Fun

Onyx got back to the Ironshades very late that night and planned to head straight to his bed, only to have Tartolf run up to him with wide, terrified eyes that were a forest green. "What?"

Tartolf looked around at the small room of the foyer and found no one near. Stepping closer, he whispered, "Advandth came by a few minutes ago looking for you. She said it was urgent and to tell you to meet her, but…" his voice trailed off, fumbling with his fingers.

"But…what?" Onyx growled.

"He called her to his office. The boss…" Tartolf swallowed hard and backed away. He knew of Onyx's mood swings, and he also knew how close he and Advandth were—so close that they are always found closer than necessary to each other.

Understanding dawned on Onyx and he nodded. "Thank you, Tartolf. I'll go report to the office."

Tartolf nodded and scurried into the kitchen, disappearing. Onyx went up the stairs and knocked on the office door, hearing a little cry from inside. "Who is it?" the boss snarled.

"Onyx with a report for you, sir."

There was a sigh and then the door opened to reveal Advandth shakily stepping out, eyes down and arms wrapped around herself. She didn't look at Onyx, for fear of seeing the shame she might see in his eyes, and walked to her room. If she had looked up, she would've seen the man ignoring her completely and looking at the boss, who was leaning back in his chair with a smirk on his face. Onyx closed the door behind him and faced the man, crossing his arms over his chest. The boss did the same and hissed, "Well?"

"The victim has not come out of his hide out and I don't expect him to for a while. The girl is…" How should he put it? Stubborn? Difficult? Brilliant for someone like her and doesn't fall for his tricks? "coming around slowly," he finally decided.

"Why are you late?"

"I was with her."

"Advandth said something about there being a problem. Care to share?"

Onyx's stance turned stiff and he felt fury rise up in his gut, but he took a deep breath and said, "She was attacked. I went there to help her. Got a bit sidetracked."

"Have you learned any of her weaknesses yet?" the boss said with a smile. He had lied when he said Advandth blurted out what had happened today. He was of course told, but not by her.

"No," Onyx lied. Why was he protecting her? Of course, he found weaknesses. Plenty of them! The boy, her family, her way of expressing her emotions. There were many of them…

The boss nodded in disappointment. He wasn't expecting anything yet, but soon…soon she'd show something and he'd get his hands on her. "You are dismissed."

Onyx nodded and left, going straight to Advandth. She let him into her room after he knocked, but didn't move away from the window where she stood. He saw her body was stiff and erect, but her shoulders shook as if she was crying. Even though her voice sounded strong, he knew the meeting between her and the boss wasn't a pleasant one—physically. "What is the problem? Has he come out of hiding?"

Advandth sighed in relief knowing she didn't have to talk about what she just experienced and shook her head slightly, but didn't turn around. "Rokr found something important. He thought you might wanted to see it."

"What is it?"

She gulped down her fears and spoke softly. "A room full of maps and names. All the Archipelagos are on it, and all of them had specific names each. On Ruthless, the name of our gang is on it. On one table in the room, he found blueprints of different traps and structures, and letters written to a creature in the Ethereal. It doesn't look good."

"Do you know if any of the structures have been built and received yet?" Advandth shook her head but didn't turn around. Onyx wasn't one to pry on personal issues, especially with people here, but Advandth didn't seem to be in the mood. "He did it again, didn't he?" he asked softly.

"Don't concern yourself with me, Onyx. I'm not worth the trouble," she hissed harshly.

"You didn't agree to be his play thing, neither did your mother."

"Why do you think I'm here? Why do you think I'm the only woman here?" she asked with venom. "That's all he expected of me until you persuaded him to let me do assignments with you. If it weren't for you, that's the only thing I'd be doing. And if it weren't for him, I'd have the other men of the stupid gang all over me."

"Fuck the other men!" Onyx growled and strode up to her. Turning her around, he locked his gaze with hers and hissed, "Dev, Ecthrois, and I have never and would never touch you without your consent. We've seen and heard the others, and we won't do that to you. I'm cruel, but even I am not that cruel."

"I know you wouldn't, but even if you would, he'd kill you for it."

Onyx smirked wickedly. "No, he wouldn't. He needs me too much to kill me."

"Then he'd kill him." She glared at him, then softened her eyes. "He knows your weakness. Don't do anything that would provoke him, including protecting me from him. I can endure."

"I'm not protecting you, " he sighed. "I'm giving you a chance to let your feeling and emotions out. I'm giving you a chance to talk to me because we are supposed to be doing something important and I can't have you distracted."

