“I don’t know!!” The tiger roared and both girls cringed with nerves.
Priyam looked around as if she was trying to find something near them.
“What are you looking for?” Gaia asked trying not to move an inch.
“Synthia…” Priyam said as she continued her search.
“Why would you look for her now?”
“Tiger looks hungry,” she said trying not to laugh.
“Stop joking about getting rid of Synthia,” said Gaia. “Donovan,” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
“What if he can’t hear?” Priyam panicked as the tiger stepped closer. “Do something!”
“I can’t, I told you I suck!”
“Try!”
The tiger growled. Gaia balled her hands into fists. “Ok! I’ll do it!”
Veter laughed and peeked through his hideout. His face was beaming and something about his pose screamed ‘victorious.’ “I told you that would motivate her,” he patted Donovan’s back, who was also hiding with Hunter.
Gaia felt like the floor beneath her feet disappeared. “You knew about this?” she asked shaking from adrenaline.
“Knew?” Donovan grinned. “We made it happened.”
“Do you know how hard it was to find a tiger around here?” Hunter signed and Donovan hugged him.
“This kid deserves a medal.” Donovan laughed.
“Hunter!? You’re in on this, too?” Gaia asked and Hunter nodded with a smile. “You guys are freaking crazy,” she screamed while Priyam laughed at the situation.
“Oh come on… the tiger is not going to do anything,” said Donovan mischievously. “Or, is he?”
“Donovan! Stop messing around and help us,” ordered Gaia. She took a deep breath and sunk all her weight against the cold rocky wall behind her back.
Donovan petted the majestic animal. “If only you could talk to him.”
“I hate you all!” Gaia hissed.
“Priyam seems to love it,” said Veter as he lit a vanilla cigar. It was obvious how much he was enjoying this.
“It’s called shock. Trust me, she hates you too.” Gaia looked at the tiger’s teeth and shivered. Some part of her knew it was dumb of her to be afraid in this situation since she knew The Six would never let her be harmed, but it was too damn difficult for her not to freak out when a tiger twice her size was staring at her the same way she looked at sushi. “Please, just do it,” she begged.
Donovan sat down next to Hunter on one of the rock chairs. “Don’t talk to us, talk to him.”
“Agrhhhh” Gaia growled with frustration.
“Remember what I told you?” asked Donovan.
“That we were going to start slow?” she asked as the tiger took a step closer towards her.
“About the animals.” He took Gaia’s tea and passed Hunter the other one. “About their facial gestures and body language.”
“Oh, you mean his leaning towards me while roaring and showing his teeth!?” Gaia asked with cynicism.
“Yes, what do you think he is trying to tell you?”
“That he’s starving?!”
Out from the corner, Shui and Willow walked towards the crowd. Veter put out his cigar and moved his hand making a small wind current around Shui. He smiled at how beautiful Shui looked with her long blue hair floating in the air. The sunlight made the blue look even brighter.
Annoyed, Willow pulled a blushing Shui away from the wind. “This was the epiphany? A tiger? You guys are idiots,” she said as the tiger growled again, only this time he was louder.
“What is going on here?” asked a deep voice behind them.
Busted, The Six and the tiger turned around and saw Edan and Synthia staring at them.
“Hey, Kapetan.” Veter rubbed the back of his neck. “How was taking care of the Marked One?”
“Tedious,” he said and looked at Gaia as if he was blaming her.
Synthia punched Edan on his arm. “I’m right here, you know?”
“Synthia,” screamed Priyam, “perfect timing.” Gaia glared at her friend, begging her to stop with the jokes.
“What is going on here?” Edan repeated, only louder this time.
“We’re speeding up Gaia’s animal class,” said Donovan moving closer to the tiger. “It was Veter’s idea.”
Edan took a moment to formulate his opinion. “I think it’s brilliant.” Everyone’s face fell flat and the tiger growled. “What is the tiger really saying?” asked Edan.
“That he finds this hilarious,” grinned Donovan.
