other pairs of eyes before giving Xav a shy hug, minding his newly healing wounds.

--

Sara sighed, shook her head and settled back in her chair, wondering what she was going to do with all that information. A mutant. An honest to God freaking mutant, she thought blearily, jumping as the front door clicked open. Accompanied with loud voices Sara panicked and sent a look at the open first-aid kit. Leaping to her feet she quickly gathered up the bloody towel and then glanced at the trash bin. It would have to do for now.

Tossing the towel away she swept the rest of the stuff into the kit and left it on the table, rushing into the front hall to greet her adoptive parents.

Both were dressed daperly in formal clothing, her mother laden with jewels and her father in a neat suit. Smiling nervously at the two she waited until they had taken off their overcoats before she hugged them, giving her mother a small kiss on the cheek.

"How was your studying?" her father asked, ever the scholar.

"Well, father," Sara replied, reverting back to the formal tone she was used to using around the two adults. They disliked teenage 'slang' and were always unforgiving if Sara slipped around them or their company.

"And I trust you finished your work?" her mother asked in a stern tone, deep brown eyes watchful.

"Of course mother," Sara replied again, trying to hide her discomfort. "Then I decided I ought to go through the first-aid kit so it was fully stocked. Since I went into the woods earlier, after my work was done, and I just wanted to make sure I was prepared."

She was rambling now and Sara sighed inwardly at the confused look on her adoptive parents' faces. It was almost comical...if she weren't hiding some so crucial from them.

"Very well. Up to bed now. Tomorrow you can do what you like, as we'll be going on a trip for the weekend. Will you be fine on your own?"

Nodding quickly Sara tiptoed up the stairs and collapsed on her bed, staring at the ceiling worriedly. Unable to sleep she lay on her bed in the darkness, not even bothering to change her dirt-smuged clothing. 

Xavier found the light from Akeli's fireball more eerie than satisfying. He could very well manage in the dark with his heightened senses, but he wasn't going to rain on her helpful mood. He eyed the tree she was looking at and merely nodded, finding himself too tired for words now. His body was beginning to heal itself and it was taking out a lot of energy from him. He stretched out his wings to their full extent and leaped into the air. His shaky movements almost had him falling off the tree branch he had attempted to land on, showering pine needs over him in the process.

He shook out his hair and leaned back against the tree, nestling himself in the crook of a branch. When Akeli swooped up after him, he forced his heavy eyelids to stay open. "Her parents--adoptive parents or whatever, are home." he stated bluntly with a small frown. "Maybe we should stick around for her. We don't want the School to hear of her and they will now that Shay knows about her," he said with a yawn.

His too blue eyes peered through the pine needles and he could barely see Akeli's face sillhoueted in the darkness. "I'm glad I have you, Aki. And when I tell you I'll never leave you, I mean it." he murmured, three more words finding their way on his tongue. They were about to slip from his mouth, but his eyes closed and he fell against the bark, his mind succumbing to the welcoming dreams where he could escape from reality for a few meager hours.

Akeli opened her mouth to reply but shut it when she noticed Xavier's form slacken against the tree. Smiling affectionately Akeli followed suit and rested her back on the harsh bark of the tree, welcoming the rugged scents and feelings of the outdoors. Taking a moment to peer at the house from which they had just come from Akeli shook her head and closed her hand over the flaming ball, extinguishing the glowing flames.

Settling down and cupping her cheek with her warm hand Akeli sighed and shut her eyes, lost in dreamland within seconds.

--

The sun rose above the horizon brightly, setting Sara's room awash with golden light. Groaning slightly she sat up and looked at her bed with dismay. The cover was rumpled and streaked with mud from her clothes. Mumbling under her breath the sleepy teen gathered up the sheets and dumped them into her laundry basket, stumbling over to her dresser to get some more durable clothes. Tossing her dirty shorts and t-shirt into the laundry basket as well Sara slowly got into a pair of dark steel-gray shorts that were more suited for outdoor use and a faded black t-shirt that hung on her slight frame. Clipping on some earrings and brushing her hair with a few rather painful strokes Sara felt suitably prepared to face the day.

