#Aila Galloway

[wiredlogan]

OTP dump

[wiredlogan]

Vine Swinging

A trip to the jungle.

One of the upsides of living with multiple wealthy fictional characters was that you had plenty to spend on extravagant summer vacations like a trip to the jungle.

All of us were perched on a deck of bamboo, lounging beneath the dappled sunlight filtering through the massive, vibrant green leaves. The air was heavy and humid, but for some reason what would have felt oppressive back at home felt refreshing here.

I, of course, was writing. But how could I stop? The jungle was brimming with inspiration! Birds chirping, creatures scampering... so many colors, so much potential. It was just the relaxing vacation we all needed.

At least, it was relaxing. Until Ishani began to eye one of the vines hanging from above with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She pulled on the vine a bit, then glanced down at the crystal blue pond below.

She clenched her fingers around the vine, and then she jumped off the edge.

We all gasped, Aila yelped, nearly falling out of her lounge chair, and Hawthorne leaped to his feet. We crowded around the ledge just as Ishani resurfaced. She whipped her hair back in an elegant arc and howled, “That was great!”

I made the mistake of glancing up at the vine she had swung off of, and she immediately called to me, “Come on, Logan! Try it!”

A lump immediately formed in my throat.

“No!” Zenna butted in front of us all. “This is way too dangerous—”

“Your turn!” Simon cried before she could even finish her sentence. He shoved her over the edge, and she went sailing.

As she hit the water, Onrenya snickered, “Ohhh, she’s gonna kill you, Snotrag.”

Sure enough, Zenna resurfaced, her face completely red. “SIMON, I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” she spluttered.

“Zenna, are you ok?” Hawthorne called, leaning over the edge.

“I’m fine… but that little punk is gonna get it.”

Hawthorne cracked his knuckles. “Leave it to me.”

But before he could even turn around, Simon, Runa, and Onrenya jumped on him, and pushed together. Somehow, he still managed to pull off a graceful dive and plunged under the water next to Zenna.

He resurfaced and shook out his blonde hair, spraying Zenna in the face. She cracked a smile as she wiped the water from her cheeks.

Back on the deck, Simon, Runa, and Onrenya high fived and guffawed. Runa raised her eyebrow at Simon. “Your turn now, big shot.”

“What?”

“You scared?” she teased.

Onrenya scoffed, then whispered to Sandy, “They’re flirting again.” Sandy rolled his eyes and chuckled into his palm.

“No!” Simon exclaimed. “Of course I’m not scared! I ride a dragon.”

Hookfang, who was perched in the trees above, sunbathing, grumbled sarcastically.

“Hey, watch your mouth, mister,” Simon snapped, and Hookfang gurgled a throaty laugh.

“Alright, guess I’ll just go,” Runa sighed dramatically as she grabbed the vine. She winked at him, to which his cheeks turned red, then leaped, howling the whole way down. She crashed into the water. A few seconds later, she resurfaced and called up, “Come on, babe! You can do it!”

Simon rolled his shoulders and shook his arms out. “Watch and learn,” he snickered.

Sandy and I rolled our eyes, and Onrenya yelled “Boo!”

Simon cracked his neck and grabbed the vine. He let out a breath. “Alright, it’s not that high. I’ve been higher up.”

“Please,” Aila, who was still sitting in her reclined tanning chair, finally spoke up. “If we have to wait for you to reassure yourself, we will be here all day.”

“Alright, alright!” Simon huffed. “Geez.” He clenched his eyes shut and, finally, jumped.

Squealing and shrieking erupted from his mouth, but it slowly melted into laughter. His hands slipped. He plunged into the water with a scream.

We watched for a spell, but he never broke through the surface.

“Oh geez, not again,” Zenna moaned, head flicking back and forth nervously. “I swear, I have to babysit you all like you’re toddlers.”

“Is he dead?” I joked, only half joking.

“Simon?” Runa called. She started searching the water. “This isn’t funny!”

Suddenly, he shot out of the water underneath her, hoisting her onto his shoulders.

“Simon!” she screamed. “That’s not funny!” She tried to sound angry, but her laughter broke through.

“Your turn, Onrenya!” Ishani called.

Onrenya pursed her lips and squinted. “Nah, I think Greely will go first.”

Greely perked up from where he was sitting, reading a book as usual. “What?”

Before he could say anything else, Onrenya grabbed him by the arm and shoved him. He plunged, stiff as a board and somehow still in his wool trench coat in the jungle heat, and belly flopped.

