Maya Hawthorne's Story

Maya stepped out of the car that had brought her to the academy, and grabbed all her stuff out of the trunk. Quetzalcoatl came down from his flight to help her with her bags.
Q: "Don't you find this all a bit much, Maya?"
Maya: "What, three bags and two cases? That's a pittance! I've seen you carry entire buildings!"
Q: "Those buildings weren't going in your closet."
Maya: "Oh, please, you know the closets have hammerspace in them!"
Quetzalcoatl sighed, and carried the bags up to her room as Maya walked around the campus. She'd been held up by a few ceremonies before she'd been able to leave, and wasn't willing to have to spend any more time doing things involving precise order for at least two days. As she continued to walk, she looked down and realized she was still in little more than her ritual feather dress, which left little to the imagination, and jeans, with left a little more. Eh, she thought, might as well live with it.

(She does, he doesn't.)
Walker nodded and bowed to her in a large, overexaggerated gesture.
"Very well, I shall seek dismissal." After he said this, he walked off, Brenna changing into her goblin form to walk beside him.
"She seems nice." Brenna said as they walked down the hallway.
"Yes, but too young for my tastes." Walker responded, catching a glimpse of Maya walking down a nearby hall. "See, MAYA is an example of acceptable. Eighteen, cute, and doesn't slap me when we talk... Which is why I'm still surprised she hasn't called me back..."
Brenna chuckled at this.
"Ooh, do I detect a crush?"
Walker: "No... Just shock that I'm the one wondering about the call."
Brenna: "Admit it. She out-attracted you."
Walker: *with a smirk on his face* "Alright fine, what do you want, a medal?"
Brenna: "No, just gloating rights!"


Maya just continued to explore the halls, looking for people to meet.
(Anyone wonder who the hell Maya is, look at the bottom of page 6.)

It was right about this time that Walker and Brenna fired a shot of bad luck his way, enough to screw his game over. Walker sniggered a little as he and Brenna watched from the shadows, their giggling hidden by by sounds of the ball, the feet of the people playing, and general white noise.

*******
Maya at this point was flying through the halls, tapping into Quetzalcoatl's magic to both make her lighter than air and to make the wind blow right at her feet so she could stay in the air for as long as she wanted.
"Where in the nine hells is everybody?" she said to herself, pulling a corner and drifting down the hall.

"No you can't be Walk-.....Walker!!!" When she said this, Walker found out two things. One: She hadn't forgotten him. Two: She certainly hadn't spent the past nine years lazing about, as his screaming spine pointed out all too clearly.
"Easy, girl, I want to keep my bones this time!" He said, weakly hugging her back, gasping in sweet relief once Hayley had released him, and he introduced himself with a weak "Charmed." to Sammy, "But I've been grand, working with different restaurants across Mythill to perfect my recipes!" As luck would have it, Hayley's stomach growled after he mentioned food, and he grinned, milking her hunger for all it was worth. "AND, don't forget that promise I made about you trying all of my best dishes when we got older!!!" he said with a wink and a grin, his little payback for her crippling him. As Sammy left, he gave a pained wave, and Brenna hopped out of Walker's bag to go follow Sammy, turning into her goblin form as she did so, as she'd seen his key fall out of his pocket a while back and had grabbed it for safekeeping. Walker turned to Hayley, standing tall again to stretch out his back.
"Well, I might as well follow through on at least one promise. C'mon, members of the Cooking Club have access to the private kitchens! Or at least... I do." He said with another trademark wink as he pulled out a key with an X on it, dangling on a chain, implying that it might-or-might-not-be his. He also snapped his fingers to Luca. "You want to come along? As a sign of good faith."

Brenna ran through the halls of the dorms, and eventually found Sammy asleep outside his door. Brenna giggled a little, unlocked his door, and through a mix of goblin, dog, and horse forms, she got him into bed with the blankets covering him. She smiled, and closed the door behind her, barely leaving a click to show she'd even been there.


********************
Maya at this point was walking through the halls topless, her dress had gotten too itchy for her tastes. Quetzalcoatl was off somewhere else, doing her grandma's laundry for all she knew.

