Guardians Of The Zodiac

Chapter 3

When the boat got closer to the docks we jumped off and onto land where we made our way back into the forest to look for a good spot to set up for camp away from the main path as Trinkette suggested. Once the sun started to go down and after we traveled a little deeper into the woods Trinkette pulled out a little cube and generated enough magic to activate the cube which caused a tent to appear in front of us complete with a blowup mattress inside. While Trinkette set up the tent, Serena and Iris gathered some small logs together and Ryder lit them.

"It's kinda cool that this thing can fit inside that little block," Ryder commented.

"Have you ever seen Magic before?" Serena snapped.

"Serena! That was uncalled for," I scolded her.

"It's okay. You don't like me very much, do you? What happened to being a little nicer to me?" Ryder stifled a chuckle.

"That was before you decided to add fuel to the fire and get us into even more trouble. I'm Tara's Companion which means I'm supposed to look out for her and you're making my trouble really difficult," she spat at him and then turned her back.

"Fuel to the fire? She does know that I'm a fire mage, right?" he put his hand up to cover his mouth as he leaned closer to me.

"Serena, there's no need to be so rude," Trinkette scolded her.

"I wasn't being rude. I was just stating a fact," she argued.

"Sorry about her. For a Sprite with the affinity for ice she can have a real hot temper like her sister," I apologized to Ryder.

"She's only looking out for you. I can respect that. She's level headed, the one who takes charge, which is why you take her words very seriously since she doesn't lose her cool all that often. Only when the situation calls for it," he analyzed Serena. "She reminds me of a friend back home," he added with a small smile.

I couldn't find words to argue with him or even respond because he was spot on. The way he observed without letting you know he was observing and taking in information baffled me. In the short time that we knew each other he had paid so much attention to detail about who we were as individuals and not as one unit.

"Ryder, you never got a chance to tell us what your home was like," Trinkette mentioned.

"Well, gather around then," he took his spot on one of the logs and the girls snuggled up onto his lap. "I could tell you of the time my friends and I had to dig ourselves out of an avalanche in the mountains while we were on a job."

"That sounds dangerous," Trinkette commented.

"Oh it was! We almost froze to death. My friend, Naudia, had to come bail us out. We call her the Ice Queen. I think she and Serena would really get along," he teased.

Serena huffed at him but she was still intrigued by everything about him. We all were.

While Ryder spoke fondly of his family, friends and the adventures they've had the past few months, every person he mentioned, every place he visited, I was able to picture it and imagine myself there. We hung onto every word he spoke, every gesture he made, and every emotion he felt. His stories were incredible. They were almost hard to believe so I was definitely skeptical at first, but I wanted to believe him. What he was telling me was everything I had pictured for life outside the Estate and more.

The girls eventually started to doze off so Ryder carefully passed them off to me and I moved them to the mattress inside the tent. They were exhausted from the day we all had. When I walked back out I saw Ryder watching me as I moved to sit down in front of the fire while he laid down on the other side of the pit he made.