after unlocked: a sokeefe fanfic

Chapter 76-Sophie

Marella and Fintan stumbled into camp just after dark fell. Their faces were dusty and sweat stained, and Marella's hair looked like a bird nest—she had tried to out into a bun, but it had been no use, apparently.

Despite her tired glares and yawns, Marella still busied herself lighting a better fire than the one they had struggled to light. With a snap of her fingers, they had the cheerful crackling flames sending smoke into the night air.

"If only we had food," groaned Maruca. "When can we leave this place?"

"Let's open the cache first," Sophie said. She smiled at Fintan's obvious surprise. "You really weren't stupid enough to think that we weren't in constant communication as you guys walked up that mountain? I'm not going to send my friend with some psycho alone without at least checking up on her."

"At least," Marella emphasized, a ghost of a smile drifting across her face.

Sophie nodded to her, and said in mock-concern, "Report, soldier?"

Marella saluted her. "He has a nice little hideout, ma'am. A cave, lotsa nice treasures, but no food." She dropped the act to glare at him. "You'd think someone with a backup hiding place would at least put a couple protein bars in there."

"How far was it?"

Marella shrugged, the act dropped completely now. "Hours, obviously, but probably four miles as those oversized parrots fly. Unfortunately, we are not the parrots," she paused, then amended the statement, "I take that back. Fortunately, we are not the parrots, but there were a lot of switchbacks and it was pretty steep. Impossible in the dark."

Fintan scowled at her. He looked wounded, though Sophie did not believe that act. "You betrayed me."

Marella smiled darkly. "And I'll never be sorry." 

"Okay." Sophie glanced around at them. "I know we're all hungry, but we're going to have to stay tonight. Who knows what else our friend has hidden up there. We'll go up in the morning, all of us, then I'll teleport us out of there from the top."

The girls nodded in agreement, and Fintan sat down on a nearby log, arms crossed on his chest. "It's not fair. There's too many of you." He complained.

She didn't really care. "Give us the cache, Fintan."

He glared at her. "No."

"Did you just say no to her?" Biana's eyes widened. She leaned over to Maruca and mock-whispered, "Bet it takes fifteen minutes for him to start crying."

"Eh, I'd say ten." She said back.

Sophie smiled cheerlessly. "I wouldn't put too much money on that, Biana."

***

People in the Forbidden Cities could've heard him screaming.

***

"You have to figure out how to open it yourselves," Fintan said, still stubborn, despite being strung upside down above the fire, his hair mere inches from the flames.

"Could we get more wood in the fire?" Sophie called casually to the girls.

Biana jumped up, grin plastered on her face. "I saw this really big, dry piece earlier."

Fintan flinched at the eagerness in her voice.

Marella drawled, "Nah, I could probably just have a couple sparks hit his hair."

Biana looked at her thoughtfully. "Oh, yeah... his hair is pretty dry. Have you seen it? All damaged? Probably catch on fire faster than the wood would." She paused, then chuckled. "Wood would."