Soaring Over The World (Soaring Saga #2)

**Chapter Eight~When Did I Become The Love Doctor And Manticore Specialist?**

"Wait-- do you know her?" Neil asked. Audra nodded slowly, barely paying attention.

"So, Joby, as in Joby that helped you escape the PardusFighters that one time after that Celique incident? That Joby?" Ari asked. Audra nodded again.

"Is.. i-is that why you helped me? Because you're my mom?" she asked. 

"Well, yes," Joby explained, "But before I go any further, please know I'm not with the PardusFighters anymore." 

"So you were in the first place?" River asked, placing his hand on his silver bracelet A.K.A. his dagger in disguise.

"I was, but please, please trust me!" Joby said. I could feel she was sincere, but was suspicious anyway, "I know what they're doing is wrong, but I don't have much power to do anything. But, Audra, you're probably wondering how I could be your mom," Audra nodded, "I had met your father once on a mission for the PardusFighters, when we were working on the COVID pandemic. I never wanted to, but since I was a scientist for them, they assigned me and a couple others the job of tweaking a coronavirus so they could send it into the human community. I had the idea that I could sneak it away from the base under the island you all know, where we'd been working on it. So I'd convinced everyone I needed to do research on an idea I had for it, but on my way out I'd taken it out and flown back home before packing my bags and leaving to go hide it somewhere.

"I'd taken off and came to Norway, planning just to stop for the night, and went to book a hotel room. I'd first met your father there in the lobby. His name was Rory, and he was across the room, also waiting to book a room, but he'd been looking at me, suspicious. He decided to come say hi, but made me jump and accidentally dropped my bag, and the container with the virus prototype fell out. I had quickly grabbed it and ran out before I could book my room, and tried to take off out behind the hotel. Your father had ran after me to give me back my money that I'd dropped and seen my wings, but he still acted nice and given me my money back. He'd calmed me down after freaking out about people seeing the virus prototype, and we went back inside together and I finished booking my room.

"We'd met up at dinner breakfast that morning, and he started asking a few questions, promising he wouldn't tell. I trusted him, plus he'd already seen everything and there was no point in hiding, so I explained what I was doing. He helped me hide and destroy the prototype a few days later, and even after that, we'd kept in touch. No one realized it was me who'd stolen the virus, so I'd managed to delay the outbreak, but it was still unleashed in late twenty-nineteen. Even though I'd warned Rory to stay away from it all, the virus had spread and we couldn't meet up anymore. We talked, for sure, and after it died down he'd asked me out. We dated for a couple years, but both of us realized we loved each other so and much we couldn't keep hiding from one another's world. So we married in secret, and a couple years after, you were born."

    She gesture to Audra. I'm pretty sure I'd spaced out part way through, and I tried to pay attention as Joby explained how they tried to raise Audra, but it had been hard to keep running while raising a kid, so they decided she'd be safer in the human world, since she could shrink her wings.

    At the end, the toad came out from the leafless bushes and leaped up onto Joby's snow boot.

"Hey, there you are. Good job bringing them here!" she told it. Then she looked back up at us, "If you guys need somewhere to stay for the night, you could always come to my place."

"That would be really great, actually," Audra said, stepping closer to Joby. Then silently and carefully, she hugged her. She hugged Audra back.

"Thanks, Mrs Brookes!" Neil thanked her, stepping closer as well. River followed, then Raina, then Ari and I.