She smiled a sad smile and looked away. "As usual. That's all we are to you."

"That's all anyone is to me here. Just like other people will always be considered an enemy."

"Like Phoenix?" Advandth asked, knowing she was stepping on thin ice.

"Phoenix?" Onyx asked confused. "What about her?"

"Is she an enemy, or someone else?"

"Enemy," he said smoothly.

Men! Advandth thought with a hidden smirk on her face. If only they weren't so blind and not so transparent. "Whatever you say, Onyx."

Then next morning, Phoenix rose from her bed and got ready for the day, not looking forward to it exactly, but also not completely dreading it. If she had to tell her feelings, she'd probably say anxious. There were butterflies in her stomach and a kind of adrenaline in her blood that made her very jittery, so jittery that when Elliot saw her, he gave her a look he'd give to some wild person crossing a street with vehicles all over coming from every which way. She smiled at him in a way she never had before, with all her white teeth and lips parted in a happy face-splitting grin. Elliot began to wonder if she might be drunk, but remembered her drinking usually resulted in loud exclamations to unknown people he couldn't see.

Instead of acknowledging her mood directly, he left the house in search of something to do. Phoenix on the other hand, grabbed her favorite book from when she was younger and took it into the family room to read. Ever since she was a little girl, she was always fascinated with princesses and heroes. Her favorite was a heroine named Shelaso who was the youngest of all her siblings, but came out the strongest. What Phoenix liked about this character was no matter how hard she fought, no matter how much she was scorned for being the smallest and the malfunctional one, she never gave up. She believed in her people when no one else did, found the criminals before the guards of her kingdom, and traveled far and wide to make sure peace was secured in piece of land her family owned. Phoenix knew she'd never be Shelaso, but she could dream and hope for the best.

Tears welled in her eyes, but Phoenix wiped them away, afraid of Elliot seeing her cry. And then she felt something she wasn't expecting, something that told her exactly why she was acting the way she's acting: her bleeding had started. Groaning, she hurried to wash herself again and add protection to her clothes, then wondered how she could get out of meeting with Onyx for a week until her bleeding stopped. Something, though, whether a voice in her head or the image in her mind of him from last night, told her any excuse would be declined. Those hard, dark eyes held so much determination that were she a child again, she'd have cowered and possibly ran. But since she was a full-grown woman who has seen much pain, she only found his determination a challenge of sorts. Whether Onyx knew it or not, it was a battle of wills and a battle of power, and Phoenix was enjoying the game.

Midmorning, Phoenix decided to leave and go into town early, not only to get this 'fun' day over with, but to also catch up with Gwen and check her mail. It was gloomy outside: pouring rain, chilly wind, and mud everywhere. She ran. Rain was the best weather for running because it meant she wouldn't burn up as easily as she would under the burning sun. The ground was slick, but her footing was uncanny. The rain made it hard to see, but Phoenix didn't care, as long as she could feel her legs pumping and her hair whipping around behind her, she doesn't mind blurry vision.

An hour later, she entered the little shop and went straight up to the counter where Gwendoline sat reading a ledger. The old woman looked up and smiled at Phoenix with affection. "Hello, dear."

"Hello, Gwen. How are you and the boys doing?" Phoenix softly greeted

Gwen smiled, appreciating the fact that this lone woman cared about someone so old as herself. "We are good, Phoenix. I'm just making sure our profit this week is still average."

"Is it?"

"It's actually better!" the woman whispered excitedly. "I can finally get my boys something for their holiday in a few months!"

Phoenix smiled. "That's great!" She looked around and found the shop nearly empty. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Gwen put a hand on Phoenix's and her eyes brightened. "There is a showing in the theatre. It's very rare to have one here in Ruthless, and because of that, everyone is trying to get to get front row seats."

Phoenix thought about that and nodded. The theatre has always been abandoned, crawling with spiders and dust bunnies, except the few times when children performed for school. Having a showing meant someone from another Archipelago came and took pity on them, but willing to get as much coin as they possibly could get from the poor people.

"Phoenix," Gwen said softly. Phoenix looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You look like you did when that man told off Clement. Are you alright?"

"Yes," she lied. Of course, she wasn't alright. If these people knew what she did about people from other islands, then they'd be pissed off too. But, she couldn't stand to wipe that smile on the old woman's face, not when she earned that smile fair and square. "Can I get my usual? I think I'm in need of caffeine."

