Airika had toughed out the pain, but let out a sigh before she began to fly. Her icy cold blue eyes bore into Jakes, before she sent a message to him through her mind.

Let's go.

She jumped off of the ground, her powerful silver wings lifting her higher. She dust below her stirred, and she kept flying.

We're going to Branson. I have a clothes stash there. There are clothes there for you, too, but I'm not sure if they'll fit perfectly.

((Dragon shifters pass messages along through their minds to one another when in dragon form. Just to let you know. c:))

Jake nodded, watching the majestic girl pounce into the air before looking back at Jade. She nodded to him in a slight farewell as he too took off. He beat his wings hard for a moment, getting distance between himself and the ground before snapping them to full length to glide beside Airika.

I think I will be fine. They are just clothes, I can make them work. Though I must ask, why Branson of all places?

He was quite curious as to know more about this silver dragon shifter, maybe there could have been a history with Branson but probably not. He knew he would need to try harder to break through this girl's tough wall.

Because that's where the clothes are.

Airika rolled her eyes. Was this boy just that oblivious? What did he want the two of them to do? Just run around naked? She let out an agitated growl.

I really have no clue what to do, but Conner said that we would figure it out in time.

Airika pumped her wings, and looked down. Her father was just a tiny dot on the ground now. She already felt homesick.

((Failure.))

Oh.

Jake pumped his wings harder, trying not to look back but get as far away as he could before he made the mistake of flying back home. In truth he was scared, his heart pounding with the anxiety of having no clue of their destination. Fate had funny ways of keeping things secret then blowing them up in your face.

I don't either so don't worry about it. What could they possibly want a couple of teens to do, I mean it couldn't be to terribly difficult. Then again why would they send us. Our 'parents' are so mysterious it's frustrating.

He growled with annoyance, both at the girl for growling at him and at the fact that he had been told nothing of what to do.

(DARNEET.

I have to catch this next time... D; )

After about thirty minutes of flying, Airika landed in a large meadow with a small cottage-style house. A young woman, about the age of twenty-five came out, carrying two bins that contained clothes. She wrapped her arms around Airika's dragon-like neck, and said, "Oh, Air, I'm so excited that you two are finally heading off. It's a good thing that your father left the clothes with me.

Airika snorted, her way of saying, "It's nice to see you too, Meredith."

"I'm sorry, but I have to go back inside. I'm running a whole dragon shifter baby daycare inside there." Meredith laughed. "It's a surprised that my little home hasn't burned to the ground yet." She waved before going inside of her small home.

Airika grabbed a mouth full of the clothes from one of the bins, and looked back into the sky, waiting for Jake to land.

Jake twisted his wings so that he came speeding towards the ground. He hesitated to land before the woman left but once she did, he circled around and landed next to Airika.

So who was that and what do we do now?

Jake asked, folding his wings into his body and scanning the area. His eyes wandered the whole meadow, cautious of onlookers lurking in the taller gras.s. He knew that the two of them were important but that didn't mean that others didn't like them. Some even might want to harm them. He wouldn't let that happen, but so far the coast was clear and he allowed himself to relax a little.

That was Conner's sister, Meredith. She and I are very close.

Airika turned her head so that her blue eyes stared into Jake's purple ones. He was attractive, she had to admit, but she wasn't going to let her guard down. If she made one little mistake, the boy might think that she's completely useless.

Turn into human form, and change into these clothes. Branson is just a bit north of here. We'll have to walk. And if you look at me while I'm changing, I'll beat the hell out of you.

Had Jake been in human form he would have blushed at the very mention of peeking at a changing female. He shook his head taking a tiny step back from the girl.

I don't care how pretty you are, I'm not the peeking type.

Jake winked, taking the clothes that he was to wear and turning around to face away from the girl. It was only then that he realized that the chain Jade had given him was still around his neck. He had expected it to rip off like everything else would, but it didn't. Weird. He thought to himself, shaking the thought away. He could already feel his muscles relaxing as he shrunk in size.

If it weren't for being in dragon form, Airika's cheeks would've been as red as the shirt that she was holding. She growled, and rolled her eyes. She wasn't growling at Jake, but at herself.

She turned around, and began to shift back into her human form. Her horns retreated into her head, and her silver scales gave way to pale human skin. Her almond-shaped pupils became rounder, and hair sprouted from her head to take the place of the horns. Her muscles shrank, and she was now a perfectly normal-looking girl. She slipped the clothes on; a pair of loose gray denim shorts, and a crimson shirt that had a darker red design on it.

((Sorry, did you hear about my technical difficulties? Depressing! Unfortuneatly I have no idea what to post... Suggestions?)) 

Jake quickly pulled on the jeans and black t-shirt, which both surprisingly fit nicely. Again the chain was the perfect size around his neck and he fingered it gently, thinking of his sister. Running his hand through his hair he cleared his throat. "Hey. You finished dressing yet? I knew girls took forever to dress but I didn't know it took this long." He joked with a little chuckle. He could feel that there was a bit of tension left between them, which was going to make their task rather difficult if they didn't get along. 

Airika said, "Yeah. And just so you know, I'm not like most girls. I grew up around guys." She pulled her long, silky white hair back into a ponytail. "Guys shouldn't be so willing to stereotype people into categories." She then turned around. "Follow me. We're going to Branson. I'm hungry."

Airika began to walk through a pine thicket, grabbing onto trees for support as she made her way through the woods. She then stopped, and sniffed the air. "We're close," she said. She kept walking until they came out of the forest onto a highway. Airika hadn't been to a city in so long. Just beyond the highway, you could see all of the buildings of Branson.

Airika began to walk off, not bothering to look back at Jake. She thought he was fairly attractive, but she wanted him to know that she was tougher than she looked. She crossed the highway, nearly getting hit by a few cars. The drivers rolled down there windows, and spat a few cuss words at her. Airika only smirked, and gave them the finger.

She reached the other side of the road unharmed, and waited for Jake. She hoped that he didn't actually get hit by a car, but maybe he would get a bit nervous around the cars. That would be entertaining for Air.