Picnic

[Chris Strongheart]

"Then what are you?" she asked, taking another step backwards. She whimpered softly, wishing that Sky would show up - even if he was in his beast form - and help her get out of this mess. A few tears slipped down her cheeks.

[Random NPC]

"Now why would I go and tell you that? It'd spoil all the fun, don't you think? Well, maybe not your fun, but certainly mine because I must say, I'm quite enjoying watching you quake in fear - it makes you much too scared to run." Drawing a bit closer to Christine, the figure continued darkly, "You see, my dear, I'm very lazy - I don't like to have to chase my next meal."

[Chris Strongheart]

The little lightbulb finally went off and Christine swore, very colorfully. There was another one - and it wasn't Wolf. And it wasn't Sky. Oh, hell. Quickly, she turned on her heel and started to run. She had to either get away or find Sky and hope and pray that he was himself and not lost to the beast.

"Damn, damn, damn, damn!" Christine swore as she ran, before she fell, tripping over a tree root. She could feel the bones break in her left ankle as she landed hard on the ground. She glanced over her shoulder, trying to judge the location of the beast.

Okay, there was a cottage up ahead - she could wait until sunrise in there. Yeah, that could work. She climbed to her feet and limped in the direction of the cottage. If she could just get to that cottage and rest... Sky.. Oh God, he had to be okay... And so much for their day of peace and quiet.

Okay, that was a woodcutter's cottage, but what was... Oh, at this point - just getting to safety would suffice. She limp/ran to the cottage. Please, let it be empty so she didn't have to explain....

[Random NPC]

With a rumbling laugh, he called after Christine, "Aww, what's this? You don't want to be friends? Well, I suppose that's understandable, but I really am a nice fellow. Look - I'm even giving you a head start before I come after you. What could be the better start to a friendship than that? Of course, it will be a very short-lived friendship, but a friendship none the less. And you know what they say: friendship is about making sacrifices. So won't you be my friend - won't you sacrifice yourself so that I don't have to go hungry tonight?" A devilish grin crossing his face, the figure shouted to Christine's retreating back, "Fine. Run. You're just making this harder on yourself. I was going to be nice and make this experience painless for you, but now I'm thinking that I want to draw it out. I'm thinking that I'm going to let you run around in these dark woods not knowing where I am or if I know where you are. So see you soon, doll. See you soon."

With that, the figure darted away into the shadows, entirely out of sight.

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine continued to run, her eyes darting about, trying to catch a glimpse of fur - anything, to see where her attacker would come from. Frantic, and full of fear, she thought of the one thing she could do.

Scream.

And loudly.

"Sky!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping vainly that he would hear.

[Random NPC]

Lurking in the thicket of trees, the figure laughed silently as he watched the girl swinging around every which way, obviously in attempts of catching a glimpse of him. But she wouldn't be successful. It was too dark and his dark fur blended perfectly into the black shadows. Resting against a tree, knowing that he was perfectly safe from being discovered, he watched amusedly as the girl fell to pieces in her desperation. It was priceless. Utterly priceless.

Deciding that it would be fun to give her a bit more of a scare, he called out softly, knowing that she wouldn't be able to place where his voice was coming from, "It's just me and you, darling. Trust me when I say, there isn't a knight in shining armor who's going to be rescuing you tonight. So if you want to live, you had better pretend that you're not just another wet-nosed damsel in distress - which, unfortunately for you, you obviously are."

[Chris Strongheart]

For the thousandth time that half hour, she wished Sky was with her. At this point - she didn't care about what he looked like, just that he could protect her. She screamed his name one last time before collasping to the ground - her ankle having given up the ghost after she had been running on it while it was broken. For the thousandth time that moment, she wished she could work magic like the other girls.

She didn't care what it did to her dress - she pushed herself up to her hands and knees, crawling, trying to get away. Where *was* Sky? Couldn't he hear her?

[Random NPC]

"Sky, Sky, Sky," he mocked derisively from the trees, enjoying the sight of the girl crawling about helplessly on the ground. With a harsh laugh, he taunted, "What? Is your friend out there in the woods somewhere? You hoping that he'll come to your rescue? Newsflash, little girl: these woods aren't small. Even if your friend hears you, there's no way he'll get to you in time. Because I'm so close to you, little girl - only a few feet away - and I could snatch you up in an instant. Yes, it's terribly funny - I'm only a few feet away and yet you haven't the slightest clue where I am. I wonder, how does that feel? Being utterly helpless and alone, I mean."