Gwen's smile widened a bit and she rushed into the kitchens to prepare the usual herself. As Phoenix sat there, the ledger caught her eyes. A name was written on its multiple times in Gwen's looping handwriting, Taetrulf. The name was faintly familiar to her, and yet, unrecognizable. Somewhere in her memory, she has heard that name before, but she has never seen it written in Gwen's ledger before, considering she sometimes helped calculating the woman when she was ill and her sons were elsewhere.

"Here you are, dear." Phoenix looked up to see Gwen holding a steaming mug.

"Thank you, Gwen." Phoenix took the mug and took a sip, glancing at the ledger again. After a few moments, she set the cup down and pointed to the name. "Who is Taetrulf?"

"He comes from a darker place in this island and always appears beaten and broken, but is a very nice man." Gwen's demeanor changed and she stared at the name with sadness in her eyes. "He used to have a son, but rumors are his son either died of disease or he sent him away for safety."

"Do you know who the son is?"

Gwen shook her head. "Taetrulf won't reveal a word about the boy. But I assume the he sees the boy often and is a nice young man right about now."

Phoenix smiled, but it was a fake one as to not show her disappointment. "How come I have never heard of him?"

Gwen looked up at her and tilted her head a little. "He doesn't like to be known."

"Why not?"

"Who knows?"

The shop door opened behind Phoenix and she looked over her shoulder to see a dog running in with men behind it. The dog, a beautiful German shepherd with silky fur that was golden brown and raven black, started barking, running up to Phoenix and turning around to growl at the men who had muzzles and large poles. The dog's hackles were up, teeth bared, and eyes narrowed to slits. One man, chubby and beady-eyed, took a chance with the pole and swung it at the dog in an attempt to knock it over the head. The dog caught the pole in its mouth and shook, wrenching the pole right out of the man's hands. He stepped back while the dog threw the pole to the side and attacked.

The other two men, both with poles a set of muzzles each, attacked together to defend their comrade. But before either them or the dog could contact each other, another man jumped into the throng, tackling the dog to the ground with his arms wrapped around the animal. Gwen gasped and Phoenix crossed her arms while the man stood up, the dog whining in pain. When he turned around, Phoenix saw it was Onyx, pissed off and panting. He saw her, nodded, then turned to the men with poles and muzzles and growled, "You ever dare to chase Tarek again, and you'll find yourselves looking for limbs and guts!"

The three men backed away slowly, but Phoenix called for them to halt their retreat as she strode up to them and did a once over. "Drop the poles and muzzles," she ordered.

The men obeyed, cowed by Onyx's presence, as well as hers. Phoenix took up the poles and turned around to face the dog, kneeling down on one knee and holding the poles with both hands. The dog growled, but didn't attack her. Then, it watched as she stood, raised one knee and broke the poles in half together. Walking to the counter where Gwen sat, she threw the poles to the garbage and dusted her hands off.

"Now leave!" she hissed. The men obliged.

Behind her, Onyx knelt down to the dog and scratched its ears, then smoothed down the fur on its back. The bushy tail it had swept across the floor in pleasure, then started thumping, amber eyes watching Onyx in appreciation, before walking up beside Phoenix, jumping onto a stool, and laying its head on the counter, looking mournfully at Gwen, who in return chuckled and gave it some jerky. "Phoenix, meet Tarek, the stray who always seems to find trouble and who loves Baldwin's jerky!"

Phoenix held out her hand to the dog, letting it sniff before petting his head softly. "He's a stray?"

"He grew up in an alley not far from here," Onyx answered, sitting on Phoenix's other side. "I found him a few years ago and started to take care of him."

"But you never gave it a home?"

"Can't."

Phoenix nodded, understanding why. "Why were those men trying to catch him?"

Both Gwen and Onyx seemed to darken at the question. "Strays aren't supposed to be on the streets, rather in kennels at the pound, or dead if they can't be trained," the woman said with a sigh.

Phoenix looked at Tarek who was sniffing around for more jerky. When the dog sensed her watching, he turned to her and lifted his head, tongue hanging out and golden amber eyes meeting hers. There seemed to be a connection between them, a kind of familiarity that was deep to the core. They had both lived so long without family, both lived on the streets to a degree, both—it seemed—wrong for this world. "I'll take him."

"You will?" Gwen asked happily.

Phoenix nodded once and stood. Onyx watched her walk halfway across the room and kneel, whistling lowly for the dog, who went over to her and put his head under hers affectionately. It was settled and Onyx felt a weight lift off his shoulders while Phoenix felt her heart swell at the knowledge of being able to have a companion who could go with her wherever she wanted to go and never leave her for any reason—because no matter how loyal Elliot seemed, she still didn't trust him. You can always trust a dog because they know how to be loyal, no matter how hard the relationship.

