This takes place during the time gap between the second and third book in the Darren Shan series. Disclaimer- I don't own anything apart from the idea!
***
I was sitting on the highest branch of the tallest tree in the whole forest, concealed from the view of people below by the cluster of leaves that surrounded it. Tucking in my legs and leaning my back against the rough bark, I looked up to the sky. It was a beautiful day. Not a cloud to be seen. I exhaled in content and closed my eyes, soaking up the sun. Then I remembered why I was in the tree in the first place.
It had started off as friendly joke. A bit of humour to liven up our morning chore of gathering food for the Little People. I didn't see the harm. All I saw was an opportunity to have a little fun.
When Evra had bent over by the bank of a river - to inspect an animal carcass probably - there was only one thing I could do. I snuck up behind him and swiftly kicked his rear. It wasn't hard enough for him to fall into the water, just give him a shock. But of course, I forgot about my half-vampire powers.
Evra all but flew, face first, into the river. He spluttered and coughed in shock, hands flailing everywhere. I couldn't help but laugh at him. He looked like an idiot after all.
Once he regained some of his composure he looked in my direction and glared so hard I thought I would catch fire. My laughter died on my lips and I put my hands up defensively.
"Hey! I didn't mean to push you that hard. I'm still getting used to my vampire abilities." I said, the corners of my mouth twitching as a grin threatened to show.
Evra slowly got up, not showing any signs that he heard me, and got out of the river. I took a few steps back as a precaution. He pushed some of his wet, yellowy-green hair out of his face and narrowed his eyes to slits. He hissed menacingly,
"Now you're gonna get it, Shan."
I immediately started running. When Evra looked like that it only meant one thing; you were about to get some serious payback. And in this situation it was most likely he would shove me into the river. So it seemed like the best thing to do was run.
Looking back it was a pretty stupid thing to do because now I was stuck in a tree hiding from him, or just waiting to walk into his trap, cause when it comes to Evra and his pranks, you've always got to watch out.
***
I sat in the tree as long as I could, which actually proved to be pretty long. I fell asleep around midday and woke because of the noises coming from my stomach.
Making my way back to camp was a lot harder than I expected. The Cirque du Freak had just moved here recently and I was unfamiliar with the area. I kept an eye out for any signs of Evra but alas there was none to find. He must have went back to camp with to food for the Little People, thank God! It meant I could delay seeing him till night and by that time he would be too tired to get his revenge. I hoped.
When I eventually entered the Cirque du Freak's new camp site I went straight to the lunch table and picked up a not-so-hot hot dog. I munched on it while picking up today's chore list from Mr Tall. There wasn't that much to do since there wasn't a show tonight.
After helping put up a couple tents and gathering the laundry (to be sent to someone who knew how to wash it) the moon was already making it's way across the black, night sky. I thought it would be best if I waited in my tent for Mr Crepsley to awaken with my next vampire lesson. It also meant facing Evra though, but that was inevitable. I had delayed it as much as possible, may as well get it over with.
Walking into the tent, I saw Evra sitting in his hammock with a bucket of water next to him. Immediately I thought he was going to pour the content over me but instead all he did was stand up, shake my hand and declare there was no hard feelings. I was shocked. Normally he was all for taking his revenge. Maybe he realised that it was a joke. Maybe he was growing up.
I sat on my hammock and smiled. Whatever it was, I was glad of it. I was expecting him to pull something huge with the way he was fuming today. At least I was off the hook.
Looking up at Evra again, I noticed that he was washing his hands in the bucket of water. I was about to ask him what he was doing that for when Mr Crepsley stormed in. He had a furious death glare on his face that would have made me shiver any other day, but today all I did was laugh, because he also had on his face a drawn in moustache, monobrow and a black hand print.
"Darren, did you do this?" he asked through gritted teeth, pointing to his face.
"No, I've been out most of the day and was doing my chores the rest of it." I said, lifting my hand up to scratch the back of my neck like I did when I was nervous. His eyes narrowed as he walked towards me. Snatching my hand with his own he inspected the black ink on it and looked me in the eyes.
"Oh really?" he asked sarcastically, lifting an eyebrow for emphasis.
I looked down at my own hand incredulously. How did black ink get th-
That was the hand Evra shook.
Looking past Mr Crepsley I saw him sat there on his hammock, a smug smile placed on his lips as he waved both of his clean hands at me.
Oh, it was on.
***
A/N- So this is the start of many oneshots and mini arcs on the Darren Shan series. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and will stay tuned for the rest. Hopefully many are to come. Until next time. - Raejay x
