Thomas had been travelling with Zoe for nearly four months now, and he had to say that it was fun. It was exhausting and Zoe made him do some completely crazy things, but it was definitely rewarding. They had visited Zeb, Alice, Remi and Amy once a month and Thomas had met up with a few of his friends from the Academy once as well. Each time they went back, Axel looked more and more miserable, watching them leave with a sad look in his eyes. Remi and Amy were in a solid relationship and living together despite only being nineteen. That was one of the things that Thomas had noticed was different in the world Below compared to the world Above; everything seemed to happen at a much younger age. Alice and Zeb had their first child when they were in their early-mid twenties, most people getting married around 21.
"Who do you keep writing to?" he asked Zoe, noticing her scribbling a response to a letter she'd just been given by a red and purple terror.
"Just a friend who's been helping me the last 12 months," she mumbled as she tied the letter to the terror, giving it a fish and some water before it took off again.
"Ok?"
"I was thinking of going to the world of Grey, want to come?" she asked him suddenly.
"How come?" he asked her.
"I haven't visited my family and friends for a while and I want to make sure that their trees are still alive," she said softly, not meeting his eyes.
"I'd love to come with you. Do you mind if I drop in and see my parents? You don't have to come with me though," he said hesitantly, not knowing how to approach the topic of her family or how she'd react when he spoke of his, who were very much alive.
"Of course, and I think we should stick together up there. As I'm sure you know, your bending doesn't work in the world of Grey and there are hunters everywhere."
"Wait really? I knew my bending didn't work, but I never knew there were hunters up there."
"Yep. They somehow know when a dragon passes through the gateway and can track it down pretty quickly."
"Huh...Hey, does your ice work up there?" he asked, curious. Technically her gift, blessing and curse weren't bending so they might work.
"Yes, so does my bending."
"How?"
"The fury rider has to protect the dragons and stop the hunters regardless of which world they're in, so I need to be able to bend. Hayden could too when he came with me, and Amy should be able to," she explained.
"So when did you want to go? It'll be getting onto dusk in a few hours, did you want to go tonight or tomorrow?"
"We'll be better to go at night, it'll be easier to hide the dragons. I reckon we pack up here and you take off your leather armour and then we go."
"Sounds good."
"Oh, and you know not to say anything up there? Not even to your parents, you never know who the hunters are," Zoe said seriously.
"Of course. I've visited them twice since I came here. My mum's a water bender and had a dragon of her own so we know that she's not a hunter, but I have no idea about my dad."
"Just don't say anything," Zoe nodded.
They landed in park land that was a half hour walk from Thomas' parents' house. Thomas was just wearing a long-sleeved tunic, his riding pants and boots, a dagger tucked inside his boot along with a few small blades. Zoe was wearing her complete set of armour minus the helmet that she had shoved into her satchel along with her glider, bow and a few first aid supplies. Uri had worked out how to make Zoe's armour invisible, but not Zoe herself, so she could keep her armour on without it being seen. People would only be able to see her riding pants and her shirt that she wore beneath her armour. Her quiver that was also covered in Uri's scales would also be hidden, but Zoe would have to leave her swords with the dragons which she wasn't too pleased about.
"You three stay here, I'll call you if we get into trouble," Zoe said to Uri, Sharpshot and Phoenix. "Just relax, I doubt anyone will come this way at this hour."
"We'll be fine," Uri nuzzled Zoe.
"Ok," she sighed. "I'll see you later."
She slung her satchel over her shoulder as the two riders trekked through the bush towards the housing. Zoe noticed that Thomas was quieter than normal, "you ok?" she asked him.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, just nervous. I haven't seen them for three years," he responded as they swung their legs over the waist-high wire fencing and onto the paved path.
"Everything will be fine," she reassured.
Neither of them spoke again until they were walking through the main shopping strip, their noses assaulted by the smell of cooking food and the 'chicken on charcoal' shop. "Gods, it smells good," Zoe murmured.
