Soaring Over The World (Soaring Saga #2)

**Chapter Six~Home Sweet Home? I Think Not**

"Raina!" we all cried at the same time. She has a huge, proud smile painted on her face as she turned her bow and arrows back into earrings and stuck them back on. 

"Where were you?!" I asked.

"We thought you'd all drowned! I was terrified!" River shouted, embracing her tightly. Too tight.

"What happened?!" said Audra.

"What was that thing? How did you kill it?" Neil asked.

     We all rapid-fired questions at her, then it slowly started to direct at Ari and I too. We began flying again, and we explained what happened to us. 

"I remember nearly reaching the surface again, but then suddenly this violin started playing somewhere under the water," I retold, "I suddenly just didn't care about getting breath or getting back to you, I just needed to find that music for some reason. Then I fainted, probably from lack of air."

"But I saw you faint, and I went to grab you, but that water dragon came out of nowhere and just... swooped us away and down, and I too was about to faint when it dropped us and created that air bubble," Ari continued, "I tried shaking you awake, yelling at you, and even tried C... seawater to wake you up, but nothing worked." When he'd started to say that see part, he stopped talking abruptly and his face went red. He continued after a moment though.

"What kind of method is water?" Neil asked, "Did you like, splash her or something?"

     Ari thought for a second, then nodded and continued, "But then the creature somehow started playing violin from inside itself, and that somehow woke Cirocco up. I tried talking to her, but nothing worked. She just was blank. Oblivious." 

"I felt oblivious," I added, feeling uncomfortable for some reason with him talking about me like that, "I couldn't remember anything, and my senses had just gone numb, so I could barely hear you and didn't realize that was my name you were saying." 

      Ari nodded and continued, "But your eyes... they'd just gone white. Like, were glazed over from the music or something. In some trance. It was... argh, I don't know... you scared me, okay? I couldn't watch you like that. Then the sea dragon thing turned into a person, and tried to grab you."

"No, he was just holding my hand... wasn't he?" I interjected. Ari shook his head.

"He was holding you tightly, and was starting to walk away with you. He must've tricked you into trusting him with the music, and he was actually hurting you. Look at your wrist."

     I did, and saw a big bruise and multiple scratches where the shapeshifter had been holding me. Whoa, okay.

"It's just, the way he looked at you... his whole feel... a-and he was taking you... and hurting you, and you just weren't fighting back like you normally would've, which was the worst part... I don't know what came over me. I just had to do something, and obviously what you do in that situation is just tackle them." Ari's face kept blushing more and more as he explained that, and he wouldn't look at me, as though my eyes were blank again. Okay, that gives me chills just thinking about it. Or maybe that was the fact that the remaining water was freezing on my feathers and jacket.

"Maybe it was just your response because of adrenaline from claustrophobia?" I suggested, hoping that's what it was and not the only other option. He shrugged.

"Well, I for one found out I could breathe underwater!" Raina exclaimed excitedly, clearly oblivious to the awkwardness. If we were on land, we would've skidded to a halt. Instead we all just stopped flying and nearly dropped out of the sky.