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 Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 7:56 pm
Maia almost hugged Toby when he told her he'd keep anyone from coming back to the beach. They were safe, for now, because Toby knew how to call the police. "Agreed," she said. It'd be awkward to go from the hotel with nothing and come back with luggage.
"I want people to be more understanding of others," she said. "Like you two are." She glanced at Dari, "We can swim every night there, if you like. I bet the stars are just as beautiful there as they are here. It's all one sky."
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 8:04 pm
Toby nodded and offered Maia a smile. He began cleaning the fish, long since numbed to gore. Dari seemed disinterested in the cooking and nodded deeply to Maia.
"I find humanity very interesting," Dari said, although he definitely would have learned to accept them anyway as he had crash-landed amongst them.
"I actually believed everything supernatural was myth and legend before it... ran up and bit me in the a**."
"Hah."
"Yeah, you like that one?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 8:26 pm
Apart from Maia falsely assuming that Toby was a vampire, the night went without a hitch. The dinner went smoothly, Maia seemed to liven up some when giving the tour, even stopping to jump on the bed. She gathered her things and as promised, there wasn't much. She did hand Toby a teddy bear, insisting that he needed it.
They spent the majority of the night outside. Toby went to fetch the car when It grew late and they headed back to the hotel. He offered Maia the bed but she'd seen how he'd slept in the chair, and refused. "You take it." She insisted. She nestled into the chair.
And while she enjoyed the sight of Toby without a shirt, she wished morning would never come. It did, and with it came a silent terror. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to go on a flying machine!
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 8:41 pm
Toby took the bed after a little battle, having rather enjoyed a night out under the stars with good company. Not once did Maia make a move for her pelt.
Unfortunately, they were forced to rise with the ringing of Toby's cell phone alarm clock come morning. The blonde groaned and pulled his pillow over his head in defiance of the early hour, but Dari had already been up quite some time packing. It took a little doing to get Toby out of bed, but he drove them to the airport and helped load out the bags. All it took at the gate was a flash of ID. No more questions asked.
Dragging their luggage behind them, the partners led Maia down the airport toward their runway. Undoubtedly some plane was going to be delayed as long as it took them to get off the ground. It was an unfortunate downside to certain amounts of power. Both Toby and Dari were stonefaced, only smiling when Maia asked a question or addressed them.
"215, 217... here, here we are." The gate was empty save for the men waiting for the trio, and Toby didn't have to pay any attention to the intimidated-looking gate attendant.
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 9:29 pm
Maia thought she understood how the guard felt. Toby and Dari were completely expressionless, something that would have frightened her if she hadn't met them the night before. She would have taken Toby's hand if she didn't think he was playing tough-serious guy for a reason.
She was trying not to quiver, eyes wide. She wanted to turn back, to run in the opposite direction, but that would only hurt her. Selkies couldn't be far from their masters, and at the moment, Toby still was.
"Do we have to go?" she asked, towards the way they'd come.
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 10:42 pm
Dari was generally expressionless in public, but Toby was concerned about the mission. Get out of the airport, on the plane, take off. Then they could relax. There had been a point in his life where airplanes made him queasy but he'd been on far too many now to care any more.
The private plane sat out on the tarmac, waiting for them to enter.
Toby turned to Maia and looked off in the direction she was staring in case something was coming after them. Nope. She was just scared.
"You know we do," he said gently, offering her an apologetic smile. This was always the hardest part.
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 10:56 pm
Maia took Toby's hand. "I know. But I don't want to." Not in that thing, at least. Airplanes weren't completely New to her, she'd seen them up in the air over the beach. She'd heard about them crashing, too. Heard about them disappearing without a trace, heard about them sinking into the ocean.
She didn't release his hand. Instead she tightened her grip, moving closer to him and wrapping her free arm around his. "Can't we drive?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 10:58 pm
"I know." Toby gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. At least he hoped it was reassuring. When the selkie moved to cling to his arm he could only sigh. The poor girl.
"If we drove, it'd take a dozen hours. If we fly, it'll only take two. Besides, they sent this plane here just for us and I'm sure some other flight was delayed because of it."
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:07 pm
"I'm sure it'd be fun. You me and Dari, a road trip!" Her protest was weak. They shouldn't have to waste a dozen additional hours just to make her feel more comfortable. She had been about to tell Toby she didn't care one bit how many flights were delayed, she wasn't going. That she was scared and didn't want to be up in the air.
