Off to Clearwater, save Sinbad on the way

"But how did you find us? I mean, it's barely been a day since we saw Selena...did she tell you where we are?" Aria asked Ares. The no-longer-frozen Chief was busy brewing tea on a table he had summoned. "We used the Pathfinder," Ares answered. "What?" "Well, she not only finds places but also people." "... She can find places and... What? If she can find people, why didn't she just find my parents?" "She has never met them, no? She can only locate people she has met before and return to places she had been before." The Chief chuckled as he sipped from his 'fine China.' Aria gritted her teeth; she smiled at Ares. "Freeze him, please." The Chief spat out his tea in surprise, but before he could protest, Ares snapped his fingers, and he turned into a jade statue. Garsam burst out in laughter. Lev had yet to recover from his spit take, so his frozen position was quite comical. When Ares turned to her, she raised her hands in surrender and walked farther away from them and closer to the silent witch. "Who are you really?" Aria questioned. Ares shuffled and didn't answer; he didn't want her remembering him as the 'creepy kid' like Vel always said. He said, "I saw you in the village once, then Vel told me about you." "Who?" "Him," he pointed at the frozen Chief. "Vel... that's his name? I thought it'd be something more fitting... like Tweedle Dumb." "Why would that be fitting?" Ares asked. "It's... Forget it, what's your name?" "Ares." Aria blinked. "Ares? That's odd. I know a freaky kid with the same name; I guess it's a popular one." Ares nodded with a blank look. They were silent. Aria didn't know what else to say. The two Acabi's presence here spelled trouble. But as warriors, they must be very strong; maybe they could help her. If she's able to reunite her family, then perhaps she could save the world with a peaceful mind. After all, when she dies, they will have no memory of her. No memory, no sorrow. But somehow, the possibility of being entirely forgotten by those you love sounded even sadder. Ares rubbed his chest. "Your heart aches." Aria turned to him. "What?" Ares patted his chest. "We're connected; I feel what you feel. Why are you sad?" An onslaught of self-pity clogged her throat, and she tilted her head to prevent tears from falling. "Nothing much, my family is messed up, my life is messed up, oh and I have to help prevent the world from being messed up, so... yeah, it's nothing much." "Why do you talk like that?" "Like what?" He watched her without replying; his eyes seemed to see right through her. Suddenly, he said, "Do you want to scream?" Aria was caught off guard by the odd question. "I'm sorry... scream?" Ares extended his hand, creating a shimmering barrier of translucent energy around them. It rose up like a dome the size of a small house, encircling them in a protective bubble. "You can scream without hurting anyone." Aria's eyes narrowed. "How... How did you know?" "I..." Ares couldn't tell her that he had Vel examine her while at the village. "I can sense it," he lied, his face was expressionless; she couldn't doubt him. "Won't you get hurt?" "Don't worry, you're not powerful enough." Aria wanted to smack him. She took a deep breath and looked around. The world looked a little blue through the dome. Your family is scattered. Your sister is sick. You're going to die. A turbid energy swelled around her. She was tired, so tired. She wanted to just end it all. Perhaps dying isn't such a bad thing. Maybe, just maybe, after everything is over and the world was sane again, she could finally rest, but till then she had a mountain of shit to deal with. "Aahhhhhhh." Ares clenched his chest in pain. He didn't lie; her screams could not harm him, but the pain and hopelessness she felt were amplified in him. His mate bond to her was stronger than his first mate's bond. With his first mate, he had easily ignored her pain and cruelly rejected her, but for Aria, he couldn't even bear to see her upset; it made him want to tear the world apart. After a few minutes, she calmed down. She was bent over panting. Then she raised her head, there was a small smile on her lips. "Thank you." Her voice was clear and sweet; you wouldn't know she was just screaming. Ares watched her cherry lips curl up in a sigh; he swallowed. "My pleasure." He pulled the dome down; a gust of wind rushed out, pushing the trees back. "Wow," Aria sighed with a grin. "I'm pretty strong." "Barely," Ares muttered. Aria narrowed her eyes at him, and he quickly added, "I can teach you." Aria scoffed and walked away. "No need, I already have a teacher." Garsam walked over and cast him a thoughtful look. "You like her," she stated. Ares replied; his tone was one part cold, one part bored. "She is my mate; who else am I supposed to like?" Garsam sputtered incredulously. "Mate? But she's Sinbad's mate!" Ares' face darkened. "We still have to get him out of that facility." Ares didn't look too interested in that prospect. "You promised," Garsam gritted her teeth, "you can't selfishly back out now; his life could be in danger!" Ares shrugged noncommittally. "His life in exchange for your magic!" "What?" Ares asked confused. "I got you that sword, right? In return, you help me save him." Ares scoffed, but he didn't leave. "Fine, on one condition, Aria is not to know it is him we're after." "She's coming?" "I'm not leaving her side." "Alright, lover boy, jeez, she's double mated. How the hell is that supposed to pan out? Or is either Sinbad or you actually for Ivy?" "It's not me," Ares denied immediately. But his expression became less tense at the thought that Ivy might be Sinbad's true mate. He was sure Aria was his! That evening Thaen came for a visit. He was shocked to see more people and expressed it quite loudly. Ares was not too happy finding out that Aria's teacher was a male. Neither was he pleased when he found out that the boy was Ivy's potential beau. It meant that his Ivy and Sinbad ship might sink before it even left the harbor. So he spent the next few hours gloomily staring at Thaen till the freaked-out boy had to leave earlier than he planned. Once he was gone, Ares immediately told Aria he could help her find her parents. But only if they returned to the scene of their disappearance, Clearwater Pack. Aria was not happy about that, but her heart thumped at the idea of seeing Sinbad. Ares watched her closely and felt his own heart beat with excitement. His face darkened; who was she longing for?