noun ~ a four-wheeled road vehicle run by a motor engine, that can carry a small number of people

Six hours.

We were six hours into the journey. Charlie had been complaining the last ten minutes about his lack of stomach contents. To be fair, it was nearing two o'clock and I was starting to get hungry from my lack of breakfast. We diverted to a 'human' town; Charlie had said that no one runs this land, but the King does own it in his own rights; the humans just don't know he is a supernatural being.

Pulling the sleeked out car into double spaces had us receiving a lot of over-curious glances. It was a fairly busy town, people strolling around as they carried out their daily errands or went for a walk. Being lunchtime, as soon as my door opened I could smell nothing but the mixture of dishes.

Oh yeah, my door was child-locked. Apparently, it was Charlie making sure I 'didn't escape or get kidnapped.'

"Ready Nova?" He grinned as I stepped onto the concrete below my feet.

I nodded, eyeing the area with suspicion. "You paid for parking?"

He rolled his eyes. "Pollux is doing it right now."

I looked over the car to find Pollux stood at a pay point, pulling a receipt from the machine. I nodded in approval and wrapped my coat tighter around me. He approached the car and handed it to Charlie who placed it on the dash before locking the doors.

"Who's hungry?" He grinned.

"I think we established you," Pollux grunted.

Charlie laughed, making no further comment as his arm came to wrap around mine. I frowned up at him, wondering what he was doing but he ignored me and walked me through the small car park and down a path.

We came across a nice-looking restaurant, and Charlie's eyes widened with delight as he dragged me inside. I cast a look to Pollux who was a few feet behind us, making sure he was keeping up with Charlie's eagerness.

"Hi, welcome to The Cosy Corner, table for three?" A wide-smiling woman greeted us.

Charlie responded and we followed her to a booth table sat by the window. I was pushed into the window seat, Charlie beside me and Pollux opposite. At least I wouldn't have to look at Charlie eat; his habits were almost as bad as Sean's when he wasn't at an important dinner.

The waitress handed us our menus and explained how we order before leaving us to it. I allowed Celimene to scout the area, waking her from her slumber to keep on alert. She deemed it okay, full of humans and two faes in the far corner who stayed to themselves.

We all fell into silence as we chose our meals. I went for something light, only being halfway through the journey I didn't want to overdo my sensitive stomach.

Charlie had decided on some kind of triple deluxe burger with fries and onion rings and I internally groaned at his choice. I was definitely sitting behind Pollux in the car; he had chosen a chicken burger with only fries. I went for a BLT sandwich with crisps and a coke. Charlie gave us a warning glare before he retreated to order and use the bathroom.

Just me and my twin.

"So, Pollux, have you ever been here before?" I wondered.

His eyes flashed to mine, his attention previously on the people working behind the till. "This restaurant? No, but I have been to this town."

"Oh yeah? When was that?" I asked.

He hummed, leaning back in the booth seat. "I'd say about a year ago."

"What did you come here for?" I cocked my head.

"I would just like to visit places." He shrugged. "I like to learn as much as I can... It's like a little hobby of mine."

"Did you find anything interesting?"

"Not really." He frowned. "They pretty much live the same as us. Just with more cars, more waste. In the bigger cities, even nudity is on par with us."

We laughed just as the waitress came to hand us our drinks. I thanked her politely, taking my fizzy drink as Pollux took his own. Charlie had gone for a coffee, and it sat waiting for his arrival. I wonder what he was getting up to in there, he had been gone longer than he usually takes.

"What about you?" Pollux suddenly asked, placing his glass down.

"Hmm?" I asked, turning back to him.

"Do you have any hobbies?" He asked.

"What is this, first dates?" Charlie's voice laughed as he sat back beside me.

Pollux rolled his eyes. "We shared a womb, the least I can do on this heinous journey is get to know her better."

I giggled at their equally annoyed expressions before deciding to answer Pollux myself. "Well, I like plants, like a lot. I like to garden and stuff. Phoenix gave me an old patch on the eastern field, you've probably seen it, but it was overrun. Alex and I shaped it back up before I got to planting. All of the vegetables we have eaten since summer have come from my garden."

"I enjoy nature too. But not so much the dirt." He smirked.

"I don't mind the dirt. You tend to not realise it." I grinned. "But most of my hobbies are messy."

Charlie snorted on his coffee, letting out a choked sound as it went up his nose. I turned to him with a glare, crossing my arms on the table as I waited for his childish response. He swallowed loudly, eyes widening as they caught sight of mine.

"Something funny, Charlie?" I wondered.

He shook his head, placing his coffee on its saucer. "Nothing at all. I just bet Phoenix loves your messy hobbies."

I frowned at him but Pollux beat me to the punch.

"At least he's getting some."

My eyes widened, my cheeks expanding with air as the come back settled into Charlie's ears. His eyes widened, mouth opening with an empty retort. I burst out laughing, my hand clapping over my mouth to drown out the sounds as he began to pout.

"Don't worry Charlie," I mused. "Phoenix enjoys them very much."

Despite his bruised ego, he managed to give me a smirk. "I bet he does."

I laughed again, turning to Pollux to find him with an overly smug look on his face.

"I like art. That is what I was referring to."

"Oh yeah, I know about that." He chuckled, shaking his head. "The whole vision thing..."

