"This place is huge!" Cedar exclaimed.
"And kind of loud," Willow added with a small frown. She had always liked quiet places, so I was sure her first impression of the noise was a bit discouraging.
"It's exciting, though," Flint said, giving her a grin. She smiled back at him lightly.
"How are we going to land without being noticed?" Ash asked, glancing over at me. I considered for a moment before spotting an empty alley between a few buildings.
"Over here," I told them. "Follow my lead." We landed hard on the roof, having to run to stay on our feet. Then, making sure no one was around, we hopped from the building and landed lightly on the pavement, using our wings to lighten the fall. Once everyone was down I checked their backs to be sure their wings were tucked back well enough to be hidden. Then, we headed towards the street.
"This is crazy," Ash muttered, taking Cedar's hand in his own so the six year old wouldn't get lost. I could feel Flint slip his fingers through my belt loop, similar to how he used to grab hold of my hospital gown whenever he was afraid. It was when he did these things that I remembered he was really only eleven years old. I put an arm around his shoulders protectively. With my other hand I reached out to Apple. She grabbed onto my fingers immediately, looking overwhelmed by all the people.
"Just stay close, guys," I told them. "We'll find someplace quiet to regroup." After walking for a bit we came across a slightly less crowded park area. There were trees and benches and little walk ways with people biking through. I sought out an empty spot in the shade and sat my flock down.
"So where are we?" Willow asked, picking at the grass by her feet.
"I'm not exactly sure," I admitted, looking around for a sign or something to help.
"Excuse me." I snapped my head back at the sound of Ash calling to another person. Sure enough, he was looking towards a man and woman sitting at a nearby bench. They looked over at the sound of his voice. "Could you tell me what city we're in?" Ash continued. The man glanced at the girl briefly before turning back to look at all of us.
"Uh…Brooklyn. You're in Brooklyn," he said.
"Thank you," Ash told him, then looked back at me smugly. I was appalled. What the hell was he thinking? Just talking to random people. What if they had been white coats! I wanted to scream at him, but didn't want to attract anymore attention, so instead I settled with a very intense glare. He didn't seem to care at all, still all cocky because he'd found out where we were before me.
"What are we going to do in Brooklyn, Lillian?" Apple asked lightly, looking up at me. My glare softened as I turned to her and stroked her blonde hair back.
"I don't know, kid. I mean, I guess the real question is what are we going to do at all?"
"Stay away from the school," Cedar offered with a smile. I smiled back lightly.
"Of course," I told him. "We're never going back there.
"Get some food?" Willow asked.
"Definitely a priority," I agreed.
"We could just find…like, a home," Flint said quietly. I looked at him and gave a reassuring smile.
"I think that sounds like a great plan," I said, rubbing his back.