"It certainly does, hopefully mum and dad have cooked something that we can scab off them," Thomas chuckled.
"That's something I won't say no to. How much further?"
"Just up here," Thomas said, leading them back from the shopping strip and into the residential area. They walked for another five minutes before Thomas stopped outside a large house with a neat front yard. She could tell that Thomas had gone to a private school even without seeing him in his uniform on the train, it would be assumed just by the extravagance of the house. "Well, this is it," he said nervously.
"You ready?"
"Too late to go back now," he laughed as he walked up the driveway.
He rang the doorbell, the door swinging open a few seconds later. Zoe was assaulted by a warm gust of air from the house, they clearly had their heater up way too high, it wasn't even that cold for June, winter was only just getting settled for the next couple of months. The eight degree maximum's didn't start until the end of July, although the nights would slowly begin to creep down to zero.
"Thomas?"
"Hi, mum," he smiled with a sheepish wave.
"Thomas! Come in! We haven't seen you for years, how are you?" Thomas' mother said as she ushered them in. "And who's this?" she asked when she saw Zoe.
"This is my friend, Zoe. Zoe, this is my mother, Susan."
"Its a pleasure to meet you, dear," Susan said with a genuine smile.
"Likewise," Zoe nodded.
"Your father's in the living room watching the footy," Susan said to her son.
"Excellent, I haven't watched the footy in ages," he said as he hurried off to join his father.
"You're not into the footy?" Susan asked her.
"I was, but I don't get to see much of it now," she responded as Susan lead her into the house.
"Fair enough. Who do you go for?"
"I was a Collingwood fan," she smiled, knowing the comments that would likely come next.
"And you have all your teeth?" Susan joked. And there it was...
"Who do you guys support?" she asked after she had rolled her eyes at Susan's comment.
"We're a Melbourne household," Susan said, Zoe not remotely surprised.
"Is that who's playing?"
"Yep, Melbourne and West Coast. You're from the same world as Thomas?" Susan asked quietly.
"I'm actually from here, but I was...relocated when I was sixteen, nearly seventeen."
"Interesting. Can I offer you anything? Dinner's about twenty minutes off but would you like a drink?"
"I'm ok, thank you," Zoe declined politely. The kitchen and living room were in the same open space, so Susan and Zoe chatted in the kitchen as they watched the footy, Thomas and his father watching the game from the couch.
"Oh, this is John, Thomas' father," Susan introduced. "John, this is Zoe, Thomas' friend."
"Nice to meet you," John called from the couch, not taking his eyes off the TV and making the two women laugh.
-o0O0o-
"I'm going to make a spider, do you want one?" Thomas asked her.
"Uh..."
"Come on, I bet you haven't had one since you were sixteen."
"Yeah, alright then. Thank you."
"No worries. Lemonade or creaming soda?" he called with his head in the freezer as he rummaged for the tub of ice-cream.
"Creaming soda, please."
"The soft drink is in the fridge, dear," Susan told her son.
"Thanks, mum," he said as he put the ice-cream on the bench and took two cans from the fridge.
"We're having lamb with a mustard marinade for dinner tonight," Susan said.
"Sounds amazing. We picked the perfect night to drop in then," Thomas said, pouring the soft drink onto the ice-cream that he'd scooped into two tall glasses, handing one to Zoe as she thanked him.
-o0O0o-
They were sitting at the dinner table, the TV still on and Susan and John talking with Thomas, the two parents wanting to know how he was, updating him on his younger brother, and his father under the impression that he was studying and working interstate.
They were clearing the table when Zoe spotted two old looking daggers on the bookshelf between the table and the kitchen. She doubled back, looking at them more carefully. One had Grimmel's emblem stamped on the hilt, the other with Drago's. As she looked at them, she unconsciously rubbed her right arm along the Lichtenburg, her back tingling unpleasantly.
"I see you've spotted our little family heirlooms," John said as he came to stand next to her.
"Where are they from?" she asked, trying to sound interested and not nervous.
