A New World

Chapter 9: Bear?

Chapter 9: Bear?

“Psssssttt! Hey, Arrow wake up! Arrow? Arrow! WAKE UP YOU LAZY BUTT!” Finally he shot up off of his mat and looked around in confusion.

His eyes narrowed when he spotted me sitting beside him with a wide grin. “What is wrong with you? Why are you so against me sleeping? You see this face? Yeah, well it needs sleep in order to look this good!”

“Oh, stop whining you big baby. Peter's mother made us breakfast so we need to hurry and eat then get on our way. So go get dressed!” I said while pushing him over.

Once on the ground he let out a huge groan. “Why are you so mean to me?!”

“It's called tough love bub.” I said, sticking out my tongue playfully.

Leaving him there to get ready, hopefully, I went into the kitchen where everyone else sat on a blanket that was placed on the floor, forming a circle around the food as they loaded their plates. There was sausage, eggs, ham, bacon, milk and all kinds of fruit in the middle of the blanket.

“Come sit by me, Aria!” Peter practically yelled as he frantically patted the seat next to him. Surprised, I slowly made my way over to him. Once I was close enough, he grabbed my hand and pulled me down beside him. Handing me a plate, he gave me a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I just wanted ya to sit by me... Why don't ya try the fruit? Jace helped me pick em out this mornin'. They're fresh as can be!”

Turning, I gave Jace a curious look. Since when did he like to help without being told? He responded back with a shrug and continued to stuff his face. Boys.

Focusing back on my growling stomach, I looked over the fruit. I could see no reason why I shouldn't eat it, so with a shrug of my own, I loaded up my plate with some apple, watermelon, and strawberry slices. After adding a few more foods to my plate I decided that was enough and started to dig in.

“Gosh Aria, you say I eat like a pig but look at you! You're practically swallowing all of your food without chewing.” Jason joked with a laugh.

“Is that so?” I asked, putting down my plate. “Well then it just proves that me spending so much time with you has caused me to pick up some of your bad habits. I'll be sure to keep you in the back from now on. Wouldn't want me to pick up anymore, now would we?” I finished with a raised eyebrow.

“Whatever, I was just joking around. Some best friend you are.” Jason grumbled and shoved a sausage into his mouth.

This made us all laugh which only caused him to send us all a glare. This opened up more joking and laughing and I have to say, it felt so good to laugh. Arrow walked in and joined the rest of us now that he was in a better mood.

After breakfast, I decided that it was time to go. We had already spent a lot of time here and we needed to get more information. The team and I packed our bags and headed out after saying goodbye to Peter's family. I was the last one to leave and just as I was stepping out of the door, Peter grabbed my arm.

“It was really nice meetin' ya and I know it's none of my business, but just wanted to say that you should give Jace a chance. He really likes ya, he told me so. Anyways, just thought I'd put in a good word for him.” Peter said with a small smile and a scratch of the head.

I didn't know what to say so I just gave him a nod and walked out the door to join the others. They were all grouped together in a circle, the map Bill had given us in the center. Jace and Beth moved apart to make room for me.

“What's the call boss?” Jason asked in a serious tone.

“I say we go straight for The Kingdom. Only stopping when coming across a village. While in these villages, we can seek for more information to help us get inside, the more we know the better. It looks like there will be two villages that we should be passing through to get there.” I finished, pointing them out on the map.