Chapter 4- Splitting
With the group split, Aurelie led his section to the law maker's house. The loud crunch of grass beneath their feet was a stark reminder to them that this forest hasn't been occupied in a while. Who knows what could be out here.
"What's the law maker's name?", asked Gigi. "No one ever uses it but c'mon, he must have one."
"He does", nodded a calm Aurelie. "It's Aerian."
"Great name", said Holly. "Terrible guy."
"His name ain't even all that", said Duke.
"Atleast he isn't named afted a dog", said Naomi.
Duke furrowed his eyebrows in a defensive manner. "Oi, what you on about? Duke's not a dog's name."
Naomi nodded. "Yeah, it is. I know about 5 dogs that are called Duke."
Holly looked down at the ground when she felt her lips quirk up at the corners.
Duke raised an eyebrow at this. "Something funny, is it?"
Holly shook her head. "Nope, not at all."
Shelley rolled her eyes. She was a little irritated and on edge. She appreciated humour just as much as the next person, but this was the first time she has been without Mikhail and SJ. "How much further is it?"
Aurelie consulted his map, his warm brown eyes squinting as they scanned the papyrus scroll. "Just past the Oak Tree up ahead, dear."
Noah turned to Drea, the latter turning away from looking at the foliage when he spoke. "He's very mellow. How long have you been travelling with him?"
Drea glanced at the older man, her eyes seemingly lighting up. Noah picked up on this, and couldn't help but smile. A confused Drea just stared at him. "Why are you lookin' at me like that?"
Noah's eyes widened as he feared being caught out. "Huh? Uh, I wasn't looking at you like anything."
Drea raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't question him further. "I've known him since I was 10. 11 years on and he hasn't gotten sick of me."
"How could anyone get sick of you?", questioned Noah. If ever there was a time for the ground to swallow him up, this would be the best one.
Here's the thing. Noah's not the 'love at first site' type. Heck no. But when your only interaction with females comes in the form of your 2 group mates, you miss out on certain social cues.
Drea pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows, as if she were trying to tell where on Earth his words were coming from. "You don't even know me."
"Well, I'm looking forward to getting to know you", said Noah. "Not that I want this quest to drag on for too long. I've got bowls to protect."
"Ok, I'm ending this conversation now", said Drea. However, she remained close to him, possibly enjoying the company.
'Dámn. Been spending way too much time with Audrey', thought Noah.
It's funny. Noah finally met someone as guarded as him but the lack of socialising made for an odd introduction.
Naomi thrusted her bag at Gigi, who used her crazy fast instincts to catch it.
Duke nodded his head, mildly impressed. "Not bad."
Gigi smiled. "Thanks. I'm her main bag catcher. Maaria's hélla athletic but catching? That's my thing."
"She doesn't carry her own bags?", questioned Shelley.
Gigi cackled, throwing her head back. When she regained her composure, she was stunned by Shelley's deadpan expression. "You're not joking?"
Shelley's eyes widened and she sighed, turning away. "Wow."
"Hey, if you get tired I can carry it for you", offered Holly. "Just don't throw it. My bag catching skills aren't honed yet."
"How far is this dámn house? I'm getting blisters! It better be a mansion", whined Naomi.
"A mansion? She does know mansions are basically a myth in Coppersberg, right?", asked Holly.
Shelley sighed. "This is going to be a long day."
-
Aurelie appointed Giamora, a female only a year younger than he was, as leader for the second group.
Luna ran her fingers along a slanted shelf. "This place is dusty as héll."
Audrey picked something up, sending the entire desk crashing to the ground. When everyone looked at her, she just shrugged. "Um... it woke up like this?"
Luna rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Maybe you can build a new one, Picasso?"
"Picasso?", questioned Lyndi. "Are you into art too?"
Audrey's face lit up. "Ah, I fellow artist! Heck yeah I'm into art! We should trade tips some time."
"Maybe when we're not on a quest?", suggested Mikhail, though he didn't seem to mind at all.
SJ just looked around, a painting on the wall pulling her in. She raised her hand to it, gently picking at the specs of dried paint that had pulled away from the others. "This painting's old." SJ felt her head throb intensely, and let out a groan.
She fell back, but was saved my Maaria's reflexes. Mikhail rushed by her side, wrapping a hand around her waist to steady her. "You ok? Lean in to me, ok?"
SJ nodded and obeyed, resting against his chest, just until she regained her composure.
"I'll see if there's any water around", said Lyndi, frantically rushing around the room. She tugged at a cupboard door, recoiling when bags of blood dropped to the ground. "There's blood here."
"Blood? It's not even in a fridge or anything? It can't be useful to anyone now, can it?", questioned Maaria.
Mikhail sighed in frustration. Not really at anyone else, more so at himself for not checking in on SJ sooner. "Any water?"
Lyndi shook her head, a frown appearing on her face. "No water. Sorry."
SJ slowly stood up, gripping the chair to steady herself. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Let's just carry on."
"You sure?", asked Mikhail.
"I mean I can go out and look for water if you want?", offered Maaria.
SJ shook her head. "No, it's ok. It's too dangerous."
"I'm glad you're ok and all but are we just going to gloss over the fact that Lyndi found blood ?", asked Audrey.
Luna's eyes widened. "Wow! I can't believe you actually bothered to remember someone else's name."
"She's a fellow artist. Gotta make an effort", replied Audrey.
"Let's just head back to camp. We have no idea what to look for. We'll just tell Aurelie that we should all go together", said Mikhail. "Is everyone ok with that?"
Everyone nodded and header for the door. Lyndi looked back at the cupboard. "Sure hope Holly doesn't find anything gruesome."
-
Hi!
I feel like everyone would've expected chaos and multiple interactions. I really wanted to write that but after planning it all, I had to shift some things around so some parts will feel too fast paced and rushed. I'm really sorry for this but we still have 2 whole books to get through, so you'll get plenty of interactions as time goes on.
What's happened to SJ?
Note: Noah's personality is different to how he usually is. This was just because I wanted to highlight Drea's personality. He will be back to his usual guarded self soon. It's normal to change how you are in front of certain people so this might be the case for a lot of characters.
Why does Aerian have blood in his cabin?
What are your thoughts on this chapter?
There are so many people in this so if I missed anyone out, please let me know and if you could tag them that would be appreciated. Thank you!
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top