Walker McMullin's Story
Walker jumped out of the craft and rolled out of the fall, with Brenna grabbing onto someone's Bond while in goblin form and jumping onto Walker's bag from there. Walker smiled at the instructions, and the mention of traps.
"Hey Brenna, feel like making luck be a lady?" Walker said, running in the direction of the flag, luck choosing his path. Brenna smiled, and made any traps Walker might encounter malfunction so they wouldn't fire off when he was around, yet work perfectly for anyone else. As for opponents, well, Walker was good enough at stealth to not be caught, so she didn't alter that part of his luck. She also figured that the others should have a fair chance, so she didn't screw with anyone else's luck... Yet.

Maya Hawthorne's Story
Maya leapt off of the aircraft, but her feet never touched the ground, having been caught by Quetzalcoatl, who tossed her onto his back.
"Shall we search for the flag, Maya?" Quetzalcoatl asked as they soared through the air, his coils twisting as the air rippled around him, keeping his wings suspended in the air. Maya smiled and shook her head in response.
"Nah, let them chase after it, we'll just screw with everyone. Shall we?" Quetzalcoatl nodded, and began stirring up a foul wind, making it near impossible for any other Bond to fly safely in the stormy weather, the only calm wind being that around Quetzalcoatl and Maya. They then flew off over the forest to find the flag and make sure no one else could get to it.

Erin Tyryl

"I hope someone has a brilliant plan," one of the students shouted out as they all landed in the forest. Erin frowned as he listened to the hovercraft drift away. This was not going to be entertaining. His first concern was his sister, the next was Suren who seemed to be okay next to him. Rue was a little ways away from him with the same boy he'd seen her with at lunch.

"Over here, Suren," he told her and led her over to where Rue was and knelt down next to his sister. He gave her a quick hug before turning his attention to the crowd. He looked up to who'd spoken and gave her a grin that was supposed to calm her down, "Easy, the first rule is not to get seperated, the second is to move carefully through the woods and the third is to get the flag before... just get the flag," he finished, not wanting to scare her with something like 'before something else does'.

"Okay!" Erin stood up, raising his voice in the hopes of getting everyone's attention, "Who's bonds are good at tracking? I've got one.... er, two," he quickly corrected himself remembering Kivuli in that instant, "We'll have them lead us so we don't run into any traps. Doesn't mean this is gonna be a walk in the park either," he added at the end with a frown. Even with the bonds leading, they were sure to run into a number of traps, things that had no sent or were invisible to even the best of trackers. They were going to have to be extremely careful.

"Finally, I get to do something other than sit around and make fun of you," Nemesis said. Erin grinned down at his bond. At least one of them was taking this easier than the other. Erin was indeed intimidated by the situation he'd found himself in, but he wasn't going to back down from it like a scared child. No he was going to take it head on. Nemesis sat next to him and brushed his huge head up against Erin's thigh, his yellow eyes pinching and his lips pulled back into what could only be the dire wolfs way of smiling. A bit toothy, but a smile nonetheless.

Rue Tyryl

Rue listened to the confusion around her as they settled on the forest floor from the jump. She managed to get herself loose from the parachute, cut the strings and put the pack on her back. Other than that she was at a loss at what to do next. One of the girls asked what she was thinking and in a matter of moments, she spotted her brother from the small crowd coming towards her. She sat up, a little less afraid with Erin nearby and hugged him in return, though with Luca she was sure she would have been fine too.

"He was always a quick thinker," Snow commented from her shoulder.

"Yeah," Rue answered softly. Her eyes flicked to Luca to try to see what he was thinking or what he was going to do next.

"Don't worry Rue. I'm here, and so is Luca. Just think if anything bad happens I'm sure he'll jump out and protect you," the pure white bond teased lightly, though Rue could tell from her voice that it was only a half joke. Snow could protect her, but there were limits to that protection. Rue wasn't sure if the phoenix was going to be able to protect her at all through this. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and stood up next to her brother, ready to get going once everyone had figured out what they were going to do.

