"What" said the pair as they held Kat between them.
Kat tried her best to glare with her still flagging energy failed to muster anything particularly scary. Nonetheless, they seemed to at least realise what Kat was saying and stopped in their tracks.
"I guess we head back then" said Grace starting to turn around
"You're just going to listen to her?" asked Skye, stopping them in place.
"I am physically incapable of lying" said Kat
Skye gave Kat a wry look, "Well, I've certainly heard that spread around. But even if it is true it doesn't mean that you can't be wrong. Your half delirious, strung between two people. Is your judgement really sound enough?"
Kat felt a laugh bubbling up at that but managed to supress it. *Laughing in someone's face while they carry you is never the best decision.* "My mind is perfectly fine. It is only my body that is tired. Sure I feel that weight somewhat but it's a bit different for demons. I'll be perfectly fine in just a few more minutes" said Kat
And Kat's eloquence of speech and ease of movement did wonders to reinforce that point. It was clear Kat was already far from the exhausted body they'd been dragging for ten minutes. "I'm just wondering if it's worth turning back on a hunch" said Skye
Grace dismissed this though "Look, we have no real idea where we are going. Even if Kat is wrong, worst is we've wasted ten minutes of walking. Let's just head back the other way"
Skye looked like she wanted to argue, but she could already see Kat starting to recover visibly before her eyes, and seeing she was outvoted agreed to turn around.
It was only a minute later that Kat gave Skye and Grace the signal to let her down. Carefully placing her feet on the ground Kat, wrung out her shoulders and tried to dust of her horns. It seemed they did not share the same grime repelling properties as the rest of her body and outfit.
Skye looked ready to take off once this was done but Kat stopped Skye "I'm fine to walk but running would take a lot of my energy. It seems I'm the main fighting force and I want to be prepared for whatever is ahead"
Skye bit her lip but nodded at this one. Grace just shrugged and fell in step behind Kat. The Timmy's for their part stayed back, hoping to let Kat rest and trying not to pressure her into picking them up. They tried to stay unnoticed, but they didn't do so well. Especially when there was nothing but short cut grass as far as the eye could see… if you ignored the walls of course.
And so the trio started their march… back the way they came. Once they approached the boat again Kat could make out something in the distance. It still wasn't entirely clear, but it was more certain. She said as much to the others, but they just shrugged.
Another two minutes passed before Grace and Skye could also make out something strange, and Kat was starting to see the details. It looked like a picket fence.
After approaching further, now five minutes of travel, all three could confirm that it was in fact a picket fence. Grace looked ready to sprint over and check it out but held herself in check. Skye seemed content to keep the current pace but would occasionally cast glances towards Kat.
Once they were just shy of the fence, Kat could see that in front of her was what appeared to be a garden path, surrounded by a picket fence and leading towards the door. Checking her energy reserves Kat found she had enough to run safely without it making too much of a dent.
"We can run the rest if you want. It won't make a big difference to me" said Kat
Skye and Grace both nodded. The area looked clear and they wanted a better idea of what was actually going on. The three sprinted up to the edge and got a further idea of what was in front of them.
The path they had seen was leading to what looked like a reinforced door in the side of the wall. It was a normal size, which meant Kat would need to collapse her wings fully to step inside, though it was about an extra half again the height of a typical door.
It carried no identifying markings and blending well into the steel grey wall that covered the rest of the area. If not for the picket fence Kat wasn't sure if she'd have been able to pick it out. There was a handle, but it was well blended into the surrounding structure.
Kat looked between Skye and Grace and waiting for someone to speak up. Grace took the initiative and asked "Welp, are we going to go in?"
"It seems we have little choice" said Skye
Kat nodded. Whatever it was, the door was at the very least a way through these steel wall. They had no better ideas and it seemed like this was their best path forward.
Grace and Skye took a big step back at Kat's nod. She turned around and hit them with a raised eyebrow.
Grace gesture towards Kat and said "Well, you're the sturdiest of the three of us. Plus Skye can heal you if you can't heal yourself"
Skye nodded along with that though Kat did wonder how willing the human would be to actually heal her should the time come. Nevertheless Kat took a deep breath and stood in front of the door.
The Timmy's appeared beside her watching her movements closely. Kat slowly reached out toward the door handle. Placing her hand onto it, she gripped it solidly. Here goes nothing.
Kat pulled at the door, with perhaps more force then necessary and it swung open easily practically flying towards Kat. She took a step back to avoid getting taken out by the door and looked into the room beyond.
It was a plain sort of room, looking something like the waiting area at the doctor's office. There was one couch against the left wall, and three single chairs on the right, with tables in between them all. At the end of the room was another door, but there really was nothing else except for a soft light in the ceiling.
Kat took a hesitant step in. The moment she did so the three Timmy's followed behind swiftly and took up residence on the couch. Kat shrugged and followed their bold lead taking the seat closest to the second door and gestured for the other two to join her.
Grace followed behind instantly and took the middle chair. Though when it came to Skye's turn, she hesitated on the threshold and looked around as if there was any other way she could go.
Eventually she managed to take a step inside. And to perhaps Skye's great surprise nothing happened. Taking a more confident step forward she took the third and final chair, only to have the heavy steel door slam shut behind them once she was fully seated.
Skye and Grace jumped at this but Kat couldn't work up the energy to be concerned. *This has Thyme's personal touch written all over it. Just wait a minute and…* Right on cue the Timmy's pulled a cassette tape out of nowhere and inserted it into the front couch cushion.
"Hello Hello, This is your friendly announcer Thyme speaking. It seems you have managed to reach my resting stop. Now, I'd congratulate you on being the first to reach the area… except I don't actually know if you are. This is pre-recorded. Everyone will hear this message.
"If you are actually first then, I do truly extend my congratulations, but I wouldn't count on it. Anyway, you're probably wondering what's going on. Well I'm here to introduce to you the rules of the rest station.
"The first one, is that nobody is allowed to attack anyone, unless it is inside the training arena with both parties' consent. This is supposed to be a safe place for you to rest for a while, and I will have nobody thinking to take advantage of that. If you even get close to striking a contestant, I will instantly come there personally and punish you myself" Thyme's voice got louder and more distorted as he said the final words.
Thyme's voice quickly reverted for the next section though "Thing is, I realised that I may have spread you all out too far. So I built this resthouse to ensure that the final race for the orb is actually intense. It'd sure suck for one scout to rush their days ahead of everyone else.
"The exact time you'll be released is shown on the wall, in the common room. You can find that as soon as you step through the second door. You can find dorm areas, food, and other activities throughout the facility. This is just one of many, and only for people who use the same door.
"You can find additional information in the relevant rooms if necessary. Thanks for your attention and have a nice break"