Edan smiled. “Smart tiger.” He petted the animal and Gaia gasped in amazement.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Shui took a small bow and left the dining area.
“And that’s my cue to go. Yoga time with Shui,” said Veter.
Hunter lifted his arms and bent them awkwardly. “Hunter is right!” clapped Donovan. “You can barely bend your arms.”
“I know.”
“You are going to end up breaking yourself.”
“Shui’s outfit? Those poses? Breakaway!” Veter snatched his cigar from the table and waved goodbye to Gaia and Priyam, who were still sitting on the floor. “Good luck, Moja Princeza. Priyam, if he eats you I call dibs on your computer.”
“I’m going to kick you, Veter.” Gaia slammed her hand on the floor and the tiger growled.
“For that you will need to get out, Gaia,” said Donovan. “Concentrate. Block everything around except you and the tiger.”
“Fine!” Gaia closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She made sure she was calm enough so when she opened her eyes, her focus would be completely on understanding the tiger instead of her uneasiness of getting hurt.
This time, the tiger wasn’t scary. There was something about him: his expressions were remarkably soft.
Gaia moved her hand forward until it reached the tiger’s warm cheek.
Once she was calmer, she was able to notice something specific, something that deep down she’d always seen but hadn’t paid attention to. The tiger was staring at her; not in a menacing manner or just looking her way… it was as if he was acknowledging her.
Just like all the animals she’d been around since she was little. Like the wolf she helped, like the birds that used to chirp on her shoulder and all the other animals that tended to follow her everywhere. It was as if he already understood her. Gaia caressed the cheek and the tiger growled again.
Like everyone, she heard the growl through her ears, but now, in her mind, she heard the tiger’s soft voice. “He said... Ticklish,” she whispered.
“Yes,” Donovan gasped in a low voice trying not to break Gaia’s concentration. “He did.”
Chapter 15
Pink And Floyd
PRIYAM SLAMMED HER HAND on the table. “Are you done with the salt?” she asked while Gaia obsessively shook the salt container over her Nacho Cheese chips. “That’s gross. Why don’t you just lick salt cubes, Seabiscuit?”
“Let me be,” said Gaia, placing the salt close to her on the table in case she needed more later. “I plan to enjoy myself since Edan isn’t here to scold me for everything,” she whispered towards Priyam and proceeded to enjoy her treats while listening to Shui play her flute.
The song wasn’t anything Gaia had ever heard; it wasn’t the usual classical melody, more like an old Celtic lullaby. The sound was so calming it made Gaia feel like she was under a relaxing spell.
“I’m glad he took Synthia with-” Priyam’s mouth fell open when Donovan and Veter arrived back from their workout. She pointed at their perfectly toned and shirtless six-packs that were on display. “Seriously! You guys eat every single minute of the day! How is that possible?!”
Veter took a piece of bread and bit almost half of it. “We train five hours a day.” He smiled.
“Well… yeah… that, and you cheat.” Priyam glared at Veter as he sat down next to Shui.
“How do we cheat?” Veter asked with his mouth full.
“
You’re from a race that’s way better looking than humans.”
Veter took a glass of wine and took a big gulp. “We’re not better looking than humans.”
“Maybe not you.” Donovan sat down and stretched like the stud he was. “I totally agree with Priyam.”
Veter waved his hand and a strong current of wind knocked Donovan down. “As I was saying, we’re not better looking, we just are … healthier. Our skin and hair look better because our food is natural, with no hormones or any other chemicals added. Our bodies are healthy and strong because we work out constantly, we eat a lot but everything is balanced. We look the same way humans would if they took better care of their body,” Veter explained.
Guilty of having terrible eating habits, Gaia secretly ate her last potato chip when SWIF, a two-foot machete flew and stabbed the tree next to Veter, destroying its trunk and their peaceful moment.
“We’re under attack!” Priyam screamed and stood up in an attempt to run away, but Hunter grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her down to her chair. Priyam took Gaia’s hand. The Six remained calm and, besides Shui’s who stopped playing her flute, they all were still engaged in their previous activities.