"Ready to go?" Onyx asked when she stood up again. "I have plans."

She looked at him curiously, feeling her adrenaline rise to the surface while her emotions turned over on themselves. "Where are we going?"

"Out," is the only thing Onyx gave her before walking into the pouring rain.

Phoenix ran out, Tarek right on her heels, and saw Onyx heading in the direction of the bridge. She followed him, making sure the dog kept up with her, since she didn't have a hold of him. Before she could ask or shout at Onyx to stop and explain his urge, he turned around and looked around. She barreled into him, face in his chest, as she groaned. Onyx wrapped an arm around her and kept her from falling backwards. His smirk played on his lips even though he was tense. "Phoenix, you seriously need to stop running into people when you're in a hurry."

She pulled away and glared at him. "You stopped so suddenly, how was I supposed to know to slow down?"

"Watch. Where. You. Are. Going."

Her glare hardened until a warm body pressed against her leg that made her smile. She bent and pet Tarek on the head. "At least someone cares."

Onyx rolled his eyes and gave a hand signal. Out of nowhere to most onlookers, came three figures, three very wet figures. Phoenix knew they had been hiding, sensed someone watching her from the shadows, but couldn't find them, which is the partial reason for her running into Onyx. Tarek growled before sniffing and ran over to one of them. "Devdan and Ecthrois, I'm going out for a while."

The larger man crossed his arms. "The boss told me to remind you of him. To do your job and not waste time."

Phoenix looked at the man and her blue eyes flashed with recognition. "You're from the other night!"

Onyx looked at her and rose his brows. "You already know Ecthrois and Devdan, this other man is Rukr, we're acquaintances."

Rukr held out his hand to Phoenix with a small smile. "And you are?"

Phoenix glared at him and turned to her acquaintance. "Can I punch him now or later?"

Onyx grinned as Rukr stepped back with an offended look. "Later. I need him."

"Onyx!" Ecthrois growled. "The job!"

"I'm doing my job, Ecthrois. But I can do whatever I may to get that job done."

Ecthrois sighed, but didn't say anymore. Devdan circled around Phoenix and seemed to take a closer look than the night of the fight. "No wonder you were able to set up that net! That rope is heavy enough, but that hole thing tied together must have been exhausting!"

Phoenix rolled her eyes. "I had help."

"So modest!" Dev said sarcastically.

"Enough!" Onyx growled at him, then walked up to Phoenix and grabbed her wrist. "I'll be there by nightfall."

And they left the three men behind, whispering to each other about the woman Onyx was taking out.

"Where are we going?" Phoenix asked again while Tarek followed behind.

"Do you ever just go with the flow?" Onyx chided.

"If there is a fire, or a tornado, or a hurricane." Phoenix smiled when he seemed surprised by her answer. "Going with the flow means acting like everyone else. I'm not everyone else."

"Obviously," the man hissed.

They stopped at the bridge and then stared at the other end, the two thinking of totally different things. Phoenix thought of Getnee, her Nephilim mother while Onyx thought of something darker. He didn't like to remember, but just looking at the island made him see the horrific events. At a bark from Tarek, they snapped out of their thoughts.

"Do you like to play games?" Onyx asked the woman beside him.

"Depends. They have to be challenging and wrapped in violence."

Onyx shook his head in amusement. "Then you're going to love this game I have for you." Phoenix turned to him in silent confusion, her brain ringing alarm bells. Onyx smirked evilly. "Catch and ride a centaur."

"That's it?" Phoenix asked.

"A wild centaur, Phoenix."

"Still, that's it?"

Onyx peered at her in suspicion. "Why? Have you before?"

She shrugged. "No, but that seems easy. Their just horse-men."

"They're not just horse-men. They're born warriors who fight off those who trespass into their territory or their ally's territory."

"I thought you said this was supposed to be fun?" Phoenix asked, feeling irritated that he was lecturing her on what centaurs were. Of course, she knew what they were, who they were, and so on. She lived in Ethereal most of her life, how could she not know? But she'd never tell him anything about her life, at least no more than she already has. "Fine, I understand your warnings. Can we start now?"

Onyx smirked. "One hour. Meet at the bridge at that time with your centaur or earlier if you have any luck. First one back, wins."

