17

Jax was the next one to wake up. He seemed to want to stay in his room though.

{Get out here} I snapped at him mentally.

I could practically feel him flinch away from me as he complied with my mental demand. Jax walked out into the main hall, and immediately got an angry look from Ethan.

{Stop it Ethan} I shifted my arm underneath him {He's not a threat.}

Ethan dropped his angry gaze to the floor, and sat there like a grumpy little kid. Jax seemed to think what Ethan was doing was amazing. He'd probably never seen something like this before. I sighed heavily as I tried to ignore boys being boys. My muscles stayed lax though.

"We're leaving once Savannah wakes up," I broke the silence a second later.

"Why!?!" Ethan stood up, and stepped away so he could look up at me, "We're safe here. Why would we leave?"

"Gaia can't keep feeding us," I argued, "Those portals she uses are very mana expensive, and she has other things she needs to use the mana for. She can't keep wasting it all on us."

"But where are we going to go?" Jax wasn't as upset about all this as Ethan was, "You're probably public enemy number one by now. I don't want to find out what death feels like."

Ethan gave him a dirty look, and seemed to want to slap him for that comment. My muscles tensed as I got ready to smack sense into both of them, and they both sensed my irritation. Ethan immediately backed down, and curbed his aggression. Jax just smiled nervously since he knew he'd said something that would irritate Ethan. All we had to do now is wait for Savannah.

{Can you explain things to her Ethan?} I asked mentally to not disturb the awkward silence around us.

{Yeah} Ethan frowned as he walked back over to sit on my leg again {I can talk to her.}

I smirked slightly in victory. Now I wouldn't have to deal with Savannah's irritation at having to leave such a safe location. At least not directly. That would let me relax a bit longer. I leaned my head back into my neck so my neck touched my back, and my head rested on the bottom front of my neck.

I let myself fall into a state that wasn't quite asleep, but it wasn't fully awake either. My mind went blank as Jax tried to socialize with Ethan in one way or another. He wasn't going to get what he wanted yet. If he wanted to chat he should have just waited for Savannah. She was the more talkative one.

I didn't bother messing with either one of them. I was waiting for Savannah. We had nothing but time for the moment. Part of me was curious who's lap she was going to drop us in. Speculation wouldn't do me much good for now.

The only guaranteed way to find out was in person. Definitely wasn't my favorite way to learn things, but t was the only guaranteed way. I wasn't exactly some little creature that could be hidden away easily anymore. That meant I was going to have to work for whatever little victory I could get. Even if that victory was just a safe place to hide out for now.

My wings twitched in anticipation. I'd been cooped up for so long. It felt good to hope that the next place I would live would be big enough for me to stretch out a bit. Like this place was. Staying here was ideal, but I wouldn't get to do that.

It was hard not to tense up in response to the worry I felt. I would have to get used to it for now. Thankfully it would all be over soon enough. Savannah walked out here last. Looking rather refreshed actually.

Her hair was wet from a bath, and her clothes were the cleanest out of the three. Gaia smiled, and waved at her. Ethan got up, and walked over to her.

"We have to leave," He started off bluntly.

"Why?" Savannah frowned, and the one word question felt far more loaded than it should have.

"Because Gaia can't keep using mana on us," Ethan kept with the blunt way of speaking, "She's maintaining a delicate balance, and she needs to keep giving mana to earth. Not us. We don't need it."

"Where is she throwing us out to?" Savannah frowned.

"An old ally of the dragons," he answered.

"Is she sure they're an ally of us?" she crossed her arms angrily.

"No," Ethan smirked, "But they're our only chance right now."

"God I hate this," Savannah didn't seem to be holding it against anyone, "Do we have even the slightest clue what we're doing?"

"Nope," I stated bluntly as I raised my head, "We're flying by the seat of our pants. There are no safety harnesses on this ride so you better hold on tight."

"Funny," Her tone said it was anything but funny.

"Time to go," Gaia spoke softly as she gathered the power she needed to form a portal.

I nodded, and a portal big enough for even me boomed into existence. I stood up, and went through first. The others followed close behind me. I scanned the cave surrounding us carefully as the rift closed behind Jax. It was a large cave with rocks placed carefully around the outer edge.

No those couldn't be rocks. They were all the same shape. Only the size was different, and they seemed to be placed carefully as if they were worth something. The entrance looked like it had been sealed off some time ago. The dust that collected on the floor, and the stale air gave me the impression that this place hadn't been open in years at the very least.

"Hey Wyatt," Ethan spoke first, "I know that you can see just fine in the dark, but we can't."