Safehaven

Chapter 29

It took several weeks to clean up the mess, and to register what really had happened. Injured students were healed best they could, and the fallen were given proper farewells. Now, though, Nathen was a secluded as ever. He roamed the halls like an empty ghost, and I saw him only at dinner, when he decided to attend. He was a mere shadow of his previous self. Classes still continued, however. My friends and I still had a school routine to follow. I was doing very well in potions, thank you very much. And Holly and I enjoyed our little talks during "Magic 101" with Dr. Pren, the teacher. "Soul Mate Defense" was, interesting. Eventually, Mark did find me out, and he tried his hardest to make my life miserable. One class, I was even paired up with him! That was the worst day of my life. He kept slapping me in the back of the head when the teacher wasn't looking, and every few minutes he would hide my weapon, so I would look like an idiot for looking for it in the middle of class! But, thankfully, "Secrets of Safehaven" was better. I never got any homework, and I got 2 more hours of sleep per day. That was great! But sadness and mourning still echoed through the castle corridors. Even Quinton, who always cracked jokes and cheered everyone up, was solemn and hardly spoke out of turn. Students whom I passed in the halls kept their heads down and shuffled along. It was because of Badon. Without him, what chance did we stand against Morian? He could attack at any given time, and we were defenseless against him. Many of our numbers were still in the infirmary, and much of our weapons and ammunition had been damaged in the battle. The only thing we had was each other. My friends and I were inseparable from that point on. Except for classes, we made it a point to stick together with our soul mates. We were a team. But even the animals were gloomy. Gwindol whispered even less in my ear, and his shoulders were always sagging and his eyes never left his front paws. Did he feel guilty for not finishing off the dark dragon before Morian got away? He wouldn't tell me. All in all, Safehaven was a depressing mess. The only think I looked forward to was the Games. Every Thursday night, a tournament of some kind was held. One week, it would be a sword competition. Another would be deadly capture the flag. Every week it was different. Teams entered themselves to play, and the winners got their names written on the board, along with their points. At the end of the year, the team who had the most points won the Game and were given crystal goblet on which their team name was inscribed. So far, my friends and I had only watched the competition, but our dream was to enter. Competitors were handed colored halos to wear as a team color. Dozens of teams strut around the school now, bands of light hovering above their heads. It was like the letterman jacket of Safehaven. Sadly, though, my team had no chance of winning. The Games had begun before we even had gotten to school. If we submitted, we had little chance of winning. But that didn't damper our spirits. Instead, we focused on developing our gifts. If we could master them, then we could have a chance at the crystal goblet. So far, we had some luck. Each of us had all of our gifts. It was a miracle! But controlling them was a different story. Holly could control when she disappeared, but not much else. Sometimes, her nose would be left, floating in the air. But when she was visible, the red fur that coated her arms was growing thicker. And since it was her physical gift from Rinal, there wasn't much she could do about it. Quinton, on the other hand, was having much more success. He could now lift things 10 times his size without breaking a sweat. And he had received his physical gift from Felix. Now, the sharp claws of a nemian lion gleamed, instead of human nails. Unfortunatly, they were so sharp, the boy had to wear gloves as a precaution. He had nearly slice Sage to shreds just a few days ago, when he tried giving her a hug. At least now he could pat someone on the back without puncturing their skin and shish-kabobing them. Then there was Jada. Her healing powers proved quite useful over the past few days, as many of us were injured trying to perfect our gifts. She had mended a broken arm, fixed a dislocated shoulder, and successfully reattached a finger(I won't say whose that was). In other words, I was thankful beyond all words that we had Jada on our side. She even volunteered down at the infirmary! Also, Finn had given her his gift. Now this is going to sound REALLY weird, but Jada now had furry little ears peeping out of her mob of thick hair. They could swivel almost 360 degrees, and the girl could hear anything within 30 feet. I thought they were cute. They stuck out of her hair just right, and they somehow suited her very well. She had always managed to make anything look adorable, and here was proof. Though her gifts of advanced hearing got th girl into trouble(Hearing secrets and things she shouldn't). Antigone, on the other hand, wasn't having as much improvement was everyone. She still could manipulate the weather with startling speed, but that was it. Also, the girl was quite a sight to see. During mood swings, Antigone had the bad habit of making it snow. Whether she was anger your upset, a little cloud hung over her head, puffing out snowflakes and the like. It was kinda funny. Plus, Antigone had the strong tail of a griffin. At first, it was a little odd to look at. A pale gold tail tipped with a tuft a fur, sticking out of the back of Antigone's robes. But it did have its uses. The thing helped the girl balance, and she DESPERATLY needed that. Also, the tail could be used as a weapon. It was very heavy and could nock a person out. Antigone could control every move, and she could make it hold a sword or suspend her from something. In some ways, it was like a monkey's, a third arm if you will. Though when the girl was agitated, which was often, the tail would wave around in disarray, like it had a mind of its own. Everyone learned to steer clear of the thing when Antigone was angry, or else be swatted like a fly. Then came Sage. She and Dash the Pegasus had become closer and closer. They often whispered to one another, and sometimes sniggered at odd moments. But she was coming along well. Her power was the beauty and strength of Dash. Yes, she could lift some stubborn things, but not as well as Quinton. But that was where the beauty came in. Sage always had been pretty. With her long red hair and bright green eyes, what wasn't to like? But with Dash's gift, Sage had a new aura of healthiness. A faint but still there glow always seemed to linger around her, and her face shone through with wisdom and new life. Though the physical gift took the prize. Sprouting from her back and flowing into graceful arches, wings gleamed. Layer upon layer of pure white feathers fanned out and caught the light of everything around it. With the innocence and gracefulness of a child and feathered wings, Sage's figure was like that of an angel. Her beauty shone through no matter what the mood. But last of all, I was having the least success. Yes, I could throw fire and summon flames. But what else really was there? There truly wasn't anything else to perfect. Even Gwindol seemed to have given up on me. He and I only trained for 30 minutes at most and only spoke to each other when we had to. I could tell that he missed Angel. Over the past weeks, he and she had grown closer as friends. They had chatted and wrestled. And now, the fenrir was gone. I was mourning the loss of Badon. I hadn't known him long, but he had taken my friends and I in and had given us a roof over our heads and food on the table. He had been a loyal friend and trusting protector. He too was now gone. And to drown that sorrow, I tried my hardest to live up to my ancestor's name. And so far, as I said before, I had no luck. By now, Sage had learned to flutter a little on her wings. She could only go a few dozen feet off the ground, but still! I couldn't even flap the darn things. What a sorry heir I was turning out to be. The only thing I could do was toast a few marshmallows. Yay for me. So that was my team's current status. Indeed, we were more prepared for Morian than we had just mere weeks ago. But what chance did we really stand against him and his army? This prophesy about us was supposed to be glorious. So why did it just feel burdensome? It had been given with the intention of the prophetic ones succeeding. Some people saw it as a blessing, the saving grace of Safehaven. But for me and my friends, it was sure to be the death of us... Literally.