The campfire remained burning, long after it should have died, even after the wood burnt down to ashes.
I didn't move from my lone seat as the small group chatted idly amongst themselves.
The day moved quickly, but Ren and Theo still hadn't arrived.
No one roasted meat anymore, we were all either too tired or too thirsty.
Still.... I noticed something weird. There weren't flies flocking around the place, only the smell of blood.
'I wonder if anyone noticed'
I guess mum would, she always seemed so sensitive to things regarding death.
Maybe it was because her powers were related to healing?
My gaze briefly turned to Dad, he lay on the ground— Asleep, he'd been sleeping for the past couple hours.
Now that I think of it, he was the only one acting normally, we had walked for almost an entire day, then spent the night huddled in a tree.
And then, we fought a horde of flesh-like slimes, and yet none of us had slept.
I myself didn't feel sleepy.
'I guess the few minutes I spent unconscious could count as a nap?'
But then that didn't explain how everyone else remained energetic enough to be discussing over the campfire.
The only other guess was that they slept through the night, But my body shook as I recalled that cold and dreadful night.
The way the waves rumbled and how they shook the trees in their path.
The fear of not knowing whether the next tree to fall would be yours.
If anyone could sleep through that..... they.... they couldn't even be called human.
A weird sound interrupted my thoughts, a hissing sound like gas.
I sprung to my feet in an instant and everyone else followed suit, instantly alert.
It came from above.
Looking up, I saw Theo and Ren. Floating in the sky...
"What the....." The words barely formed in my mouth, they were so high up, higher even than the trees.
"Is that Theo?" Mum asked, almost shouting as everyone else gasped in surprise.
And then.
They fell.
My eyes widened as I backed away, distancing myself from the campfire.
No one else moved.
"Are they Crazy?" Kendali yelled.
She stared pointedly at Karin— who didn't even return her gaze.
"I'm sure they know what they are doing" Mum said, the look in her eyes though didn't assure anyone.
The hissing sound became louder and over it I could hear Theo and Ren's voice.
They were..... laughing.
Gradually, they slowed, the hissing sound evened out to a single uniform note, like a boiling kettle.
"Heka... Ren" Ren spoke dramatically, spreading his arms as he slowed to a stop— hovering above the campfire.
Theo quietly dropped beside mum who gave him a quick hug.
"This. This is how we beat the storm" Ren spoke.
He jumped, his legs making a loud hissing sound before evening out again.
"I call them..... Windwalkers" He spoke as he walked in a circle atop the campfire.
The shoes made a horrible hiss for each step he made.
They were made very simply, just a log of wood carved in the shape of a shoe.
But there were only two pairs.
"There are only two pairs and eight of us" Kendali said, stealing the words from my mind, her words caused the group to fall silent.
Ren cocked his head like he was confused.
"These are just for me and Theo, we didn't have enough time to make for you all." He said, as though they didn't spend most of the day in the woods.
"Hey don't look at me like that.... It's not like I'm sending you all to your deaths or something.
Think about it, Kendali can carry some people like she did with Karin, while the rest of you can climb some trees.
For now let's just rest till night comes"
No one spoke, it was times like these where I fantasised going mad with rage.
'What were we to do now?' I mean it's not like I could blame them.... who knows how long it took to make just that pair.
But then how did Theo craft full living creatures out of wood and yet take the whole day making some simple shoes.
Just when I was about to curse him in my mind, Theo walked up to Ren and whispered in his ear.
And I picked up what he said.
"I think they've suffered enough Ren"
No one else seemed to hear it, but I did, loud and clear.
Ren shrugged, sporting a grin that reached his eyes.
"I think so too hmm...
I guess we could leave them and head to the tower ourselves."
I smiled to myself, Ren was definitely a liar, and a good one at that.
But Theo wasn't.
He hid his surprise so poorly that everyone was starting to realise something was up.
"OK you've got me" Ren said throwing his arms in the air.
"But before we show you where the rest of the Windwalkers are, you all have to bear an attack from me."
'Huh?'
Before I could wonder what the attack was, Ren screamed.
I saw Theo cover his ears, stepping away from Ren.
Karin too followed suit.
"Divine Whistle"
I instantly blocked my ears, but in the end it was just a shout.
'How anticlimactic, did he really just scream out an attack?'
My hands released, this wasn't a cartoon where your attack gets stronger the more you scream.
But then, in the fraction of a second multiple thoughts ran through my head.
Ren's power was names.
He named an attack.
And he didn't even whistle..... yet.
Before I could cover my ears again, Ren whistled.
The sound was like a flash bang but purely sound.
It only lasted for a second, and then it was gone, It didn't even leave behind a ringing noise.
And then I saw them.
Falling from the sky like a gift sent from heaven.
They were boots, making whistling sounds as though immitating Ren.
Flying boots.