"ROAD TRIIIIIPP!" Lucy shrieked as she tossed her bag into the back of the van. "We're going on a road trip, we're going on a road trip..." She danced in a happy little circle, hopefully getting all her energy out before they were trapped in a car for the next two hours. Ivy danced with her, a bit more hesitantly. The two girls had grown quite close in the last day, probably because they were the closest in age out of everyone.

Luke tossed his pack in the back on the van on top of Lucy's. "I think that's everyone's stuff, unless y'all have even more bags you're not telling us about." He scanned the pile of luggage they'd amassed. It was probably enough to build a house out of.

"That's everything," Carter affirmed, opening the door to the rented van. "Everyone in! I call shotgun!"

"Oh no, you don't," Alvira said suddenly, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and pulling him backwards. "That's my seat."

Carter wasn't stupid enough to try to fight Alvira. She settled in the front seat and the rest of the gang arranged themselves in the back. Luke almost sat in the very back, next to all the bags, before Madison evicted him, insisting that she wanted to sit closest to where the food was being stored. That gave her a monopoly over them if anyone wanted a snack. Luke tried to refuse but she smacked him over the head with a magazine until he ceded it to her, and the only seat remaining was the one to Carter's right.

Sawyer assumed his rightful place in the driver's seat and closed the door. "Everyone ready? Well, if not, too bad, we're leaving." He started the car and began to roll them out of the driveway and onto the open road.

Mads pulled out her phone and tried handing it up to Alvira. "Can you plug this in? Shuffle my Taylor Swift playlist."

Alvira did as she was asked, and Lucy reached forward and cranked up the volume. Pretty soon, everyone in the van was screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs.

"SOMEDAY I'LL BE LIVING IN A BIG OLD CITY," Carter hollered from right next to Luke. Luke's ears probably would have burst if he wasn't also shouting. The seats were small enough that their shoulders were pressed against each other, and their hands brushed together every so often.

If he was being honest, Luke kind of wanted to grab Carter's hand in his own, if only to relieve the awkwardness of them lightly grazing every few seconds.

But he resisted the temptation, and went the duration of the ride keeping his hands to himself.

✵✵✵

Lucy hadn't been wearing her seat belt for the past hour and a half. The older kids made sure she was wearing it when they left, but about half an hour into their bad singing and Madison's snack hoarding, they didn't care whether it was buckled or not. Besides, Sawyer was probably good at driving and she trusted him not to steer them into a ditch or anything.

She got up on her knees and leaned over the seat back, looking at Seb. She was on her new phone, texting avidly with someone.

"Texting with Oliver?" Lucy teased.

Sabine kicked the back of Lucy's seat. "None of your business," she said, but the smirk on her face gave her away.

Lucy looked next to Seb at Carter and Luke, who were sharing a set of earbuds and watching something on Luke's phone. Both of them were awkwardly trying not to touch the other, and it made her feel embarrassed just looking at it. She decided not to bother them. Besides, they were cute together.

Lucy turned back to the front seat and looked at Atlas and Alvira. Alvira was turned around in the front seat so they could face each other, and both were deeply invested in a game of sticks. Alvira was tapping Atlas' fingers furiously as the latter appeared to be winning.

Lucy turned her attention to Ivy, who was busy staring out the window.

"It's so colorful," she said quietly when she noticed Lucy watching her. "I mean, I've seen trees before. But only at night. They're so green during the day."

"Did you really not know what trees looked like?" Lucy asked.

Ivy shook her head.

"That's awful." Lucy put a hand on top of Ivy's. "But, hey. You're with us now. You can be happy! Besides, we've been driving for like two hours now so we'll probably be there soon. While we're waiting, do you wanna play rock, paper, scissors or something?"

"What's rock, paper, scissors?" Ivy asked genuinely.

Lucy gasped in horror. "No... surely you know rock, paper, scissors?"

"We didn't play games much in the orphanage," Ivy admitted. "Can you teach me?"