A silence crept over us as his words hung in the air.

"Do you think I will find my answers about that?" I asked quietly.

He shrugged, eying the staff entrance to the kitchen. "I think we will find out some, hopefully... I hope they don't keep things from us."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I have visited Cyrus pack less than a handful of times in the past few years... Not one of those times did they mention much of our parents, or that you even existed." He sighed.

"What did they mention then?"

His lips remained sealed and I turned to see what he was staring at to come to find the waitress bringing our meals. Mine and Pollux's were first and I gave a triumphant grin to Charlie as he had to wait. He tried to steal a crisp but I slapped his hand away easily. He huffed, eagerly staring at the swinging door for his food.

Once that was brought out and he dug in, I turned back to Pollux. He swallowed a fry, licking his before he spoke.

"They were just happy I was still alive. They thought I was dead along with mother." He shrugged.

I frowned. "But, surely they would've found your body."

"She was burned, barely much there for them to find." He pointed, taking a bite of his burger.

I chewed on my food lazily, my brain lulling over the conversation. Were there genuinely no remains left? Were there just piles of ash? Did they incline that we were even alive? I have never wanted to have another vision, as I did right now...

But how much did they know and how much were they willing to teach? Samson seemed to know more than he let on, but I think my best bet may be Aldren. His wolf had bonded to mine, saw me as family long before the human side did.

We sat the remainder of the meal in easy silence. The occasional chatter was passed around, and we left the restaurant with a hefty tip, laughing about Pollux's retort to Charlie. We walked into a convenience store next, stocking up on drinks and yet more snacks for the journey. I sought out a puzzle book, the one I brought with me, I had already completed half of them and fancied something different.

Once we paid, we walked the five minutes back to the car. When we got there, Charlie let out an exasperated moan, hands full of goodies from the store still. He unlocked the car and threw his contents onto the backseat and I stepped around him to see what had him so worked up. A large yellow sticker in a plastic film was stuck to the window.

"Why man!" He groaned, ripping it from the glass.

"Maybe they didn't appreciate your parking skills." Pollux teased.

Charlie growled at him but climbed into the car. I giggled slightly, pushing the food to the driver's side before getting in behind Pollux. Charlie huffed as he started the car, pulling his seatbelt on with a grimace.

"I blame Phoenix for giving me a big car."

Pollux smirked, "You know what they say, big car, small di-"

Charlie growled, cutting off his sentence. "Don't. I am in charge here."

Pollux grinned innocently at him, buckling his seatbelt with ease before looking back to me. "All good back there, sis?"

I nodded, pulling out my new puzzle book and pen. "Yep. All good."

"Then let's go, Beta." He laughed.

Charlie huffed but pulled out of his spot and back onto the main road. They continued to bicker but I chose to drown them out with the sound of music through my headphones. Choosing shuffle, I opened my book to find myself face to face with a crossword. Scrolling through a few of the clues, I found my breath stalling at one in particular.

I laughed slightly, the absurdity of it being found in this book, the one I chose today, was way too much a coincidence.

Across

17: legendary bird/Arizona. (7)

I shook my head, smiling fondly as I wrote his name in the blanks. I chewed the pen, staring at the way his name looked on paper. I tried the bond, pushing my energy into finding him. It was faint, the link, but I could just about feel him. He was working out somewhere, the memory of his lunch not long ago on his mind. He paused from lifting some weights, placing them on the bench as he breathed heavily.

Nova?

I chewed my lip. Hi, can you hear me okay?

It's faint, but just about. Where are you? Are you okay?

I nodded, showing him a brief flash of my lunchtime. I'm okay. I just saw something in a puzzle that reminded me of you.

Why 'cause I'm puzzling? He teased, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Because I miss you.

He sighed. I miss you too baby. I love you. Thank you for trying to reach me, don't strain yourself. It's hard on your mind from such far a distance.

I rolled my eyes. I'm fine. I'm a strong wolf.

He laughed. I don't doubt that. But I am serious.

Well, I suppose I will leave you to work out...

Thank you, my love. Get Charlie to phone me when you arrive, I will be expecting his phone call that you are okay. He breathed. In about an hour or so, it will be almost impossible for us to talk this way.

Okay, I will. I sighed, my heart aching at having to say goodbye. I love you, I will talk to you later.

I love you too, thank you, Nova. Talk soon as, be safe.

I felt the link sever as I released my hold on it. Blinking back into the present, I found my chest tight and my head pounding with a headache. I groaned, wincing as it pressed against my skull. Charlie eyed me concerned from the driver's seat.

"Did you just link Phoenix?" He asked, hands tightening on the steering wheel.

I nodded, frowning. "Yeah..."

"That's not good for your mind." He sighed.

I would've rolled my eyes if my head wasn't in so much pain. "So I've been told."

"I suggest you sleep it off." He smiled sadly. "It's not going to go away any time soon."

I winced but nodded, choosing to lay on the back seat and close my eyes. It felt like a pulsating heat in my brain, a tightness that ached with every movement of my eyes or jaw. I breathed steady, relaxing into the leather of the seats and I wished for it to go away.

I will talk to him soon. I told myself. I will see him sooner than I think.

•••

Hey hey! Little in between chapter before they arrive at their destination

Question of the Day:
Do you have a favourite Christmas song?

wc: 2246

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