All the cool kids are doing it! I've added an ask page to my Tumblr account - partially to give the poor thing a use I imagine.
Truth or Dare
If you have a Tumblr account, you can ask any of my sims - past or present - a question over yonder. But if you DON'T have a tumbler account you can just ask it here and I'll copy it over as needed.
Questions and Answers already processed can be found here.
The questions should be addressed to a particular character and will be answered in character - hopefully with a picture just for fun. :)
Chapter 6
Mir slipped into the darkness and watched with mild amusement as the young reporter cursed and left the club. After she was sure he was gone, she slid into the elevator and made the short trip up two floors. The bouncer at the door said nothing as she passed him into the true VIP room of Elysium. The bouncer was not there for the vampires but to prevent any curiously foolish humans from invading the den of vampires.
As usual, Aaron Radtke was holding court on the small island in the middle of pool. Any vampire who wanted an audience with the Regis was required to cross the blood red pool to reach him. That was not a particularly difficult feat, it was mostly a symbolic way of putting himself on a dais. While she did need to speak with him, she did not join the small band of vampires at the edge of the pool. She barely glanced at him but could feel his eyes - and his mind - tracking her to the bar. "A negative." she said to the bartender.
A few newer vampires gasped and oohed as the Regis stood and leapt from the dais in a single bound. He landed on his feet, without a single hair disturbed. Mir didn't have to turn towards him to know he was coming her way. She could feel his presence tingling all over her and becoming stronger as he got closer. She barely felt his physical touch through the cloud of mental caresses. "Regis." she said with a discreet nod.
He nodded at the human behind the bar. "AB negative my dear." he said. She looked at him like a dog in heat and nodded vigorously. She clumsily prepared the drink for him, blood droplets splattering on the floor and bar. With no finesse or showmanship, she presented the glass to him with her head ducked down.
"I don't think your new girl is going to make it." Mir said smirking. She looked at the bar - where her own drink still hadn't been served - and then over at the bartender. One mental push and the girl's gaze snapped up to her in fear. She was trembling all over but quickly poured a glass for Mirelle.
"Now now Mir - no need to frighten the poor child. It's her first day on the floor..." Aaron said. He was looking over the girl, hunger and desire mingled over his face as he took in her small frame and ample endowments.
Mir tried not to look over disgusted. "I didn't know you fancied dumb blondes Aaron." she quipped.
His head snapped around quickly and he snarled at her. Mirelle knew he wasn't offended on behalf of the girl but because she had disrespected him - especially here where everyone in the room had exceptional hearing and had probably heard every bit of their exchange.
Before he could say anything, she made herself look appropriately repentant, looking down toward the floor and waiting for his body to stop pulsing with anger. 'There was a reporter,' she couldn't say it out loud so she continued to look at his feet as she spoke to him mentally.
He was silent - physically and mentally - for a few minutes. He nodded and then put his fingers on her chin, tilting it up to face him. He put his hand at the small of her back and navigated them toward the door. Their drinks were left untouched on the bar.
They were both silent as the elevator moved down toward the basement of the building where Aaron had a small private apartment and office space set up. This was in addition to the sprawling old mansion he had in the hills outside of town. Just inside the door, Aaron leaned in close to Mir, pressing her against the wall. He didn't say anything but his eyes were on fire and she knew he wanted her, possibly as much as she wanted him. "Tell me out the reporter." he said, his voice low.
Mir, not as quick to change tracks as he was, had to shake off the pulsing desire insider he. "He came into the club tonight - looking for you. Alex Garza?"
"Garza...of the Times right?" he asked, pushing off the wall and away from her. "Care for a drink?"
"Sure." she said, following him toward the bar. "Yes, he's a writer for the Times. Said he got a tip that you'd endorsed Pike...you didn't did you?" she asked.
He didn't respond as he poured them both drinks and passed one over to her. "And if I did?"
"Oh Aaron..." she groaned thinking about all the implications. "You know how much attention this will get - considering your rather outspoken political opinions. When this gets out half the reporters in town will be focused on you..." She'd put her glass back on the bar without taking a drink and paced the room.
