That night they each stumbled to bed, dreading having to wake up in the morning. They wished they could stay in that house longer, warm and out of harm's way.
The next morning, they each 'borrowed' clothes from around the house. Corrine stole a pair of dark jeans, a cheap t-shirt and a grey hoodie that were buried deep in Caleb's mother's closet. Theodor took a plain black t-shirt, a dark green denim jacket, and a pair of blue jeans from Caleb. Brook snatched a red light-weight long sleeved shirt and light overalls from Caleb's sister who was staying at a friends house, something that Caleb should be doing. Caleb himself wore a red and white flannel, dark jeans, and a brown leather jacket.
The four forms trudged into the kitchen one by one, helping themselves to whatever food they could find. Once they were awake, they listened it silence to the familiars as they went on about their trip to St. Petersburg.
"Your plane leaves at 6:00 for New York. You'll have a two-hour layover there before your next plane leaves at 5:00 and you will arrive at St Petersburg at 2:00." Eligos informed them.
"Wait what?" Brooke asked confused.
"We'll leave here at 6:00. Have a two-hour layover in New York and leave at 5:00 their time and arrive in Russia at 2:00 in their time," Caleb said.
"Yay..." Orcus muttered sarcastically. "Time zones..."
Theodor turned to Eligos "What are we going to do with you and Gaki? It will be a little hard for us to take you on the plane," he almost joked.
Gaki let out a squeak and ducked her head between her legs.

Eligos took a deep breath "Gaki and I will be leaving you. We will not be able to accompany you anymore."
Brooke walked over to Gaki and started petting her softly. "Where will you go?" she asked.
Orcus scoffed. "Where are familiars go when gods are done with them."
Theodor stiffened up, his hands frosted over. He shot Eligos a questioning look.
Eligos didn't make eye contact with Theodor. "Familiars are... Think of them like ghosts, they wander around the earth without being seen. Lost compared to when they were once alive..." His voice became distant and his head ducked.

"'Alive?'" Corrine furrowed her brow.
"Familiars are dead people," Orcus said.
Caleb's eyes widened. "Wait so when someone dies they become a familiar? The afterlife is you just frolicking around as an animal?"
Orcus shook his head. "No."

Everyone looked at him in silence, waiting for him to continue. When he got wind of the fact he grounded. "Most humans who die go to the underworld or whatever, it varies, but forms become familiars only if called upon again other than that they wander around on ghost hunting shows."
Theodor buried his face in his hands. "So, we never stop serving the gods? There's no end to this train wreck?"
"Nope," Orcus nearly hummed.
The forms all sat in silence for a while until they split up to take advantage of the next few hours in the house. They all spread out on the comfy couches and chairs, they watched a few movies, they ate and drank, they each took another shower, they abused the mirrors and the technology, each second was spent savoring having all of these things at their fingertips. The four forms enjoyed them self before they had to say goodbye to Gaki and Eligos.
Gaki ran past Caleb, Orcus, and Buka, hardly saying goodbye before tackling Brooke.

Eligos muttered a small goodbye to the same three, not wanting to take up any more time than he had to. He trotted over to Corrine and Brooke and gave a deep bow. "It has been an honor traveling with you two. I hope to see you again." He bowed again then went to be at Theodor's side.

Theodor was stiff, scratching his hand raw, he had given up on acting like getting left behind would be okay. Eligos said a few words to him, Theodor nodded and walked away. Eligos bowed to everyone with his head then he started to blend into the world behind him. His large antlers became the light sky, his brown hid became the green of the grass. Corrine thought that for a second, she could see a faded man, but it was for only a second before both the man and the caribou were gone.
Corrine put her hand on Theodor's shoulder a Gaki tore away from Brooke and sprinted to them. "I will miss you two!" she screeched. "It has been my honor to fight with you. Even though you did most of the fighting."