Suren woke up with a a jump, she was in a hover craft. "This might be fun." She thought to herself before the teacher explained what would be going on and they were dropped into the forest. She quickly found Kivuli, who seemed to be excited, "FINALLY! A chance to hunt in the wild." The hell-hound smirked, "No killing other bonds got it?" She said more as a statement than question, but knew that chances were that someone would go mad, it always happens.

This is when Erin came over to her and explained the rules of Capture The Flag: Tyrilla Style. "Got it." Was all she said as she took a look aorund at the others, And Aslan could be trouble she thought to herself. "Don't worry, that lion trys anything, and he will be a pile of ashes." Kivuli spoke, as if she wanted to burn people and bonds to death.

"Alright Erin," She said to him privatly, "We need to get into smaller groups, because I have a feeling something, or someone here might try to kill someone else." She was implying Kivuli, but she coudln't be sure of anyone else. Said bond was sniffing a tree, her paws burning the very ground she walked on, her tail burning brighter than ever. She quickly noticed a spider, around half the size of her, and quickly went to kill it. She quickly used her tail to set it on fire in a small inferno.

Suren noticed this and she spoke, "I am pretty sure the giant spiders mean we are suppose to move, now lets move before something else comes along." She said and leaned into Erin, "Take Rue and who ever else, I am going to see if Aslan will travel with us, he seems like he is trained in this." She said before going over to him and the lion, her bond came back up to her.

"Aslan, you want to win this, right?" As if she needed an answer, "Come with us, better to go with someone you know, rather than a stranger, make up your mind now, because we need to move now."

Luca M. Feygor

As the others gathered to collect their wits, Luca sat back with a tranquil look over his face. In truth he was desperately trying to maintain his ignorance of their situation, even as the rocky formation of the ground jutted uncomfortably into the skin of back, reminding him of their harsh reality. He pursed his lips, inwardly cursing his own lack of foresight for not predicting this.

“Special Bonds class huh?” a voice rumbled deeply after him, so mysterious, so abrupt it was like rolling of passing thunder. Blue Horror shuffled out of the shadows the demon had been hiding in, stepping within Luca’s field of vision. As he watched, Luca could only stare in fascination as the folds of Blue’s robes rippled unnaturally, as though billions of tiny creatures were crawling over its skin ceaselessly, but this disturbing façade was the least of Luca’s concerns.

Luca grimaced, his eyes narrowing painfully at mere the thought of being forced to work with his bond. He remembered everything when Blue was with him, all the gritty details of his past. Luca reached for his head, rubbing the sides of his temples like he had a bad hangover. Regardless of his reluctance to remember, everything returned to him then in a series of throbbing flashbacks. His sense of guilt, the trembling fear, each and every sensation from that time pricked uncomfortably at the edges of his very psyche.

“I guess I better get used to it.” Luca resolved quietly, his trembling voice pushing past the initial headache. Since this was a special bonds class, Luca no longer had an excuse to run away from Blue Horror. If that was the case, he'd just have to complete this task as quickly as possible. He stood up slowly before joining the others, his pragmatic gaze sweeping over the collection of bonds and students as though he were analysing them all. He spotted Rue opposite of him and couldn’t help but notice a boy carrying the same indistinguishable white hair and green eyes besides her. Must be her brother, Luca assumed. Also amongst the students was his roommate, Hayley, who seemed to natural rely on her bond, and Aslan, whose presence Luca could only sniff at.

Blue Horror stood a fair ways behind Luca as he approached the main group, maintaining the unspoken distance between them, but even then Blue’s reach extended to him in the form of a shadow. Blue’s unsettling height was enough to cast sinister outline over the ground, the silhouette haunting Luca’s every step dogmatically.

"Come with us, better to go with someone you know, rather than a stranger, make up your mind now, because we need to move now."

