CHAPTER 3-9
Phoenix
When the ruin-studded plain of Prisoners' Point became visible through the trees at last, Phoenix didn't even realize how fervently he'd been searching for his brother until the wave of relief came upon spotting the shock of red hair amongst the others far ahead.
"Go on, then. I know this wasn't easy for you," Áthas told him, making a shooing motion with her hand. "Though for the record, I think you did great."
He shot her a grateful smile and jogged down the grassy slope.
"Well well well, if it isn't our phenomenal flag guard!" Acair teased good-naturedly when Phoenix approached the group relaxing on the beach. "Doesn't miss a thing, this one. Eyes like a hawk, he has."
Phoenix held up his hands, conceding the point. "I will admit that I was rather lacking in imagination when contemplating the kids team's plans. Though in my defense, I didn't realize my brother is, apparently, part fish. I wonder what that says about my genetics, then?" This elicited chuckles from the others, and Phoenix used that moment of reprieve to surreptitiously catch Heinrich's eye.
Heinrich, he saw, was positively glowing.
"I don't think we stood much of a chance against these kids, to be honest," Siân remarked. The triplets, who had been gazing in awe and adoration at Heinrich this entire time while ostensibly working on a rather sorry sand castle, now beamed at her with pride.
"Probably not," Phoenix agreed, which was when he finally registered the bizarre appearances of Klara, Acair, and Emyr. Klara looked as though she had been thrown into the ocean recently, whereas Acair was crusted all over with sand, and Emyr was covered almost head to toe in mud, to which innumerable leaves had been adhered. He was absently picking them off of himself, one by one. "Um," Phoenix began, then stopped talking, because he had no idea how to finish the thought.
Áthas arrived alongside him at just that moment. "Had some difficulties with the kids' defenses?" she inquired of Klara, Acair, and Emyr innocently. The triplets giggled to themselves and beamed even more brightly than they had been a moment ago.
"You could say that," Emyr replied. "I've never seen traps quite that elaborate before. It's okay, though. I'll have my revenge with lots of extra chores for them when we get back home." This last statement was met with a chorus of dismay from his suddenly horrified progeny.
"Do I even want to know how they managed" - and here Phoenix gestured at the three unfortunate adults - "all of this?" Klara shook her head ruefully. "And what about you?" he asked Siân, who did not appear to be any worse for the wear, unlike her teammates.
She laughed. "I was just too slow and they tagged me."
Phoenix shrugged and turned to Áthas. "Looks like we missed all the fun." She nodded at him, though her smiling eyes said more.