He resurfaced, coughing, and Ishani tried to stifle a giggle as she plucked a twig out of his hair.

Onrneya came next, totally disregarding the vine and instead cannonballing into the pond, close enough to get Greely soaked with her splash. She shook her hair to spray him yet again, then called out, “Your turn, Logan!”

“Are you kidding?” I guffawed indignantly. “I’ll literally die.”

“You can do it!” Runa insisted.

“What about Aila?” I said. “She hasn’t gone yet.”

Aila sighed and set her book down. She flicked her reading glasses closed and stood. “Good thing I’m wearing my bathing suit.” She slipped her robe off her shoulders to reveal her forest green bathing suit.

She cracked her knuckles and stretched for a few moments, and then bolted across the balcony. She leaped. She swung in a graceful arc that would have been perfect if Sandy hadn’t somehow been swinging directly towards her on another vine.

“Aila, look out!” Ishani shouted from below.

The two crashed together in a tangle of arms and legs and fell from the vines, screaming. Sandy waved his hands and, just before Aila hit the water, he built up a cushion of dreamsand under her. She landed on the cushion a foot above the water.

Sandy floated down and gave her a sheepish grin, which she met with a glare. Sandy’s expression quickly changed to mischievous, and, just as Aila opened her mouth to complain, he snapped. The dream sand cloud disappeared, and Aila plunged into the water.

Sandy silently laughed, but his mirth only lasted a moment before Aila’s hand shot out of the water, grabbed his leg, and yanked him below with her.

The pair burst from the water, soaking wet and doubled over with laughter.

“Logan, you can’t avoid it anymore,” Onrenya shouted. “You’re the last one up there.”

She was right. I was all alone now on the deck.

Onrenya began to chant in a huffy, low voice, “Logan, Logan, Logan!”

The others took up the shout, “Logan, Logan, Logan!”

I took a step closer to the vine. “This is insane,” I muttered to myself, feeling dizzy as I glanced down. The pond suddenly felt a million miles away.

I took the vine in my shaking fingers.

The chanting grew more intense. Simon and Runa, who was still on his back, began to smack to the beat on his chest, and the others clapped.

“I’m gonna die,” was the last thing I said. Then, without giving myself another moment to overthink, I took the leap of faith.

I swung into the open air, screaming. I had actually jumped! I was so enthralled by the accomplishment that I almost forgot to let go. The vine began to swing backwards.

I flailed right before slamming my back against the deck, and I plunged. The cold water slapped my body.

I resurfaced, laughing until my lungs ached. I let out the loudest bellow I could muster and fist pumped as everyone around me cheered. “Let’s do it again!” I shouted.

We frolicked in the water all afternoon, under the shade of the trees. We swung on the vines, had a few chicken fights (which Runa and Simon always won, and ended the day laying in the sun to dry off. Eventually, it started pouring out of nowhere, and we had to book it back to our jungle house that we rented. We were all soaking wet by the time we stumbled in through the sliding glass door.

I washed off in the stone shower full of plants, admiring my new tan and feeling that warmth beneath my skin. Then, I threw together a sandwich, made some tea for everyone, and met the group in the living space, which had an open wall so we could watch the rain pour down over the river and splatter across the huge trees.

There was no internet, no TV, no computers. Just a group of kids hanging out, sometimes chatting quietly through the fatigue, but most of the time relaxing in silence, just listening to the rain and watching the life of the forest.

We didn’t stay up very late tonight, as we were all exhausted. We slowly drifted off to our own separate rooms, with the exception of Onrenya, who passed out right there on the floor. She looked so peaceful nobody could bring themselves to move her.

I made my way to my room, which was cozy and cool despite the humidity outside. I curled up under the covers of my velvety, gray, king-sized bed to write about the day and scroll through some of the amazing pictures I had gotten. Memories. Memories that I would hold onto forever.

I fell asleep watching the stars through the skylight above my bed and listening to the pitter-patter of rain on the ceiling.

[wiredlogan]

Hurricane

"It's been hours, and it still hasn't slowed one bit!" Aila exclaimed from her spot on the couch, her legs crossed daintily and a book in her lap. She peered up over her reading glasses.

I followed her gaze to the window. A steady drizzle had begun to fall late in the night and lasted into the afternoon, slowly growing heavier as time passed. It was messing with our mission, and everyone was getting restless sitting around while needs called for our attention

"I just wanna get this mission over with so I can get out of this moldy old cabin," Aila huffed.

I glanced up from the notebook I was writing in and surveyed the room as I ran my fingers over Ivory's back.

