Drop her? Who was she kidding? He was one of the best fliers that had ever graduated from the academy. He took a steadying breath as she grabbed his shoulders. She smelled so nice. She always smelled nice. And despite the skill he knew she had, she was still so incredibly light. Almost fragile. She called him an idiot again, at this point it was almost a term of endearment, and told him to get a move on. He glanced back at Rynn, almost smirking at her before he casually just… fell, with her off the side of the cliff. 

At first, he waited for her to scream, just for the fun of it before he spread his double wings again and caught the air currents. Suddenly they were airborne again, soaring upward into the sky, wind whipping at their faces and hair. Gideon felt the exhilaration of flight through every bone in his body and it was intoxicating. Not the most intoxicating thing though. 

There looked to be a sort of village or something several miles to the south, which took them right past the cemetery, thankfully and closer to the coast. That meant that he would be able to carry Rynn a lot farther.

It was about an hours flight, but Gideon hadn't eaten since the night before, or even longer, and he was beginning to feel shaky. He landed on the outskirts of the town, and plopped Rynn down on the soggy ground. "Whew… that took it right out of me. I've got the shakes real bad now," he said as he plopped to his knees, taking a breather. 

Rynn blushed at the way he simply smiled at her, but that feeling immediately disappeared when he simply let himself fall off of the cliff.  Sure. she trusted Gideon, but she couldn't help with lurching feeling in her stomach as gravity took over.  If she could unseal her wings, it would be one thing, but to trust someone else with her entire being…

It was absolutely terrifying.  

Rynn gripped Gideon tighter, her eyes closed rightly.  The wind rushed past her, whipping her long, raven streaked hair into a wild frenzy.  Her heart was beating faster and faster, but she wouldn't give him the pleasure of showing a weakness.  No, not her.  Not the immaculate Rynn.  Not the one who, even when Aeolus died, shed a single tear in front of others.  No…she couldn't….

"YOU IDIOT, SPREAD YOUR WINGS ALREADY!"

She opened her eyes as he caught the air.  The sudden weight of the world was gone, and the two were soaring through the sky.  Rynn gripped Gideon a little tighter, exhaling the rest of her breath from screaming at him. But it was done.  It was over.  She could breath normally again.  Gideon's wings were strong, despite their original tenderness against her arms.  It was surprising, his angelic wings in contrast to her leathery, draconic wings.  But now was not the time to dwell.

When they finally landed, Rynn immediately switched roles, and moved to Gideon's side.  "Here…rest a second…"  She knelt down, pulling him into her lap.  Her hand idly covered his eyes, blocking the light out.  "You idiot…you're shaking…"  He gave me the apple…  "You should have eaten it…not given it to me."

Why did I fall for such an idiot like you…?  She smiled, and stroked his hair.  

It was a rare moment when Gideon got to hold Rynn, but it was even rarer when she held him. He relaxed against her, relishing the softness of her fingertips as they shielded his eyes from the morning sunlight. 

"I'm all right," he promised her. "I've been through worse. Remember when we first got partnered up? We spent near two days in that forest with no provisions and we were chained together," he chuckled. "Two sets of wings, burns through energy like a beast," he reminded her. He sighed contentedly as her fingers went through his hair. The thought about the closeness they had shared while flying. The way that she had screamed at him, as he had expected, and clung to him. 

"Rynn… do you ever wish things could be different?" he asked her softly as they sat on the damp swampy ground. "Do you think things could be different? New world… new chance?" he asked her, his voice soft. 

As Rynn continued to stroke Gideon's hair, she smiled.  

"I remember," she said.  "You're nowhere near as useless as I had initially thought you were.  I was just too stubborn to get along with you then.  I hated my parents for sending me to that useless Academy, and what it did to Jace didn't help my opinion of it.  But the bonds we made there…I cherish those more than you could ever imagine."  Her face flushed as the realization of what escaped her lips hit her.  "But you better not tell a soul I told you that…"  

That was when he asked her a question.  That question…she had thought of it herself many times.  She silently stroked his hair, running her fingers through his golden locks.  "I've always wished for things to be different."  She stopped stroking his hair, and knelt her head down, looking down at him.  "I wish everything could have been different.  Why did my idiot brother run away…why did this stupid war have to tear us apart like this?  Why did…"

Why did Aeolus have to die.  

Rynn closed her eyes.  I can't cry.  I won't cry.  She took a deep, shuddering breath, and exhaled.  Another breath.  Exhale.  Her eyes opened to see Gideon's, looking back up at her.  "Maybe….maybe if…"  She shook her head.  "When.  When we find Jace, we'll start from there.  A step at a time, right?  But first, we need to get you food…I can't have you passing out on me…"  Rynn started stroking his hair again.

"Though..if you need a moment more…I guess we can wait…"

"Come on, Rynn. Who would I tell?" he asked her with a chuckle. 

This was the closest he had ever come to seeing Rynn cry. He sat up and gently pulled her closer. "It's ok, Rynn," he told her. "You don't have to be strong all the time," he said as he held her tight to him. "We will find Jace. That is for sure," he promised her. "We didn't jump across all of space to come here and not find him," he told her. "But you are right, we have to make sure to take it one step at a time," he agreed. "I'm all right. If I take it easy. But fortunately, we aren't too far off from that village," he said with a bit of a shrug. He carefully got to his feet. He swayed for a second, feeling a bit light headed but it passed. 

He reached out and gently pulled her up and squeezed her hand. 

"Come on…"

It was a short walk to the little seaside village that was actually on the water directly, floating because of the unstable ground. Gideon walked up the plank walk and looked around at the strange floating village. 

