Half Past

Chapter Three: Boys and Boysenberries.

Helala saunters over to a fallen tree log, grabbing a handful of fjord berries from the straw basket as she sits, a mischievous smile on her face as she begins to eat her breakfast.

I grab some strawberries, taking my seat next to her and she nudges me, sighing dreamily.

"He is SO CUTE!"

"You really need to decide which boy to like."

"I did!"

"Hela."

"Okay, MAYBE I didn't. But it's not something to be worried about; at least I'm not the girl who is too shy to talk to any boys!"

She looks at me pointedly, her berries gone and staining her lips a soft maroon.

I blush, my face bl;ooming, and glance around to make sure no one was watching.

She smirks smugly, and I  lean forward, whacking her shoulder.

"Hey! What was that for?" She says indignantly, and I smile mischievously.

"All the boys who you dumped."

She sticks out her tongue, than breaks into a fit of giggles.

I giggle along with her, but my eyes are scanning the clearing.

 "Thea? What's-"

"One sec, Hel."

I stand, my green eyes narrowed as I casually make my way towards the votros' tent.

The votros were the government of the Woodwings, the secret village in the Creekfish Woods; They trained kids, teens, and adults as warriors, spies.. things that were useful.

I heard a sudden high pitched buzz as I entered the tent, high enough to send me staggering into the tent's canvas walls.

I covered my ears, screwing my eyes shut, until the buzz faded. I opened my eyes to see the five men staring at me in confusion.

"Sorry. Did I interrupt anything?" I ask softly, my face flushing.

Jal, the judge, shook his head, his brow creased in fading confusion.

"No, no, Thea. We were just chatting with this young boy here." He said with a faint smile, gesturing towards the dark corner.

I narrowed my eyes at the shadows as a tall, broad shouldered figure stepped out, its hands reaching back to pull off its cowl.

I gasped as the figure's face came into the light, and the high-pitched buzzing began again- REALLY loudly.

My head pounded as I stared in confusion at the figure. He seemed familiar- why?

"THEA! DOROTHEA!"

Jal's voice processed into my conscience, and I turn, realizing that I was swaying on my feet. I felt the urgent need to remove myself from this tent- which I promptly did.

I turned, staggering out of the tent. The world was spinning, and I collapsed to the ground, everything going black.