Corrine and Theodor nodded in unison and Gaki turned around and bolted back to Brooke. Brooke was on the brink of tears as she leaned down to hug Gaki. They whispered to each other, no doubt words of encouragement before Gaki pried herself away from Brooke's grasp. She made her way to the center of the yard but instead of slowly disappearing, the fox started to flicker in and out of sight. After a few seconds, there was one last flicker of what looked to be a young girl but she disappeared before anyone could know for sure.
They all stood silently before they slowly made their way to the car. They were all dreading the flight but that didn't compare to the dread they felt for the arrival. The forms were scared, to say the least. They didn't know what they were walking into or what they've been dragged to.
Once at the airport, Corrine and Caleb put their familiars on the ground and they ran in when the doors opened for some other passengers. They were going to meet up again after security and they'd stay in their bags during the flight.
The group had no trouble at security. They only received a few suspicions looks and a random lady asking them if they were alright or if they needed any help. They all walked to their gate where they collapse on the seats and waited until they boarded.
"Mind being a little careful? This flights gonna be hell enough as it is I don't need you throwing your bag around," Orcus complained when Corrine plopped her bag on the ground.
"Sorry," she muttered.
"What no more smart remarks? Am I not worth your time anymore?" he asked is a mocking tone.

"Orcus, please just be quiet for five minutes. I feel like I'm going to pass out and I want to die."
"Are you serious? We haven't been attacked in what? Three days? You're gonna die a lot sooner than I thought if you already feel like death," he laughed at his own 'joke.'
"That's my issue," Corrine sighed as she fought back her tears. "I'm all most definitely going to die on this 'adventure,' and the same goes for the others," she took a deep breath and spoke slowly to keep her voice from cracking. "We'll die serving the gods and we'll have to serve them for the rest of time, but you are being nothing more than a heartless son of a gun," she took another deep breath. "I'd honestly prefer dying right here and now than have you and Turan telling me I'll die soon."
Orcus remained silent for a short period before he grunted slightly. "I'd rather be heartless than get attached to the things I know I'll lose." He scurried deeper into the bag and remained silent until the plane started boarding and the group slowly made their way to their seats. They were all spread out through the plane, Theodor was in the front, Brooke was roughly in the middle, and Corrine and Caleb were in the back.
The plane took off and rumbling with turbulence. Caleb shot up and ran to the bathroom, locking himself in. He propped himself up against a wall and covered his face with his hands.
"Why did you drag me into this?" he asked Chaac.
"You fit my standards and were in a reasonable location," he spoke like he was talking to a child.
"I think you need to rethink your standards of someone to save the world if a teenager fits them." Caleb started breathing heavily and it felt like the walls were closing in. Chaac gave no answer so Caleb rambled on. "I mean what is with you guys and picking children to fight in a life or death situation. Ninhersag picked a what? A ten-year-old as opposed to... Oh, I don't know a fully-grown woman, who could... drive... or something? Do children have some sort of advantage that adults don't? I'm very confused."
"Children are easier to convince to become forms. Children have a sort of fascination with life or death situations."
"I'm pretty sure any child I will ever meet won't be too excited about almost dying." His lungs burned as he labored over each breath.
"They aren't excited about death itself, they like the idea of being special and having the opportunity to do something important all thanks to the stories they're fed." His voice trailed off into an annoyed mumble, the only thing Caleb could make out was "stupid humans."
"If you think humans are stupid then why are you trying to save them?" he questioned.
Chaac's voice stiffened, like a general ordering a soldier. "I am loyal to The Concord. I do as I'm ordered, and if I'm ordered to save humans then I will do so."
Caleb swallowed hard and focused on breathing. He had to think about each breath and he couldn't stop for a second. When he had control again he unlocked the bathroom door and slowly made his way back to his seat.
The plane rumbled and shook but the forms couldn't care less. They were fated to die in battle, a plane crash was nothing to these children. They were scared. They were alone, but they couldn't give up now.

Thanks for reading!