On the Horizon

Chapter Two: New in Town

As they entered Pahazi, they returned to their human forms. Ani Halvor led the way, Alasdair bringing up the rear. Even though darkness had fallen, the city was busy as ever. Poor Colo had his hands full keeping track of Coralie; she was so fluffed, darting here and there as she tried to take in everything at once. Asaka wasn't much better.

As for Ezuni, he felt overwhelmed. Other than a brief visit to Bahara last Thunder, he had never left Mahazi. Gone was the wonder and innocence of his early childhood. Now the unknown filled him with dread. He wasn't the only one.

Jing's eyes were huge, and he shrank into himself at all the new sights, sounds and people of Pahazi. He looked as fearful as Ezuni felt. Dahlia walked beside him, urging the boy forward if he faltered. Surrounded by the support of their friends, they kept up a steady pace and felt more secure. It helped that, for the first time ever, people weren't reacting negatively to the presence of scavs.

They hadn't gotten too far before Ezuni's breath hitched in his throat. Now someone was staring at him. He cast a surreptitious look around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The crush of people continued past without giving the newcomers a second thought. He looked down to see Jing staring up at him; the boy sensed the change too.

Despite nothing appearing amiss, the strange feeling persisted as they traveled through the city and reached Halvor's home. Ezuni breathed a sigh of relief as he entered. At last, he felt safe.

"I don't know how they still have so much energy," Colo groaned, looking at Coralie and Asaka.

The two girls were darting all over the place, looking at the different art inside.

"The views are my favorite in the daytime," Alasdair said.

"You'll love the beach," Ani Halvor said. "For now, let's get something to eat. Then we'll sort out the room situation."

They got a good meal and then found that they could equally split boys from girls, four to each room. The problem was that the rooms were rather small and barely suitable to fit two comfortably, let alone four.

"Well, I can fit everyone in the main room for now. I'll be able to get you suitable lodgings tomorrow," Ani Halvor said.

"Aw but I wanted to stay here," Coralie complained.

"You still can, Coralie."

"Not by yourself," Colo interjected quickly.

"But I wanted Jing to stay with me," Coralie protested.

"It's alright, Coralie," Jing reassured. "I'm sure we'll still spend a lot of time together."

Coralie sighed. "Alright."

Ezuni felt better if the scavs stuck together. The sensation of being watched had faded but such a feeling almost always boded trouble. They settled down for the night, but sleep evaded him for a long while. Worry pooled in his chest, his mind racing and body tense as he tried to process all of the changes he was experiencing. Finally, he fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next day started early, Coralie and Asaka eager to check out the beach. The others insisted on eating first and the girls reluctantly agreed. Afterwards, Alasdair left to find accommodations for all of them. The rest headed outside. The beach was a broad expanse of sand that stretched seemingly endless in either direction.

Ezuni found the wind brisk, and he didn't like how it drowned out everything else. The sand felt foreign beneath his feet, soft and clingy. He didn't really care for the skoo-skoo footing it gave. He much preferred mud; at least mud was useful. Though he kept silent as the others did not speak up.