“Calm down, let’s not rush in yet. I'm not even sure what you guys could track in this forest, not like a flag pole leaves a trail...” Luca said. He phrased his next set of words carefully as he looked at the girl with a demon bond also, the heat emitting from the fiery hound making him feel as though it he'd catch fire at a moments notice, “Taking a moment to assert ourselves now will reduce our chances of accidents or panicking later”

He produced a map in his hands, briefly contemplating the supplies they’d all been so kindly provided as he did so. Amongst them he counted a bottle of water, a knife and rope.

“The map is okay but it seems to neglect important features. So for those of us with a flying bond, I’d like to request that you try and fly up to see if you can spot any key land features or instruct us of the terrain ahead"

Erin Tyryl

"Don't worry, She'll be fine. Now, lets get the flag," Suren said to him, her bright eyes looking right into his. Erin gave her a small smile and allowed her to help him to his feet. One arm was draped over her shoulder as they started the climb up the hill. It wasn't long before the sound of the storming wind drowned out the cries of the stuck behemoth behind them. As they topped the hill, Erin covered his eyes with his arm to try to see down into the valley. The wind was whipping through the trees at an increasingly violent speed.

Dirt was being tossed up into the air and thrown around to create a kind of tornado like effect in the wilderness. It was hard to see through the ferocious storm, but Erin squinted his eyes and could barely make out an area that looked like it was calm beyond the storm. Raising an eyebrow he tried to figure out why that would be. Slowly, he started down the hill with Suren as his support. Next to them Rue lay unconscious across Kivuli and right next to her the tall boy whom she called Luca was watching over her intently.

"I think the boy is intrigued by her. Seem's like she's made quite the friend," Nemesis said as he slowly padded behind them. The wolf had a slight limp to his step as he walked, each time he stepped, there was a sharp pain through his leg and right across his side that also burned through Erin. He did his best to keep that from showing on his face as Suren held him up, but it was hard as they made their way down the slope.

Though it seemed like forever, they got down to the valley in no time and once there, the storm seemed to be at its strongest. Erin pulled Suren closer to him and turned her around so that he could shield her as best he could from the wind storm and the dirt that was being thrown around at high speeds. He could feel the sand cutting into his exposed skin as he stood there.

"I think... I think I see a bond on the other side," Erin called out, trying to get either Suren's or Luca's attention through the wind. Nemesis pushed forward, his head lowered and ears pulled back as he trod up as close as he could to the barrier.

"There is a bond there, I can sense them. You've got to be kidding me," Nemesis growled.

"What?"

"Who ever it is, they're doing this on purpose."

"Son of a ...." his curse word was lost to the wind as it took his breath. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the dirt wall of wind. Rue stirred slightly on Kivuli, her green eyes cracking open for a moment before shutting closed. She gave a groan and shifted on the hell hounds back to try to shield herself from the harsh storm. Erin walked with Suren crushed against his chest. He put his body between the wind and both the girls as he looked to Luca.

"Anyway you can get us in there?" He asked, tossing his head to the side, directing towards the only calm area that was being controlled by some bond on the other side. He was hopeful that Luca had the strength to do it, but if he didn't Erin was going to find a way. He didn't want to put Luca in danger if he hadn't regained enough strength.

"I can force my way in," Nemesis said, his voice filled with anger. The dire wolf was obviously pissed off that one of the students was doing this on purpose. Did they even realize how dangerous it was in the first place? Then to go and make things worse, Nemesis growled, baring his teeth and the hair all along his back stood once more, though he didn't transform.

"Hold that thought, furball. You're too injured to try something like that. Maybe Snow can shield us or something with her ice. All we need is just enough to get to the other side."

Nemesis looked over his shoulder at his human bond, then tipped his large head down in a short nod. Slowly, the wolf backed away from the wall and settled close to Kivuli.

Erin looked back to Luca, "If you can't, don't try to push it. I'll see if Snow's able to create a shield for us. All we need is long enough to get passed the wall and kick whoever's ass is on the other side," he said, his tone sharp and cold. Erin wasn't enjoying himself at all and if it weren't for his sister being in the most danger, he probably wouldn't have been so pissed off.

