Where Ya' Rowing, Rowan North?

Chapter Seven: I'm Running Out of Title Ideas

To be honest, our totally uneventful breakfast wasn’t really worth mentioning. So I’ll skip to the part where we head out towards the waterfall.

The day was clear, the sky a brilliant dark blue, like an endless sapphire. Jynx was leading us forward, towards the farthest edge of the school property.

“Are we almost there?” Harmony sighed, flopping down against the emerald-green grass.

“We’ll get there when we get there.” Lily muttered through clenched teeth. “Just be patient.”

We were nearing what looked like a small forest, the sunlight shining through the early spring leaves. Without hesitating, I followed my friends through the brambles that outlined the edge of the forest, stepping into a patch of poison ivy and letting out an anxious squeak. “P-poison...” I choked nervously. Little Dragon waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it, Rowan. And also, that was just regular ivy, not poison.” With that, she shrank down into a squirrel, and took to following the rest of us from the treetops. I sighed, wishing that I could join her up there. A breeze, cool and quiet and carrying the smell of blooming flowers, rattled the top branches. I caught sight of a nest above us, where a massive mocking jay sat, asleep with its head tucked under one bright blue wing.

“This place is pretty cool, to be on school grounds.” I murmured appreciatively. “Actually, this place is pretty cool wherever you are.” Luna turned around, grinning.

“I know! But really, wait until you see the waterfall. Thats the best part.” She looked down thoughtfully, and then added, “But you know, the caves here are pretty cool too. And if you come out at night (its against the rules but its a little rule, so you won’t get in trouble) you can-”

“Stop it, Luna, you’re going to ruin all of the surprises!” Lily scowled, then broke off muttering furiously to herself and trying to drag Harmony away from what appeared to be a hornet’s nest. She glared down at the shorter girl. “No, Harmony. I really do think we should get you a leash.” Harmony blinked up, smiling innocently like she couldn’t care less.

A sudden crash of noise in the bracken made my head shoot up. A hawk, with beautiful red and pale brown feathers, crashed past us and tumbled to a stop several feet ahead on the path, ruffling its feathers and blinking up at us in shock. I took a step back, trembling with surprise. “Hi Chase.” Dragon muttered, dropping down from the treetops. “’Sup?”

When I turned back around, the hawk was gone. In its place stood (or, rather, sat, legs splayed out) a tall, athletic looking girl with reddish-brown hair, looking several years older than us. She had a puzzled look on her face. Shaking her head, she pulled herself up. “Heya, little children.” Chase muttered, rubbing her head. “On your way to the waterfall this fine day?”

“Yup.” Lily said, leaning against a tree with a yawn. “Why do you ask?”

Chase grinned. “A bunch of boys from the school visiting the arena today are sort of... intruding.” She grinned. “So we’re kicking their lazy bums across the campus. Wanna help?”

“Duh!” Jynx cried, punching hard at a tree, which snapped like a twig. “Lets go!” Following Chase, she took of running into the forest, followed by the rest of us. I grinned at the though of another go trying out my new skills, and stretched my wings out eagerly.

I winced as my wingtips made contact with something solid. “Ouch!” Dragon’s voice snapped behind me.

“Sorry ‘bout that!” I cried as I plunged out of the woods and into a small, bright clearing. As my eyes adjusted to the sudden light, I saw a long, fairly wide creek etching its way across the sandy ground, eventually committing suicide and plunging downward, the ground sloping with it. All around us, shrieks and laughs broke through the roar of rushing water. Boys and girls alike were fighting on the sandy shoreline, shoving each other into the water, and laughing as they watched their opponent thrash wildly against the force of the current.