Feathered

22

We thanked her and scarfed down the pancakes.

Avalon's POV

Honestly, I didn't want to stay with the Aldens for too long. It was nice of them to allow us to stay, but I knew the authorities would be nearby. On top of that, my wings were aching from being cooped up. I didn't know when we would be able to have some time alone from the outside world again.

I was the first to step out of the cabin. The cold air hit me suddenly, and I held in a shiver. The weather was getting colder, and I hoped to fly to someplace warmer. Looking out to the lake, I could spot the cliff that I had fell off of.

'I going to head into town today to get some air.' I sent to Jack.

'Alright, take Gavin.'

'Fine.'

With my hand, I signaled Gavin to come with me. I got onto a spare bike and started to pedal my way down the road, for which I guessed was to head to town. Gavin peddled up to my speed and gave me a curious look.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"You good, Avalon?", Gavin asked.

"No, not really. What if the authorities are around? What if they find us? Jack is spending too much time here, and we need to get a move on."

"I understand your concerns, Av, but let's relax for a bit before we can go. We have a cabin, food, and lots of time for relaxing."

"Yeah, I guess. But I'm worried that the authorities will be here pretty soon, since the car with the dead driver isn't too far away from the cabins."

Gavin nodded quietly, and we continued until we saw a small strip mall on our left.

I had grown tired of the white shirt and khaki shorts, and wanted a change. Before leaving, I had quickly grabbed Jack's wallet and slipped it into my pocket. Gav set both of the bikes on a pole and followed me into what looked like a thrift store. My wings had gotten sore from having to be fit tightly into a shirt, and I felt conscious of how I looked.

"Shopping? But we don't have any money." Gav began to ask.

I slightly lifted Jack's wallet out of my pocket, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Did he give it to you?"

"I picked it up before I left the cabin. He doesn't know I have it."

"How much does he have?"

"Like $250. I'm not going to use all of it, chill."

"If you're gonna get new clothes, can I get some too?"

"Sure."

In about 20 minutes both Gav and I had found new clothing, with jackets to easily hide our wings. Gav felt bad so we ended up picking out an outfit for Jack as well. After paying, the order came to about $90.

'Where are you?' I suddenly heard Jack speak with urgency in my head.

'Gav and I are perusing the strip mall.'

'Ok, Mrs. Alden just said she's about to serve dinner in 15 min.'

"Yo Gav, let's hurry up. Mrs. Alden is about to serve dinner"

"Alright, lemme get the bags"

Jack's POV

"So are y'all triplets or something cuz y'all don't look very alike." Abby said, sucking another lollipop.

"No, we're actually siblings. I'm the oldest, Aria is second oldest, and Jonas is the youngest."

"Cool. Are you going to be staying here for long? I don't usually have very many friends and I was wondering if you were going to be staying for a while."

"Nah, my parents called me last night. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. My parents think its better for us to go to some private school, but I think otherwise." Jack ended with a tone of finality.

They both started to row back to shore when Jack saw Avalon and Gav return to the cabins.

'How was your shopping trip?'

'Was it that obvious?'

'Yeah, you're literally holding shopping bags, and I noticed my wallet was gone.'

'Whoops. Anyway, we needed new clothes. Plus, we got you stuff too.'

"You're doing that mind reading thing again? Right?" Abigail questioned curiously.

"My what?"

"You were doing it last nigh, before dinner. You get that distant look in your eyes and Aria does it too. it makes Aria laugh, so I thought it was like mind reading. Silly, I know."

"Yeah, really silly." I muttered under my breath. I had no idea it was that obvious when Avalon and I used telepathic communication.

They continued into the cabin and changed into their new clothing after taking a shower. Mrs. Alden had washed their scuba diving suits and had set them on the bed.

For dinner, Mrs. Alden had made chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. Everyone immediately started to feast on their food as soon as it was served. After there were no leftovers to remain for the next day, I began to talk.

"Our parents called last night to tell us that school would be starting up again. I would like to thank you for all the kind hospitality you've shown us, and I hope we may come again to visit. However, we will be leaving early tomorrow morning."

I know Avalon and Gav had been worried about spending too much time here, so I felt it was my responsibility to make sure to keep them safe. I had been watching the news, and I knew the Moderatoris were close by. Spending one more night here wouldn't make much of a difference, and would allow us to get sleep in before we were on the run again.