Phoenix nodded then ran. When she was a child, she was always competitive and that hadn't stopped when she became an adult. In fact, it was heightened, probably because of her need to be alive and get revenge. She wasn't about to let Onyx win this little challenge, nor any other in the future. When she reached the island, Onyx passed her, a blur of motion disappearing into the trees. She didn't follow him though, instead, she went towards the little village where she knew someone who could help her find the best place to catch a centaur, not only because she was allies with them, but because she was the authority in Ethereal because of what she was.

A dragon.

Gavida was a special kind of dragon though, a beautiful crystal white with a bluish tint like ice, and red streaks in the spikes atop her head and some on her underbelly, along at the tip of her wings. Getting to her wasn't hard at all, for she could be seen for miles when in the sky, and from the treetops in her cave carved out of a mountain. Why was she special? Dragons were for the most part extinct, but she was the last of her kind: the Twilightmaw dragon, for obvious reasons. Not only that, but she also is the only one in her category who can shoot bolts of lightning to create mass destruction, not including her man-size claws and limb-length fangs.

It was said that if you befriended a dragon of any kind, you had their complete and utter trust, loyalty, and strength. You were most likely considered to win a war with a dragon on your side. Their scales are sharper than the sharpest metal known to man, impenetrable by man-made weapons. Your only chance of winning that war would be to have a dragon of your own, preferably one with as much or more power. If you betrayed a dragon in any way, it wasn't a question of if you'd die, but how. Men in the past have been lucky to have a quick death by claws, fangs, or the dragon's power. But there were others who weren't so lucky and would be swallowed whole to end up in the belly for the rest of their days: which were very few because the stomach acid in a dragon is as lethal as any other part.

Phoenix would never betray Gavida. Gavida, like Getnee, took her in and helped her through her childhood when no one else would, though, in a sisterly way. Phoenix looked up to Gavida. She admired the dragon and spent long hours riding her back in the sky while Gavida patrolled the island. At the time when Gavida and Phoenix met, the latter was seven years old and Gavida…well, let's just say she's been around for a long time. Not even she could remember her age, nor wished to. Ever since she left Ethereal at eighteen, she hadn't spoken or seen Gavida once. Phoenix missed her friend more than, sometimes, those she lost when she was a child. Hopefully, the dragon would understand her silence and not take it into offense.

After about fifteen minutes, Phoenix found the spot she used when she was younger to summon the dragon without having to climb the steep mountain. It was a clearing, and in the middle sat a horn of sorts, looking the same as when she'd last used it. It was made of silver, and it had the brilliance of a castle, but nothing compared to Gavida. Phoenix took the silver horn, rose it to her lips and gave a long blow. The sound, unlike most horns, gave a loud roar similar to that of a lion or bear. In this case, the roar had more depth, more of an undertone than regular animals usually found on earth. This was a dragon's roar, majestic in every way.

Immediately after finishing her long blow, Phoenix heard the beat of large wings and the deep, low growl from above her and to the left. She looked, and found crimson red eyes peering at her with happiness. Phoenix smiled a real smile, one she hadn't done for a long time, and ran to a rock ledge made just for her so she could be parallel with the dragon's back. When she reached the top, the dragon dipped her head and eyed Phoenix with calculation and determination. Gavida's soft, melodious voice penetrated the air between them. "Long time no see, sister-bird."

"I'm not a bird, nor has it been that long for you."

Gavida's mouth split into what was supposed to be a smile of her own, but occasionally would look like a snarl to most men. "You are still the same, and stronger. What have you been up to, Phoenix?"

The woman told her the short story of getting revenge on her family and taking back what belonged to her. She left out the part about Tariel and the Ironshade men. She told her about Onyx, though, and how she was participating in a challenge, a game, with the otherwise serious man. "I don't have much time though and I need your help."

"Aren't you cheating by asking for help?"

Phoenix put her fists on her hips and smiled with wicked delight. "He never said anything about getting help. Only said that I needed to have caught a centaur and be at the bridge before the hour is up."

A deep growl came from Gavida's throat, a laugh Phoenix had learned not to be scared of and fell in love with it. "You want to win, sister-bird?"

"You know me!"

The female dragon shook her head as if in wonderment, then blew out a long breath of hot air, electrified by little blue sparks. "Do you have anything to catch the pony man with?"

Phoenix held up both her hands. "These will do just fine. I don't to harm or trap them with rope or weapons. Just me and my instincts."