Stopping in her washroom to splash her face Sara glanced at the clock, 7:00, and dashed down the stairs as silently as she could, tiptoeing past her parents' room with practiced ease. Letting out a small yawn Sara yanked open the fridge and grabbed an apple, munching on it as she opened one of the cupboads and got out the necessary materials for peanut butter sandwiches. After making about a dozen she packaged them in a large plastic bag and inserted them gingerly into her empty backpack. After looking around cautiously she slipped her feet into worn running shoes and slipped out of the house, looking at the forest with some longing.

"Well, here goes nothing," she murmured as she entered the dark woods, immediately at peace with her surroundings. 

Xavier woke up on his own; no shake of the branch or murmur from Akeli had woken him. He picked up his head and winced when he stretched the skin on his stomach. He glanced down and was delighted to see the wounds had closed and were scabbed up. "Just gotta go easy on them," he murmured to himself as he pushed himself up to balance on the tree branch.

He glanced over at Akeli's sleeping form and grinned before he flung himself off of the tree. His blue wings swept open and caught the air like sails. With powerful strokes through the air, he pushed himself higher above the trees. The wind tousled his hair and made his cheeks turn slightly pink and he reveled in it all. His wings felt so good to be let out like this, full out and not kept tightly pressed to his back. His muscles rolled and responded to every turn he gave them, blue feathers cutting through the wind.

He cast his gaze back down and stalled himself. From where he was, he could still make out Sara's house and he saw the girl step outside. Then, he noticed she was carrying a backpack and was wearing running shoes. "What is she doing?" Xavier thought aloud to himself. He angled himself down and shot back toward her, flying past Akeli as he did so.

He hovered in the trees above her, watching her move through the forest. He shot overhead of her and landed in a nearby tree just a few paces from where she was walking. Xavier folded his wings against his back to better fit in the crook of the branches. "Sara, where are you going?" he asked as he leaned against a tree branch.

Sara glanced up when a flash of blue caught her eye, letting out a small choking noise of surprise at Xavier's sudden appearance. "Uh, you probably needed food," she said, fumbling slightly with her words. "I was going to go looking for you, and you know, give you some." She jiggled the bag slightly to back her words.

"You don't mind sandwiches with peanut butter, do you?" she asked nervously, wondering if these crazy people lived off of wild animals and nuts and berries like people who actually lived in the woods. They were wearing normal clothing, albeit very dirty clothes, but the way that red-haired chick, Akeli, had growled at her, Sara wasn't so sure.

Another flutter that signified the arrival of Akeli caused Sara to spin around again, and she sighed as the other girl crouched down and gave Sara a hostile gaze. Really, she had done nothing wrong. They were the ones in her forest.

"Come to complain about me being nice again?" Sara asked sarcastically, a bit startled when Akeli just shook her head and grinned.

--

"I've been rude enough already," Akeli said with a cheerful smile. "And I was just really cranky yesterday, you know, no sleep and being chased by bloodthirsty wolf-men." Leting out a small yawn Akeli sniffed the air and her eyes lit up at the faint scent of food coming from Sara's bag. 

"For us?" she inquired, having missed the first half of the conversation. Rustling her wings and folding them against her back Akeli stood, stretching out her arms and letting out a loud yawn. 

Xavier laughed at Sara's nervous ex
pression when she asked him the peanut butter question. He crouched down on the branch and slipped off, casually landing on the balls of his feet when he hit the forest floor. He cocked his head at the sound of Akeli's wingbeats and winked at the girl as she landed behind Sara.  "Peanut butter's great," he said with a smile. "We'll eat anything." And he wasn't kidding.

The dark haired boy trotted over to Akeli and slung his arm across her shoulders. "Oh and don't forget my being mauled by the bloodthirsty wolf-man," he teased. He glanced down at his wounds again, the stitches beginning to fade already as his bird-kid healing kicked in. "Why does it seem that I'm always shirtless?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head.

Ooc; Xav is always shirtless. o_o

____

More voices to his right and Shay buried his face in his hands. He couldn't tell if they were paws or not, his rage coming unexpectedly after a few moments of calm. "You have to fetch them, Shay. This is what you were born to do," the voice said in his mind again and Shay tore at his sandy blonde hair. "I don't have to listen to you," he snarled at the voice and was met with a shock to his brain.

