I stared at Gia as she calmly packed her few meager belongings. "How can you be so…blah?"

She paused, turned to me and arched a dark eyebrow. "Blah?" she asked with a smirk. "Are we playing fill in the adjective or something? Hmm…perhaps blah means—"

"You know what I mean," I sighed. "You tell me that you and Erol won't be with me like you've just mentioned that we're having peas for dinner."

Gia made a face. "Mari, you know I hate peas."

I flopped down on her bed. "Goddess, Gia will you quit it? You're not going to joke me out of this."

She sighed and tossed the jacket she was folding into her bag. "You think we like it any more than you? Because we don't. I've never been afraid of Erol in my life but I swear he considered killing me when I told him." She knelt on the bed beside me. "It's just…something you have to do. Besides, you know I'm needed for sniffing out the experiments."

True, somewhere in the rational part of my brain, I knew this. Luckily I was still rational enough to stop myself from asking Well why can't I have Erol then? That probably would have pissed Gia off beyond belief. Instead I asked, "What do I have to do? And don't start with the cryptic talk, if I want that I'll talk to Daydream or Connor."

Gia laughed. "Fair enough. Look…we've all been at your side for a while. You rely on us, don't you?" I opened my mouth to argue but she was right. "Which is good, you know? It's…it's good that you trust us enough to rely on us."

"But I need to grow?" I guessed. It was one of Gia's favorite phrases.

"Yes," Gia replied, reaching up and tugging my hair playfully. "Look, I know you don't like it but…you'll understand. I promise." I shook my head. "If it makes you feel better, I'll miss you." She bent down and kissed my forehead. "But we both know that Erol will miss you more so go say your gushy goodbyes to him as well," she sighed, resuming her folding.

I squinted at her. We always joked about Erol being lost without me but…when she said this there was something strange about it. "Are you okay?"

Gia smiled, although even I could tell that it was a fake smile. "I'm fine. GO! Get out," she shouted, jokingly.

I went to Erol's room and had pretty much the same conversation, except he was the one who needed reassurance. I ended up repeating back a lot of what Gia had told me. Since it was a short conversation and Erol, being a guy, was already packed we just sort of…for lack of a better term, cuddled on his bed. He held me and I pretended not to notice when he childishly copped a feel. It was nice…normal. But too soon the normalcy was disrupted.

We were all shipped back to the mainland in our different groups. The first group to go was led by Daydream and Desmond with two of our battle ready fledglings, Tara and Minerva, as well as a few others. They had a flight to catch since they were going to search the northern half of our country. Much to Desmond's dismay, this meant leaving his beloved car behind. The second group was led by Gia, Erol and Tyler plus the other two fledglings, Lin and Selena. Their group was going to take Desmond's car and search the southern half of the country.

My team was the last to leave. Connor, Mollie, Michael, Daniel and I were taken back to the mainland by David. When we docked Connor, Michael and Daniel put our supplies in Daniel's minivan. David hugged me tightly. "Be careful out there Mari," he whispered. "You may be fairly bad ass but…the world's a seriously dangerous place."

I smiled and nodded. "A fact of which I am completely aware." I'd been away from David for three months not long before this but I was seriously fighting back tears. I was going to miss him. Again. I pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Take care of all of them, David." He nodded. "And yourself too, I guess." David laughed and that was the last of it. Our goodbyes could go on forever otherwise.

We piled into the car. Daniel was driving with Michael riding shotgun, Mollie and I were in the middle two seats and Connor sat in the back amidst some of our supplies. "Sorry," Daniel sighed, starting up the car. "I know a minivan isn't exactly the stealthiest of vehicles but—"

"It's mobile," I replied. "And it's big enough to hold people and supplies. This is just fine."

"So," Michael sighed, turning to face me. "Where shall we go first?'

Everyone looked to me. "Valdosta, Georgia," I said, trying to sound more sure than I was. "There are some folk I'd like to talk to. They might be able to help us figure out where we should start looking."

"Ugh," Connor groaned. "I was cool never going back there again."

I grinned back at him. "Tough cookies."

David walked into the kitchen, the fact that he'd cried was obvious to anyone who looked at his face. Phelan and Sarvajna sat at the table, eating ice cream. "Everyone get off safely?" Phelan asked, his mouth full.

"Yes," David sighed with a nod. He went to the sink and splashed cool water on his warm face.

"You're worried about them?" Phelan asked, seeming genuinely surprised.

David dried his face with a paper towel then faced the other two. "I am."

Phelan shook his head, bewildered. "Those are some of the most fierce individuals I have ever met. What do you have to worry about?"

David laughed and sat down next to Sarvajna. "Well let's see, I'm worried that Mari will get herself killed trying to save someone. I'm worried that someone will piss Desmond off and he and Daydream will get hurt because of it. Goddess help me, I'm even worried about Erol. I'm worried he'll open his mouth and get killed." Phelan smiled.

"It's your job," Sarvajna stated, eliciting stares from the two men. "You worry. You look out for everyone else."

David smiled at the strange girl. "I thought that was Mari's job."

Sarvajna grinned. "No. Her job is much more complicated and convoluted than that." Again they stared. "Well it is."

"See, I'd be worried about Gia," Phelan sighed, shaking his head. "That girl is so little."

David chuckled. "Naw, Gia is…indestructible. I pity anyone who has to come against her. She's quite a fighter and brilliant to boot."

"You don't have to worry about her," Sarvajna said softly. "She already knows what's coming. She's ready." David and Phelan stared, hoping the girl would clarify. Sarvajna was done talking, however, and simply ate her ice cream quietly.