(36) apology

                                    

                                          
Sophie ducked, narrowly avoiding a baby alicorn kick to the head. 
"Wynn!" she exclaimed. "Be careful!"
Oblivious, Wynn continued his half-flying gallop to catch up to Luna. Sophie resisted the urge to channel her disapproval at him, knowing he was just excited to be at Havenfield.
Keefe chuckled. "That was close. You okay, Foster?"
"I'm fine." Sophie sighed. "They're just so energetic. It's getting harder to keep up with them."
"They're growing really fast, too," Fitz remarked, watching as the baby alicorns circled each other playfully. "The last time I saw them their wings were so much smaller."
He wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand. His silk tunic and cape looked out of place beside Sophie and Keefe's more casual outfits, making Sophie feel a little bad. Fitz had shown up at Havenfield prepared for Cognate training with her, not a sweaty jog on a hot day with two baby alicorns, but he had been happy to help out while Grady and Edaline gave Silveny and Greyfell a thorough check-up and grooming.
Keefe clapped a hand on Fitz's shoulder. "Then you need to come by more often. There's no need to feel intimidated just because I'm Silveny's favorite."
Fitz grinned back. "I'm pretty sure that title goes to Sophie."
Keefe began to protest, but Sophie's attention was drawn to Luna as she watched the little alicorn leap into the air—and snap up a butterfly between her teeth.
"Luna!" Sophie called, running forward. "No! Drop it!"
Startled, Luna released the butterfly and took off running across the fields toward the woods. Wynn galloped after her.
"Runaway baby alicorns!" Keefe shouted, and they all sprinted after them.
There's a large river up ahead, Sophie transmitted to Fitz as they ran. They're usually too nervous to cross it.
We can corner them on the shore, Fitz agreed, already following her line of thought. I'll get Wynn, he's a little slower. You and Keefe get Luna?
Roger that.
Fitz's mind bloomed with confusion. Who's Roger?
Sophie fought back a smile. Nevermind.
Wynn took a sharp left, quickly followed by Fitz, while Luna continued at full speed ahead,  Keefe and Sophie hot on her trail. The baby alicorn managed to move gracefully even in the thick undergrowth, her wings strong and agile. Sophie had never felt so clumsy in her life. It wasn't hard to believe that alicorns had lived undiscovered for so long.
They burst out of the woods and towards the sloping riverbank, down where the river rushed by in swells of rumbling white waves. Alarm flashed through her when she realized Luna was showing no signs of slowing down. Sophie and Keefe had barely reached the river's edge when the baby alicorn launched herself into the air on unsteady wings.
Keefe's eyes widened. "Luna, no! Come back!" he called.
The baby alicorn whipped around at the sound of his voice, but the sudden movement unbalanced her wings. They watched in horror as she flailed in the air before falling into the water with a splash.
Sophie gasped. "There's a waterfall at the outlet—we can't let her go over—"
"I got her," Keefe said. Without warning, he tugged his shirt off and sprinted toward the river. 
"Wait—Keefe!" Sophie yelled, but he had already jumped in. 
Panicked, she ran to the riverbank and scanned the water. She thought she could see flashes of Luna's feathery white wings, or Keefe's bright blonde hair, but it was hard to tell with the white rapids and the glare of the sun. For all Sophie knew, they could be at the bottom of the river or halfway to the ocean by now.
The anxiety of waiting was too much. She stepped into the edge of the water.
Sophie, don't!
Behind her, Fitz barreled out of the woods, one arm looped around Wynn's neck. The baby alicorn seemed to have calmed down, unlike Fitz, whose expression was wild with panic. "The water's too fast. You'll get swept in," he warned.
"But what if—" Dozens of scenarios flashed through before her eyes—drowning in beach caves, in oceans, in whirlpools and floods. Some of them were imagined, and some were not. So many things could go wrong.
"Don't think about that. You have to trust that Keefe knows what he's doing." Fitz rested a hand on her shoulder, and she let his touch ground her. "We have other ways of making sure he's safe. Can you sense his mind? Or Luna's?"
Nodding, she swept her gaze across the river, washing her telepathy over its surface. Nothing. "Fitz," Sophie said nervously, "I can't—"
"Yes, you can." He kept one hand on Wynn and the other on her shoulder. "Keep going, Sophie."
She felt Fitz lending his telepathic energy to her, a more stable source than her own frazzled thoughts, and suddenly her mind bloomed with hyperawareness of the living things around them—schools of fish hiding in the shallows, birds nesting in the trees, even the pinprick minds of insects hovering in the summer air. And finally, further down the river—
"They washed up on shore," Sophie gasped aloud, even though she knew Fitz sensed them at the same time she did. Instead, he let her guide them through the woods as she tracked them telepathically. 
Within moments, they spotted the bright white of Luna's damp coat as she kneeled on the riverbank, water droplets sliding off her feathery wings. Keefe was sprawled on the ground beside her.
His blonde hair was sopping wet and plastered to his head as he lifted it weakly. "Is that a very large, worried storm cloud I sense, or are you two just happy to see me?"
Sophie almost collapsed to the ground beside him, nearly crushed by the weight of her relief. However, the first thing out of her mouth was "What is wrong with you, Keefe Sencen?!"
"Ah. So you are happy to see me," he answered. Something must have shown on Sophie's face, because his sheepish grin softened. "I'm okay. Really." 
He stood up and opened his arms. His skin was cold and wet and seeped into her dry tunic, but Sophie let herself lean against him as her adrenaline wore off.
"Sorry for running off like that," Keefe murmured into her hair. "I tussled with a few river rapids while in the Neverseen and got used to it. Adding a baby alicorn into the equation wasn't hard." He drew back and kissed her with gentle, quick pecks. "Sorry. I'm sorry. Luna's sorry, too."
The baby alicorn whinnied softly.
"You're an idiot," Sophie muttered against his lips.
Fitz coughed. "Seconded."
Keefe raised an eyebrow at him. "If you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask."
In spite of herself, Sophie burst out laughing. She pulled Fitz into a group hug despite his weak protests and let herself hold them both, just for a little bit. They didn't have to say anything when she was the last to pull away, and she didn't say anything when they let her.