The electricity wound through his body and the boy flung his head back, his spine arching as he moaned. When the electricity ceased, he let out a pitiful whimper and buried his head into his hands again. "Okay, I'll listen. I'll get them," he cried before staning up and lashing at the bark of the tree, claws making deep rivets into the bark.

With a small flush Sara glanced at Xavier's shirtless torso and nodded. "Uhm, yeah," she muttered and busied herself with unpacking the sandwiches. Though slightly squished from being packed into the bag they still smelled delicious, and Sara's own stomach growled slightly. Piling the food ontop of the plastic bag Sara made a small flourish of her arms. "Voila," she exclaimed with a small grin. "All yours, and if you're still hungry I think I can sneak back in and get you some more."

With a small sigh Sara sat down on the grass and leaned against one of the smaller trees, folding her arms behind her head. Stretching out her legs Sara wiggled her toes inside of her running shoes, wondering if she would have to give them some cash or something.

--

Letting out a small yelp of excitement Akeli grabbed one of the sandwiches and started eating, retaining only enough manners to make sure she wasn't spraying crumbs and peanut butter all over Xav and Sara. Swallowing hungrily Akeli polished off another three, her stomach finally satiated after a day with no food. That pizza seeme like a lifetime away.

Rocking back and forth on her heels Akeli glanced at Xav. "How many are you planning on eating?" Akeli asked with a smile, biting her lips at the thought of more of those sandwiches. Despite her dislike of Sara Akeli had to admit that she made a very good sandwich. 

While Sara busied herself with setting the sandwhiches out for them, Xavier slyly picked up his pant leg a bit. The blistered flesh that had looked so horrible a few days ago was halfway healed. "That's amazing," he muttered as he examined the flesh wound. It barely hurt anymore and for that, Xavier was thankful. He slipped his pant leg back down and settle onto the ground near the sandwhiches.

"How many are you planning on eating?" Akeli asked and he smiled when she gave hint that she wanted more of the food. There were twelve before, but only nine remained since Akeli had eaten three. Xavier himself picked up five sandwhiches and quickly swept through four of them. When Sara had set out the food, he had heard her stomach rumble slightly, but more than a bit loudly to the bird-kid's keen ears.

He tossed the fifth sandwhich to Sara and nodded. "I'm done. You can have the rest and thanks Sara," Xavier said with genuity. He turned his attention back to Akeli and grabbed for her hand, wanting her to sit next to him. "We need to figure out where to go from here," he said to her.

Sara opened her eyes and blinked as she caught the sandwich out of reflex, fumbling with it for a moment before she got a firm grip. "Take them with you," she said with a shrug, and pushed the plastic bag in Xavier's direction. "I have plenty of food at home, and who knows when you'll eat next." Sara wasn't so sure why she was being this kind, but perhaps it was the way that Akeli appeared to be almost malnourished, her skin far more pale than what was acceptable.

Straightening and stretching out her back slightly Sara tilted her head and gave the two a look. "You need a map of the area?" she asked hesitantly, wondering how she was going to say what she meant to say next. "And...about that Eraser. Will he come for me? Now that I'm not...normal anymore? Because I really don't want to be kidnapped again. Or mauled like you were." Sara directed the last comment at Xavier, raising an eyebrow at his bandaged chest.

--

Akeli murmured under her breath and shook her head. "I say we had east now," she muttered. "It's completely irrelevent to our old course, and besides, we need to throw Shay off track."

(Akeli is fail. ;w;) 

Xavier shrugged and took the sandwhich back from Sara, stuffing it back into the backpack as he did so. He packed the rest of them in the bag, too and nodded to Akeli. "I don't care where we go. As long as it's away from here, I'm fine," he said, suddenly extremely anxious, wanting more than nothing than to unfurl his wings and take to the sky. He slipped the bag over his shoulders and stood, beaming as he glanced down at Akeli. "Hey, if we head east, we could make it to the east coast. I'd like to visit the beach," he said.

He glanced back at Sara and scratched the back of his head as he thought. "I don't think Shay would come for you. He's an Eraser sent by the School to get us and they don't know about you so you should be fine," he said, but he wasn't entirely sure. He wasn't going to tell Sara that because then the girl would probably want to come with them and that would put a major damper on Xavier's spirits.

"Thanks for being so kind to us and, you know, not calling the cops on us." he said with a grin as he unfurled his wings. He felt his muscles roll as he lifted them above his head, enormous blue sails that caught the wind greedily. He winked at Sara and nodded to Akeli. "Ready when you are."

