Silver Umbrellas

Thirty-Five-- Hitchhikers

"My magic vanishes at sunrise, so it has to stay night for us no matter what."

"Is that true?" Liechtenstein asked, her eyes wide. "You never told me that."

"I guess it wasn't very important earlier," he replied nonchalantly. "I mean, the magic boosters help keep me from getting tired and I'll have plenty of magic to pick everyone up and get us all to Norway. Plus, the more countries we find, the faster the sleigh will go. Remember that power we all have?"

"Oh, the one where the more of us there are, the faster we span longer distances," Miliana said. "Right, right." From her lap, Alice groaned at the noise interrupting her sleep, and the three of them hushed their chatter. It only took a moment for Hawaii to succumb to the temptation of rest, but Liechtenstein wasn't ready to follow her example just yet. 

If anything, she wanted to remain awake for as long as Tino did. 'I'm his partner and navigator. I shouldn't let him carry on alone. So, I'll stay avake until ve get to Norvay. That's no big deal, really. I'm not even tired.'

When Tino looked back at his sleeping passengers, he smiled at the sight of Lili dozing with a protective hand on Yao's shoulder. 'She deserves some rest after everything she's been through' he thought, facing forward again. 'Kiitos, Lili. Sweet dreams, everyone.'

~

"We're almost there," Tino announced gently, waking up Lili, Miliana, and Jared. Both children and Tael continued to sleep deeply-- no, wait. Yao was awake. He sucked in a deep breath and his eyes grew wide.

"This is-- cough cough-- is home," he whispered, and struggled up into a sitting position next to Lili. 

Liechtenstein rubbed one eye with the palm of her hand and mentally berated herself for falling asleep when she had vowed not to. 'Okay, I'll stay avake from now on. I mean it this time!'

The air, believe it or not, was immensely cleaner compared to Oregon's acidic environment. After just a few hours outside of it, Lili could see a definite improvement in the two kids' health: their coughing had decreased if just slightly, and their high fevers didn't impair them nearly as much as they had before. With progress like this, they should recover very quickly! That was some of the best news all night.

With both hands gripping the ornate raised side of the bench, Yao looked down at the landscape flying by far, far below their feet, and a wide smile broke out across his face. This was his country. He was back after two years without a single connection to his home. Despite his illness, he could feel strength returning to his body and soul, lifting his spirits to the stars above.

Even though it was home, though, something definitely felt different. The air was clean, sure, but all too soon the ground was as dry as a desert. Sand dunes? Was that a canyon over there? And where were all the people? 

'Oh, my' Liechtenstein thought, biting her lower lip gently and glancing between the young boy beside her and the changed land he was staring out over.

In the driver's seat, Finland lifted a perturbed eyebrow and banked left, putting the canyon in front of them. 'They're changing position abnormally quickly... I wonder what's going on.'

The canyon walls cut off their moonlight and plunged everyone into darkness, but Tino didn't dare turn on any lights just yet. Too risky, and he didn't need lights to find the two nations he was closing in on. 

"Nobody say a word," he ordered, silencing the sleigh bells with a wave of his hand. "Be cautious."

No one was asleep anymore, and they complied with his order anxiously while casting little furtive glances every which way. Alice drew closer to her sister, who put a protective arm around her and fixed the blanket that had fallen off the little girl's shoulders. Jared and Tael had been sleeping with their backs touching so they could support one another without falling over, and awake they remained in that pose to keep watch in both directions.