Draiks and Angels: Twins

10 - Fair

When they arrived back at the Novus Taxus Aerie, Satiya told Ava and Tadeas that she and Husani would regale the Archangel and Steward with the day's events, and they could ask for someone to take them straight to the guest rooms.

She whispered to Ava, "Maybe you can get one more look at those sexy shorts, too."

Ava turned bright red and couldn't say anything. Satiya tried unsuccessfully to hide her smile as they approached the dining area. They had barely sat down when Joseph and Troy flew down to them. Satiya explained the plan to them, and Troy called a nearby Draik to take Ava and Tadeas to the guest rooms.

Ava took the first room and Tadeas the second. They were decently large, with a queen bed, chest of drawers, desk, and stool. Tadeas was exhausted. He was glad Satiya let them skip out on the story telling, even if he probably wouldn't have said anything. He took his satchel off and dropped it on the desk. He pulled his boxers out, which they had retrieved with the rest of his clothes. The shorts the traffickers put him in were uncomfortable and he really would rather change, but with Ava back to walking in without waiting for a response, maybe he should go into the bathroom.

Ava decided she would take advantage of the extra time Satiya gave them and take an extra-long shower. She grabbed her underthings from her satchel where she had stuffed them at the kidnapper's lair, rolled them into as small a ball as she could to try and hide what they were, tucked the ball under her arm, and walked out of the guest room to find the women's bathroom. It was late, but she ran into an Aerie Angel who gave her directions. As she walked down a hallway, she saw Tadeas come around a corner wearing only his jean shorts. He must have been getting ready for bed. She saw in his hand the black shorts and smiled slightly. Too bad.

Tadeas raised his hand in greeting as they walked toward each other. Ava called out a soft, "Hey."

"Getting ready for bed?" Tadeas asked when they got close enough.

Ava nodded, "Showering first. Gonna wash Sophie out of my mind with hot water." She hadn't meant to say that about Sophie.

Tadeas picked up Ava's hand with his left one and closed his eyes, "That was pretty frightening, imagining what was going to happen to us. To you."

Ava squeezed Tadeas' hand, "Yeah."

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"I fear we were too late to rescue any of your people," Satiya concluded after telling the Archangel and Steward what had happened.

Joseph replied, "We feared as much, since it had been so long. But with the name of the club where this occurred, we can start working with the police to expose them."

"I'm afraid we can't hang around to help with the prosecution. We will need to leave tomorrow."

"We understand," Joseph nodded, "Thank you for your help."

Troy led Satiya and Husani to the guest rooms. Satiya joined Husani in his room and they cuddled up next to each other, sitting on the end on the bed with their wings spread behind them. Satiya held tight to his arm and laid her head on his shoulder.

"It's not going to get easier..." Husani said quietly. "Not only are we investigating inherently dangerous people, but we're aiming for a Shadow. Two Shadows. Even if we think we are prepared..."

Satiya opened her eyes but didn't move, "I'm more worried about Ava and Tadeas. It seems there is so much more... depth to their adventure than can be understood in a verbal telling. So many more scars."

"What do you mean?"

"We know Tadeas has flashbacks, but apparently Ava has something, too. She snuck into Tadeas' guest room, and he helped her through it by asking her 'which one.' Apparently not only has whatever-it-was happened before, but there are variations."