Swan Song

Chapter Twenty One

Hi! Updating pretty soon again! Yay for quarantine! *Crickets*

Crowd: Boo for quarantine! I hope you get corona!

Me: *Fake coughs on crowd*

Anyway, let's just get on with the chapter!

As quietly as she could, Sophie opened a window, wincing when it made a loud noise. She hoped Sandor hadn't heard. As the moonlark opened the window wide and prepared to levitate out, she made the mistake of looking down.

"Oh mallowmelt, that's high," she breathed. Then Sophie gave her head a little shake. She was the moonlark! She was the most powerful elf in the Lost Cities! She had survived countless near death experiences! The Black Swan had given her great talent in skills, which hopefully included levitating. And she would not be defeated by flying out of a window a few floors up.

So, the Completely and Utterly Fearless Moonlark Who Was In No Way Scared, What The Mallowmelt Are You Talking About (How about we not acronym that one?) slipped out the window and slowly

slowly

slowly

levitated down.

There was that one terrifying moment when Sophie temporarily lost control of her levitation and free fell about five feet before she regained control, but otherwise, she made it to the ground without a problem. And, for once in her life, completely unscathed! Of course, she tripped over her feet in the next few steps, but that was not important.

As quietly as she could, Sophie tiptoed through the backyard. She had just made it past Verdi the T Rex's pen when-

"Miss Foster, where do you think you're going?" said a high squeaky voice, stopping her.

Sophie groaned. "Hi, Sandor."

"You didn't answer my question. Where do you think you're going?" Sandor repeated.

"I was sleepwalking." Sophie deadpanned.

The eyeroll Sandor gave could rival Sir Salty Shadow's- and that was saying something. "Yes, and you were also sleep levitating out of your window with remarkable control. Seems very likely. Don't tell me you were going to go rob Ravirral with Dex."

Sophie's silence was all the answer he needed.

Sandor groaned and rubbed his temples. "Honestly, Sophie, do you even listen to the millions of lectures I've given you about safety?"

"Yes..." Sophie muttered. She swallowed and, with much more confidence, continued. "And you know what would actually make me safe? Taking down the Neverseen. And if I have to temporarily endanger myself in order to make myself safe in the long run, then that seems like a logical thing to do to me."

"I agree, we should focus all efforts on taking down the Neverseen. But you can't be stupid about it! Yes, danger is inevitable- but when we're forced to put you in danger, it's absolutely crucial that we minimize the risks! And sneaking out in the dead of night without a bodyguard, to go to a Neverseen members house, seems like taking a lot of unnecessary risks!"

Sophie sighed, knowing that she couldn't argue with Sandor- because he was absolutely right.

"But we still need to steal the caches. Even if we find Axel, there's no guarantee we'll get them back. Maybe I could've been smarter about it-" Sophie heard Sandor snort at maybe- "But there is no denying that by actual goal was completely necessary."

Sandor rubbed his temples again. Looking very much like he was about to regret his next words, the goblin said "Tell you what. If we don't find Axel, and/or get the caches back from him, within three days, Lovise and I will help you and Dex steal them- with minimal risks and an actual plan."