Gavida nodded and turned so that the top of her wing extended out to the rock ledge and made a sort of walkway for Phoenix to get on her back easily, sitting on a large scale towards the top of Gavida's neck, then held on to her a spike for dear life as Gavida burst into the sky with a flap of her monstrous wings. Wind beat against Phoenix's face, pulling at her hair and threatening to pull her off and fall to her death, but then the dragon leveled out and glided towards the opposite side of the island. It only took another five minutes, but it would've taken much longer if Phoenix walked on foot.

Landing in a patch of grass where Gavida couldn't on all fours due to the trees, Phoenix jumped into a tree and carefully climbed down, and hit the ground with a soft thump. When she looked about, centaurs crowded the forested area, mostly walking aimlessly and doing what they pleased. They weren't afraid of Gavida—or rather, weren't afraid right now because she seemed to be in a good mood. They all seemed pretty tame, so Phoenix had to be careful about which one she'd capture. She knew very little of centaurs except what they are and who they are, plus how they live. Nothing about centaurs who betrayed their family, who went bad.

"Take the one at the other end of the clearing," Gavida whispered. "the one with rope hair."

"They all have rope hair."

Gavida huffed and gestured with her head in the general direction. "He's leans for a horse, his face is in a scowl, and his horse body is a light brown with even lighter spots."

After a moment, Phoenix saw who she was talking about. "You mean the one who looks like he's about to kill someone?"

"Perfect!"

Phoenix smiled. "This is why I needed your help."

"Good luck!" Gavida hissed before flapping away.

Phoenix, scowling at the disappearing form, put up a finger as retribution for the dragon's take off. Of course, the she-dragon didn't notice, or if she did, she made no hint of it. The woman turned back to the warrior she was going to capture. She only had a half hour by now and needed to hurry because she'd be riding him back to the bridge.

Walking confidently through the encampment, she strode right towards the centaur, shoulders back, and ready for anything. When she was a few feet from him, he spoke. "What are you doing here, human?"

"I need your help," she announced. "I need a steed to ride me back to the bridge because my friend has left me and won't be returning."

His blue eyes narrowed. "Which bridge?"

"The one back to Ruthless."

From behind her, a female's voice could be heard. "She's fine, Revos."

Phoenix turned to see a brunette female centaur cantering up to them. Her outfit from the waist up was very revealing, only covering her cleavage with an armored bra-type thing. Her back was a beautiful black with a long, black, swishing tail. Like the men, the women were also covered in muscled. Revos said, "How do you know this human?"

"Her mother is Getnee."

Revos's eyes flashed towards Phoenix with realization and recognition. "You're the girl she got twenty years ago?"

"The one and only," Phoenix said proudly.

Revos sauntered up to her, standing at about three feet taller and looking down at her. Although feeling very small, the woman crossed her arms and tried to look defiant. The centaur said, "You know how to ride, don't you?"

"A horse. A dragon. Not a centaur."

"Like a horse, but you hold on by wrapping your arms around our stomachs. We do not use reins for we are not beasts."

Phoenix thought otherwise, but didn't say so. "Great. Then let's get going. I need to meet someone very soon."

Revos turned so she could climb on, then made sure she was secured before galloping into the forest with a sentry of five right behind them. Phoenix saw the female who knew her mother and four other men. When she went back to paying attention to where they were going, she said to Revos, "Why are we taking five others?"

"As guards."

"For who?"

He chuckled. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

Phoenix shrugged. "Not in particular. I haven't been on this island for a while."

Revos nodded but didn't elaborate.

When they found the bridge twenty minutes later, Onyx was already there, looking exhausted. Phoenix smiled to herself and slipped off Revos and went to meet the man, the centaur following a pace behind. Onyx looked over at them and narrowed his eyes. "Where have you been, if I may ask?"

Phoenix shrugged. "Around."

Revos narrowed his eyes at her, but said nothing. Onyx, on the other hand, crossed his arms and took in the six centaurs. "Well?"

She held up her hand towards Revos. "Meet Revos. Revos, meet Onyx."

"This is your friend?" the horse-man asked.

"Well, acquaintance. We are not friends in the least."

Onyx smirked but nodded his agreement. "I could never be friends with someone like her."

"Vise versa," Phoenix agreed and brushed past Onyx, waving her hand to the centaurs. "Nice meeting you, Revos."

"Have fun with Onyx, sister-bird of Gavida."

Phoenix smiled softly to herself as she walked across the bridge, Onyx following her. Gavida was the best part of her day, she was all the fun she needed. Phoenix didn't need Onyx for fun—actually, she didn't need fun at all. She needed Tariel Ingerina dead and Onyx out of her life. She needed to be rid of all her troubles once and for all. But most of all, she needed her family back.