"Aren't you going to drink your drink Mir?" he said. "What's wrong with having a few reporters around? It's good for business."
"It's not good for us though!" she snapped at him. His nonchalant expression slipped as he flared with anger at her outburst but was just as quickly gone again.
"I wasn't aware there was an 'us' anymore Mir - much to my disappointment." he replied.
She rolled her eyes. "No there isn't - you got married remember? And that wasn't the 'us' I was talking about and you damn well know it!"
"I didn't get married - I took a partner. And it was strictly strategic." Aaron easily navigated the conversation in the direction he desired.
"Does Mrs. Radtke view it as a strategic endeavour?" Mir asked, trying to regain her composure. He was one of the few people who could rattle her cage in this way.
He seemed to think on that for a moment and shrug. "Can't say I really care." In a blur he set down his glass and was by her side, pressing her against the bar and twining a strand of her hair around his finger.
"Stop that!" Mir said trying to push against his chest. Even with her enhanced vampire strength it was like pushing against a wall. He was a vampire too and almost four times her age. If he didn't want to be moved by her, he wasn't going to be moved. "The reporter Aaron..." she tried to bring the focus back around to the original subject.
"Mmhmm, let's forget about the reporter." he whispered into her ear. Mirelle cursed her body's willing responses to him. His lips brushed against her skin and she let out a small, involuntary groan. "There's a good girl..." he teased.
"Why do you keep doing this to me Aaron?" Mirelle whispered, even as his strong hands ran along her pale skin.
Afterward, as they lay in the afterglow of the encounter, Mirelle's haze slowly cleared and her thoughts returned to the real reason she'd sought him out. "I don't think you can sex the reporter away Aaron..." she said as she climbed off the couch and collected her under things.
"Oh I don't know - he might swing that direction..." Aaron said with a grin on his face.
"Is everything a game to you Aaron?" Mir snapped. Inside she felt the sting of thirst since she'd left both her drinks go to waste and allowed Aaron to capture her attention for so long. She could feel the tug of encroaching dawn as well and wanted to be well away from here when she had to go to ground for the day.
"Not everything." he said, showing no sign of modesting or covering himself. "The reporter will be dealt with and I have Pike under control."
"That's exactly the problem." Mir said. "If the Concil finds out how much you're meddling in human affairs..."
"What about the girl?" Aaron said, brushing the topic aside. She knew that he thought he knew what he was doing but sometimes, though rarely, he let things go too far. "The one who snatched your dinner away last week."
"I went to her apartment like you asked." Mir said seething in frustration. As he was the Regis, she had to watch her words, but right now she just wanted to slap him.
"And..." he prompted.
"She wasn't there - but her apartment smells like Dog. Took me forever to get the smell out of my hair." Mir frowned and sniffed her hair again. It had been days since she'd been inside the apartment but she could still smell it sometimes.
"Dog?" Aaron asked raising his eyebrows. "Ah, were...do you think she's a were?" Mir was suspicious about Aaron unusual curiosity about this Lex but didn't say as much.
"No, I don't think so. I can...identify...Weres. Whoever, WHATever she is - it's nothing I've met before." she countered. "But she associates with Weres - extensively."
"Mhmm." Aaron said. He stood up, still not considering it necessary to cover himself, and walked over to her. "I want you to extend her an invitation..."
"Why?" Mir asked, feeling a sting of foolish jealousy at his interest. "She's nothing!"
"But she knows about us and is clearly a supe of some sort..." he said. "It merits investigation I think. And I'd like to meet her. No offense my dear Mir," he said, reaching out to stroke her cheek. "I'm several centuries older than you. Perhaps I'll be able to identify her."
Mir snarled and recoiled from his touch. "And if she refuses the invitation? She had no love of vampires on our first encounter."
"I'm sure you'll find a way to fulfill your Regis's wishes." Aaron said coolly. "I want the girl."
After several tense, silent moments, Mir nodded. "As you say...Regis." She collected the rest of her things. "I better be going before the dawn." she added, hoping he didn't object and try to keep her at the apartment.
