ELEMENT

Chapter Thirty-Four:

"Won't your dad be worried?" Robin asked.

"Nope!" Quincy leapt from the window.

Sage, Ethan, Robin and Meadow rushed to the window, leaning their heads out. They watched as Quincy landed on a trampoline stationed just under the window, bouncing on it twice, and then landing with both feet on the ground.

"Come on!" He turned to the group and waved up.

Sage and Ethan rushed away, while Robin turned to Meadow. "You're sure that kid isn't the last line of defense against the apocalypse?"

"Who's to say they aren't?" Meadow shrugged, following Sage and Ethan.

-

The walk outside of the kingdom was a long one. Sage hadn't tried to go out this far in a long time, and she got a strange sense of déjà vu from simply being out here. The gates creaked open again as Ethan pushed them, leading the group into the forest.

The sky went from pitch black to a dark blue. It was around five in the morning.

"Right." Robin jumped into the sky, and with a puff of smoke, they turned into a blue bird. "I'm going to look around with a better view."

"Good luck. Let us know if you see anything." Sage ran her fingers through her hair, watching as Robin glided away. Sage turned back to the group then.

Small amounts of snow started to flurry from the sky, landing on the already existing blanket of crunchy snow on the ground. "Well, this isn't good." Ethan noted, lifting every foot carefully from the ground. "If there were any tracks out here, they'll be covered in no time with this."

Sage and Ethan were cold, sure, but Meadow didn't feel any different from how she normally felt. Snow felt more like home than anything, in the worst way possible.

"Cole!" Sage called, their voice echoing as everyone came closer to the trees.

"The snow is pretty." Quincy noted, going deeper into his giant jacket. "But it's cold. Why would Coleslaw want to come all the way out here?"

Sage gave a small glance to Meadow, who wasn't paying attention. She was still galomping through the snow, her breath turning into fog as she exhaled.

Sage leaned down to Quincy. "...Meadow and Cole had a fight four days ago."

Quincy looked up at her. "Really? I thought you were only joking back at the house."

"No. I don't know what happened, but it seemed like a really touchy topic for her."

"Cole wouldn't run away because of that, right?"

"He wouldn't abandon Meadow for that long."

"...So that's why you're so worried."

Sage inhaled, pressing her lips together. "You're a smart kid. But nobody really knows why bad things happen to good people."

"You think something bad happened to him?"

Sage didn't respond, but their silence was response enough.

Robin came down, turning back into their human form. "Nothing to the west. Press on this way."

"Cole!" Sage started to call for him again.

Meadow's mind was fogged. Nothing. There was norhing when she tried to find him, and it worried her even more. "Cole!"

"COLEEEEEE." Ethan cupped his hands, reaching higher volumes.