Sophie
Sophie quickly found the stables. The wooden structure was old and looked ready to fall apart at any moment, but when she touched one of the walls, it felt sturdy.
She beckoned Keefe over to the side of the stables. He swiftly crouched down beside her as she peered over the edge.
"See that person?" She pointed to a man in front of the stables. "You're going to distract him."
"Wait why me?"
"Because I have a feeling you will be more entertaining." She grabbed a Blinker, something Dex had made. It allowed the wearer to turn invisible, or camouflage with their surroundings. She clasped it on her wrist, making it look like a normal friendship bracelet. She rummaged in her pockets and found another for the horse she was going to borrow.
"Foster, can you please tell me what you're doing? And what the heck that is?" He pointed to the bracelet.
"This is a Blinker. No time to say what it's for. And basically, I'm going to go in to get us a horse while you're making friendly conversation with that guy."
"And this is why you are the brains of the operation," Keefe said. "Where do you even come up with these plans?"
"In my brain." She made sure her dagger was securely in her boot. "Ok, in three, two-"
She stopped abruptly and glanced around them.
"Did you hear that?" Keefe asked, voicing her thoughts.
There was a rustling in the trees, so small only a skilled eye could have caught it. Then a girl their age tumbled out.
"Foster, abort mission," Keefe whispered. "We have been caught. I repeat-"
"What are you guys doing in my spot?" the girl asked. Her ice blue eyes glared accusingly at them.
Sophie took in the girl's appearance. The girl's blond hair was dirty and looked like it hadn't been brushed for days. Her clothes were torn and it was almost impossible to tell their original color. She was too skinny to be healthy.
"Your spot?" Keefe asked. "What do you mean, your spot?"
The girl crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I-"
"You ran away, didn't you?" Sophie interrupted. Panic flitted across the girl's features for a split second, confirming Sophie's suspicions.
"No, I-"
"There's no use denying it. It's obvious."
"Don't worry, we won't snitch," Keefe added. "As long as you don't rat us out."
The girl cocked her eyebrow. "Why are you doing this?"
"We just want to help," Sophie said. And she was telling the truth. She couldn't imagine the struggles this girl must have gone through. She desperately wanted to help her.
"What can you even do to help me?" She looked at Sophie and Keefe warily.
"A lot," Keefe said. He leaned against the stable wall, shifting into a more comfortable position.
"Trust us," Sophie put in. "We can help a lot more than you think."
The girl closed her eyes for a minute, then sat down beside Sophie. "My name's Marella Redek. I don't trust you, but whatever you two have to offer is better than my life right now. It can't get any worse. And that's all I'm telling you." She glared at the ground.
Sophie wanted to know what had made Marella run away, but she knew better than to pry. Instead she nodded and put her hand on Marella's shoulder.
"Stay here," Sophie said. "Keefe's going to cause a distraction, and I'm going to get us some horses."
"Horses? I thought you guys were smart," Marella said dryly. She gave them a pointed look.
"Our car exploded," Keefe said with a straight face. Marella burst out laughing, but when she saw that Keefe was serious, her jaw dropped.
"What?! How does that happen?" she asked incredulously.
"Bomb." He imitated a bomb exploding. "Boom."
"I am starting to regret my life choices," Marella said.
"We all are," Sophie agreed. "Now, Keefe, go up to that guy."
Keefe
Keefe tried to look like he was coming from the front entrance as he walked to the person Sophie had pointed to.
"Hi!" he exclaimed.
"Hello." The man gave him a tight smile. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm a bit lost. Could you tell me where to find Atlantis?" Keefe smirked, trying to stifle his laugh.
"Well, that's in another state." The man blinked in confusion.
"No, the island."
"The island is a myth. It's not real. Listen, are you okay?"
"My name's Beef, what's yours?" He snickered silently to himself.
"Jurek. And Beef?"
"My parents hate me." Keefe noticed Sophie suddenly turning into air. He saw the door to the stables creak slightly.
"They seriously named you that?"
Keefe shrugged. "Why are you asking me?"