Luca M. Feygor

Luca could feel the wild wind buffeting against his body and restricting his movements as the group drew ever closer to their objective. When the air current grew violent, Luca began pacing in front of Kivuli and Rue in an attempt to act as a shield. The loud whistling caused by the air rushing past his ears was close to overwhelming at this stage. Yet ironically as they reached the end of the valley’s slope, the area looked peaceful on the other side, almost resembling the eye of a hurricane.

"Anyway you can get us in there?" Erin pitched with a low growl towards the center. In response Luca could only shrug at first. The winds were too strong to use any of his usual methods of teleportation. Any piece of paper he’d placed or attempt to fly would be consumed and lost to the chaotic storm in an instant.

"If you can't, don't try to push it. I'll see if Snow's able to create a shield for us. All we need is long enough to get passed the wall and kick whoever's ass is on the other side." Erin’s final sentence had a murderous edge to it as Luca saw impatience crawling into his features.

"Then make it happen!" Aslan screamed over the howling wind.

“I can manage, but energy isn’t the issue friend,” He said eventually. Luca pulled out his yellow notepad and thumbed over each page. The effect created a soft sound akin to rubbing something over sand paper, but more remarkable was that each page had a different drawing on it, “My bond’s ability has conditions. It requires me to swap positions with an inanimate object I’ve come into contact with before. Certainly I could get us across if we had something heavier to throw, but with my notepads and the survival tools they gave us, I don’t see that happening. Anything I’d place would be lost to the wind.”

Erin Tyryl

Aslan yelled over the wind to Erin, ordering him to 'make it happen'. Erin, however, only shot the boy a murderous glare. This was Snow he was talking about and Rue had already used up a lot of the birds energy earlier to save them from the behemoth. He bit back the acid reply and only turned to look at Luca who had began to reply to his earlier question.

“I can manage, but energy isn’t the issue friend, my bond’s ability has conditions. It requires me to swap positions with an inanimate object I’ve come into contact with before. Certainly I could get us across if we had something heavier to throw, but with my notepads and the survival tools they gave us, I don’t see that happening. Anything I’d place would be lost to the wind.”

His lips turned into a frown as he held Suren against him and tried to block as much of the gale force winds from his sister and her. He looked down at Snow who was perched up on top of Rue, huddled down against the girls back as they stood there. Snow looked up at him, cocking her pretty white head off to the side. Rue shifted again, coming awake once more. It was probably the wind that kept waking her even though she must have been dead tired.

"I can make it through," Nemesis said once more. Erin shook his head, disagreeing immediately with the wolf who heaved a heavy sigh and gave a slight glare at his human bond.

"If I could throw something over there, you can transport us right?" Erin confirmed, his voice shouting to be heard over the winds. His eyes searched the ground. Even a good sized rock would be enough to do that, but the winds were so strong Erin doubted that he could get it far enough in to make a difference. The last thing he wanted was for Luca to transport them to the strongest point of the winds and get them both killed. Softly, he cursed to himself as he couldn't see anything close to what he had in mind.

"Shit," he hugged Suren closer trying to figure out what to do. He really didn't want to have Snow use up any more energy to cast a shield large enough for them, but it was looking to be their only option. He glanced down at the bird again and she lifted herself up off of Rue's back and fluttered her wings lightly.

"You can probably take that as a 'yes'. She'll do what's needing to be done," Nemesis offered. Having been around Snow for so long, the bond had a way of communicating with her that Erin had never been able to understand.

"Snow, if you can't, don't. We'll find another way."

The bird narrowed her eyes and shook her head. Erin wasn't sure how many students she could shield, but he was going to guess it was only going to be the four of them. Meaning Luca, Rue, Suren and himself, bonds not included. With a flash of her white wings, she opened up and her body glowed a bright white, the dry ice of her power expanding into a shimmering blue bubble all around them. Once the bubble closed, the sound of the wind dropped tremendously and the air stilled inside. Erin took a deep breath and looked to their destination.

He let go of Suren and tapped Kivuli on her shoulder, careful of her flames, "Straight in Kivuli. Let's go crash the party, I've had quite enough of this," he said and started walking towards the center of the storm. The wind crashed against the shield and Erin kept a watchful eye on Snow who had her eyes closed as she concentrated. He didn't know how much longer she was going to last, but he hoped she could make it all the way in.

