71

Chapter 93

"AAAHHHH!" I scream when I open my eyes after a restless night's sleep, enjoying the sun's warmth on my skin and the birds chirping in the forest, looking forward to seeing the grass and the trees again, to be sure they're real- And instead waking up to Coal's face right up to my eye, so my half-sleeping mind thinks he's some sort of creature trying to kill me.
He falls over with laughing so hard, and I hit him repeatedly with a blanket. "Not. FUNNY!"
"Yeah," He chokes out. There are tears of laughter sparkling in his eyes. "It is!"
I hit him one more time for good measure, and then I see everybody turned and staring, silent, at the two of us. Right.
A cool breeze rustles the leaves in the forest. Sir Blarg moans and rolls over in his slumber. I try to focus, try to remember what all these people are waiting for. I'm trying to maintain my leader-ly image that never existed. Coal hits me from behind with a blanket.
"Oh, it's ON!" I shriek, whirling underneath the next swing and grabbing a pack of spare clothes or something from the top of the storage mound. I bring it back and send it hurtling towards Coal's face with a satisfying THUMP!
Blinking and looking slightly stunned, he recovers before I can grab another projectile and catches the pack as it falls to the ground, and next thing I know I'm lying on the ground, wondering how I got there.
"Victory!" He whispers in my ear, suddenly too close, and then his face is over mine again, and he's grinning, and when he kisses me I hit him over the head with something heavy nearby, then I roll backwards in a somersault and come up on my feet, baring a waded up blanket like a weapon.
"You did so not just do that." He growls, grinning fiercely at the challenge, and next thing we're whirling around, beating each other with blankets and packs and whatever we can get our hands on, laughing like maniacs.
"I did, actually." I giggle hysterically, dodging his swipe and landing a solid hit in his back, making him stumble forward. "Wait, I'm gonna do it again."
And, panting with exhilaration, I whirl behind him and place both hands on his neck, blowing softly in his ear, then, when his shoulders relax, gently toeing him in the back of the knee, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Somebody just lost," I smile evilly down at him, and he blinks in stunned surprise, then the grin returns to his face and he's getting to his feet with another bag in his hand, and-
"ENOUGH!" Glass roars, hands outspread like he can keep us apart. As if.
"Ash," He turns to glare at me, and suddenly the energy leaves me, and the wound in my side is pulsating again, and the pain almost makes me throw up. "What is the meaning of this nonsense?"
All I can think of for an intelligent answer is mostly 'ummm...', but Coal steps up to Glass- even the wolf-boy has to look up to Glass's gangly height.
"It's my fault, Sir." He says honestly, and I'm trying to think of who's fault it actually is... Kind of both of ours. "I started it."
Glass blinks, then rubs his chin with the back of his hand, seemingly pondering something.
"Very well. But you both ought to be ashamed of yourselves. This sort of unruly, childish behavior will get us nowhere, hear?"
We both nod solemnly.
"Let's get moving, then." Glass rubs his eyes, shaking his head tiredly. "A-And clean up this mess-"
His sentence is cut short by the pillow. It soars through the air and WHAM! Nails him right in the back of the head. He blinks, mouth opening and closing like a fish gulping for air, and whirls looking about wildly.
"Who-" Another pillow hits him from the other direction, and he spins around, searching for the culprit, face growing redder by the second.
"C'mon, dear husband!" The voice I least expected to hear calls out, sweet but taunting. "Relax!"
Hour grabs one of the pillows off the ground at her husband's feet, and hits him from behind before he can comprehend what happened.
"Whaa...?" Is all he manages to get out, before I'm on the ground again.
"Yeah," Coal hastily hides the bag behind his back, looking about innocently, and he offers his hand to me like he has no idea what hit me. "Chillax, bro!" I take the hand and yank him down next to me, pressing my hands on his shoulders, wary of the wounds on his chest, pinning him down.
"Bro?" I laugh doubtingly.
"Yeah," He struggles, but I know he's faking it for my sake, because he can get up easily if he wants to- I don't weight that much. "You know, brother, bro, same difference."
"Okay," I begin, but he gently places his hands on my arms, and stands, pulling me up as well. "What's the word for sister?"
"I don't know," He shrugs, ducking when a pack zooms over his head.
I see Joe joining the fight, heaving a bag at Glass's back. "Sis?"
"Oy!" I hoist a thick pack over my shoulder, and fling it as far as I can at Glade, where he's just waking up, and staring at the chaos in utter disbelief, probably wondering if he's still dreaming or not.
I duck a random duffle-bag, and turn to face Coal, who's still wincing from where it hit him instead.
I feel the breeze in my ear, and leap up in the air, flipping, airborne, over the heavy pack, and landing with it in my hands, where I launch it discus-style at Stomp, who's standing like an idiot in the middle of all the pandemonium. Then I turn back to Coal.
He grins, pulling me out of the way of another soaring article which we'll probably need eventually. Unconsciously, my hand rests against my stomach, pressing against the hole in my side, which pangs again, and he sees my expression.
"No more excitement for you." He mutters to me.
I obediently drop to the ground to avoid being nailed by a flying sack, and look up at the whirling world. The rebels are spinning and- grinning. Yes, Glass is actually smiling, while feathers fly out of the ruined pillow his wife is still hammering him with, his glasses all askew. Joe gleefully leaps through the flying debris, pelting a confused Bugs with random articles. Pops, with his dark, sinister hood and deformed arms, laughing like a maniac while he pummels a murderous-looking Shiver with a bag. Glade skulks and looks grumpy in the corner as usual, trying not to participate.
Coal still looks concerned about my wound, and I think of a way to change the subject. The fight is about to die down, and I don't want to be here when it does.
"Let's go, Coal." I say while he's distracted and looking at the battle, wondering if he should join or defend me, and I lead him off into the Wold, where the bright sunlight of the day is broken and fractured by the canopy far above.