He merely motioned to the door and disappeared into his bedroom, leaving her to show herself out.
------
The sun had been down for less than an hour when Mir returned to Lex's apartment. She could smell the hint of dog even before the elevator doors opened and snarled. "'I want the girl,'" she rolled her eyes. "Get your own damn girl Aaron..." she stepped into the hallway and approached the door, prepared to let herself in again. To her surprise the door was not only unlocked, it stood ajar. She glanced around the hallway before gently pushing the door in.
The apartment was in disarray with a few broken dishes and a few upturned chairs. There were deep claw marks slashed through the couch and the pictures on the wall were at all angles as if the place had been rumbled by an earthquake recently. The apartment still smelled of dog, only this one had a different, stronger odor.
None of this was particularly concerning to Mir. She didn't care in the least what sort of trouble the girl had gotten into. Except the girl wasn't here.
"Well damn." Mir said. "Now I'll smell like dog again and still have nothing to show for it..." She checked the apartment one more time and left, sure not to touch another more than necessary. On the way out of the building, she detected the unmistakable smell of Were and whipped around. He sensed her at the same time and their eyes locked on each other - each with an equal mix of disgust and anger.
End Chapter
Chapter 5
Alex tossed and turned in his tent that night. The snarky witch had told him he couldn’t leave the campgrounds, or more specifically she’d told him that he’d be better off staying there for the night. He couldn’t stop thinking about his girlfriend – surely she was wondering what had happened to him. Sy kept reassuring him that Clarissa was just fine and tucked away safely in the cabin but she wouldn’t tell him how she knew that. She just knew.
After an hour of staring at the fabric walls of the tent, Alex threw off the sleeping bag with a sigh and crawled to the flap. In the corner he saw a small bag of clothes and the investigative reporter in him drew him to the bag. He carefully poked around in it, not wanting to disturb the contents too much. He couldn’t even say why he was poking around anyway. He knew right off that it was Sy’s bag – of course he’d already gotten the impression that he was sleeping in her tent, in her sleeping bag. But if he was here – where was she?
In response to his unspoken question, he heard a twig snap just outside the tent and then a shadow fell across the flap. He scrambled back into the sleeping bag, unwilling to be caught with his hand in her bag. Truth was it probably wouldn’t matter – she’d know he’d been there the same as she knew about Clarissa. Still, when he heard the zipper on the tent flap, he closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
Sy stuck her head in the tent and surveyed their guest. She smiled at his attempt to feign sleep and grabbed an extra blanket before retreating back outside. “Sleep.” Sy said quietly. A fine mist surrounded the tent. As it dissipated, she nodded to herself and returned to her spot overlooking the city of Auchlin.
------
Alex step outside the tent and shivered a bit in the chilly night air. Even the fire – which was magically still lit – did little to warm the campsite. He imagined, though, that none of these women were uncomfortable. He wondered what the insides of the other tents looked like. Were they really multiple bedroom houses under those bland, deceptive covers? Did they have all the comforts of a four star hotel? His imagination ran wild with the possibilities. He was about to peak his head into the neighboring tent when he saw someone standing on the cliff a short ways off.
He started for her without really thinking but then stopped dead in his tracks. Hadn’t Sy said something about a circle, some sort of protective barrier? He walked around slowly, staying close to the line of tents as he searched for some sort of physical indication of this circle.
Sy chuckled in the distance, drawing his attention back to the cliff where she was standing. “It’s perfectly safe,” she spoke quietly, barely above a whisper, but her voice traveled along the wind to Alex. For a moment, it felt like her voice was swirling all around him, pulling him into a warm embrace.
Alex felt drawn to her and took several awkward, halting steps before he seemed to regain control of his body. “What are you doing out here?” he asked. Unlike Sy, his voice was loud and seemed to disturb the very air around him.
“Watching.” Sy said simply. To her, it was all the information he needed but Alex’s mind instantly formulated a dozen possible questions.
“Watching what exactly?” Alex asked. He took a chance and moved until he was standing next to her though she hadn’t asked him to join her.