On the couch above me, Simon and Onrenya playfully wrestled each other for victory in the video game they were both sucking terribly at. Onrenya must have won, because she dropped the controller and threw her hands in the air. She gave sour-looking Simon such a harsh shove he fell off the sofa.

On the floor beside them, Runa, Sandy, Greely, Zenna, and Hawthorne were sitting in a circle playing some kind of card game, but Runa was distracted by a spot leaking on the ceiling, and Greely looked bored out of his mind. The only person who looked even remotely interested was Hawthorne, and even his eyes drifted towards the window once in a while

Zenna must've noticed Sandy dozing, because she dropped her cards and gave up.

My stomach grumbled. I stood and made my way into the kitchen, where I paused to peer out the window above the sink. The forest was bursting with vibrant green and pink buds, but the sky was a monotone grey as far as I could see. In the distance, more threatening, dark clouds were rolling in. I thought I caught a glimpse of lightning over the mountain.

I opened one of the drawers and pulled out a Poptart box, only to find it empty. "Guys, come on. Who put an empty Poptart box back in the drawer?"

No one answered, but I could imagine Onrenya snickering. I threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave in defeat.

Runa leaped to her feet. "I'll go get more food," she replied.

"Runa, I don't think you should-" Zenna trailed off, as Runa was already slipping on her shoes and throwing her fur jacket over her shoulders

"Wait for me, babe," Simon chimed in and leaped to his feet.

The two hurried out the door. The car revved to life, headlights blaring into the windows. Just like that, Runa, Simon, and our only way out of this place was gone.

I pursed my lips as I opened the microwave to pull out my popcorn. I reentered the living room with the steaming bag, and Onrenya leaned over to steal a handful.

"I think we should check the weather," Aila suggested. "This is getting out of hand."

"It's probably almost over," Onrenya shrugged as she flipped channels on the TV.

Aila stubbornly jutted out her bottom lip and pulled herself to her feet. She stood in front of the TV. "Onrenya, seriously, I think we should-"

Lightning cracked across the sky. The power flicked off. We were plunged into darkness.

"Check Runa's bag, someone," I said. "I bet she has a flashlight."

There was a bit of digging, and then a flashlight blasted through the gloom. Aila flipped on her reading light she had been using for a bookmark, and the rest of us gathered up whatever we could find-- candles, phones, a handful of dreamsand.

"I'm gonna go check the generator," Greely replied. "Onrenya, come hold the light for me."

The siblings descended down the creaky basement steps, leaving everyone else to silently wait for the light.

The lamp beside the couch began to flicker, and then, the power returned... for a moment at least. There was a pop, and we were again surrounded by shadows.

"Curse this junky old shack!" Greely's roar echoed through the house. There was a bang as he probably kicked the generator, and then Onrenya began to howl with laughter.

He and Onrenya suddenly fell silent. Someone raced up the steps.

Onrenya stumbled into the living room. "The basement is flooding!"

I leaped down the steps with Zenna following. At the bottom, my feet splashed into a puddle. Water was coming in from somewhere, and it was coming in fast.

Zenna sent a glance back and forth under her furrowed brow. "We have to find where it's coming in."

"Everyone listen!" I shouted, and the nervous chatter around me stilled. "Listen for running water!"

We paused, but the sound that greeted us was far more threatening than a leak. The entire house moaned on its hinges.

Onrenya let out a shriek, and suddenly, the doorway to the first floor disappeared under a pile of rubble. We were left in the grip of darkness.

There was silence for a moment until words fell from my mouth. "That's not good..."

I inched closer to where I think Zenna was standing as Greely shined his flashlight on the pile of wreckage totally blocking the door. The entire roof had bent inwards, spilling logs and planks over the exit in splintering pieces.

Footsteps thumped down the stairs, and Hawthorne shouted from the other side of the mess, "Zenna! Are you alright?"

"We're all okay," Zenna said. "Is everyone okay up there?"

"We're fine!" came the voice of Aila. "But a whole corner of the house caved in," she was screaming over the deafening rain. "There's a lot of water coming in."

There was a familiar meow from the other side of the wall.

"Ivory!" I exclaimed. "Is she okay?" If only I could see her... I could turn her into a dragon so we could get out of here.

"She's fine," Aila replied. "Sandy's got her."

Zenna carefully inched up a few steps to examine the wreckage closer. "Is there any way to get rid of some of the rubble on that side?"

There was a pause, some shuffling, and then Hawthorne said, "Yes, there's a bit of a loose spot here."

