Thicker Than Blood

Hostile

(Jay)

"So, Cato. How do you think mom met our dads?" At the sound of my sister's voice I turned my head feeling Cato's hair rub on my face as he was carrying me on his back. Being in the forest was different than I was use to and I kept tripping over the roots, though I could see them just fine I just couldn't keep my balance.

Cato shrugged as he continued to walk through the trees I had the air swirling through, not only did it allow me to make sure we weren't being followed but also it kept our scents from leaving a thick trail.

"You don't pay attention do you Serena? Mom's abilities were late. When he showed them he was transferred to this school where his roommates were our dads. That's how they met." I sighed and stretched my wings out behind me, tuning out of their conversation absently feeling the warmth of the sun dappled across my feathers.

It warmed the back of the jacket up and reminded me of the doubt I had about agreeing to do this with my siblings, but they wouldn't wait for my delayed change to come. Not to mention they hadn't given me much time to think it through before they were leaving, and I somehow just ended up leaving with them.

Despite my lack of strength and ability to be useful other than a scent-eraser, and look out for Jackson's smell, I was here.

Another sigh left my chest and Cato shivered under me, "Stop doing that on my neck. Your breath is like ice." Letting my eyelids droop I mumbled an apology at him feeling his steady walk, and the occasional twitch of his wings under my chest. Sasha had been flying over us, too far out of my range for me to tell where in the air she was. Briefly I felt Nell's little body tucked against my stomach, she was nestled in one of the large pockets on the front of the jacket.

"You guys do know we are going to be grounded for the rest of our lives when our dads catch up to us, right?" Serena grunted at me murmuring softly to her pet a few feet away from us. Cato didn't respond to me right away, taking a long time to think before he stopped walking suddenly.

"That's not what's worrying me. We can live through a grounding. I'm more worried about what will happen if we don't find Jackson, something tells me mom's health would go down." I frowned and rested my chin on my arm folded over my brother's shoulders. "Does this sixth sense of your tell you what happens if I end up starting the change while mom doesn't know where we are?"

Cato hummed at me and continued walking, "I don't need voices in my head to tell me that one. If you go through the change and the Luna isn't there a variety of things happen. First off, its much more painful. Which is saying something because that first change really hurts. Secondly, it'll be faster because instinct takes over and forces the souls to bond before anything can kill you. Thirdly, your wolf side would be stronger and harder to control. Finally, you'll always feel uncomfortable belonging to a pack because your wolf will distrust the Luna that wasn't there to help you."

Curling my lips slightly I let my eyes follow the air between a few trees, carrying the void shape of a bird with it "Joy." My grumble when ignored as they continued to move forward. I was studying the air around me, seeing the way it split between the massive virticle collumns that were trees. Letting my mind wander out when a thought stood out from the rest.

Lifting my head I pulled myself off my brother's back and sniffed at the moving air, the scent of home had vanished long ago but now it was replaced by more than simply nature. "What's wrong Jay?"

Sniffing again at the new but faintly familiar smells I tilted my head toward my brother, "We know this smell." I heard Cato and Serena sniff at the same time, our sister grunting a bit. The rustling of her clothes and the crunch of the forest under her feet told me she was moving.