OKAY, SO WE didn't get as far as I would have liked, but with Crystal and the fact that she had never flown before, I decided to stop early. We settled when we found another abandoned cabin, much like the one we stayed in when Angel was kidnapped. The only differences were that this cabin didn't have a high-tech security system, and had been abandoned for quite some time.
"Great, more canned ravioli, my favorite." Complained Gazzy. I didn't say it, but I was agreeing with him.
"I'm gonna head to town." Said Fang, "Be back soon." Before any of us could object, Fang was out the door and halfway to town. All of us had crashed on a piece of furniture. Girls occupied the sofa, which was kind of shaped like the letter L and sat in a corner. and both Iggy and Gazzy had taken the other seats. Fang had been sitting on the sofa next to me, but now Total occupied it.
"For the record I like ravioli." Total said trotting over to Angel. I rolled my eyes. I glanced over at Crystal, who hadn't said much since we left Oklahoma. She heard Total's remark, and was now wide eyed.
"Um, yeah, Total can talk. And he has wings." I said matter-of-factly. She recovered her shock slightly. "Hey, why don't we figure out who gets the bedrooms?" I asked them. The question was directed mostly to the younger ones, since the three oldest - well, four oldest now - didn't really care where we slept.
"Yeah! I call the one with two beds because I need the extra bed for my-" Nudge actually stopped talking, since she obviously couldn't come up with a convincing argument.
"We'll see, Nudge. You may have to share with Angel or someone." I took Nudge, Gazzy and Angel, leaving Iggy and Crystal behind.
"How come you've been so quite?" Iggy asked Crystal. She looked surprised. How does he do that?
"How did you know I was still here? You're blind." Iggy looked taken back. Crystal just sighed. "I'm sorry, that wasn't what I meant. I guess I'm just exhausted from all the... drama today."
"I don't blame you." Iggy replied. He proceeded to stand up and sit next to her."I could hear you breathing, to answer your question."
"Wow, I never would have guessed that." She paused, looking for the right words. Before she could find them, Iggy started talking again.
"If you don't mind me asking, how come your so quite? Max read your file to me, and it said that you're very outgoing, always friendly to people. Where's that girl?" Although Iggy couldn't see her, he could hear her sniffling, and holding back tears.
"That was me, until I found out about my parents." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I really appreciate you guys for taking me in like this, but honestly, I don't think I'm cut out for this sort of thing. I mean, how do you cope with all this? It must be even harder since you can't see."
"Actually, I never get used to it. None of us do. We just act like it for Nudge, Angel and Gazzy, and each other. They need a role model. Someone to tell them its gonna be okay. Tell them that we will find their parents when, really, all we find are dead ends. For me, I sometimes wish I never knew who my parents are. But it gives me closure, I guess. You see, my folks wanted to turn me into a sideshow freak because of my wings."
"That's terrible." Said Crystal. And she had thought her troubles were bad. At least... well, maybe her troubles were worse. Maybe Iggy was just trying to make her feel better.
"But none of that mattered because I had my flock. We're a family, Crystal. We want you to be part of it, too." Crystal couldn't hold back tears anymore. She broke down and started crying, right there in front of Iggy. He held out his arms for a hug, and she, to his surprise, took it. As she was crying on his shoulder, he could feel her body shivering. How her hands were soft against his back. They stayed like that for a long time. When she finally stopped crying, she pulled away and smiled.
"I'm actually smiling, Iggy. Thanks, I really needed that." Iggy smiled back to. Just then Fang walked through the door holding a bag filled with hamburgers and French fries. He noticed Iggy and Crystal but started talking anyway.
"Hope you like burgers, 'cause it was either that or Kentucky fried chicken, and I know none of us will eat anything like that." Iggy immediately burst out laughing, leaving Crystal wondering why.
"What's so funny about that?" She asked, then her face lit up, and she, too, started laughing. "Oh, I get it now!"
"Could you be any slower? Must be a blonde thing..." Crystal stopped laughing and glared at Fang before sticking her tongue out at him. "Hey, why don't you go get Max and the others, Blondie?" She aimed to kick at him and missed, but left the room anyway. He waited to make sure she was gone, then turned to Iggy. "So, how'd it go, Ig?" Iggy just smiled.
"A long hug and a smile, all in one day." He seamed proud of himself. Fang just sighed.
"Well that's not exactly what I meant, but good for you anyway. How did the speech go? Did she like it?"
"I didn't use your speech exactly, I had to change it. I'll tell you about it later. I think its working, though."
"Awesome. Keep it up, Ig." As Fang finished, Max and the others walked into the room. Max looked like she was going to die laughing.
"Real funny, Fang. But seriously, I hope you got something to eat."