"Why do you not sound happy about that?" Kara asked.
"Because the forest can be dangerous without a path. Hell it's dangerous even if you do have a path!" He took her hand and pulled her reluctant body after his. "This place looks beautiful but you have no idea what kind of creatures live in here. The kinds of creatures I was hoping to avoid."
"I have a feeling that I probably don't want to know," she said grimly. Not if a vampire wants to avoid them, but you're going to tell me anyway, she added silently.
Right on cue Hunter began to speak as if he hadn't heard her, "There's the fireys. They usually pop up when you need it the least and start trying to remove appendages. That thing on the path was a morantian, vicious as hell and always hungry, but they are slow eaters so that's not a pleasant way to go. Not to mention the werewolves."
"Werewolves? First I get vampires, now werewolves?" she said in disbelief.
Hunter nodded. "Yes. Cunning bastards and cruel, well some are cruel, some are out and out sadists. Don't worry too much about the werewolves though. Vampires and werewolves tend to stay out of each others way." Most of the time, he added silently to himself and hoped that on this occasion he was right.
"Oh and why might that be?" she enquired, trying to ignore the warm tingling feeling she was getting from his hand holding hers. She was also trying to ignore the voice in her head that was wondering why he was still holding her hand anyway. Her lips felt slightly swollen from their earlier kiss.
"Snobbery mostly," Hunter continued. "Vampires think they're better than werewolves, werewolves think they're better than vampires. The two species' just can't get along. Well so far. There was a time when things..." He stopped suddenly as if becoming aware he was talking out loud.
"And where do you stand?" she asked, partly because she was curious to know and partly just to get him talking again. The last thing she wanted was for her mind to keep drifting back to the fact that he'd kissed her when he seemed so wholly unaffected by it.
He looked over his shoulder and flashed a brief smile at her. "Personally I don't give a damn about the whole thing. Bores me to tears. Have you ever had to sit through vampire history lesions as a child?"
"No not often," she responded her voice dripping sarcasm.
Hunter either didn't notice or didn't care. "Well trust me there's a ton of the stuff and about ninety percent of it is werewolf and vampire wars! Usually over the most petty things!" He launched into an impersonation I'm a whining tone of voice, "You bit my sister! You mauled my human servant! On and on, just like that! It's ridiculous!"
I wonder if this is what they call culture shock, Kara mused.
They were weaving their way quickly in and out of trees, lead by Hunter who seemed to have at least some vague notion of where they were going. Which was good because Kara couldn't keep track of where they were or where they had been or where they were heading, so she was content to let Hunter drag her along by the hand.
Should have just gone home when I had the chance! She told herself not for the first time.
"You do know where you're going, right?" She asked after a while. Susan was asleep again and she was beginning to get tired of the silence that had fallen between them once more. Plus she was starting to feel hungry. Lunch time seemed like it had been days away.
"Of course I know where I'm going! I've come through these woods a thousand times!" He snapped.
"Ok, I just thought we'd been here before, that's all," she muttered. Geeze, note to self, the species doesn't matter *all* men are touchy about their sense of direction.
I wonder if he meant to kiss me, she wondered a second later and for the millionth time.
He stopped suddenly and turned to face her. He closed the distance between them and slowly lowered his mouth to hers. Kara felt like the whole world had begun to slow down, she didn't even breathe. His lips brushed lightly against hers and then he increased the pressure. Her eyes drifted closed and tremors of anticipation surged through her body. He pulled away, breaking the kiss.
"Convinced," he whispered before turning away to resume walking.
Kara stood, momentarily stunned before following him. She tripped on something and cursed softly as she almost fell. The something shifted, sliding against her ankle and she froze wandering if the something was an animal. The movement made her think of a snake. She started moving back slowly, in case it was a snake and it was angry about being tripped over but she didn't get far before it wrapped itself around her ankle. She lost her balance and with a small cry she fell forward, landing heavily on the forest floor. Her right arm was underneath her and trying to push herself back up she lost her balance again as she discovered her wrist hurt. She emitted a small gasp, flexing her arm were she lay. It wasn't serious, she knew because she'd hurt her wrist like that before in high school.
Hunter turned round and frowned at her. "Why are you on the ground?"
She didn't answer, the thing was still coiling around her ankle and by now she was quite convinced it was a snake. However looking down she could see she was mistaken. A thick, green vine was coiled around her ankle and, to her disbelief, was making its way up her leg. She rolled over and sat up. "Hunter, what is that?" she asked, pointing at it as it continued to wind itself around her. She leaned forward and tried pulling it off but it just wound itself tighter. She could feel her leg going numb and the beginnings of pins and needles in her foot. "You never said anything about killer plants!" she exclaimed.
"Well this is just great," he muttered.
"Tell me about it," Kara snapped, still struggling with the vine that had now reached her waist and was starting to drag her along the ground. She leaned back, digging her elbows into the ground and tried pulling herself against the plant but it was stronger. I'm going to be killed by salad! Her mind screamed in disbelief.