"They were given to me by my father, and he was given them by his father. But some say they're from another world," he finished, giving her a side look, likely to see how she'd respond.
"They're beautiful," she managed to say with a smile, trying to end the conversation before it got started and going over to Thomas. She could feel John's eyes on her as she crossed the room. "I need to go, but you can stay," she whispered to him.
"Why? Everything ok?"
"I'll explain later. Phoenix will be able to find me, just head north from here for about fifteen minutes," she muttered.
"Ok," he nodded.
"It was lovely meeting you, but I need to get going. I promised I'd visit my family while we were here so I better go," she said to John and Susan, giving them a wave and heading for the door.
"No worries, it was lovely meeting you too. It would be nice to see you again before you two head off," Susan said getting up and going with her to the door.
"See you, Zoe! Nice meeting you!" John called, still standing next to the bookcase and fingering one of the daggers, making Zoe nervous.
As soon as she was out the door, she headed towards a small alley where she blew her whistle softly, her armour changing to blend in with the shadows. Shortly after, she felt a gust of wind and heard a gentle thud as Uri appeared next to her, her dual swords in her dragon's mouth.
"Thanks girl," she said, slinging the swords over her shoulder and reattaching her glider and bow to her hip before jumping into the saddle, putting on her helmet and pulling her hood over her head, Sharpshot crawling onto her shoulders and hiding underneath the hood. Uri leapt into the air silently, changing her scales so the three of them were practically invisible.
-o0O0o-
They landed at the top of her driveway, Zoe sliding off Uri's back. Everything looked so much nicer since the first time she had come back here with Hayden; the shrubs that had been planted had grown to their maximum size and the trees now had a solid trunk, some more than others. The gum trees grew much slower than the wattles, bottle brush and sheoaks. Zoe had come back at least once a year to visit her family and best friend, Lily, giving the plants a small boost with her blessing from the Foreverwing, making sure no one's tree died.
She gave Uri a pat before turning around to head down the driveway. She froze in place when she saw someone standing in front of her family's plaques. It was a man with blonde hair and looked to be around her age. She scanned her surroundings, looking for a potential companion. Seeing something move in her peripheral vision, she squinted into the underbrush, her confusion peaking when she saw a woolly-howl emerging and making its way towards her very cautiously. Uri remained camouflaged but changed Zoe's armour so the dragon would be able to see her in her clothes, but not her armour. Once it saw her, the dragon slunk towards her with less caution and more excitement. Zoe put her hand out for the woolly howl to sniff before it butted its head against her.
"You're an affectionate one, aren't you," she said to the dragon quietly so the man wouldn't hear. She removed her helmet and hood, putting the helmet back in her satchel so she'd look like a regular person from the world of Grey.
"Alright Agni, lets get going," the man said, turning around and freezing when he saw his dragon with a random person that didn't look like a rider. "Uhh...I can explain," he struggled to say.
"Relax, I know about the world Below," Zoe smiled, rubbing the dragon's head. "She's beautiful, you said her name's Agni?"
"Um yeah," the rider seemed very put out. "Are you a rider?" he asked her.
"Yep, my dragon's around somewhere. Oh, this is Sharpshot," she said as the terror landed on her shoulder, the man nodding. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"Oh! I was just visiting a friend from primary school on my way to see my family. They're a bit further down the street," he explained. Zoe searched his face looking for anything familiar that she could link back to someone at her primary school. Maybe he was visiting her older brother? "You look familiar, do I know you?" he asked.
"What's your name?"
"Finn-"
"Finn? As in Finn Murray?"
"Yes? What-"
"You survived? Gods, I had no idea! And you're a rider too," she smiled, insanely happy that a friend from primary school was alive.
"Wait...Elisa?" he asked after searching her face, a smile spreading across his when she nodded. "But the plaque says you died? How?-"
"My dragon saved me, that's why it says my body wasn't recovered," she explained still smiling.
"And you never thought to correct that?" he asked.
"How was I supposed to explain to the police that a dragon saved me?"
