Past Attachments and New Connections

(A story of how Cory met Sky, Shelby already knew Sky from being childhood friends, so a sort of reunion for them)

Cory tapped his hand on the carved wooden surface of the table. He grumbled as his patience wore on, threatening to snap altogether. Although he could have very high patience, the amount of time Shelby was taking getting supplies for them was getting to him. Shelby was getting the supplies from the market they were in that day. Although the climate was that of a desert, Cory still insisted on not using their money on the proper clothing, thinking that it was more important to get food and other supplies, then supposedly 'wasting their money.'
He regretted his decision heavily.

Cory ran a hand through is honey colored hair, feeling sweat seep into his fingers, which were the only part of his hands that weren't gloved. He finally looked up from the rushed carvings on the table he was at when tapping was heard across the floor. Cory let out a sigh of annoyance when the figure was not Shelby, the only person he wanted to see at the moment. "She's probably left me to die in this hellhole."

He was about to go back to studying the table when Shelby entered with the figure. She was bouncing with excitement as she conversed with the stranger, her loose yet silky crimson hair bouncing with her. The stranger had curly, caramel hair that was wound into a low ponytail at the back of his head. He wore dark purple googles and the most jewelry Cory had ever seen. The figure had massive brown wings that could fill an entire room when spread. 'Hes an eagle hybrid.' Cory thought with a questioning look. Eagle Hybrids were not very common, and hard to distinguish between falcon and eagle. That is, if you didn't know the differences.

Cory examined them closely, he could see that the stranger was bouncing with just as much excitement as Shelby. Cory decided to move, he needed to see who this was and if Shelby got the supplies or not. He couldn't admit to himself that this man had caught his attention, Cory thought most people were the same and didn't care to remember many people's faces. This person however, looked so odd and unique. It was strange for anyone to catch Corys attention.

Cory pushed himself up from his seat. He swiftly crossed the tavern toward Shelby, the rickety floorboards clearly announcing his presence. Shelby flinched from the loud noise and turned to face Cory. She grinned and waved him toward her.
Cory reached the two and folded his arms, examining the stranger. The stranger then glanced at Cory and held out his hand, a bright grin on his face. "Hello! I'm Sky." He said in a pleasant voice, seemingly happy that Cory was there. Cory gave a skeptical glance and took Sky's hand. "I'm Cory." He muttered. Sky looked at him curiously, his peculiar golden eyes catching Corys attention. 'Is there anything normal about this person?' He wondered. Cory then noticed Sky looking at him with curious eyes."Are you about to ask me about my face?" Cory said with an apathetic tone. Sky burst into laughter, which Shelby then gave him a questioning look for. "I'm sorry, I'm just-" Sky took a deep breathe and chuckled a bit. "No, I'm just wondering why your so reluctant to tell me your name."

Cory went a bit tense. He didn't expect that reaction or reason for curiousity to be that. "What?" Cory blinked a few times and wondered if Sky was lying. "Yeah,  it's odd to see someone so reluctant to tell me as much as their name." Sky replied. "I'm guessing you get the questions about your face often then." Cory nodded slowly, still not sure if Sky was telling the truth. Even if his eyes portrayed nothing but sincerity, Cory still knew next to nothing about this person. "People usually ask about my face without even greeting me." Cory decided to say, it didn't offer truly useful information,  which Cory felt safe saying. "Really? I guess that explains a lot. But don't worry about me asking about it, because everyone has had their own experiences and some don't have to be shared." Sky reassured Cory. Cory felt a knot loosen in his chest he didn't even know was tightened. "I...Thank you." Cory felt himself calm a bit. "But did you just meet Shelby?" Cory asked with a bit of curiosity.

Shelby brightened up immediately and rushed to Cory.  "Oh oh! Sky can I tell him?" She turned to Sky who nodded. "Yes! So me and Sky were actually really good friends when we were children. My parents used to buy jewelry from Sky's parents and we started hanging out after we realized how long they took making deals. I think we've known each other since we were around 9 or 10 years old! We haven't seen each other in almost 5 years! I didn't expect to see him here!" She said with uncontrollable excitement, pointing to Sky and using wild hand gestures. "I was so happy to see him!" She ran up to Sky and hugged him. Sky returned it, but picked Shelby off the ground as she screamed with laughter. Cory started chuckling a bit,  his mask of indifference finally cracking. "I can see why you two would be happy to see each other. But save the reunion for later, we're in public." He said with the hint of a smile. "Also Shelby, I almost forgot to ask you, did you get the supplies?" Shelby nodded and opened the closed flap of her pale colored satchel, with a tiny silver crown button to open it. In the satchel she had everything that was needed and even an extra loaf of bread. Cory nodded and patted Shelbys head. She grinned and closed her satchel, a sudden thought seeming to cross against her face. "Hey Cory, What if we travel with Sky?" She asked, a bit of hope in her red-brown eyes. Cory thought for a bit. "I'm not sure Shelby. I don't think we can split out food rations furthe-" "Don't worry about food." Sky interrupted.  "Are you sure?" Cory asked. "Yes,  I'm actually traveling with two other people. Ones a crow hybrid and the other is a sea creature hybrid. We have plenty of food for ourselves." Cory thought a bit, 'If we go together then we'll most likely be better off.' "Hmm.. I suppose we could go together. There are more advantages if you already have enough food for yourselves." Cory considered. Shelby brightened up and turned toward Sky. "Would it be alright with you if we went with you and your group?" Sky nodded. "We'd be happy to join up with you two!" Cory shrugged "Then it's decided."