Awakenings Pt. 03

They took a breath, hand in hand, Sabrina's muzzle pointing over it -- and continued by. The torn-up earth defining the border was left behind, her wings flapping harder than ever, David struggling to keep pace with her. He laughed, yet her words were whipped away by the wind as they kept going, the area that they flew over halfway to becoming a desert, though it was still, presently, the sort of scrubland where smaller animals flourished, though he had heard that tribes of lions had moved in there. With the changing climates and microclimates in the world, it was sometimes hard to keep track of what lay where, though those travelling under such circumstances could only do their best. It had likely arisen into scrubland, anyway, due to human activity and overuse, even if nature would reclaim it and dry it out, all in time.

"Ahead."

Sabrina drew his attention, his breath catching, though he had to quiet himself, not to allow his pulse to race, steadying his breath. The dragoness did not appear fearful, but a group of Superhumans under any circumstances would have been cause for concern. They moved in and out of one another in flight, not allowing them to see how many of them there were, David's eyes narrowing.

They'd been spotted; there was no point in trying to avoid them. Sabrina's large wings cupped and scooped the air, however, as they hovered, awaiting whatever fate it was that was to meet them, though they would have found a more powerful Titan on their hands than reckoned if they chose to attack. For once, despite his trepidation, David was not particularly concerned for their safety.

The gang paused, a mix of flying Titans and Kinetics -- nothing unusual there. Their eyes flickered to Sabrina repeatedly and he had to hold himself back from moving forward, to block their view. To aggravate someone that he did not even know, yet, whether they were friend or foe, would have been irresponsible at best. Drawing as little attention to themselves as possible was the best way to go, considering what he knew of the Rogue States.

"Hello!" One shouted, hands cupped to his face: a Kinetic standing on a floating disk of ice, who they could only assume was their leader. "I presume you've not been here before... Are you tourists? Come down here to see the sights? Or is it that you're immigrants, wanting to keep your head down and lie low, hm?"

Someone behind him snickered, leaving David no more the wiser as to whether tourism to the Rogue States was a thing or not.

"Uh... No. No... Not tourists, definitely not. The last two though?"

He shook his head. Best to go for the truth -- or a version of the truth. Sabrina growled, eyes locked onto the largest Titan of the group, a dragon like her but one that surely would not be able to match up to her strength if they did go head to head. Quieting her softly, he squeezed her hand.

"We need to escape," David confessed, half-shrugging. "Things went bad, she had a bad awakening... We need somewhere to lie low. Is that something we can get here?"

The apparent leader of their small band smiled tightly, though the warmth of the smile did not reach his eyes.

"Yeah, I get that. We get about two of you a week here."

The Kinetic rocked back on his heels, the floating ice disc somehow not melting despite the apparent warmth around them, a radio pressed to his face. He spoke rapidly into it, David and Sabrina not able to catch his words, though they didn't need to.

"Alright," he said, addressing them once again, his voice taking on a dull, bored edge as if it was all so much that he had said time after time before. "Head on through. If you cause too much trouble, the bosses will have you killed, your family or next of kin will not be notified."

He spun, the ice disk turning him back the way the group had come.

"Head that way, about twenty miles. It'll be nothing flying. The closest city is that way. And I do hope you enjoy your stay with us!"

His band laughed, the Kinetic smirking as if he had said something particularly funny.

"Chavis, you are a hoot!"

But all David and Sabrina could do was, to the best of their ability and with many curious eyes still on Sabrina's body, nod and continue. He kept an eye behind while Sabrina guided them, though they were not followed, even if they were watched.

Their journey was set to continue, though the first city they would inhabit in the Rogue States lay not far away. After all that had taken place so far, David didn't want to think of what came next.

But they had to go anyway.