"Fair point," he laughed.
"Do you know of anyone else that survived?" she asked him tentatively.
"I know of two; Elliot and Nick."
"Nick, as in the boy who came in grade 6?"
"That's the one," he nodded. "I'm actually meeting them at my parents' plaques later to visit the rest of our friends."
"So they know you're a rider?"
"Yeah, and a water bender. We were swimming in the river when the fire came. That's how we survived," he said softly. "I was able to save us by making a bubble of water around us. I had no idea how I'd done it at the time," he laughed. "And I couldn't bend again until I got to the world Below."
"I can imagine," she smiled. "And only fury riders can bend in the world of Gr- the world Above, but its not unheard of for new benders being able to bend to save their life."
"Huh...you learn something everyday. I didn't think anyone could bend in the world Above. Anyway, I'll let you see your family and then we can go meet up with the others?"
"Ok, thanks," she smiled, stepping forward and kneeling down in front of her brother's and parents' plaques. She put her palm on the trunks of the trees that were planted behind each one in turn, letting the Foreverwing's energy flow into the trees, making sure they were healthy. After a several minutes of silence, she stood up, her and Finn heading back up the drive and towards Finn's old home.
As they turned the bend in the street, a pair of males came into sight, both greeting Finn when they saw him. The sun had well and truly sunk below the horizon now, making it difficult to see the smaller details of each person.
"Who's this?" Elliot asked.
"I'm sure you both remember Elisa," Finn said, gesturing to her.
"Elisa? From primary school?"
"The one and only," Finn smiled. "She's a rider too."
"How come you never mention her then?" Nick asked. "Wouldn't you have seen her at the Academy?"
"I never thought about that? Elisa?"
"I was only at the Academy for a couple of months," she shrugged. "I guess you could say I went rogue."
"Can we meet your dragon?" Elliot asked eagerly.
"Uh, she's pretty shy around strangers," she lied. "But maybe a little later."
"What about Sharpshot?" Finn asked.
"I'll call him." Sharpshot had disappeared off her shoulder just after they'd left her parents and brother. "Sharpshot? C'mere boy. This is my terror, Sharpshot," she said as the small dragon landed on her shoulder.
At that moment, Phoenix landed next to them making Elliot, Nick and Finn jump.
He had had to explain to his parents that Zoe was from the town that had been burnt to the ground almost nine years ago now and wanted to visit her family's resting place before the night was up. He had left shortly after, Phoenix waiting for him in the park lands but not as far from the path as where they'd left them. He had put his armour back on and strapped his weapons back to himself before getting into the saddle.
Phoenix had no trouble finding Zoe who was with a group of people who looked to be around their age along with a woolly-howl. She must have bumped into a few riders. Phoenix landed next to the group, making them all jump except Zoe who greeted them with a smile and a chin rub for his razorwhip.
"You find some new friends?" he asked as he leapt to the ground.
"Some old friends actually. This is Finn, Elliot, Nick and Finn's woolly-howl, Agni. I went to primary school with them," she explained.
"More survivors?"
"Seems so," she smiled. "This is Thomas and his razorwhip, Phoenix," she introduced. At least she'd introduced him as 'Thomas' rather than 'Tom'. He was positive she only called him 'Tom' to his face and just to annoy him.
"Hey, I know you. You're the guy that went after the white rider and never returned," Finn said.
"Uh...yeah," he chuckled nervously, shooting Zoe a questioning look and receiving a subtle shake of her head in response. "Anyway, its nice to officially meet you," he said to Finn, "and to meet you two," he said to Elliot and Nick.
"Likewise," Nick nodded.
"So, where are we going first?" Finn asked. "Anyone you were planning on seeing, Elisa?" he asked. Who the hell was Elisa?
"I just wanted to see Lily but you guys don't have to come," Zoe responded. Wait, Zoe was Elisa? He was getting really confused now.
"Of course we'll come, we all went to school together," Elliot said calmly. "Where is she?"
"She's on the main road between the primary school and the vet," Zoe said.