Halfway towards the calm, he could see Snow's shield shimmering as she struggled to keep it up. Erin tapped Kivuli's shoulder in urgency, trying to get her to move faster. He didn't know if it would help as Snow would probably have to concentrate harder, but at least it would be over sooner rather than later. They finally broke through to the other side just as Snow's icy bubble cracked and shattered. Shards of the shield shot passed them and Erin pulled Suren through the last portion of the wind storm, catching several pieces of the sharp ice across his arm and shoulder.

"You alright?" He asked her, eyeing her over to see if she was hurt anywhere, though she looked to be alright. Then he lifted his eyes to the large bond flying in the center of the area, guarding the flag. Seated up on the bond was a dark haired girl who seemed to be utterly enjoying herself. To which, Erin sent a cold stare. His jaw set firmly and he stepped around Suren to yell up to her.

"Hey! What the hell is this all about? You realize that this damn forest is dangerous enough without your meddling? Are you trying to kill us all?" he shouted up to her. Nemesis growled deeply, lowering his head as his fur bristled, ready for a fight. Erin felt the rush of adrenaline as he anticipated a long and very hard battle ahead of them.

Suren was making sure that everything was going alright with Kivuli, she had a tendency to hate water, and bubbles scared her. So, when Snow had created it, she said to her bond, "It's alright Kivuli. Just relax, think about getting Rue to safety." The bond nodded at her. When Erin told Kivuli to 'ccrash the party' as he said, the bond got excited. Her body heated up, but made sure to contain it, so not to burn the girl on her back. "Suren, marry this one, he has a good head on his shoulders." She said and Suren slightly smiled at her bond.

As they were walking, Erin held her close to him, probably to protect her, she didn't need protection, but it was comforting. She nejoyed being close to him, btu right now, they needed to focus on getting that flag. So, when they crossed the boundary, she made sure everything was alright. It was, save fro Rue still being out like a light.

That is when Suren noticed the giant Bond in the sky. It was obviously the cause of this storm, and the girl riding it seemed happy. "How the hell can she be happy at this?" She thought to herself, and Kivuli picked up on it, growling at the girl and Bond. Suren noticed her bond, and quickly took Rue off her back, adn started carrying her, so that Kivuli could get ready for the fight ahead.

Said bond quickly increased her flame, and it seemed to follow the bonds desire, creating a little danicng flame around her. She was angry at this bond for hurting Rue and Nemesis. Now, she was going to get hurt.

Suren turned to Erin, and said, "Watch out, when Kivuli gets mad, things tend to end up burned. She will not hurt any of us, but try to avoid her flames or get to close to her."

Maya's Story
Maya grinned as they got through Quetzal's storm wall, and dissipated it with a snap of her fingers, the night sky instantly calming. She then slid off of his back and began to walk on the air in front of her, 100 feet up in the air.
"So," she said, walking as if on a balance beam, "it took you all long enough. I was wondering when one of you would brave that thing." Still, you could just as easily walked underneath. It's wind and a little bit of rain, not a fire. The trees would have acted as a buffer against the winds, and you would have saved yourselves a great deal of hassle." She took one more step, and dropped from the air, Quetzalcoatl doing nothing to stop her rapid descent as she fell into the undergrowth, the sound of branches breaking resounding through the forest.

Walker's story
Walker dangled in a net up in the air, his bad luck having decided it as high time to make another appearance. He coughed, and swung a little bit. This was not one of his better moments, Brenna having run off to find help, or at least something sharp that wasn't currently stuck in his pocket.
"Hayley?" He asked to the area around him, as if that would conjure her out of thin air. "Maya? Anyone?"

The behemoth lay on the ground, sheets of ice covering some of it. Aubrey just gazed in wonder and fear... the school had put them in an extremely dangerous position, and yet the other students had brought it down working alongside their bonds. Many were hurt though; did the school know this would happen? Aubrey stood beside an uneasy Bren, biting her lip, brows creased. She's been utterly useless, not knowing how to fight at all and she couldn't even fly because of the dratted windstorm the other student had created. What was this supposed to teach them anyway?