Sy smiled at him. In the pale moon light he could see her eyes were twinkling; he felt like behind those eyes were the answers to so many mysteries and questions. “Everything.” she replied. Alex didn’t doubt that she had the capabilities to see everything. Alex was silent for a while. Sy didn’t seem bothered by his presence and he was loathed to return to the tent and the hard ground that awaited him. “Your wolf has left the area.” Sy said after they’d been watching quietly for some time. The rim of Gladio, the larger of the two suns, was just beginning to peak over the horizon behind them painting the sky like a brilliant canvas.
“What? How do you know that?” Alex asked even though he knew she wouldn’t tell him. As expected she simply smiled at him.
“Look, sunrise. Guess you can get back to that girlfriend of yours.” Sy said, in a fluid movement she turned, like water going around a bend. She paused to look at him, “Good luck Alex.”
And then she was gone. He could barely have blinked in the time it took her to disappear completely from his sight. “What IS she?” he asked aloud. He turned back to look down on the city in the distance and shook his head. It would take years to answer that seemingly simple question.
------
Try as he might, Alex couldn’t get that night in the woods out of his mind. The wolf invaded his dreams at night, growing larger and more menacing each time. And then there were the witches, mostly Sy. Though he’d gotten the impression that one of the others led the coven, Sy had exuded the real power in the group.
“Alex!” Clarissa’s shrill voice finally snapped him out of his thoughts. “Where have you been lately?” she asked, looking both concerned and annoyed with him.
“Sorry Rissa..” Alex said. “I’m just thinking about this article I’m working on,” he tacked on. It was a bald face lie but Clarissa would never be mad at him for focusing on work – his work kept her from having to work particularly hard. He stood up and put on his work face, “in fact, I think I’ll go to the office and get some work done.”
“Alright hon.” Rissa said with a grin. He could practically hear her ringing up the shoes, clothes and purses. He kissed her quickly on the cheek and left the loft in a hurry – more eager to be away from her than he probably should be.
Alex wasn’t the only one working late at the newspaper that night but the crowd was light. He waved to a few people as he passed them until he reached his small work station. He dropped his bag on the floor and sat in front of his computer. Even here, where focus was never an issue for him, Alex’s mind wandered while he waited for his computer load. The shrill sound of his desk phone shook him out of his thoughts. Alex looked at the phone in confusion - why would anyone be calling here now? He picked up the receiver, "Alex Garza, Auchlin Times" he answered. He was sure he could hear faint noise over the phone but no one spoke. "Hello?" he tried again. He rolled his eyes, probably a crank caller. "Anyone there? Guess not..." He replaced the receiver just as his computer connected to the network.
His email alert chimed moments after he hung up the phone. After sorting through the various spam, he had only one email left. "Radtke endorsed candidate Pike with a large donation." That was all it said but it had said enough to get his attention. Alex tried to verify the contents of the email but if it was true it hadn't hit the waves yet. Still, if he could find enough to run with it, he could get a scoop so he started trying to determine the source of the email.
Unfortunately, the sender had jumped through a lot of hoops to keep himself hidden. Alex even went down to the IT department where there was always at least one guy on duty and asked them to track the email. The IT guy had his feet up in his chair and was playing what looked a lot like Grand Theft Auto on one of the screens. "Um...hello?" Alex said trying to get the guy's attention.
He didn't even turn, "Bathroom is down the hall dude."
"Yes, I know that. I came down here to talk to you - assuming you're IT." Alex said.
"Oh. Cool. Gimme a sec." he said. Alex watched, somewhat impressed, as the guy finished the race. He spun around to face Alex then and smiled. "What can I do for ya dude?"
"I got an email from someone - he covered his tracks well - and I was wondering if you might be able to track him." Alex said.
"I'll give it a shot. May take some time though." Alex gave him all the information he needed and left it in the hands of a computer whiz who liked to use the word "dude". He tried not to let that fact disturb him too much. He glanced back into the tiny, darkened office one more time and shook his head. "Call me on my cell if you find anything..." The kid didn't say anything and just waved in acknowledgement.