"Ok, dig-" Zenna trailed off when there was a groan below her. Her green eyes widened as the stairs let out a snap.

The rotten, wet wood split in half. Zenna disappeared below the broken planks, and there was a splash.

"Zenna!" I screamed.

"What happened?" Hawthorne yelled. "Zenna, is everything okay?"

Instead of answering, I dug into what was left of the steps. Greely, Onrenya, and I ripped into the wreckage until, finally, we found Zenna. We drug her to safety. She was totally unconscious and full of scratches, but she seemed mostly unharmed.

"Zenna?" Hawthorne cried, his voice growing tense. "Zenna?!"

"Zenna's alright," I assured him. "The stairs caved in while she was standing on them, and she's unconscious. But I think she's okay."

"This water's rising," Greely butted in. "Can you guys start opening the doorway?"

"Yes," Hawthorne said, and then the wood planks began to shift.

I hadn't noticed it, but the water was up to our ankles, and it was quickly pouring in.

"Logan," Aila spoke from the other side, and by her tone, I could tell she was deep in thought.

"What?"

"I'm gonna go call Runa."

"There's no service here."

"There is service in one place."

An unsettling realization descended over me. "Aila, no!"

"I'm going! I have to try."

I hesitated. There was no reasoning with her. She'd made up her mind. "Just... be careful."

. . .

-Sandy-

Aila lifted one leg out of the window and began to slide out.

My hand immediately shot out to clasp her wrist. She turned her soft, green eyes to me and managed to pull a gentle smile. "Don't worry. It'll be alright."

I entwined my fingers with hers and pointed to myself, then the outside.

"Sandy, you don't have to-"

Before she could even finish, I shook my head and pointed with more urgency.

She squeezed my hand tighter, and I could tell she was relieved. The two of us clambered out the window and were immediately soaked.

Aila used her free hand to raise her cellphone. She waved her arm around a bit.

A powerful wind blasted us so strongly I had to land myself on the roof to avoid being blown right out of the sky.

"I got a signal!" Aila exclaimed.

Crunch!

It was the same dreadful sound the house had made before collapsing over the basement door. Weak wood moaned. And it was coming from above.

I had just enough time to glance up and see a huge tree branch dangling precariously over our heads.

I shoved Aila, and the two of us tumbled away just as the branch came crashing down.

The roof crumbled under the weight. I extended my palm to create a dreamsand cloud, leaped onto it, and spun around the grab Aila.

She leaped as the roof collapsed beneath her but slid on the wet shingles. Her hand barely skimmed mine, but she slipped through my fingertips. She disappeared into the overflowing river below.

I dove after her, searching the water in panic. All I could see were the murky depths. There was no sign of Aila.

Until suddenly, a hand shot out of the current, desperately grasping for anything.

I raced over and gripped her hand, only to get sucked under myself.

Everything went black. I was tossed and rolled over. Little bits of sharp wood and stones scraped my skin. Water filled up into my nose, forced its way into my mouth.

Something hard slammed into my ribs, and my entire body lurched. My teeth jarred together. I curled around myself, clutching my chest.

I finally hit the surface. When I blinked the water from my eyes, I just caught a glimpse of a tree branch moments before I crashed directly into it. I latched on tight, struggling to keep my head above the waves.

I just managed to catch a glimpse of Aila's frightened face as she bobbed past, her soaked hair flattened to her head and makeup running.

She disappeared in seconds, swept below the surface. I leaped after her and floundered beneath. By some stroke of luck, I caught hold of her and tugged.

Her head reappeared and she threw her arms around me.

There was a sound over my head. Was that... a roar?

Aila and I turned upwards to see two silhouettes against the sky. Tawny and Hookfang came soaring into view with Runa and Simon on their backs.

"Runa! Simon!" Aila cried, then choked on water.

The two of us waved for them, and Aila shouted their names a few more times.

"Need a lift?" Simon grinned.

Hookfang's talons clasped us gently, and we were lifted from the muddy water. He dropped us, clinging to each other, in a sturdy tree high above the dangerous flood.

"Where's everyone else?" Runa shouted.

"Inside!" Aila said. She shuddered and tightly wrapped her arms around herself. "They're trapped in the basement!"

Runa and Simon wheeled around and shot for the crumbling house.

As they disappeared, I huddled next to Aila and conjured a warm dreamsand blanket for the two of us.

. . .

