"So, I heard you're going to leave Totus Islands?" heard Kallan. The voice is oh so familiar. Taya, a petite, slim, blonde-haired Primum with earth abilities. Her arm tattoo was of a leafy vine in different shades of green wrapping up to her shoulder. Brown plant roots crept across her left cheek, one even brushed across the tip of her nose, and Taya swore that they grew with her. Which wasn't much, as the girl was barely 4'10". She had the figure of a ballet dancer and yet as aggressive as a pro wrestler. She moved to the Main Island eight years ago, when they were six. On her first day in school they had a fight over the stub of the last "Regal Purple" crayon, which resulted in a bloody nose, bruises, and some quality bonding time with the Principal. They've been close friends ever since.

"Yeah," Kallan answered as Taya sat down across from her at the lunchroom table. Word had got out fast since Raidah's announcement that afternoon.

"Cool. Humans might be interesting," she said before taking a bite of her spaghetti. "I mean, I know you're not exactly going for vacation, but still."

"Eh, I'm more worried about finding this girl," Kallan admitted. "She's, like, the key to getting us out of here and back into the world."

"What are you going to do once you find her?" Taya asked. "Just casually explain to her about the big plan to, you know, destroy the civilization she lives in and take it back?"

"That's exactly what they did to us all those thousands of years ago," Kallan replied. "Human's may have forgotten we existed, but that's just more prove of their ignorance. We're just recovering what is rightfully our own."

"I'm just saying, your plan has some flaws. How are you going to find out your abilities once you meet this girl? What if you can't find her?" Taya pointed out. "Hey, what if she like, died or something? Or went insane and is being held in a mental facility?"

"That's a lot of what ifs," Kallan said. "Besides, Raidah has a plan."

"Oh? And what is this plan?" Taya responded.

"Uh, well..." stuttered Kallan. Composing herself, she said, "Raidah always has a plan. She wouldn't have decided to go through with all this if she didn't. That's not like her at all."

"So you're saying that she has some sort of huge master plan, and she's just not telling you?"

"I did ask her about it," Kallan said. "She said she didn't want me to be too stressed yet, or something like that."

"What did she tell you?" asked Taya.

"We leave tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. We're taking Raidah's private jet, the storms are being calmed a bit until we're out of range so we can fly. Destination, Canada. The only reason she gave for that was 'You've always loved hockey.'"

"Raidah's jet!" Taya exclaimed, excitement glimmering in her eyes. "Any way you could take me with you?"

Kallan laughed. "If you could take my place, I'd let you." She said. No surprise that Taya was excited about the plane, nobody ever got to ride in it except for Raidah's top secret missions outside of the Islands. This was the first mission in fifteen years. Kallan knew that Owen had been on the last one, when he was a teenager, but he ignored all her questions about it. Actually, Owen was practically still a teenager. Primum age the same as humans until they reach about eighteen years old, then they age approximately one year for every five human years. Owen looked, acted, and in every way was twenty years old except for the actual amount of years he'd been alive.

"How did the plane get here in the first place?" Taya wondered. "It is a human invention, after all, and there's not many of those here."

"Actually, its Primum built," Kallan answered. "They've studied crashed planes and things to figure it out, and built one. Tons of ancient symbols for protection on it everywhere, even the inner gears and engine."

"Sounds even more awesome," Taya said.

They spent the rest of the meal discussing the trip. What it would be like, when they would be back, possible plans that Raidah might have.

While finishing the last forkfuls of spaghetti, Taya said, "What about your tattoos? Humans probably don't care about Raidah's arm tattoos, but they'll think the face ones are pretty weird. And they'll think you having any tattoos at all is strange since you have to be an adult to get tattoos, I think. It might even be illegal."

"Long sleeves will fix that," Kallan said. "But you're right about the face ones. Maybe we could say they're birthmarks?"

"Interesting colored birthmarks," Taya said with a smirk.

"Okay, maybe not. But, like I said, Raidah has a plan for everything. I'm sure she's thought of that."

~~~

Kallan woke up early the next morning, it was still dark out. The clock on the wall read five o'clock. She took a shower and dressed in some of the human clothes she had been given the night before- jeans, a gray sweatshirt, and black low-top sneakers. Definitely not as pretty as her traditional kirya, a long dress that was fitted at the top and smooth and flowing at the bottom, in the colors white and gray, same as her tattoos. But the goal was the fit in, and a kirya would certainly catch even more unwanted attention.

At 5:30 she met Raidah for breakfast before they left. Pancakes, sausages, and fruit had been prepared by kitchen staff, a far cry from the usual oatmeal, eggs, and toast. A few others had been invited in the special meal, including Owen, Taya, and some important officials who worked in The Tower.

"Excited?" Raidah asked Kallan.

"Yes, and also a nervous," Kallan said. "Um, Taya and I were wondering, what are we doing about our tattoos?"

Raidah looked a little surprised at the question. "What about them?" She asked.

"I mean, they won't really blend in with the humans," Kallan added.

"Oh, don't worry," Raidah said. "Slap some makeup on to cover them and no one will notice."

"So they won't see the tattoos?"

"Nope."

Owen walked over then, empty plate in hand, on his way to get more pancakes. "You worried?" He asked.

"A little," Kallan responded. "Actually, a lot."

"You should be," Owen said. "I'd be a lot more nervous than you look if I was in your place."

"Owen, you've been out of the Islands before, right?" Kallan asked.

Owen's expression grew serious, his face darkened. "Yeah, I have. Once."

"What was it for? Can you tell me about it? I want to be as prepared as possible."

"Um, no, I don't-"

Raidah cut him off, saying "Kallan, I think it's time we leave."

"Oh, right. Yeah, um..."

"I'll be waiting for you on the plane, go ahead and take a few minutes to say goodbye," Raidah said. "Brain will get your luggage, so you don't have to worry about that." She waved her hand at one of the Officials, who left without a word. Raidah stood and followed him out the door.

Kallan stood up from her seat and walked over to Taya. "Bye," she said softly, giving her a hug.

Taya looked tired, worn out, and sad, but still smiled at her friend. "Bye Kallan," she said. "I'll miss you a lot. It's gonna be terribly boring here without you."

Kallan grinned, then turned towards Owen. "Bye," she told him. "Thanks for all you've done for me."

"Hey, that's my job," Owen said with a shrug. "As your Guardian and all."

"Well, I'll miss all of you." Kallan looked back towards Taya to see that she was close to tears, still trying to smile.

"Don't worry Tay," Kallan assured her. "I'll be back before you know it."

"You better," Taya said. "I don't want to sit with people I don't know at meals for any longer than I have to."

"Be safe, Kallan, and be careful," Owen warned.

"I'm gonna be fine," Kallan insisted. "How dangerous can it be, really?"

You have no idea, Owen thought to himself as Kallan walked out the door, towards the world and away from everything she had ever known.

A/N

 Edited!

Hi guys! First off I would like to thank you all for reading. It means so much to me! If you like this chapter, please vote and comment, it always makes my day ❤️‍.  If there are any proofing errors, feel free to tell me, I miss things sometimes. What do you think of what just happened? Any predictions? 

Lastly, shout out to most_bay for their kind, supportive comments and all their advice. Thank you so much!