It was too late to call anyone about this potential information but Alex couldn't just go home and sleep either. He knew Radtke's club was open most nights until four in the morning so he grabbed the suit jacket he kept at his desk just in case. After changing, he crossed the few city blocks that separated the business district from the clubs that populated Auchlin.
Elysium was set in the heart of all the clubs and was one of the more exclusive spots in town. Not being a real club goer, Alex was a little surprised to see there was still a crowd of people near the door and reconsidered his plan - such that it was. He was standing toward the back of the ill formed line and about to leave when he heard his name being shouted. "Alex! Come on!" He recognized her from work but couldn't place her department right off but he jogged toward her anyway. "You wanna go in right?"
He nodded. "Of course...you going in?"
"For a piece, I know it's not the investigative reporting you do but it gets me in the door" Liz said with a chuckle. Alex was amazed as she gave her name to the bouncer and they were waved inside without a second glance. "So, well...have a good time Alex." she said, smiling a little shyly. It was a stark contrast to her normally boisterous attitude at the office that Alex was caught off guard.
"Hey thanks Liz....how about I buy you a drink for saving me from a long, possibly fruitless, wait out in the cold?" Alex suggested. His suggestion went over well and soon they were sharing a drink and a laugh at the bar. Finally he was forced to excuse himself but Liz nodded casually and turned her attention to the dance floor.
Alex considered just asking the bartender outright if Radtke was here but they were busy serving people so he turned his attention to the crowd. "If I owned this club where would I sit?" he mused to himself. There were slightly more secluded tables in the corners of the room where local celebrities seemed to congregate. At first glance he could pick out at least a dozen faces he'd seen in the news but he didn't see Radtke among any of them.
When he stopped one of the bartenders to get another drink he made his initial inquiry. "Is Mr. Radtke at the club tonight?"
"Mmhmm." he replied with a slight nod but he gave no more information and turned away from him to make his drink.
He frowned and tried to get his attention again to ask more questions but as soon as he placed the drink in front of him, he turned away to serve someone else and the other bartender seemed to be keeping his distance as well. Maybe it would have been better to wait until the morning after all - this wasn't club business he wanted to talk about anyway. He finished his second drink and decided he'd make one lap of the floor - if he didn't have any luck he'd just have to come back first thing in the morning.
Without warning or introduction, she fell into step next to him. "Mr. Radtke is busy."
Alex turned in surprise, expecting to see the bartender or maybe Liz. She was pale as a ghost but her dark hair was full of life. And her eyes. Her eyes were like pools of blood. He'd never seen anyone with such an eye color before! He felt like he was being sucked in; drowning in her gaze. "And who are you?" he asked - his voice sounded weak and far away even to him.
"My name is Mirelle." she said. "I'm one of Mr. Redtke's..." she tapped her long, perfectly painted nail against the edge of her mouth in thought, "Associates." she said after a short pause. "If you tell me what business you need to see him about, I might be able to pass along a message."
Alex was startled by the exchange, he didn't know this woman and as far as he could tell, the bartender had never even left her post. Something was off, but his desire to get the scoop won out. "I heard that he'd endorsed a certain political candidate - contrary to his normal inclinations - and wanted to talk to him about it."
"Mm. Curious, I wasn't aware that that news had been made public." Mirelle said.
"It hasn't as far as I know, I received a tip..." Alex said and then wanted to kick himself. Why was he being so open with this woman. For all he knew she was actually a reporter for another paper or, well who knows who she was. But he couldn't seem to help himself.
"Well, Alex Garza, I'll pass on your name and inquiry..." she said with a slight nod. It wasn't until after she'd disappeared that he realized he'd never even given her his name. Damn! She probably was a reporter and had recognized him and was trying to get her own scoop!
End Chapter
Chapter 4
Sy looked at the various camping equipment absently. She knew the basics but so much of this stuff seemed far too complicated for “camping”. When had camping involved taking most of the contents of your apartment outside so you could have all the “comforts of home”? She picked up a random box and pretended to look at it while the Were argued with the girl. They acted like family but Sy could tell they weren’t blood relations.