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine struggled to get to her feet - but her broken ankle didn't want to play nice. Oh, God, where was Sky? Tears pricked her eyes as she wept from both fear and pain. Damn it, this wasn't how she wanted to spend her day with Sky.

[Random NPC]

"Aww, I didn't mean to make you cry," he said with false sincerity. In a surprisingly soothing voice, he continued, "Here, this will dry your tears, little girl: I'm not going to eat you. I promise. I was just having a little fun at your expense." Stepping out of the thicket, he approached Christine and beckoned softly, "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I just want to help you - to make up for the fright I gave you. So just give me your hand and I will help you get to that cottage up ahead and you'll be safe from the truly bad things that crawl around in the dark." Pausing for a moment, he asked wheedlingly, "Don't you trust me, friend?"

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine knew she shouldn't trust a stranger - but the pain from her ankle was just robbing her of common sense. So, with that in mind, she slowly placed her hand in the stranger's. And a tiny voice belonging to her common sense began to threaten to pack its bags and leave. Of course, another tiny voice was wondering if this was Sky and he was just playing a horrible joke on her.

[Sky]

In another part of the woods, Sky stumbled about in the dark, terrified that he might come across someone. Terrified that if he did, he would hurt that person. Because when it came down to it, he didn't know these woods the way he knew the ones near the palace back in Eraklyon. He didn't know if this wood was free of people the way the ones back home were or if this one happened to host campers and hikers and the like. All he knew was that he hoped not. He couldn't bare the thought that perhaps the reason why he had yet to transform into the cruel beasts werewolves were supposed to be was because he hadn't had reason to. But if there was something around him that could be considered prey . . . what then? Who knew what he would do?

Shuddering to himself, Sky continued to push his way through the thicket, glad for once for his fur, which protected him from being terribly cut up by sharp branches and thorns. As he continued deeper and deeper into the dark, Sky stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. Only a few paces ahead was a cabin - and one that looked completely deserted. It was perfect! He could hide in there and then he wouldn't have to risk running into an innocent somebody . . .

Not waiting a moment more, Sky raced toward it, thanking whatever it was that had given him such a gift.

[Chris Strongheart]

-in the cabin of horror-

Christine huddled into a corner, her ankle throbbing. She just rocked back and forth a little, fear coloring her features. It was clear that it wasn't Sky - and she had no idea who it was. It wasn't Sky. Wasn't Wolf. No idea who it was.

She whimpered softly, wondering what the werewolf had in store. She cast a weak glance out the window to see where the sun was. It was going to come up soon, right?

She shivered a bit, her sundress torn in various places while she had struggled against the werewolf's claws.

[Sky]

Glancing up at the still dark sky, Sky breathed a sigh of relief as he closed in on the cabin. He wasn't sure how much time was left until the sun was supposed to rise, so it was a rather nice thought that in mere moments he would be sheltered from the woods until he was back to his normal form. And then when he was sure that he was safe, he would go in search of Christine and somehow, everything would be fine. He was going to be fine because he had this cabin and she . . . Sky felt a wave of concern rise up in him before he pushed it aside. Christine was going to be fine too. She was tough and she could handle herself in these woods. Or, at least he thought she could . . . he hoped she could. But a part of him wasn't so sure. Because for as great of a student as she was at Red Fountain and for as skilled and learned as she seemed to be in all their classes - dragon wrangling, tactics, outdoor survival - Sky couldn't forget the fact that in real life, she often ended up needing to be rescued. From Wolf. From unintentionally injurying herself at the dragon pens. From Ribestaus . . .

Trying to keep his fears from getting the best of him, Sky finally reached the cabin's door and flung it open. To his surprise, he found that it wasn't empty . . . not empty at all. Catching sight of Christine, he felt his heart swell with relief. She was okay -

And then he saw it. In the dark shadows, Sky saw it and it terrified him beyond belief. Because what he saw before him was something that looked eerily just like him.

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine gave a tiny whimper of relief at seeing Sky enter the cabin. "Sky," she whimpered softly, her eyes moist with tears of relief, fear and pain. "Oh, God, you're okay." At this point - she didn't care what he looked like, he was her knight in shining armor, or as the case may be - fluffy fur.