"Aubrey! Where are you!"

The voice reached her ears over the sound of the wind and broke her thoughts. She turned in a circle, trying to locate Aslan and Babur. He and the others were trudging along again, seemingly knowing where the flag was. Bren nudged her stiff legs forward and the girl gave a sigh and followed, reaching Aslan and the others as they discussed how to get across to the flag where the student and bond creating the windstorm were.

Using the surprising powers of the graceful white phoenix again, they somehow got to the girl and she broke the spell. the sudden calm was almost disturbing, but Bren leading again, the pair made their way to them, watching the dark-haired girl walk through the air with her curious dragon.

Aubrey disliked her, and Bren churned the ground with a front talon in frustration as well. She'd been the sole creator of the dratted weather? Why would someone do that, knowing the dangers of the forest? the question passed between girl and griffin. Aubrey watched the others warily. The bonded of the phoenix was still unconscious and another girl and a few boys sported some nasty wounds. Aubrey leant against Bren's soft fur-feathered side and frowned at the flag poking form the ground.

"Now what?" she asked softly, not knowing if the others even heard her question.

Luca M. Feygor

As the group reached the clearing their sights were all immediately greeted by the twisted shadow of a dragon. Not a typical western lizard but one of a green eastern serpentine dragon instead. Riding on top of the bond was a young woman who grinned broadly as she spotted them, seemingly leering down at them. "It took you all long enough. I was wondering when one of you would brave that thing. Still, you could just as easily walked underneath. It's wind and a little bit of rain, not a fire. The trees would have acted as a buffer against the winds, and you would have saved yourselves a great deal of hassle."

He swivelled his gaze to glance quickly at the flag’s location then craned his neck back at the group. He could feel their barely contained rage boiling over as he stood beside them, certainly this was the case at least for Suren and her fiery hell hound.

Luca spat in the dirt as the unnatural storm around them died with a final stutter, disappearing as quickly as it had started. “That’s all you’re going to say to us?” He returned, his booming voice taking on an incredulous tone. He threw a pebble up at the dragon like an angry mobster but the rock veered off wildly into growing darkness, not even coming close to where the dragon floated up in the air.

"Now what?" Another girl asked as she stroked the feathers of her bond.

“We get the flag and go back obviously,” Luca replied before stepping towards the flagpole.

Maya's Story
The wind began to blow again, coming from where Maya had thrown herself into the forest, starting from a soft breeze to a raging gale, as Maya flew in on it's currents and grabbed the flag, swooping back into the air as she did so.
"You want the flag? Come and get it. I'll give you all a handicap and not stress Quetzal with another storm or have him do anything other than share our magic."

Walker's Story
Walker continued to swing back and forth, waiting for something to happen. As he swung there, he started singing his mother's song again, letting the music carry through the forest.

“We get the flag and go back obviously,” the dark-haired boy responded simply, stepping towards the flag. Aubrey watched him curiously, glancing at the sky. Other than the serpent-like dragon, there was nothing. No hovercrafts or any sign that they would be taken back to the school. What else to it could there be? Did they all have to be around it? Aubrey didn't know everyone and couldn't tell if they were missing someone or something.

But of course, the meddlesome girl appeared back from nowhere and grabbed the flag into the air as if taunting them. "You want the flag? Come and get it. I'll give you all a handicap and not stress Quetzal with another storm or have him do anything other than share our magic."

Aubrey's jaw set and her eyes seemed to shift to a lighter, icy tone. Quickly she leapt on Bren and they shot into the air, the gap between the flag and Aubrey closed in a matter of seconds, hovering before Maya. Bren grumbled a warning and Aubrey regarded the girl warily while keeping her bond in the corner of her eyes. She would ask nicely first, she decided. Aubrey wasn't one to start fights, though she had multiple ideas as she sized the other up.

"Why are you making things so difficult? You've had your fun, and now we've got people who should get to an infirmary," she tried to speak clearly, still worried for the white-haired girl.