"Ok, I say we go and see Finn's parents, then we can see James on the way to mine and then Nick's before we see Lily; we can weave back down to the main road," Elliot suggested.
-o0O0o-
Thomas and Zoe were walking in front of the group as they walked to Lily's resting place, Zoe leading the way. "Ok, explain," he said to her quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"They called you Elisa."
"Oh, that's my first name. Zoe's my middle name but its what I decided to go by when Uri took me to the air benders. Fresh start, y'know?"
"Ah ok. And where's Uri?"
"She's around," Zoe shrugged.
"Don't they know that you're the fury rider?"
"No."
"And why not?"
"While we're here, it'll draw less attention to us from the hunters," she explained, Thomas still not really understanding but deciding to drop the topic.
He watched as she walked up the driveway of what used to be her best friend's house, Thomas waiting back a couple of metres from the plaque and her friend's tree. The rest of the group stood with him, the four of them plus the two visible dragons hanging back to give Zoe her space, Sharpshot still on her shoulder.
After a few minutes, Zoe suddenly stood up. "We need to go," she said, her back still to them but Thomas was sure that her eyes were scanning around them.
"What's going on?" he asked her.
"Hunters," she whispered. "Move!" she yelled, shoving Nick to the ground just as an arrow shot past where Nick was standing.
"You heard her! Lets go!" he yelled at Finn and Elliot.
"Take the dragons and get out of here," Zoe told him as they ran across the main road and into the open grassland.
"What about Nick and Elliot?"
"Take them with you, Finn can take one and you take the other! Head for the gate! When you pass through go straight south along the boundary and stop at the first island, I'll meet you there," she quickly instructed as she pulled a throwing knife from her armour that had just appeared and threw it at a hunter who was aiming his bow at Elliot, the knife hitting its mark in the hunter's bicep.
"Will you be ok?"
"I'll be fine as soon as I don't have to watch out for everyone's arses! Now GO!" Wasting no more time, Thomas leapt into the saddle urging Phoenix into the air before she swooped down and lifted Nick off the ground.
"Finn! Get Elliot and head for the gate!"
"On it!"
Thomas let out a sigh of relief when Phoenix and Agni were out of arrow range and heading towards the gateway.
"What about Elisa?" Finn asked.
"She'll be fine. We're meeting her in the world Below."
"But-"
"If you don't believe me, look behind you!" he shouted over the wind.
"What the-?"
Thomas took one last look back to make sure that Zoe would definitely be ok and saw her in her full armour with Uri by her side. She was creating a whirlwind around her of all four elements to distract the hunters and keeping them from shooting at Agni and Phoenix, Uri blasting the hunters' weapons out of their hands and rendering them useless. They were getting too far away now to be sure, but Thomas thought he saw rapidly growing plants wrapping around the hunters and pulling them to the ground.
-o0O0o-
The gateway wasn't far from where they had left Zoe, only about a half hour flight. Once they had passed through the gateway, both Thomas and Finn bending the water around them, they headed south following the boundary just like Zoe had said. It took around 40 minutes before they found the island that Zoe had mentioned. I had dense tree cover and a large mountain range in the centre of the island.
They landed on the island, Nick and Elliot complaining about being held in a dragon's talons for over an hour and it not being comfortable. They had got a fire going and were cooking their fish, Agni and Phoenix sharing a pile, when Elliot spoke up, "ok, since no one's asking, what the hell just happened back there? Finn, I thought you said your bending didn't work in the world Above so you couldn't show us?"
"It doesn't work," Thomas defended Finn. "But Zoe isn't like Finn and I."
"Zoe?" Nick asked.
"It's what Elisa goes by since Uri got her out of the fire. It's her middle name," he explained.
"But more to the point, she can bend?" Elliot pointed out again. "And where did her armour come from? She wasn't wearing any and then all of a sudden she's dressed for battle."
"Uh...that's for her to explain. Here she is now," he added when he heard the screech of a fury announcing its presence.