-Onrenya-

The water was up to our hips. Greely had to hold Zenna's head above the surface to keep her from drowning, because she showed no sign of improvement. In fact, she seemed to get worse. We didn't tell Hawthorne, but a huge, red welt was forming on her forehead.

Hawthorne was still trying to dig us out, despite our insisting it was too dangerous to mess around with the rubble.

Then, suddenly, he stopped.

Logan, Greely, and I exchanged concerned glances.

"Hawthorne?" Logan called, wading a bit closer as she hugged herself against the cold.

For a moment, there was total silence. We could hear rain beating against the ceiling.

"Get out of the way!" Hawthorne demanded.

Suddenly, the pile of rubble exploded.

Light poured into the basement. And there, silhouetted against the blinding rays, was Runa on Tawny and Simon on Hookfang.

"Come on!" Runa shouted. "The whole house is gonna fall!"

We scrambled over the blasted pile of dirt. Hawthorne handed Ivory to Logan, and she set the cat on a board sticking up out of the water.

"Dragon, Ivory!" she shouted. She shut her eyes and furrowed her brow, her hands extended. Slowly, the little cat grew taller, morphing into a dragon. She and I clambered onto the white dragon, and Hawthorne on Hookfang, but Greely slipped. His head slammed into a board, and Zenna rolled from his grasp into the dark waters below.

"Zenna!" Hawthorne bellowed. He plunged in after her.

Logan and I hopped off of Ivory to help Greely, whose arm was now bleeding. We pulled him onto Tawny, but there was still no sign of Hawthorne or Zenna.

Simon moved to head in after them, but Logan held out her hand. "Wait."

The house trembled again, and there was a crash as the wall behind collapsed over the door and the foyer window.

"What do you mean wait?!" Simon exclaimed. "If we wait any longer, we're gonna be yak meat!"

Just like that, Hawthorne resurfaced, sputtering and coughing. Zenna laid in his arms.

Logan and Simon hurried to help pull her out. They yanked Zenna, now half awake, to Hookfang, and she and Hawthorne clambered on.

When everyone was safely seated, Tawny, Ivory, and Hookfang took off running.

The house went by in a blur, but everything I could see was destroyed. Beams of cracked wood, soaked couches, caved in walls...

Ivory, Logan, and I pushed to the front of the group. We rounded the bend, and I learned forward with an eagerness to see the back door- out escape. But there was no more back door.

"Ivory!" Logan gasped. Ivory skidded to a halt. Tawny slammed into her haunches, Hookfang was luckily able stop himself. We tumbled only inches away from the pile of rubble caved over the door.

"Up the stairs!" Logan pointed.

The dragons propelled themselves up the steps so fast I nearly fell off. Ivory jerked left into one hallway, and charged for the small window, head ducked down.

"Ivory, no!" Logan screamed. "We're not gonna fit!"

Ivory ignored her. She leaped for the window and released a ball of fire. The wall exploded just as we leaped through, and we tumbled outside in a heap.

We laid there on the roof for a spell, panting and soaking wet. I let out a tired chuckle and whooped.

The roof began to creak. The wall we had exploded began to bend dangerously.

Screaming, we all scrambled back onto the dragons. They launched into the sky, moments before the entire roof collapsed.

Aila and Sandy met us in the air, floating on a dreamsand cloud, and then we were out of there.

We watched from above in silent horror as the cabin crumbled in on itself.

Lightning flashed, and then the sight disappeared behind the trees.

[wiredlogan]

And there she was. I suddenly couldn’t feel my heart beating. 

She was under an umbrella— her pale skin had always been sensitive to the sunlight. Her curly red hair was half tied up in a bun, half laying over her shoulders. Her brows were raised in a nonchalant sort of curiosity as she eyed the odd visitors on her porch. She was watching me. 

Seeing as I was crippled, Jack butted past with a winsome grin. “Would any of you fine ladies happen to be Aila Galloway?”

Aila nodded politely. “I am she.”

Her voice sounded just like I remembered. High pitched, but smooth and confident, with just a hint of an English accent. Every word deliberate and considered.

My heart started beating again. Suddenly, I was moving. My arms reached out against my will. I had to touch her. I had to make sure she was real... that she wouldn’t crumble. My palm nearly connected with her face, but she gently pushed my arms down. Her forehead crinkled in concern and bewilderment.

“Hello there...” she greeted, a bit uneasy. “Is there something I can do for you, dear?”

 I didn’t know what I had been expecting. I knew she wouldn’t remember me. But for some reason, I still felt a powerful ache split through my chest. My hands fell back to my sides.

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