As Aru joined her friends on the other side of the portal, she sneaked a glance at Aiden. He looked downcast as he stared at his feet, and Aru nearly made a move to go and apologize, but something inside her stopped her. She had a feeling that they were just going to get into another argument if she went over and talked to him.
Aru sighed out loud and looked around. The portal had deposited them to a small town that Aru couldn't remember the name of for the life of her. According to Brynne, they were only a ten minute walk away from Kara's house. Unlike Atlanta, the place that they had arrived at in California was bright and sunny at the moment. Tall, green trees provided plenty of shade and a cool breeze tickled the back of her neck.
Brynne clapped loudly, grabbing everyone's attention as she hefted her drawstring bag a little higher on her shoulders.
"Alright everyone! Follow me so y'all don't get lost."
Rudy raised his hand. "Can you carry my suitcases for me, Brynne?"
"Suitcases?" she asked, confused. "What suit-oh."
The air in the space right next to Rudy shimmered, and suddenly, three garish-looking, huge, stuffed suitcases appeared. Aru gawked at it. Who needs that many things on a quest?!
Brynne sighed and pinched her nose, copying Aiden's habit. "Rudy...you can't bring that many things. What's even in there?"
Rudy shrugged and looked up at the blue sky. He started to count on his fingers and murmured, "Clothes, my musical gemstones, hair products, more clothes, and did I mention clothes?"
Aiden stared at him. "Yes. Yes, you did. Many times."
Aru and her friends, except for Rudy, shared knowing glances with each other. Brynne and Aiden suddenly grabbed the suitcases and began opening them, sorting whatever they deemed to be necessary and unnecessary (hint: there was a lot in the unnecessary pile), while Aru and Mini held Rudy back. Nikita clicked her tongue disapprovingly at the sight of Rudy's choice of clothes, while Sheela watched on with a serene expression, occasionally nodding to a passing stranger nearby who gave them weird looks.
Sheela shrugged and pointed at Rudy. "He has a bit of a hoarding problem," she stage-whispered to one particular stranger, to which they quickly ran off.
"NOOO!" wailed Rudy, as Brynne tossed something else aside. "That was in the newest line of the Nucci summer clothing collection!"
After a couple minutes, Brynne stuffed whatever was in the necessary pile into one of the suitcases. It didn't even fill half of the bag. She shut it with a satisfying click, and dusted her hands off. "Alright. Let's get going now!"
Aru nodded. "Yeah, let's go. I wonder if Kara has anything to eat at her place."
Brynne grinned. "Yes! Finally, someone who speaks my language! Food, here we come!" She rubbed her belly and eagerly picked up her pace.
Mini jogged to keep up. "Brynne! We're going there to get Kara on board with this quest! Not for food!"
"But still!" Brynne emphasized. "Food is important!"
"That's true," Mini murmured. "You'll die if you don't eat." She launched into a huge explanation of the importance of nutrition, and Aru quickly tuned her out.
Aru and the rest of the Potatoes walked along the sidewalk in a straight path (well, except for Rudy. Aiden had to drag him as he lamented for his disposed items.)
After a couple minutes, Brynne led them towards a corner, and right before them, was a single family house.