Akeli smiled at Sara as best as she could and flared her own wings, causing the girl to jump back with a small gasp. Grinning again, this time smugly, Akeli flapped them quickly to gain altitude, waving at the small form below before wheeling around to face Xavier. "So, east it is," she said, since Xav hadn't offered much in the way of advice. Whirling around Akeli attempted to pinpoint the direction but was dismayed to find that the sun was more or less in the center of the sky, meaning they had nothing to go on. Groaning Akeli shifted in the air and poked Xavier's shoulder.

"So, human comapass, can you tell us which way our direction is?" she asked with a smirk, blue eyes blazing and ready for adventure. Clenching her fists slightly Akeli drifted over until she was balanced on a thermal, floating above the world with a small smile on her face.

--

Sara sighed at their sudden departure and closed her backpack, throwing it over her shoulder. Since it was the weekend she saw no point in wasting daylight and headed for the woods. Ducking under a thick covering of branches Sara trailed her fingers on the rough bark of the trees as she tramped forwards at an easy pace, the trickling noise of a brook catching her attention.

Laughing suddenly she padded forwards and tored off her shoes, sticking them in her bag for later. Dipping her feet into the water Sara was about the splash across when a whimpering caught her ear. Frowning, as the noise seemed rather human, she got out of the creek on the other bank and cast around for the source. But instead of whimpering whoever it was was now mumbling under their breath. Heart thumping Sara creeped forwards, feeling unsure of what to do now. It was as if all those strange things had decided to happen now.

Xavier let the wind rustle through his feathers as he used powerful strokes through the air to keep himself aloft. He waited for Akeli to catch up with him and as he did, he scanned the area. The sun was just about rising and Xavier yawned, planning out their route already. When Akeli did rise up to meet him, he grinned. The white feathers near her shoulders was bright when the sun hit them and the rest of the darker colors, soft browns and dark earth tones that stretched along the rest of the plumage cut through the air swiftly. He shifted his gaze and turned soared higher with a few strokes, moving toward the sun all the while.

"Human compass says we should go toward the sun. You know what they say. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west," he said with raised brows as he craned his nec back to look at her. He slipped the bag off of his shoulder and let it swing in his hands. When it was on one shoulder, the thing unbalanced him by a lot and strained whichever wing-side it was on. He figured when they landed next, he could find a way to wear it without getting in the way of his wings.

___

Shay stiffened, his keen Eraser nose smelling another one nearby. The vine girl; the one that had caused the earthquake was near. He picked his head up and made himself go totally human, his hazel eyes looking as innocent as that day in the pizza place. Still, truth was in those eyes; a small speck of innocence. He peered over the base of the tree, cheeks red and puffy from crying.

"Don't hurt me," he whimpered and cringed back against the tree. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. They made me," he muttered as he pounded his fist against the tree.

"I tried using the sun," Akeli muttered under her breath as she wheeled around, facing the direction Xavier had indicated. "However, it's sort of like, in the middle of the sky." Rolling her eyes at Xav she beat her wings and hovered in the air silently as he fiddled with the bag on his back. "Want some help?" she asked, feigning a small yawn of boredom just to get on his nerves.

But despite her teasing it was rather nice to finally feel free of any danger. Just the two of them and the open skies, where no one else could breach. With a small flutter Akeli laughed and dove ahead of Xavier, doing a small roll away from him. Though the muscles of her back ached from overuse there was a sense of adrenaline that lent Akeli energy. A light zephyr rustled the coal black feathers that lined her wings and cooled the sweat that beaded on her forehead from the heat of the sun.

--

Sara froze and her eyes softened at the boy who lay in front of her. He was shivering and despite the fact she knew that this was the Shay who attacked Xavier and Akeli there wasn't anything remotely frightening about him at the moment. Crouching down a few feet away she sighed and ruffled her blonde hair irritably, a bit upset she hadn't kept those sandwiches. This Shay was probably starving.

"Listen, I'm sure you didn't," she soothed with a smile on her freckled face. "Do you want some help, though? I can get you some food and if you're hurt patch you up." Shuffling a few inches closer Sara held out one hand, wondering if the Eraser would take up on her offer.