Arizium

Chapter 11

It's unsettling walking next to someone like Lynx, she skips about so merrily without a care in the world, but could kill a dragon with the flick of a wrist. Wolf was incorporeal at the moment, taking precautions in case someone was in the woods, but he might as well have had a big red flag over him that said "I'm here predators! Come taste my delectable meat!" With all the noise Lynx was making. 

They got to Phoenix safely though, by some miracle. Lynx skipped over to the bodies and Phoenix, and bowed over them. "Hmm. Strange girl. Stranger boy. I say we throw them in the river." She smiled widely. 

"Not until we get information from them. Can you carry them back?" Phoenix said. 

 "Hmm, that would be a big fat 'no'. Unless you fed me Arizium every five seconds, that is." 

 Phoenix sighed, "Alright, we'll just have to carry them. Wolf, you take the boy, I'll take the girl, Lynx you can take Raven." 

 "Why can't I carry a stranger?" Lynx pouted. 

 "I don't trust you enough to keep them alive until we get back." Phoenix retorted. 

 Lynx mumbled, "You're no fun." But she did as she was told anyway. Raven was obviously too heavy for an eight year old to carry, but Lynx could float her body back to the camp, even if it was a bit sloppy. 

 Wolf hoisted up the white haired boy and studied him a bit more. He had handsome features, Wolf had to admit. His hair was about the length of his own, long enough to bounce but shorter than shoulder length. The boy seemed fairly old, though, maybe older than Phoenix. He had a long sleeve shirt on that was once white and dark blue trousers. 

God, he's grimy. Wolf didn't know how long they had been out there, but it had to have been awhile. Unfortunately for Phoenix, the girl seemed to be a bit heavier since she had a greatsword strapped to her back and a big white wolf cloak on her shoulders. The cloak made Wolf queasy, especially since his own wolf was white, but he didn't say anything. 

It was strange that the girl had the equipment, as the boy looked way stronger than she. She had a white gown on that too was once clean. These... siblings gave him the chills. There was just something wrong about them. Something he didn't particularly like. 

 They made it back home just as Wolf was reaching the end of his strength. He was, in all honesty, a big weakling. He knew that since he was the only boy in the group, he was expected by social standards to be the brawniest. In all reality, none of them was really that strong, except for Phoenix. The only one who came close to intense strength was Lynx, but that was because of Arizium, even then she was not completely strong, she had her limits. They didn't know exactly what those were, though. Limits are hard to pinpoint with Arizium, as it all depends on your dosage. The more you have, the better your resonance and the more power that's transferred. Of course, there's probably a limit to that as well. They had yet to find that, though, as it was too risky to overdose. 

 Bear came up to them and looked at the strangers curiously when they set them down by the fire unceremoniously. "Alright, that's Raven, but who are the other two?" She asked as she lifted the boy's arm with the toe of her boot. 

 "Not sure," Phoenix responded and crossed her arms "hopefully they're not too dangerous." 

 "Why bother taking them in?" Bear said "It's dangerous to even risk it." 

 "We can't just leave them there." Wolf said sharply. "They'll die." 

 "So? They mean nothing to us." Madelina said as she exited her hut and approached them, Wolf concluded that she must have been reading their minds or listening in or something. 

 "You may be able to leave helpless people to die, but I can't. The siblings stay. Besides, we need information." He stated. He could sense that his wolf, Resa, was near; she had noticed his anger and would kill anything and anyone if he gave the command. Being him, he'd obviously never given said command, which made her all the more itchy for a fight. Wolves have a surprising urge to please whoever commands them, which is why their packs work so well. Wolf stalked away into his hut with his incorporeal field on, sat on his small bed made of straw, and began sharpening the flint on his arrows absent-mindedly. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his door open and Bear walk in. She was staring right at him even though he was incorporeal. He hadn't bothered to stretch his field to the arrows and whetstone in order to conserve energy, so they looked as if they were floating. Bear came and sat right next to him without even bumping his incorporeal form. 

 "How do you always know?" he said curiously. 

 "Know what?" She asked. 

 "You always know exactly where I am all the time, how much space I take up, everything." 

 She chuckled "I'm an illusionist, you dolt. I manipulate your image in my mind, which makes your field disappear to me, obviously." 

 Wolf took down the field and cocked an eyebrow at her, which resulted in a giggle from Bear. "Alright, fine, you got me. It's just that I've known you for so long, your image is permanently sketched into my mind." 

 He nodded and went back to sharpening. Silence settled over them like a cloud. 

 "Why do you defend them?" She said after a long time. 

 He shrugged and focused on the arrow in front of him. 

 "That's not an answer." She poked him. He shrugged again, he didn't think he knew the answer. "Is it... something to do with your passivism?" She guessed. 

 He shrugged. 

 "Yeah that's it, passivism. I knew it. You think you can hide from me but you can't. I'm too good at guessing. No secret can ever be kept from me!" She said in her normal Bear-way. 

 As he ran the whetstone over the flint, a spark struck and caught the shaft on fire. The whole arrow incinerated within an instant. Wolf flinched violently and dropped the arrow from his hand as Bear laughed. 

Of course it's one of her tricks he thought and sighed. Bear wasn't the only one who had tricks to fool people with, though. 

Wolf flashed a grin at her and then disappeared "Do you want to play a game?" he said. Bear cocked her head and attempted to follow the muffled sounds of footsteps as Wolf made his way around the room, inevitably of course, she lost him. 

 "Alright, I give up." She huffed and crossed her arms. 

Wolf smiled at himself and became corporeal directly behind her. "Boo." He whispered lightly in her ear. 

As she jumped and screamed it was Wolf's turn to laugh. Bear simply shook her head, and smiled at him "Ever the child, aren't you Wolfie? Come on, we should help the others with the strangers." 

Phoenix was sitting by the fire, pouring water down the strangers' and Raven's throats using a flask that they had stolen off of some lost dimwit. 

Lynx was humming joyfully as she drew something with a stick on a patch of dirt and Madelina was leaning against a tree next to Lynx, watching her draw. Madelina was a talented artist, so every time Lynx made a mistake Madelina would telepathically force her arms to erase it and try again. Lynx didn't seem to notice it was happening. 

 Wolf didn't really have anything to do, everyone had eaten already, the firewood was stocked, and Phoenix must have made everyone wash up not too long ago, since all their hair was dripping wet. 

Phoenix looked up at Bear and Wolf when they appeared, "You both should go wash up. We may live as peasants, but we don't have to smell like them." Wolf knew he would get scolded if he didn't do as he was told, so he shuffled away from the camp toward the river. 

(A/N: Ooooooooo we're getting to the good parts :DDDDD)