Gaia looked around, but she couldn’t tell where the machete came from or who threw it. She also noticed nobody cared who did. Willow kept writing down all the seeds she would need to get, Hunter kept carving a lance out of a wooden stick and Donovan kept looking amazed at Priyam’s computer and all the things she was able to do with it.
Veter laughed like a maniac and punched the air. “Got you.”
The air force pushed a man dressed all in black with his face covered in a ski mask. Just before the man crashed against a tree he flipped over in a graceful manner and hit the trunk with his feet. He pushed himself toward Veter while taking out two daggers mid-air. Veter took a plate and used it to deviate the trajectory of the daggers toward the trunk of the same tree the machete was stabbed.
“Stop hurting the trees!” Willow slammed her fist against her notes and glared at Shui. “Tell your stupid match to stop acting like a child!”
Shui, calm as ever, lifted a jar of water Veter’s foot had knocked down. “He’s…” she said and placed it back after Veter jumped off the table and intercepted a second attacker dressed in black with a ski mask before he could strike with a katana.
“What’s a match?” Gaia turned to Donovan and asked him.
“A match is your destined person,” he said smiling with the same smile he flashed every time he spoke about women.
“Too slow.” Veter jumped again and the three of them engaged in something that looked like a dance. They showed off with incredibly acrobatic kicks, punches and the deadliest weapons Gaia had ever seen.
Gaia moved closer towards Donovan and whispered, “Should we fight?” Donovan shook his head no. “Why isn’t anyone freaking about this? Who are they?” she said trying not to raise her voice too much.
Donovan took a sip of his water and smiled. “The twins.”
Finally, one of the two men spun around Veter and placed his haladie against Veter’s throat. Veter and Donovan clapped and Priyam joined them smiling way too excitedly. The man let go of Veter and hugged him. “Well done, my friend!” Veter congratulated him.
“Long time, you bastard,” the man said with a strong Australian accent while slapping Veter’s wide back.
The Six, with the exception of Willow and Hunter, who was out with Edan, stood up and walked towards the two mysterious twins. Gaia and Priyam followed. The man took off his ski mask and revealed Floyd Morrissey, a seventeen-year-old boy with light blue eyes, a small button nose and a messy blond Mohawk while two French braids ran from one ear to the other and then to the back of his head ending in two small ponytails. He walked among The Six saying his hellos and stood right in front of Gaia, scanning her from head to toe. “G’Day, you must be their famous queen to be,” he said smiling from cheek to cheek.
“Their?” Gaia asked.
“We’re human,” he said and stretched out his hand. Gaia took it and they shook. “I’m Floyd and that’s Pink.”
The second twin took the ski mask off and to Gaia’s shock, she was a girl. Pink’s face wasn’t the only thing that resembled her twin. Although her Mohawk was wider, it was also shorter and her hair was pastel pink. “Hello.”
“Nice to meet you.” Gaia shook her hand the same way she did with Floyd and proceeded to study both twins.
Thanks to the massive fight she saw, she knew they were more than fit enough to be in the camp, but she couldn’t get past the idea of Edan admitting more humans to their group, at least not after his reaction with her insistence on bringing Priyam. “No disrespect, but if you’re humans, what are you doing here?” she asked while, unnoticed by the rest, Edan sauntered into the dining area.
Floyd slid his arm around Gaia’s shoulders letting it rest around her neck. Edan took a step forward. Willow, being the only one who saw Edan’s reaction, took his arm and stopped him from going with Gaia. “We’re top majestic experts of weapons and fighting… as you clearly witnessed earlier,” said Floyd.
“Apologies, he’s really up himself.” Pink pulled Floyd away from Gaia and Edan relaxed, an action that made Willow pull him closer to her. “A few years ago, we met Veter back in the land.”
“The land?” asked Priyam as she took one of Floyd’s knifes from his belt to inspect.