Lucy showed her the three signs and they played the first round, which Lucy won with a rock. She smiled at Ivy. "You'll get the hang of it."

However, the very next round, Ivy won with a sheet of paper. It was her turn to smile smugly at Lucy. "I'm a fast learner."

"Everybody!" Sawyer shouted. "Put your shoes on and wake up, because we're here!"

✵✵✵

Atlas unbuckled his seat belt as Sawyer parked the car in the gravel driveway. Luke reached forward and pulled the door open.

Everyone began sitting up and putting phones back in pockets, ready to get out. Next to him, Lucy and Ivy peeked out the window to see the lake house for the first time. It was the size of a regular house, maybe even smaller, and made of wooden walls. There were small, rectangular windows on the first floor and circular ones on the second. It was quite an adorable little cottage.

Madison grabbed her bag of sleeping supplies and toiletries from the back of the van and began racing to the front door. "Dibs on the room on the top floor!"

"Not if I get there first!" Lucy shouted back. She didn't even bother to grab her stuff before leaping out of the car and opening her gorgeous blue wings through the hole in the back of her shirt. However, once they were fully out, though she never stopped running, her body began to change. She was shrinking, and her clothes were sprouting fur. Her arms lengthened and her legs shortened simultaneously until they were the same length, and she was growing a tail. It was hard to process, it happened so fast. Atlas blinked, and she was a dainty, winged cat. Lucy spread her smaller wings and flapped her way up to the window on the top floor, and used one of her paws to open it and creep inside.

"Did she just-" Atlas pointed at the still-open window in disbelief. "She just shapeshifted into that second half thing? That was so cool! Are you guys going to teach me to do that?"

"It doesn't take much learning," Alvira said from next to him. "It comes pretty naturally. I think I got it on my first day." She shrugged. "And I mean, come on, Lucy's only had her powers for seven months? She's already shifting back and forth like it's nothing."

"Well," Luke interrupted as he helped Carter pull the luggage out of the back, "I don't know about nothing. The other day she fell out of the sky because her wings didn't grow fast enough to support her human body when she shifted back."

"Okay, so she's still rocky," Alvira admitted. "But she's learning fast."

"I'm also a fast learner," Ivy said quietly. "Will I learn like her?"

"Absolutely," Seb assured her. "You, and all the new guys, are going to be flying around in no time."

Ivy smiled with a brightness that probably could have dimmed the stars if they were out.

"So, if you guys are done, maybe help us unpack?" Carter asked impatiently, trying to lift a suitcase out of the van.

"Yep, sorry," Alvira laughed, and dragged Atlas along with her.

"Also, why did you guys bring a plastic sled?" Carter asked confusedly. "It's not snowing any time soon, I'll tell you that much."

"It's for you," Luke said, clapping a hand on Carter's shoulder. "And you'll see why. We don't need any snow."

✵✵✵

After unpacking everything, the flock went to the lakeside beach for a bit of fun. Sawyer, Alvira and Atlas were a bit later than the rest, since they had stayed behind to put all the food they'd brought into the fridge and freezer. Alvira, although she was usually reserved and quiet, could not deny that she was bursting with excitement at only being here.

When they arrived at the beach, they were met with a sight that might have given a stranger a heart attack.

Madison, in her Cervitus form, was sprinting across the sand like she was fleeing from death. Alvira soon saw why. Luke, in his Lupine form, was booking it down the beach, pulling the sled with the thin rope in his mouth. Sitting in the sled, holding on to the rope for dear life, was Carter, who was being pulled so fast he was about to fall off. Sabine, in her full white-winged-horse glory, was galloping not far behind him, kicking up sand under her hooves. On her back, riding bareback, was Ivy, gripping Sabine's mane so tight her knuckles were white. In Ivy's lap sat a winged tabby cat. Lucy was hugging Ivy's stomach like a part of her sweater, trying very hard not to fall into the sand and be left behind.

Everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Well," Sawyer said, shifting into his Bastet form, "I'm going to take a nap." He hopped up onto a nearby log and rested his head on his front paws. "Wake me up if someone dies."

Alvira brushed off a stump and sat herself down. "I think I'll have a quick skywatching minute. You should go play with the others, Atlas."

"What? You don't want to come?"

"I'm not huge on sports," she admitted. "Or team things in general. I'll let you all run around like headless chickens and I'll join you guys when you've burned all your energy."

"Actually, if you're not planning on doing anything right now," Atlas asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Can you teach me to shift? I'm really curious to see what my second half is, if I'm being honest."

Alvira thought about it, but not for long. "Sure, I'll help you. But it really shouldn't take long. I don't know how many times we can say it, but it's really easy. Open your wings first."

He did as he was told. "Okay." Atlas shook his hands and hopped back and forth on his feet. "I'm ready. I think."

"Okay, how do I explain this?" Alvira put two hands on his shoulders to stop his bouncing. "Stop that. You're distracting me." In this light, she noticed things about him she hadn't before. The way his green eyes had speckles of gold in them, the subtle freckles that almost blended in with the skin of his cheeks, the little tuft of hair on the top of his head that mimicked the Harpy Eagle his wings resembled. "Shifting is like a muscle in your body. It's like moving your fingers. You just think about it and it happens. Don't overthink it. Don't try to forcefully change yourself, don't try to spend any energy or strain. Just... do it."

"Helpful," Atlas said flatly, his eyes still closed. "Okay..." He exhaled softly, and stood perfectly still. "Nothing's happening, is it?"

"No," Alvira told him, giggling slightly. "Try again. Don't think about it."

Atlas stood still for another moment. Then, his wings began to grow. His arms and legs shortened, and his face began to stretch. If she hadn't seen people shift hundreds of times before, Alvira might have thought it was something from a horror movie.

He kept elongating until he was flat on his stomach, his skin hardening and graying. Alvira blinked, and Atlas had become a humongous crocodile.

"A Dragon," she whispered. "You're a Dragon."

"What animal?" He asked through his rows of razor sharp teeth.

"A crocodile," Alvira breathed. "A huge crocodile, you must be at least ten feet (about 3 m) long! That is so cool."

Atlas tried squirming for a bit, trying to look at himself while at the same time being too long to see all of his body. "My wings grew too! Do you think I could fly?"

"Try it," Alvira encouraged.

Atlas moved his wings up and down awkwardly. "It's not working."

"No, silly. You're just flapping around. Try to angle them so that you catch the air under you. You have to lift yourself up, it's not magic."

Atlas tried again, curling the outer feathers slightly. The sand under his feet flew everywhere, kicked up like a small tornado surrounding him. Alvira covered her eyes with her sleeve to avoid being blinded, but didn't stop watching Atlas. "You're doing it! Keep going!"

Atlas' scaled feet left the ground as his huge, reptilian body lifted off the ground. He was somewhat awkward in his first flight, but he was absolutely flying. Alvira watched with a bit of judgment, but mostly pride. She remembered how she felt the first time she'd ever flown; it was like the first time walking or speaking, but she could remember it. It felt like finding herself. And now Atlas was finding himself.

He cheered from the sky and everyone who had previously been a part of the manic chase paused and looked up. Atlas made an effort to land, and instead clumsily skidded into the wet sand of the beach. He shook himself, grains of sand flying off his snout. "Holy crap, that was crazy. I was flying."

Carter leapt off the sled and into the cool water, his bare feet sinking into the sand. "Okay, that was cool. My turn." 

A/N: Behold Chapter 9! Way longer than most of the other chapters if I do say so myself (but I really have no idea since I don't look at the word count [except right now, this chapter was 2386 words]). Also, here's a quick little thing of the car seating arrangements cuz I kept getting confused while writing so hopefully you don't: 

Comment and vote and all that, point out errors, thanks so much for reading! Also, go check out the apply fic Arken Games by Ashgreenleaf, she needs some applicants!