"Hello?"

Rynn used the short walk to the seaside village to regain her composure, and by the time the two arrived, she was feeling much back to her old self.  As Gideon called out to see if anyone responded, Rynn stepped onto the main bridge that led to the first set of floating platforms.  "Anyone here?" she asked aloud.  Slowly, a few female tenants of the village emerged from the floating building in front of them.

"Yes?" the first woman asked.  She reminded Rynn of a mother hen, the leader of a group.  

"We're sorry to disturb you.  We just…" Rynn glanced back at Gideon.  "We just er…ran across some troubles.  Mostly, we just need food and some basic supplies.  Is there a merchant or a shop here?  Or perhaps we can arrange a trade?"  She smiled, and looked back to the woman.  "I know it's a bit much to ask…"

The woman stared at Rynn, and then to GIdeon.  Rynn realized they were being scrutinized.  I can't say I blame them.  We probably look terrible in our condition…  

The woman looked at him and Rynn like she wasn't sure she could trust her own eyes. Despite feeling shaky and light headed, Gideon figured that these people were probably highly superstitious, or had simply had too many experiences where they could not trust what came out of the foggy swamps. He carefully extended his hands to the woman, showing that he honestly was not hiding anything, and even did a little twirl so and extended his wings a bit to show her what he was. The wings made her step back in shock, but less fear than awe. 

"You… you are one of those celestials… the one's they talk about from Parvpora…" 

Gideon looked a bit uncomfortable. "Well, I am… a half-celestial…"

"But you bring good luck?"

"Well–"

"Can you heal the sick?"

"Well, yeah—"

The woman grabbed Gideon by the arm and began dragging him across the damp walk. Gideon looked back at Rynn, giving her a surprised look as he was hustled towards one of the floating huts. 

She shoved him inside and pulled him towards a rush mat where two little children lay, looking very pale and sick. Gideon's instincts kicked in and he knelt by the children and gently touched their foreheads. They were running hot to the touch, and were shivering uncontrollably. 

"Fever? How long have they been like this?" he asked looking up at the woman. 

"Two days. I've tried everything I can think of. They aren't the only ones. There are others who are sick too…"

"How many?" Gideon asked. 

"Twelve."

Gideon looked back at Rynn and sighed. "Well, I can heal them, but unless we find the cause, it will probably be short lived…"

Rynn had to contain her shame as Gideon did a little twirl to show off his wings, but as the woman mentioned celestials, the draconian smiled.  So they are here after all.  That's good.  Judging by their superstition, though, it seemed a better idea to keep her draconic wings magically sealed.  Not that she had a choice.  The woman asked for Gideon's help, and the two made their way into the hut.  Well, more Rynn following a surprised Gideon as he was dragged into the hut.

Rynn rolled her eyes.  Of course, she thought to herself, It's never anything simple for us, is it?  She followed Gideon over to the children, and came to the same conclusion as he had.  There was definitely an underlying cause, but their unfamiliarity of Revaliir might cause an issue with figuring out what it could be.  

"First thing," Rynn said, looking back to the woman.  "Can you spare something to eat.  Small is fine.  Even bread will do.  It's hard to help when we can't focus."  She was worried about Gideon, and he could easily down a small piece of bread and still have time to help the children.

"I can't feel anything…but judging by the symptoms, I don't think it's magical in nature."  Poison?  Or a plague?  But why just the children.  "Where are all the men in the village?  I'm guessing out at sea?  Have they found anything recently?"

"Of course," the woman said. "I'll be back." She turned and left the hut to find food as Rynn had just requested. He looked at Rynn and rubbed his chin as she made her assessment. "Yeah, I agree. There's nothing magical about this…" he rubbed his face again. 

"They are running a fever, chills, but they are sweating profusely… if it were just a natural fever they wouldn't be sweating," he tapped his chin. "This it's a poison of some sort. Not sure what might have caused it though…" he looked around. 

"They live on the water, so the chances of it being a water or fungus isn't likely. This village has been around for a long time. So whatever it is here, it was brought in…"

The woman came back with a couple of loaves of bread that she handed to Rynn and Gideon, and Gideon tore into his ravenously.  The woman looked a little harried when Rynn asked about the villagers, the men, and if anything had been brought in to the village. 

"Um… yes, the men are out trading with the next village over," the woman replied. "But I don't think anything was brought in…" 

"What about strange new foods or spices? Did anything get traded that was something out of the ordinary. Something that was out of season even?"

"No… not that I can think of…" the woman said. 

Gideon got up and looked around again before his eyes fell on a wicker basket. Inside were berries. 

"When did you bring these in?" Jace asked. 

"Oh… two days or so ago?"

With Gideon at least somewhat fed, Rynn turned her attention to the children and their affliction.  Gideon was a smooth talker, and knew exactly what to ask, and how.  Rynn was more than willing to let him handle the niceties.  When they came to the berries, though, Rynn almost lost it.  Stupid woman.  That counts as something new.  She walked over to the basket, and leaned over.  

The berries inside were small, and orange-yellow in color.  Rynn took one, crushing it between her fingers.  The smell was overwhelmingly sweet.  "This is probably the cause…" She said, motioning for Gideon to come over.  "It's similar to what Erik found when we were out training.  Not exactly the same, but I'm sure it has a similar cure.  It should be easy enough, and with our magic it shouldn't take much…"  Though this has never been my specialty.  What if…I'm wrong….  

And image of her silver haired cousin, Aeolus flashed through her mind.  Will I be the cause of another pointless death?