Author's Note: As always, I appreciate all your reviews and any feedback given.

Disclaimer: I don't own South of Nowhere or the characters. Only the plot.

Chapter Three: Back To The Roots

Ashley's POV

"Kyla, do you know where my sword is?"

"No," my sister Kyla said from the kitchen, where she was preparing dinner. "Did you check under your mattress?"

I groaned out in frustration, letting the mattress fall back onto the bed frame with a thud. It had to be somewhere. Since last night, I'd inspected every notch and cranny of this god-forsaken house, and leaving without my baby was definitely not up for debate. Unlike how Mike could conjure coffee cup after coffee cup, to summon a sword from thin air isn't something that's possible—it's something gifted to us when we started taking assignments in our sophomore year. We're even given detailed instructions on how one should care for it—and I do, religiously. So the chance I may have lost Raife (named after my dad) filled me with slight worry. Time to search the closet. Again.

The second I slid the closet door open, Kyla poked her head into my bedroom, the end of her wings brushing the floor. She saw the exasperation written all over my face, and gave me a small smile before saying: "Why don't you take a break and help me with dinner?" I glanced at Kyla, then back at the pile of clothes I'd always been too lazy to hang up properly. She had a point. Plus, a full stomach would ease this despondency.

"Yeah, okay."

Kyla went back to the kitchen and, from what I heard, resumed chopping something up. I stepped away and stretched out my wings. A deep, relaxing sigh emanated from me when I heard and felt the crack of bones along my shoulder blades. At school, we keep our wings under wraps—or else we risk hitting each other in the face all day long, which I can guarantee you is never fun.

"What exactly would you like me to do?"

Now, at the sink, I gave my hands a good scrubbing and looked over at my sister. On the other end of the kitchen island closest to our bedrooms (which are next to each other), Kyla was wearing a yellow sundress under a "KISS THE CHEF" apron—her dark brown hair tied up in a high ponytail—while surrounded by a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. Kyla met my gaze and wiped her hands on her apron, saying: "If you could start on the pasta and vodka sauce, that'd be great."

Nodding, I dried my hands on my jeans and went to the stove. A medium-sized pot for pasta with water was already boiling and waiting for me. Beside that was the pasta itself, snapped in half to better fit the pot. The other stove top next to me had a small pot, not on, but full of vodka sauce sitting there. Smart girl, Kyla. Dumping the pasta gently into the boiling pot, I stirred, while simultaneously turning on the small one to get it going.

"So, when do you think Mom and Dad will be here?" I asked, nervously, watching the saucepan.

"Unfortunately, they're not. They're both stuck at work late tonight," she replied, her voice laced with disappointment, "but Aiden is."

The saucepan bubbling and splashing gradually increased, until some of the sauce was shooting up in the air and landing on the wall in front of me. With a wave of my hand, a low light comes forth and illuminates over the pan, bringing the boil to a slow simmer. The light occasionally stirred the sauce as though by an invisible spoon. I then used a regular dish towel to attend to the sauce spots on the wall.

I resumed stirring the pasta, manually, shifting my body slightly so I could watch Kyla hard at work making a pudding fruit salad in a big glass bowl, and a caesar salad in a different ceramic bowl. When she saw me eyeing her, she chuckled. "Don't overcook the pasta… You know we won't hear the end of it with Aiden, him being a self-proclaimed chief and everything."

Laughing uproariously, I said: "Yeah, 'self-proclaimed.'" I made air quotes with my fingers for emphasis. My left forefinger illuminated, I brought forth a string of cooked pasta to my mouth for taste-testing—al dente.

"It's perfect."

"I don't want to second-guess you, Ashley, but are you one-hundred percent positive? Maybe I should take a look too, just to be sure."

"Trust me?" I begged Kyla, giving her my best puppy dog eyes.

In return, she unenthusiastically rolled her eyes, and quipped, "Not a chance, but it's your funeral."

"Ha-ha." I licked my lips and turned off both stove tops now that everything was done. "When will he be here anyway?"

"Within the hour," she answered confidently, with the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Standing at six feet tall, with a diamond-shaped face, mop of dark brown hair, and the most gorgeous gray eyes, Aiden was a towering angel in human form. He was also my best friend—and my sister's boyfriend. The three of us had finished dinner and were now sitting on the steps in the backyard, enjoying the pudding fruit salad Kayla made. Fireflies lit up all around us as the sun began to set, and it reminded me of when we were kids running around like nothing could touch us except our innocence, which we hoped would last forever. But even the angels of Spirit lose their innocence eventually.

"You've outdone yourselves again, Davies sisters," said Aiden, finishing his last spoonful of the rich and creamy fruit pudding.

Kyla and I glanced at each other, smirking. The desire to peek into his head to see what he really thought jabbed at me like a fire poker in a fireplace, but it was probably something stupid, so I pushed the urge aside. Kyla wrapped her arm through his arm and leaned her head over his shoulder. Thankfully, our wings are all willed away to accommodate for the small space. My heart ached as I watched Aiden smile down at her. Then, I forced myself to stare elsewhere—it's been so long since I've had what they have and I secretly envied them.

"Ash, are you feeling prepared and excited for your upcoming trip?"

A wide smile spread across my face at Aiden's question; however, I pretended to think for a moment as I admired the lightning bugs who were making it their life's mission to cover every inch of grass in front of us, so eager to attract a mate. How lucky we are to be able to witness such natural beauty.

"Yeah, except," —I squeezed the back of my neck, feeling the tight knot of anxiety that had been there since yesterday—"I've somehow managed to misplace Raife."