"I could use a little help, if it's not too much trouble!" She yelled sarcastically. She fell all the way back as the vine tugged at her sharply. She could feel small stones digging into her that she hadn't known were there earlier. Her shirt rode up and some of the stones dug into her exposed skin. She could feel the small cuts they were making.
"I'm working on it," he retorted. She couldn't see what he was doing, he'd moved too far from her.
"What do you mean you're working on it?" she demanded. The vine was fast moving and had now wrapped itself around her arms, holding them in place and was winding round her chest, still pulling her forward, towards something. She felt it tighten and begin to restrict her breathing and she began to struggle wildly but all she managed to do was flop around like a fish out of water.
"Hunter, if you have a plan, now is good!" Her voice cracked at the end of that statement as panic started to really take hold of her. Each breath was becoming harder than the last and the vine was still squeezing. It was going to crush her, she realised with horror. Her breathing was coming in laboured gasps and grey spots were dancing in front of her eyes. "Hunter...." She managed to say before passing out altogether.
A second later and she would have seen Hunter approaching, holding a lit branch in his hand. He'd had trouble getting it lit with what was available and he cursed himself when he saw Kara was unconscious. Not wasting any more time he pressed the burning branch to the vine and something screamed. A high-pitched waling sound that echoed through the whole forest. The vine's grip on her body slackened as it recoiled from the flame. It began retreating back. Once or twice Hunter decided it wasn't moving fast enough so he brandished his torch at it some more. It finally retreated all the way back to wherever it had come from.
Kara lay on the ground, not moving and Hunter dropped down beside her, leaning close to catch the faint....frighteningly faint sound of her breathing. He lifted her body and, cradling her against him, he shook her with as much force as he dared, which wasn't much at all.
"Wake up," he whispered, brushing stray strands of hair back from her face. Her eye lashes fluttered. Now that the vine had been taken away her breathing was stronger. She moaned and came fully awake in his arms.
"Are you ok?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"Next time, could you make the rescue a tinsy bit quicker?" she smiled weakly, trying to make light of the situation.
A very sleepy Susan poked her head from Kara's pocket. "What's going on," she mumbled.
"I can't believe you slept through that!" Kara exclaimed.
"Slept through what?" asked the confused mouse.
"Creepers," Hunter explained grimly.
"Uh oh." Said Susan and Kara got the feeling there was something she wasn't being told.
"What?" She demanded.
Hunter and Susan exchanged looks. "Creepers are usually set up as traps," Hunter explained.
"So Jareth..."
"No," Hunter cut her off. "Jareth isn't fond of creepers himself. Only werewolves use them."
"Oh. If there's a point, please explain."
"The point is, I don't think that was an accident and we really should get moving." Hunter swung her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing.
"Put me down!" She protested, "I can walk!"
"I'm not going to walk," he said and broke into a run. She could see why he was carrying her. It was almost nothing for him to do so and she would never have been able to keep up with him on her own. He was moving so fast the trees were little more than a blur. Soon the edge of the forest came into sight and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hold that thought, sweetheart," Hunter said grimly, "We're not out of the woods yet." It was then she saw the two dark silhouettes of people up ahead.
"Because the forest can be dangerous without a path. Hell it's dangerous even if you do have a path!" He took her hand and pulled her reluctant body after his. "This place looks beautiful but you have no idea what kind of creatures live in here. The kinds of creatures I was hoping to avoid."
"I have a feeling that I probably don't want to know," she said grimly. Not if a vampire wants to avoid them, but you're going to tell me anyway, she added silently.
Right on cue Hunter began to speak as if he hadn't heard her, "There's the fireys. They usually pop up when you need it the least and start trying to remove appendages. That thing on the path was a morantian, vicious as hell and always hungry, but they are slow eaters so that's not a pleasant way to go. Not to mention the werewolves."
"Werewolves? First I get vampires, now werewolves?" she said in disbelief.
Hunter nodded. "Yes. Cunning bastards and cruel, well some are cruel, some are out and out sadists. Don't worry too much about the werewolves though. Vampires and werewolves tend to stay out of each others way." Most of the time, he added silently to himself and hoped that on this occasion he was right.
"Oh and why might that be?" she enquired, trying to ignore the warm tingling feeling she was getting from his hand holding hers. She was also trying to ignore the voice in her head that was wondering why he was still holding her hand anyway. Her lips felt slightly swollen from their earlier kiss.
"Snobbery mostly," Hunter continued. "Vampires think they're better than werewolves, werewolves think they're better than vampires. The two species' just can't get along. Well so far. There was a time when things..." He stopped suddenly as if becoming aware he was talking out loud.
"And where do you stand?" she asked, partly because she was curious to know and partly just to get him talking again. The last thing she wanted was for her mind to keep drifting back to the fact that he'd kissed her when he seemed so wholly unaffected by it.
He looked over his shoulder and flashed a brief smile at her. "Personally I don't give a damn about the whole thing. Bores me to tears. Have you ever had to sit through vampire history lesions as a child?"
