do or die, crazy

Saturday, 22 September

Just beyond the treeline
11:00 pm

❧❧❧

A chilly, unforgiving breeze stole through the night, rustling the blushing autumn leaves. High above, the moon was as yellow as butter, sitting like a wedge of gold among the stars. In three days' time, it would be round and full, and then all sorts of wild and dotty hijinks would ensue.

But Reyna Durand couldn't wait that long.

Oh, she was patient, yes. She considered herself to be far more resilient than some of her fellow peers. But she had been sneaking off to the Forest since June of last year. Like an old, wizened friend, it had been calling her name, luring her into its shadows once more.

Honestly, it was surprising that she had lasted this long, this time around.

She wasn't alone though, for once.

"Don't know why you insisted on taggin' along, Lucas," Reyna said to her right. "If I recall, you didn't handle that spider very well in Charms last week. Guess we can use you as bait if it comes to that."

She snickered, then looked to her left. Her expression softened, and she squeezed Lovelace's hand as tight as she could.

"And you," Reyna said, clicking her tongue. "You stay right by my side, got it? The Forest has a way of puttin' one over on you. You start seeing things, spooking yourself..." She giggled to herself, the sound echoing off of the fast approaching thicket. "Some say that spirits go hauntin' these very woods... a hunting party gone wrong, but who knows?"

These two were lucky to have a seasoned guide such as herself. Sure, there was the risk of getting caught, being in trouble, detention, blah, blah, blah. But what was school without a little bending of the rules? Just a smidge. How else would you make your own fun around here?

"I'll have you two know that I've never been caught," Reyna said, as they finally were thrust into the Forest. "I'd like to keep it that way, so keep your head on and try not to get lost. Oh, and if we actually run into the Arcromantulas... let me do the talking, please."

The moon seemed to dim overhead, and the shadows that were cast upon the ground looked like long, reaching fingers, sharp and sinister. No turning back... at least, not until they'd found something of worth around here.

❧❧❧

It was a good night for Lovelace, and not just because she was getting up to no good with her sister and one of her new friends. She was wired, which happened every once in a while at night and tended to ruin the following day, especially since she’d moved to England. There were too many ears in that huge, ancient house for Lovelace to be able to sneak very effectively, too many night owls to spot her in the dark as they went about their lives. She doubted she would be cranky tomorrow, now that she could put that vitality somewhere useful, somewhere that would satisfy her curiosity and wear down her energy so she would manage some contended sleep, if they got back in time. She squeezed her sister’s hand back, doing her best not to shoot Lucas a look that might make him feel bad about the fact that Rey clearly liked Lovelace better than him. It was easier with the knowledge that the poor kid didn’t like spiders much.

“Ah, mate!” Lovelace exclaimed as softly as she could manage so as to keep any animals from fleeing, genuinely sympathetic. She’d seen relatives and friends be absolutely petrified by various critters, which had initially just made her laugh until she’d realized they weren’t messing around. “Stay behind us, we’ll make sure the spideys don’t getcha. We’ve got limited experience with big spiders, ‘specially this big, but I’m assumin’ a bit more than you might have.” Her eyebrows raised as Rey gave her a safety talk, nodding dutifully in a way she’d never do for anyone else, “I got it, sis, I’ll stay with’ya even if I wanna go off and follow a crawly to see how it lives.” she agreed easily. These woods looked different than the terrain she was used to in more than a few ways and she knew enough about trying to survive away from “civilized” society that she would be a ways away from being remotely safe in them until she knew them better. When her brain caught up to Rey’s next words, she grinned mischievously, “Wait, like the wild hunt? Oooooh, I wanna see that!”

It was hard not to start forward and tug Rey with her, but Lovelace tried to keep Lucas in mind when she got the urge to. “I’ll letcha do the talkin’, but what if you forget an important detail?” she asked, a small grin forming. “I’ll just try to tell you separate.” she decided aloud then turned her head to look at Lucas, “Ready, Mr. Brave?” she asked, completely unaware that it might sound a bit like a challenge as she turned to look at Rey next, “I’m assumin’ we keep quiet and away from any humans we see to keep from gettin’ caught?”