"I dunno, you know your parents better than me." Jurek started to turn around, but Keefe quickly stopped him. He grabbed the older man's arm in an attempt to keep him facing Keefe.
"Uh, wanna hear a joke?"
"What?"
Oh boy. This was going to be harder than Keefe originally thought.
Sophie
Sophie tiptoed through the stables. Most of the stalls were empty, their only residents being hay, but at the far end, she could hear some snorts.
The last two stables held the most beautiful horses Sophie had ever seen. The first was a silvery white horse. Her brown eyes were soft and curious. She whinnied excitedly at Sophie. The nameplate on her stall door said 'Silveny.' The second was a bigger horse. He had a bluish tinge to his silver fur. According to his nameplate, his name was Greyfell.
Sophie opened Silveny's stall door, making the least sound possible. The horse cocked her head to the side, intrigued.
"Hey, girl," Sophie said softly. "Are you ready for an adventure?"
Silveny's eyes twinkled with excitement, and she reared up on her hind legs. Sophie's eyes widened, and she hastily placed a comforting hand on the horse's mane.
"Can you please do me a favor and make no noise?" she begged.
Silveny did not whinny or snort, which Sophie took as her answer. She smiled gratefully at the gorgeous horse, although Silveny couldn't see her because she was invisible.
She grabbed some gear hanging off some hooks drilled into the wall. She put a bridal on Silveny. Pulling the horse by the reins, she slowly led the mare through the stables. As she got closer to the doorway, Keefe's voice got louder.
"Excuse me, old man, but Atlantis is legit. It's real," he sassed. "Unlike you."
Sophie had to hold back her snort. She couldn't believe Keefe was actually arguing with the man about Atlantis, of all things.
"Ok, honestly, you're just a kid, but-"
"I have this theory," Keefe continued, "that elves sank Atlantis so that they could stay in hiding."
"Now, that's just bull-"
"Watch yo profanity!"
Sophie covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from laughing. She shook her head, and tried to concentrate on sneaking Silveny out of the stables without the man noticing.
She poked her head out and saw that the man had his back to her. Keefe was arguing passionately with him, and Sophie had a feeling he wasn't exactly acting. Keefe winked in her direction, as if he knew she was there.
"Why did you wink?" The man's tone was suspicious. "Is this a prank?"
"No. Dude, Atlantis existed. Face the facts."
"Seriously? What facts?"
Sophie walked along the side of the stable's outer wall. She tugged gently on the reins, urging Silveny to go faster. Finally, she reached Marella's spot. The girl's blue eyes were wide with shock.
"You actually got us a horse?" she whispered furiously.
"Well, I could not think of anything else! Now, watch Silveny while I get Greyfell." She gave Marella no time to protest, for she was already halfway through the stable doors.
She made her way back to Greyfell, who gave her a hostile look. She opened his door. Immediately, he snorted angrily at her. Sophie put her hands in front of herself to show that she meant no harm. An idea occurred to her, then. It was something Keefe would probably do, but it was worth trying.
She remembered a certain scene from the movie 'How to Train Your Dragon,' and decided to reenact it. She hovered her hand in front of Greyfell's muzzle, and turned away with her eyes closed. A long few seconds passed. Then she felt his nose nuzzling against her hand. She smiled at the sign of trust.
A few moments later, Greyfell was all bridled up and following Sophie.
"Atlantis. Is. Just. A. Myth. Face it, Beef!"
"Is it your job to ruin a young child's fantasy? Are you like, the Atlantis Grinch?"
"You're a teenager, and no, I'm not-"
"And it's real! All myths have a little bit of truth in them. You just gotta beeeeelieeeeve."
Sophie took Greyfell to where Silveny and Marella already were. Marella blinked at the second horse, then sighed in exasperation.
"Who even are you people?" Marella muttered under her breath, but Sophie still heard it. She bit her lip, knowing that she owed Marella an explanation later. But now was not the time.
She made herself visible again, and signaled for Keefe to stop.
"We're ready," she whispered.