Flame ▪ Harry Hook

III. 05

Hayden's jaw dropped as the group made their way through Ben's castle; she had never seen anything so massive and fancy before. She looked around in wonder as she followed everyone else, not noticing the grin Harry had while watching her.

"Ben!" Mal called out once again as they appraoched corner behind the talking dog. "Haha! This way" Dude called as he rounded the corner. The group followed after him, stopping at the end of the hall. "Ben could be asleep anywhere" Mal complained.

"Or turned to stone" Celia stated, standing next to the purple-haired girl. Hayden turned to look at her, sending her a warning glance. "Okay" Evie said, reaching around the girl and placing a hand on her mouth to stop her from saying anything more. "Ben!" Mal called again.

"I got a scent. Very pungent cologne. Easy to track. Follow me people" Dude interrupted. He was now sitting on the floor opposite the group, staring back at them. "That's great Dude" Jay stated.

"FYI, I give great cuddles too" Dude informed. Everyone laughed lightly at this and Hayden grinned once again. "Really? I never had a pet growing up. Well, except got the elk head in Dad's man cave, but that wasn't really-" Gil began, a happy smile on his face.

"Hold up. What's this?" Uma cut in, placing a hand on the wall and running it along the big claw marks that were carved into it, slashing through a painting as well. "Uh... any chance this was already there?" Carlos asked, pointing at the wall as he approached while Mal sighed.

"And follow me" Dude interrupted, turning down another hall. The group followed after him once again although they were somewhat more wary this time. "Ben! Ben!" Mal continued to call as she pushed open two massive doors.

"Ben! Ben!" she continued as everyone dispersed into the room. Hayden followed Harry as he approached an armour stand by the wall. "Stay here, okay?" Evie said to Celia, wanting to keep her safe.

"I can feel you looking" Harry stated as he ran his finger up one of the swords. Hayden rolled her eyes at the two boys but said nothing. "Good" Jay said, leaning forward more.

"So you can track, cuddle and talk" Gil stated, kneeling down in front of Dude. "Hey, do you think his puppes would be able to talk too?" he then asked, turning to face Carlos.

"Alright man" Carlos said, walking towards Gil and hitting his shoulder. "He's taken. You want a dog, adopt a rescue" he suggested. Hayden couldn't help but snort at the boy's slight jealousy. "Talking puppies, that's crazy" Dude laughed before Celia called him over.

Evie began to step up onto the platform as Mal and Uma walked around it on opposite sides. "I bet you lost some sleep thinking about me on the loose, huh?" Uma asked.

Evie jumped off of the podium while the rest of the group began to follow behind the girls towards the other end of the room. "No. Dragons don't really lose sleep" she stated before stopping in her tracks. "I wonder what fried octopus tastes like" she continued.

"Okay, why don't we not do this?" Evie asked, coming between the two. Hayden grimaced slightly but said nothing and instead leaned into Harry's side. "We're celebrating our differences" Uma replied blandly.

Before anything else was said, the suit of armour in front of the group suddenly turned to face both Harry and Hayden. The blue-haired girls eyes widened in shock as Harry's arm slowly dropped from her shoulder. "I believe we're being challenged" he stated, holding a hand out to Uma.

"Let's split up and look for Audrey" Uma suggested, moving Harry's hand aside without paying attention to what he had said. "That makes absolutely no sense. Unless you give me my ember she's gonna spell you" Mal said with frustration.