Classy, Controlled Chaos - The STEAM Team Adventures

🐦‍🔥 Reincarnation [5/10] 🐦‍🔥

Marshall's POV:

Many worries were clouding my mind at the moment.

Edward had successfully snuck out of the Horizon Library and traveled to Northwynd.

More news came in: Everhallow still had full control over Birchshire, Baywharf, Pyronica, and Spiritvale, and they were beginning to treat the citizens as prisoners.

No surprise there.

It was a dangerous world outside of our safe bubble in the sky, and always has been since the beginning of the Great War.

Worst of all, Addison had gotten sick.

She was very fatigued, but she insisted that she kept practicing spells with the limited magic she had.

Her body was weakening due to this inferno of a fever, paired with the sensation of chills.

I was scared for her.

Instead of checking in on the sorceress every few hours, I decided to stay right by her side, comforting her with what she needed.

Without Tia to provide ice for an ice pack, I led her to the second floor balcony to cool down, wrapping one wing around her to act as a heated blanket.

It hurt me to see her in such a helpless state.

Sophii was kind enough to help us out, providing Addison with food and water while I stayed beside her for support.

We were not doing well.

On this particular night, we were both napping, nestling her under my wing as we dozed off under the light of the full moon.

Despite how uncomfortable the raging fever had made her, she was still trying to sit still next to me.

I could tell she appreciated our efforts.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, she let out a quiet, nearly soundless yawn.

"Marsh, are you awake?" She mumbled, sitting up beside me. "It's high moon. Middle of the day, we've rested for too long."

Though her movements were fatigued and slow, I felt her fingertips gently brush through my fiery feathers. "Hey baby birdie, wake up..."

"Stop it, that tickles." I huffed, reflexively tucking in my wings. "Also, for you, rest is mandatory. No such thing as resting for too long."

"Did she just call you 'baby birdie'?" Sophii meowed, calmly approaching us from behind.

"Shut it," I snapped at the shadowshifter, attempting to dodge the subject. "She's delirious from dehydration or something. Just get her some water, please and thank you."

She gave us a dismissive shrug, padding away.

"You could have said that nicely, baby birdie." Addison chuckled, batting an eye at me. "Seems like you're the one with a raging fever."

I felt my cheeks warm up at the nickname. "You can call me that when no one else is watching. Just... Not in front of Sophii."

The sorceress rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and turning away from my face. "Whatever, guess I'll have to resort to calling you a hot chick."

"You were SO not whispering." Sophii laughed, mouthing her words around the leather handles of two glass canteens. "Next time, be quieter."

We took the water, giving the black panther our thanks before taking a sip.

"I thought you'd be gone for longer, to be honest." Addison mumbled, slowly standing from her spot on the outdoor balcony's marble floor. "We didn't expect you to be back so soon."

"What did you expect?" She meowed back, flexing out her claws and examining them. "I'm a parkour pro, do you not think I can't come up with a couple decent shortcuts?"

"I guess," I muttered, setting down my canteen. "Anyways, Addi, if you're really that restless, what do you wanna do? I'm down for anything, really."

"You guys should totally go out and do something active," Sophii huffed, sheathing her sharpened claws. "Like, y'know... Parkour?"

"She needs rest," I reminded her, patting the shadowshifter on her furry head. "We can't do something too crazy, or she'll get exhausted."

"Actually, I can advocate for myself, thank you very much." Addison chimed in, adjusting the hood of her violet cloak. "Maybe a quick walk through the library's labyrinth of bookshelves? I mean, even though I've been here for more than enough time, I still get lost."

"Seems like a good idea," I smiled, getting to my feet. "Maybe one of us can hide something and we can go look for it, like a mini scavenger hunt."

"It's more or less just a treasure hunt to see who finds whatever is hidden first." Sophii commented, squatting on her haunches. "I'll hide the thing, since both of you have been sitting here like rocks all day."

I frowned at her insult, but said nothing more. "What's gonna be hidden, then?"

"Oh, nothing too difficult to find." The panther meowed, flicking her ears. "Maybe the cool book Addison showed us at some point. The one where it revealed a frostbreather's weaknesses."

"You still remember that?" I asked, mildly astonished. "How in the world did you even think of that first, out of all things?"

"Well, I mean, I have it." The sorcerer beside me added, pulling the tiny, ancient book out of her cloak pocket. "Sophii can set up a hiding spot for the book and we'll fetch."

"Brilliant!" Sophii smiled, reaching for the small novel. "I'll make it hard for you guys, since one of you can sniff out books like a rat can cheese."

"Not me," I joked, raising my leather-gloved hands in mock-surrender. "So no flying or climbing, I assume?"

"Yep, definitely." The shadowshifter stated firmly, standing up on her hind legs and gently tugging the old book out of Addison's hands. "You guys stay here and admire each other for a couple minutes, I'll go hide this and come back when you can start looking."

Before I could comment on her witty remark, she bounded away, flicking her sleek tail behind her as she gracefully dove down the grand stairs.

Sometimes I wish I had her elegance when I fought, but then I wouldn't be as intimidating.

"You versus me," Addison told me, giving me a playful, yet challenging look. "Let's see who has better eyes."

"You wanna bet on that?" I snorted, breathing out a small plume of smoke. "If I find it first, you and I are gonna rest in the Archives for the night."

"And if I find it first, you don't get to bother me about resting anymore." The sorceress replied, offering her hand. "Deal?"

I took her hand, briefly shaking it and giving her a soft smile.

"Deal."