“Australia, lovely place,” he said and offered Priyam an even more badass double-sided dagger. “Full of things that kill, though,” Floyd joked. He took back the dagger, placed it firmly in Priyam’s hand and helped her to throw it. The dagger flew fast and steady until one of the sharp ends sunk into a tree’s trunk.
“Just like you two,” said Willow, clearly irritated about the trees being hurt by their weapons. Edan let go of Willow’s hand and took a step back.
Floyd walked towards the tree. “Long time no see, Willow,” he said and took the dagger back.
“Don’t say it as if it’s good news. And stop stabbing the trees.” She turned around and left.
Floyd threw the dagger towards his sister’s chest. The dagger flew so fast it was impossible for Gaia to see the handle. Her heart pounded with fear, imagining Pink being stabbed to death right in front of them. Fortunately, Pink caught the flying dagger as if it was the easiest thing to do and placed it under her belt.
Still shaking, Gaia turned to Donovan. “Are they always this-”
“Entertaining? Active?” Donovan jumped in. “Yes.”
“I was going to say reckless.”
Donovan laughed. “Also, yes.”
“I know they are friends with Veter, and apparently everyone else, but what exactly are they doing here?”
“They came here to train you,” said Edan as he walked closer to the group.
“Train me?” Gaia’s head spun around. She could barely deal with her two classes and now she had to learn how to be some sort of crazy ninja! “How many people do I need to train me?” Gaia felt overwhelmed.
“Apparently, many,” Edan smiled, the twins noticing him for the first time.
“Boss!” Floyd and Pink screamed at the same time and walked towards Edan. Floyd went for a hug and Gaia gasped terrified, waiting for Edan to disintegrate him.
“Floyd, Pink,” said Edan, and beyond Gaia’s comprehension, Edan hugged them both. “I’m glad you made it. Now follow me, we have much to discuss.”
Gaia exchanged stares with Priyam. “Did that just happen?” Gaia asked Priyam, but she was also too stunned to know what was going on.
“Yes, it did,” said Veter as he hugged both of the girls’ shoulders. “Kapetan likes the twins. We all do.”
Gaia kept looking at Edan as he talked to the twins. He looked carefree and excited.
Is he that nice because they are humans? No, scratch that… Priy is also human and he’s not that nice with her…. “I didn’t know he liked… anything,” she said, causing Veter to burst out laug
hing.
“You girls stay here. We’ll be right back.” He tapped them on the back and left with the rest of the group towards the weapon’s storage room.
As they all reached the storage room, Gaia remained in the same spot she stood before. She remembered again how Edan looked when he hugged the twins and she felt uneasy. She tried to guess why she was so affected by something that small, but she couldn’t come up with any theory that didn’t make her sound like a mental patient. She grabbed the back of her neck with one of her hands and took a deep breath. Why do I care what he does? Why do I care what he thinks of me? Is it because I want his respect? Do I want to prove to him I’m better than what he thinks? Shut his mouth? Arghh… What is it!?
“Stalk much?” whined Synthia, disrupting Gaia’s pondering.
“Synthia, you are here!” said Priyam. “Right now I was begging Gaia to go and find you.”
“You have the worst humor,” said Synthia with a squeaky voice that irritated Priyam beyond words.
“I do,” she happily admitted.
Gaia saw Synthia’s cursed scar and remembered how Edan said he was going to try again to find a way to make it easier to hide her from Azazel. Even though Veter kept telling her it wasn’t her fault, she still felt guilty. “What did Edan find out about your mark?”
Synthia turned to Gaia as if she was possessed, her dark brown eyes wide open glaring at her. “You mean the one you put on me?” she yelled at her while taking a step forward, waving her hands like a crazy person.
“You did it yourself,” she responded but felt she was saying that to convince herself Veter was right. Ignoring Synthia’s swinging hand and how close it was to hitting her, Gaia took another step forward. “You’re the one who broke the necklace.”
“How was I supposed to know that cheap tacky thing was cursed?”
Priyam arms hugged her stomach as she bent down giggling. “So you only break non-cursed necklaces? How thoughtful of you.”
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