Maya's Story
Maya once again let gravity do its thing, the gap between the flag and Aubrey widening in a manner of seconds, and then let the wind once again pick her up, sending her flying across the treetops at eye-watering speeds.
"You'll have to do better than thaaaaaaaaat!" She yelled as she weaved through the canopy with ease, dodging branches and stray birds. This was as natural to her as walking, having spent half her life in the rainforest flying around like there was no tomorrow. One person on the back of a griffin was going do as good a job at catching her that a paraplegic would have at doing the tango.
Quetzalcoatl staying the same spot in the air, watching the whole thing unfold underneath him. It wasn't that he was being lazy, he was just aware of what Maya was capable of, and she had specifically said she didn't want him stressing over using his powers too much. Even so, he WAS enjoying his view of current events.

Aubrey watched the flag in Maya's hands drop with her, and she thought for a moment that the other girl would comply and they could all go back. But no, she was up and off again, her taunt weaving it's way towards Aubrey's ears even as she flew in the other direction. "You'll have to do better than thaaaaaaaaat!" Bren gave a screeching cry as he dove into Maya's wake, pumping his wings furiously. They could easily do better then chit-chat.

Aubrey settled lightly, pressing herself low to his back. His feathers flitted softly across her face as her blue-green eyes narrowed in determination, nudging Bren on until Maya's form was clear again. Maya was certainly skillful at channeling her bond's powers, but she dearly underestimated the younger girl and her Griffin.

Aubrey and Bren weren't far behind when Maya ducked through the tree canopy, swerving and dodging. One had to give her credit, certainly, but it wasn't hard for Aubrey to follow her agile body as Bren continued above the trees, his thoughts mingling with Aubrey's through movement and feelings as they put both their energies towards getting the flag.

Aubrey held her eyes as wide as would allow, not loosing sight of Maya. She squeezed herself against Bren, signaling him to put forth a huge burst of speed until they were parallel above Maya. With surprising accuracy Bren dropped head-first and dive-bombed through a gap in the tree canopy, straight towards the girl below them. Reaching out with his talons as if grabbing at prey, Bren grasped the pole and right as they might have dragged Maya down to the dirt with them, opened his wings wide and shot straight up through the trees again and leveled off, making a tight turn and heading back towards the other students.

They had traveled quite a distance, but the serpent-like dragon was still in his spot in the air, like a beacon over the group. Aubrey lifted her head slightly, sucking in a deep breath as she turned carefully to look back. She sincerely hoped Maya was alright when Bren had grabbed for the flag, but he was deadly accurate and he would never intentionally hurt someone like that. Aubrey turned her head back, watching Maya's bond grow closer. Her heart beat wildly and not just from the adrenalin of flying at top speeds. This trickster might yet throw something at her.

Walker and Maya's Stories Intertwine
Quetzal, having never left where he was, stayed there. MAYA, however, used Aubrey's brief distraction to create a very large gust of wind right underneath Bren, blasting him out of the air and sending the flag into the forest, where Maya was waiting to snatch it out of the air, Walker free from his trap next to her with Brenna in Night-Mare form.
"I was wondering when someone was going to show up," Walker said, rubbing the knots out of his system, and grinned. "Up to no good as usual?"
"Geez, you leave one night with no phone call, and all of a sudden YOU'RE the bad girl... Oh." Maya said, smiling when she saw Walker's grin and realized he was joking. "Feel like helping me screw with everyone else?" Walker shrugged in response.
"Sure, I've got free time." He mounted Brenna, grabbed a long stick, ripped his shirt and made a fake flag, and sang a song of battle as he and Brenna galloped into the sky, leaving a trail of fire as she did so. Maya took this time to fly through the undergrowth, carrying the real flag with her.
(OoC: Jeggy, don't godmod like that. The whole point of Maya's stealing the flag is so EVERYONE gets a fight/chase. Also, she has years of experience AND THE FREAKING WIND ITSELF behind her, that final remark about one girl and her griffin wasn't said in Maya's opinion.)