Picnic

[Sky]

"What's wrong with being proper?" Sky asked curiously. "For as much as my mother can be absolutely overbearing and strict when it comes to etiquette and propriety, I do think those things are important subjects to be knowledgeable on. Sure they're not always fun to learn about and to put into practice, but it makes me feel civilized and human." Under his breath he muttered, his voice tinged with bitterness, "Something that will probably become increasingly difficult for me to feel."

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine looked at Sky and felt her heart break. He was giving up, and there really wasn't anything she could do to stop it. "I'm all for being proper, but do I really need to know who so and so married and what the correct title for a disgraced knight is?" she asked.

She let out a sigh. "And we will find a way to break that curse, Sky. We will. I'm sure of it."

[Sky]

Sky shrugged listlessly as he said with a thin smile, "Maybe or maybe not." But just as suddenly as he had fallen into his sullen mood, he pulled himself out of it and said in a cheery voice, "But enough with this depressing talk. We said that we were going to have a good, relaxing time today and I intend to keep that promise. So what do you say? No more talk of the curse for the rest of the day, agreed?"

[Chris Strongheart]

"Agreed," Christine said quietly. She gave him a small smile before allowing herself to curl up next to him, her head resting against his shoulder. "I love you," she said softly as she twisted a lock of his hair around her fingers.

[Sky]

Sky froze when he heard those words. Those three little words. He couldn't help his reaction; he really couldn't. Even though he had been in a long term relationship before with Bloom, at heart he still had commitment issues. Especially when it came to things like saying those words. So much pressure. Too much pressure. If he said them back when he wasn't sure if he ready to say them, he was knowingly deceiving her . . . and yet, if he didn't say them . . . how would she interpret it? That he was just toying with her? That he didn't want to commit to her?

Sky sighed inwardly. It was thin ice he was walking on and he had a feeling that anything he said would end up with him plummeting straight into the cold water. Still, he had to say something. He couldn't just remain silent. That was even more wrong than saying the stupidest thing. With that in mind, Sky cleared his throat as he said hesitantly, "I-I'm sorry, Chris; I'm just not ready to say that. I can't really explain it but, I'm just . . . not."

[Chris Strongheart]

If Sky expected her to react poorly, he'd be in for a surprise. Christine said nothing, just kept that soft smile on her face and nestled closer. After a long pause, she finally spoke. "I know," she said softly. She was very close to drifting off to sleep - nestled as she was against Sky.

[Sky]

As Christine nestled against him, Sky sighed inwardly. As good as it felt to be with her, he still had the unsettling feeling that he was somehow doing something wrong. Christine was one of the sweetest, most kind people he had ever known and because of that, it only added to his guilt. A guilt that he just couldn't shake. A guilt that seemed to tell him that he was subconsciously using her. Because by being with her now he knew that on some level she must be expecting them to be together forever because she loved him. Sky winced at that thought and a part of him wished that she hadn't said those three words to him. Now if things didn't work out he would know that he had hurt her. Because he knew that she hadn't been playing around when she had said 'I love you.' Christine was too honest to lie about something of that magnitude.

Closing his eyes briefly, Sky wondered if he was really playing with fire by trying to start a relationship with Christine. There were so many obstacles that sometimes it just didn't seem likely that they would be able to overcome them. So wouldn't it just be better to cut ties now and save her the time and heartbreak?

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to tell her any of this. He couldn't bring himself to let her know that he still had doubts about them. Not when she didn't seem to have any.

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine allowed her eyes to flutter shut and she curled up close, feeling safe in his arms, or close to it. Right now, she would think of nothing but peace and quiet and warmth and happiness. None of this other nonsense. She needed this - craved it.

For her dreams showed her dark days ahead. Very dark days.

-hours later-

Her eyes flew open when she heard a howl. Had the sun set? Had Sky changed? "Sky?" she asked, her voice shaking just a little bit. She wasn't going to be afraid, she wasn't going to be afraid.

She sat up slowly, glancing about. Damn, the sun had set. Damn, damn, *damn*.

[Sky]

Having woken up just a few moments before the sun had set, Sky knew that there would be no time to wake Christine up and try to get her to safety before he transformed. His only option would be to leave her and to get as far away from her as possible before the dark settled over them. Without giving it a second thought, Sky rose to his feet and ran deeper and deeper into the woods, praying that this was the right choice - that nothing else out there could hurt her.

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine looked around, damn, damn, damn. Where was Sky? Was he safe? And damn it, it was dark now, and the forest was not an easy place to travel after dark.

[Sky]

Out of breath, Sky finally came to a stop and slumped down by a tree that looked almost grotesque in the dark. Having not the slightest idea where he was or who might be out there in the pitch black, Sky felt his curse take over him - felt the fur grow, his legs change shape, his teeth become sharp. But it was almost natural to him now - but even though he had transformed many times since that first night, he still didn't trust himself. True, he had yet to physically hurt anything . . . but he wasn't going to take any chances. So as long as he had this curse, he was going to act as though it was of the utmost danger to those around him. It was the only way to prevent any accidents.

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine found herself walking through the woods, trying to find the path that lead back to the school. "Damn, damn, damn. Why is it so hard to find the path?" she hissed to herself. She sighed softly and slumped her shoulders. Okay, maybe this hadn't been her brightest of ideas. And damn it, the wind was getting a bit chilly.

She saw something in the distance and jogged to it, not knowing she was about to take her life into her hands. "Hey, think you could help me?" she asked the figure standing before her, one she couldn't see since he was in the shadows. "Can you tell me where I am?"

[Random NPC]

Remaining in the shadows, the figure laughed menacingly before he said in a sing-song voice, "Tsk, tsk, little girl. Didn't you ever learn that you shouldn't run around in the woods at night? Don't you know that there are big, bad, dangerous things - creatures - lurking around in the shadows waiting for innocents to prey on?" Suddenly leaping out into the clearing, the figure snarled, "And don't you know that I'm one of them?"

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine bit her lower lip, trying vainly *not* to scream. Her eyes were wide with fear and she found herself frozen to the spot. She had two choices - two viable choices - one was to make like a bat out of hell - the other, faint. And somehow fainting didn't seem like it'd be smart right at this moment in time.

"Who are you?" she asked in a strangled whisper, finally able to take one or two steps backwards.

[Random NPC]

Taking a few stalking steps forward, the figure answered silkily, "Don't you mean what am I?"