Instead, her expression tightened, and she said, "Lets get on, then. But if we dir, its your fault."
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:23 pm
Toby sighed. It was a valiant effort.
"We're not going to die," he said, giving her hand a firm reaffirmation. "You're more likely to be eaten by a shark than die in a plane crash, and you're more likely to be killed by a cow than by a shark. Of all of these planes taking off today, not a single one of them is going to go down. Not a one. Come on. We'll keep you safe. It's fun to see things from so high up."
He kept her hand and allowed her to remain close as they moved through the gate, passed their chaperone, and continued down the long raised hallway to the plane.
"Not all planes are this fancy, either," Dari said. Now that they were away from the general population his mouth wouldn't frighten anyone.
The craft was admittedly much smaller than a commercial jet, but it held many seats and some moving room. The pilot and copilot were separated from the body of the plane, but only by a door. That way no rebelling entity could get to the controls before they were subdued. It had never happened on this particular vessel, but who knew? Their luggage was lowered through a hatch to the belly of the plane, but Toby ran over and retrieved something first. He unzipped a bag to the annoyance of their assistants and pulled out a large folded shirt. Of course with the fabric fallen away it was revealed to actually be Maia's pelt. He smiled and offered it to her, remembering the comfort it seemed to have brought her at the beach.
"Here. It's yours again, for good this time."
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Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 8:12 am
She felt she, herself in particular, was more likely to be eaten by a shark than killed by a cow: she'd never even met a cow. She didn't point this out: Toby was only trying to make her feel better. Maia made a sound of protest. She didn't think it'd be fun to see things from so high. She was grateful that she was able to remain close to Toby, though.
She glanced to Dari when he spoke. She had almost forgotten he was there. "Really?" she asked. She still didn't think she'd like It, and probably wouldn't even if it was the fanciest plane in the world. "I don't like the idea of being off the ground," she murmured.
When her pelt was offered to her, she took it and held it tightly. It wouldn't be taken from her again? That's what Toby seemed to be saying. "Thank you," she said. "Sit by me."
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Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 2:08 pm
Dari nodded. "Usually they're just rows and rows of seats three deep, sometimes 9 across with two aisles to separate. That's how we cam here." Now that they had a selkie, though, it would be safer and less stressful to fly her back privately. These seats were only two across at a time, so he sat with space in front of him for the other two. "It's not so bad. Takeoff is the scariest part, but there's no danger in it."
Not usually, anyway. Nothing had ever gone catastrophically wrong before!
"Come on," Toby said, ushering her toward the seats with an arm around her shoulder. He took the window seat even if it was just for now. If Maia wanted to look out the window later they could wander around. The rules were not so strict on private flights. He sat down and bucked himself in and the co-pilot appeared through the door that separated them from the cockpit.
"Everyone ready? We're going to start preparations."
Toby gave him a thumbs-up and helped Maia buckle in. "All good."
"Great."
Aside from them, there were three other employees, only one other agent, and they all took to the seats on the opposite side of the plane.
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Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 2:24 pm
The rumble of takeoff had Maia clinging to Toby's arm. Her eyes were closed, and at the moment, she didn't seem to mind not having a window seat. Dari was right, takeoff was scary! It was loud, and the selkie felt pressed against her seat. Her grip on Toby didn't subside once they had settled to an even speed. She opened her eyes though.
"I don't think I like planes..." she managed. "Boats are nice though. Next time, lets take a boat."
Boats weren't scary! And Toby had had fun driving one.
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Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 2:35 pm
Toby was grinning but successfully avoided laughing during takeoff. He shushed Maia gently and reassured her she was fine and everything was normal.
"A lot of people don't like planes," he said finally, "Hey, it's all done. We're in the air." He patted her back just as the seatbelt lights went off. He heard Dari unclip his buckle and would have followed suit were Maia not clinging to him so desperately.
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Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 2:46 pm
Maia loosened her grip slightly. "It's safe then?" she asked. She wasn't sure She entirely trusted the plane, but Toby and Dari seemed to, and she trusted them. "Only two hours, right?" she could handle two hours. She could. She was sure of it. "Then you'll show me around?"
And they'd be on the ground again.
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