Finally the girl walked away and Sy took her opportunity. “Um, excuse me…” she said, positioning herself in his path. She had no idea Weres ran this place when she’d picked it from the Yellow Pages but had sensed it in the owner as soon as she’d entered.
After getting the map from Link, Sy gave him a small, flirty smile before leaving. She felt a lot of annoyance and hostility directed her way from the girl but she didn’t pay her much attention.
Back in her car, Sy pulled out her phone and started making the calls. “Yeah, I’ve got a place for this weekend. Don’t worry, it’s close and it’s secluded. I’ll scout it out but I think it will be perfect for the Blessing Rituals.”
------
As a new, and potentially temporary, member of the coven – a lot of the grunt work had fallen on Sy for this weekend. She didn’t really mind and pretended like she didn’t notice people checking up on her plans. She had reached out to this coven only a few weeks ago and, although she could out-power them all with her eyes closed, that wasn’t how one makes friends.
She checked her watch again and looked over at the tall building where her last passenger lived. She’d left the others in the car while she ran inside to call her up on the intercom. “I’ll be down in a few minutes!” had been the breathless reply Sy had received, ten minutes ago. At long last Tish emerged, carting enough luggage to last two weeks rather than the two days they would be out at the Lookout.
Sy pushed and shoved on the luggage – trying to squeeze it into her unyielding trunk but with two other passengers – there simply wasn’t room. Sy glanced around quickly and quietly muttered a few words. Whether the trunk suddenly got larger or the contents got just a bit smaller, Tish’s luggage finally slid into place and Sy smiled triumphantly. “Try that…” she muttered to no one in particular.
------
“This place is far too open…” Fueur said, her signature sneer on her face as she surveyed the area. “Who picked this spot again?” she asked looking directly at Sy.
“I’m sure it will be fabulous.” Neera said, her voice was soft and seemed to float. She placed her hand on Sy’s arm and smiled reassuringly at her. Sy merely nodded; in truth she was more annoyed by Neera’s platitudes than Fueur’s open hostility.
“Let us begin!” Anima, the leader of the coven, announced. “Symphony,” Anima was the only member of the coven who had not adopted Symphony’s nickname, “please help Janet in whatever way possible to be comfortable.”
Sy nodded and turned toward Janet with a smile. Behind her she heard Fueur whispering, “Comfortable? She’s like two minutes pregnant – how uncomfortable can she be?”
Sy had to agree with Fueur on this one but didn’t say so. She thought she heard Vale snickering before chastising Fueur. “So…twins?” Sy asked the freshly pregnant woman.
“Yes.” Janet reached for her non-existent belly and rubbed it tenderly. “We just found out a couple weeks ago and I called Anima right away – I want everything to go perfectly…” Janet never looked up from her belly the whole time she spoke so Sy was at liberty to roll her eyes.
“Right – of course.” Sy said finally. “Well why don’t we set you up over here…” Without waiting for Janet to come out of her pregnancy induced stupor, Sy started setting up a space for her.
The Blessing Rituals for Janet’s twins would have to take place just after sundown so they had a couple hours to set up the camp and settle in. Unbeknownst to the others, Sy was scanning the area and surrounding woods for any unwanted visitors. As she was looking around, she met Anima’s rich golden eyes and they shared a brief moment of understanding.
Anima was probably the most powerful of this coven. She could even give Sy a challenge if their skills could even be measured against each other. Anima was an elemental witch and a spirit user – the most powerful of all the elementals. Sy, on the other hand, had a familiar understanding of elemental use but did not specialize in it. Her power was deep rooted in her family and was far more diverse.
As night began to settle on them, the five elemental witches took up their positions around the fire Fueur had created. Even though she wasn’t an elemental user, watching them cast their circle intrigued Sy. Anima led Janet into the center of the circle with her and began with Vale, the Earth witch.
“Earth, we ask you humbly to come forth with a blessing for new life. To wrap these new babes in your warm embrace as you would a seed and cradle them until they are ready to be born into this world.” As Vale spoke, Anima lit the candle and the cold ground beneath their feet grew warm in response.
