5 Chapter

Slowly, I peered my head around the base just enough to see the ripples of the river being disturbed by something beneath the water. Something human-like.  I motioned for Augustus to stand where he was. A protesting rumble echoed through our family link making my eyes roll yet again. "Relax, I can handle recon. Besides, you sound like a whole elephant walking. We're lucky they didn't hear us approach once we left the cave."

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes, but he remained silent.  Thank the beings above. When he didn't try stepping forward, I took that as a sign to continue.  Slowly I move around the tree and make my way closer to the edge of the tree line. From behind the shrubs I now hid behind, I made a small hole in the line of my sight so I could see the river once more. I watched as the shape beneath the water began to grow before breaking the surface. The shadow became a man with dark shaggy hair that reached just above his shoulders in a tapered way. His strong shoulders and back flexed and strained beneath his skin as his arm reached up to run through his hair, slicking it back. His legs sliced through the currents as if they didn't exist as he made his way to the shore.

"Well, what do you see akiera"   Augustus' link grabs my attention for a moment. Instead of answering right away, I watched the male a moment longer as he went to the trees on the other side before glancing at Augustus

I shutter and simply point to the river slowly. I watch as he looks out and blushes. However, unlike me, he doesn't stop staring. In an instant the air around us suddenly became heavy. I give a faint growl as I yank him back roughly and glare at him,  "Now is not the time Augustus. You need to hold him"

I watched as Augustus' eyes flickered between a light-smoked color and his own "What the hell even brought this on. What did you see" 

He ignored my question, his eyes darkening more as I tensed and gripped his arm tighter in warning  "Augustus"  but it was too late. He lost and Aliki had me pinned by the throat a second later. His aura was heavy, dark seeming. This is not the Aliki I normally interact with. He was much more aggressive this time. Something must have set him off, something with that man, but what? I didn't sense or see anything off-putting so why now? 

I don't have time to figure it all out. At least not currently, I need to focus on Aliki for now. I have to calm him down, but I fear my standard approach won't work this time. 

His hand tightened, threatening to cut off my airflow. I grabbed at his arm gently. His claws were painful and only growing sharper as he held me in place. "Nii yuvon Aliki, zu'u bolog, let bo" 

Despite feeling it won't work the same, I still try. I still remind him he's safe and beg for him to let go. 

"Dein nol rok"

The anger laced in his words caught me off guard, sending a shiver through my bones. The response alone had me tense. I don't understand why he's being this way but it's clear I need to be cautious. 

"Wo dreh hi tinvaak do?" 

He growls but says nothing as he quickly lets go, stepping away. He looks back to the river before shaking his head tsking faintly as his eyes fade back to Augustus. Yet, some scales of black still resonate on his body as groups of patches but seem to slowly fade. 

"What the hell was that about Augustus? Why did he come out? "

Instead of answering he only growled. The sound was unnerving, sending shivers along my body. This wasn't normal. I couldn't sense Aliki but it was clear he was still influencing Augustus behavior. None of this made sense. 

"We must find somewhere we can shift. Aliki is becoming rather aggressive." His voice was soft, sounding drained as his head lowered as he spoke. 

"No shit dumbass" 

Despite the snark remark, I was worried for Augustus. I was worried what this meant for Aliki and him. This was all new to us, to him. I rubbed my wrist noting the red marks that were slowly forming and stifled a sigh before it could escape. 

"We will head upstream more to avoid the male but we must pass"

I only nodded to my brother as I followed behind him. My mind still racing with questions and theories, ones I feel will be left unanswered. We were still in sight of the male. Something that worried yet relieved me all together. I wanted to question Augustus why we didn't go further upstream, out of sight from this man, but my question was answered for me before I even asked. 

"The river is lowest here. If we go further up, it only leads to larger and deeper pools." 

"What of the man? Aren't you worried he may see us"

He didn't answer me right away. Only looked out into the water. The scales covering sections of his skin darkened a moment before suddenly disappearing as he sighed. 

"No, it will be fine. We must continue forward. We have overstayed as is"