Suddenly his hand gripped my shoulder tightly, forcing me to look over at him. His eyes, which always seemed to be drifting through the endless void of outer space despite the fact they were currently showing mild concern and amusement, shimmered in the glow of backyard light directly above us. I shook my head, biting my lower lip to keep myself from chortling, and shrugged his hand off.

"Where have you searched so far?"

"She's checked everywhere," Kyla said apologetically as she stood up and smoothed out her pretty sundress. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to head inside, guys. Have fun."

Now Aiden stood to give Kyla room so she could open the door. Both of us watched as she disappeared into the darkness of the house. We both took this opportunity to stretch out our wings. A comfortable silence fell between us, broken only by the sound of fireflies fluttering in the air. They gave me an idea.

"Do you want to go for a fly?" I asked.

My best friend grinned, his head tilted back to stare at the stars. His wings were majestic and had the slightest amount of gold shining throughout the feathers. Whereas mine had inklings of black, and Kyla's had traces of light brown. When the Higher Ups originally created the beginning angels, they decided to make it possible for angels to reproduce (like mortals) and have families of their own. The Higher Ups figured, copying how mortals lived—minus all the atrocious traits humans have—was the best possible way to ensure nearly impeccable guardianship for those of us who took that as our career path like Aiden and myself. Kyla has gone a different route by becoming a Valkyrie for Gods and Goddesses.

"Make it a race," he said with an undercurrent of excitement, "to AV University."

"You're on."

We both forcefully extended our wings to their full length, bouncing on our feet a few times before drawing all our strength inside our bodies and shooting up high into the evening sky. The wind caused an undercurrent, helping us glide there, so we didn't have to flap them as often. My brown eyes met his gray ones, we nodded at each other, and then we were off—I was already in the lead, twirling in circles like an ice skater; however, Aiden was close behind, dripping low, criss-crossing, then going high to disorient me. I brought my concentration back to the focal point and thrust my wings until my shoulder blades started to convulse from the pressure.

"Are you getting tired yet?" Aiden shouted, with a glimmer of hope in his voice. "Because it looks like it to me!"

"In your dreams, Dennison!" I yelled, not wanting to admit the truth.

I eased the thrusting and let myself glide a bit, which was a mistake on my part because Aiden took that as his chance to shoot forward like a rocket past me—where a strong unforeseen gust blasted me back several feet. Shit, I shouldn't have stopped. Whatever energy I have at the moment goes straight to the outer curves of my wings, giving me enough acceleration to catch up to Aiden and spiral around him a couple times. Up ahead, the roof of the University is coming into view. This win is mine.

Criss-crossing Aiden like he did to me earlier, I see him trying to mimic my actions. Unfortunately, that's his mistake because in doing so he gives me the opportunity to bewilder him. I took advantage of the situation by precipitating high above him and then diving sharply down to the roof, where I almost lost my footing upon landing. I take a few deep breaths and turn to see Aiden landing beside me, a lopsided grin on his face.

"Oh yeah! That was so much fun," exclaimed Aiden, "Good race, Ash. You gave me a run for my wings."

Smiling, I conjured two water bottles and handed one to him. He wasted no time gulping the whole thing down before lying against the cold concrete. I followed suit, having already finished my own water bottle, then haphazardly threw it somewhere; once more feeling that comfortable silence fall over us like soaking in the heat of a sauna. After some time, I turned on my side to look at Aiden, who had his eyes closed. And then: "You know I can feel your eyes on me, right?"

"Obviously," I replied, barely hiding my sarcasm and crossing my arms. "So, I'm curious. Did you get a new assignment as well?"

Aiden slowly opened his eyes, turning to face me with a pained expression. "No. Mike hasn't assigned anything to me in a while. I'm chalking it up to him either being too busy, or he's keeping his eyes out for a good human to have me watch over. But I can't help feeling a little abandoned."

"Understandable."

"By the way," Aiden said, propping himself up on his elbows and cracking his neck side-to-side, "I know Kyla said you checked everywhere for your sword, but did you really check everywhere?"

"What—Are you the self-appointed SGA Police or something?" I snickered, rolling my eyes.

"No," Aiden said with a shake of his head. "Although, I do know you better than anyone. Even your sister."

"I see your point. To be honest, I only checked my room, Kyla's, and then looked around outside." I ran a hand through my curly, dark brown hair. "You never know."

Aiden let out a hearty laugh, laying back down. "Okay, in your room, what areas did you check?"

"Under my mattress and in the closet," I confirmed.

"Do me a big favor," he sniffled, "and check under your bed."

"Alright. Why?"

"Because Ashley... I've lost count of how many times you've misplaced things and they've ended up being hidden there. Now whether it's on purpose or by accident is anyone's guess."

Later that evening, after Aiden and I had returned from the University, he went to Kyla's room where they were either talking, watching something on television, or both. I decided, after I took the longest shower ever and got myself comfortable, to take his advice. Even though I hoped he was wrong just to be a jerk because why not, right?

Nonetheless, once I entered my room, I re-investigated my closet, while in the process, finally, hanging up that pile of clothes. Then, under the mattress again, since I was desperate enough to hold on to whatever pride I had left, so sue me. Eventually, I cracked my neck and got down on my knees, peeking under the bed like I was afraid the boogeyman was going to jump out and attack me. But low and behold…

Raife was right there.

Bastard.

And in the next room, all I heard was Aiden's boisterous laughter.

Author's Note: Good old Aiden, am I right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think. Until next time!