Anima turned to Airia and nodded. “Air, please come to us and caress our bodies and souls with your gentle breezes. Bless the babies our sister is carrying with your nourishment and fill them with your sweetness.” Airia’s voice was carried off in a small gust of wind before Anima had a chance to even light the candle. Air had made her presence known.
After lighting Air’s candle, she moved to Fueur and nodded to her. Fueur flicked her fingers and lit her own candle. “Fire, come forward and shield these foundlings and their mother with your protective flame. Warm them and comfort them so that they may grow strong in the womb.” Fueur’s flame surged up a few inches causing Janet to stumble back a bit in surprise. Fueur smirked in response but was triumphant.
Next Anima turned to Neera. “Water, my dearest, bless this woman and her babes on this night. Let your waves and currents guide them safely through the pregnancy and into the world so they may be delivered onto us in time.” A gentle mist fell from the sky around them but the flames never flickered once.
“The four elements have come forth to give you and your children their blessing on this night Sister.” Anima said, holding Janet’s hands in hers. “Now I call the final element, that of Spirit.” Anima looked toward the stars. “Spirit, gentle Mother of us all, please honor these children with your blessing. Cradle them and love them, take them into your embrace and bestow upon them the gifts of health and life. We ask this on this night most humbly.” A trickle of fog started to form at their feet – slowly spreading further outward until everyone was standing in it. As Sy looked down at it, she noticed it had an iridescent glow to it; it was almost gold like the strands of Anima’s hair. The fog closed in around Janet and soon had wrapped her in a tight coil that might make most people afraid but Janet merely smiled as she felt all the elements swirling in and around her.
------
The Blessing Rituals a success, the witches closed the circle and began to talk and chatter amongst themselves. Janet grew tired quickly and retired while Sy hung back a bit from the others. She barely knew them and there was a fair chance she’d be moving on before spending much more time with them anyway.
Not being distracted by chatter, Sy felt the presence before the others did. She walked to the edge of the clearing slowly, not wanting to alarm the others and cast out her net. Her eyes were half closed as she concentrated on the human crashing through the wooded area just outside the clearing. He was frantic and terrified of something. She ignored the human – he was of no threat to them – and cast still further to find the source of his fear.
A wolf.
She felt the giant wolf’s mind snap to hers as she zeroed in on him. Though separated by space and trees, the two stared at each other for several moments until the wolf broke off pursuit of the man.
She’d barely broken contact with the wolf when the man stumbled through the trees. He was out of breath and covered in dirt. “Wolf…” he muttered, though Sy was the only one close enough to hear him.
He stumbled forward, barely catching himself from falling from exhaustion. Sy knew the others were closing in, most would be caring and compassionate toward him – offering him comfort and aide but she knew Fueur was already preparing a snide comment or two.
After several minutes, they learned his name was Alex Garza and he was out here with his girlfriend at a cabin, though he couldn’t even begin to figure out which direction the cabin was. He’d been getting a few things from the car when he’d seen the large wolf and had been chased deep into the woods. He’d been running since barely after sunset – almost two hours – and had taken dozens of twists and turns through the woods before he came on the clearing and the wolf suddenly broke off pursuit. Anima looked at Sy quizzically after he mentioned the last part but Sy didn’t respond.
“I should call Clarissa…” Alex muttered, feeling around for his cell phone. The others had gone off to cast another circle of protection around the camp ground – leaving Sy to tend to Alex. “Oh crap..” he said when he came up empty handed. “I must have lost it in the woods while I…” he shuddered. He looked at Sy expectantly. “Can I borrow your phone?”
Sy shrugged. “I don’t have a cell phone actually.”
“You don’t have a cell phone?” he asked incredulously. “Who doesn’t have a cell phone?”
“Me.” Sy replied, trying to keep the snark from her voice. She’d been asked that question many times before but she rarely had need of a phone at all.
Alex was unconvinced, like she was intentionally holding out on him, but finally shrugged. “What about them?” Sy followed his line of sight to the circle of witches and watched with bemusement as his eyes went wide. “What are they doing?!”
“Protecting you from the Big Bad Wolf.” Sy said with a chuckle. She left him sitting there in befuddlement and joined the others.
End Chapter