"No not often," she responded her voice dripping sarcasm.
Hunter either didn't notice or didn't care. "Well trust me there's a ton of the stuff and about ninety percent of it is werewolf and vampire wars! Usually over the most petty things!" He launched into an impersonation I'm a whining tone of voice, "You bit my sister! You mauled my human servant! On and on, just like that! It's ridiculous!"
I wonder if this is what they call culture shock, Kara mused.
They were weaving their way quickly in and out of trees, lead by Hunter who seemed to have at least some vague notion of where they were going. Which was good because Kara couldn't keep track of where they were or where they had been or where they were heading, so she was content to let Hunter drag her along by the hand.
Should have just gone home when I had the chance! She told herself not for the first time.
"You do know where you're going, right?" She asked after a while. Susan was asleep again and she was beginning to get tired of the silence that had fallen between them once more. Plus she was starting to feel hungry. Lunch time seemed like it had been days away.
"Of course I know where I'm going! I've come through these woods a thousand times!" He snapped.
"Ok, I just thought we'd been here before, that's all," she muttered. Geeze, note to self, the species doesn't matter *all* men are touchy about their sense of direction.
I wonder if he meant to kiss me, she wondered a second later and for the millionth time.
He stopped suddenly and turned to face her. He closed the distance between them and slowly lowered his mouth to hers. Kara felt like the whole world had begun to slow down, she didn't even breathe. His lips brushed lightly against hers and then he increased the pressure. Her eyes drifted closed and tremors of anticipation surged through her body. He pulled away, breaking the kiss.
"Convinced," he whispered before turning away to resume walking.
Kara stood, momentarily stunned before following him. She tripped on something and cursed softly as she almost fell. The something shifted, sliding against her ankle and she froze wandering if the something was an animal. The movement made her think of a snake. She started moving back slowly, in case it was a snake and it was angry about being tripped over but she didn't get far before it wrapped itself around her ankle. She lost her balance and with a small cry she fell forward, landing heavily on the forest floor. Her right arm was underneath her and trying to push herself back up she lost her balance again as she discovered her wrist hurt. She emitted a small gasp, flexing her arm were she lay. It wasn't serious, she knew because she'd hurt her wrist like that before in high school.
Hunter turned round and frowned at her. "Why are you on the ground?"
She didn't answer, the thing was still coiling around her ankle and by now she was quite convinced it was a snake. However looking down she could see she was mistaken. A thick, green vine was coiled around her ankle and, to her disbelief, was making its way up her leg. She rolled over and sat up. "Hunter, what is that?" she asked, pointing at it as it continued to wind itself around her. She leaned forward and tried pulling it off but it just wound itself tighter. She could feel her leg going numb and the beginnings of pins and needles in her foot. "You never said anything about killer plants!" she exclaimed.
"Well this is just great," he muttered.
"Tell me about it," Kara snapped, still struggling with the vine that had now reached her waist and was starting to drag her along the ground. She leaned back, digging her elbows into the ground and tried pulling herself against the plant but it was stronger. I'm going to be killed by salad! Her mind screamed in disbelief.
"I could use a little help, if it's not too much trouble!" She yelled sarcastically. She fell all the way back as the vine tugged at her sharply. She could feel small stones digging into her that she hadn't known were there earlier. Her shirt rode up and some of the stones dug into her exposed skin. She could feel the small cuts they were making.
"I'm working on it," he retorted. She couldn't see what he was doing, he'd moved too far from her.
"What do you mean you're working on it?" she demanded. The vine was fast moving and had now wrapped itself around her arms, holding them in place and was winding round her chest, still pulling her forward, towards something. She felt it tighten and begin to restrict her breathing and she began to struggle wildly but all she managed to do was flop around like a fish out of water.
"Hunter, if you have a plan, now is good!" Her voice cracked at the end of that statement as panic started to really take hold of her. Each breath was becoming harder than the last and the vine was still squeezing. It was going to crush her, she realised with horror. Her breathing was coming in laboured gasps and grey spots were dancing in front of her eyes. "Hunter...." She managed to say before passing out altogether.
A second later and she would have seen Hunter approaching, holding a lit branch in his hand. He'd had trouble getting it lit with what was available and he cursed himself when he saw Kara was unconscious. Not wasting any more time he pressed the burning branch to the vine and something screamed. A high-pitched waling sound that echoed through the whole forest. The vine's grip on her body slackened as it recoiled from the flame. It began retreating back. Once or twice Hunter decided it wasn't moving fast enough so he brandished his torch at it some more. It finally retreated all the way back to wherever it had come from.
Kara lay on the ground, not moving and Hunter dropped down beside her, leaning close to catch the faint....frighteningly faint sound of her breathing. He lifted her body and, cradling her against him, he shook her with as much force as he dared, which wasn't much at all.
"Wake up," he whispered, brushing stray strands of hair back from her face. Her eye lashes fluttered. Now that the vine had been taken away her breathing was stronger. She moaned and came fully awake in his arms.
"Are you ok?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"Next time, could you make the rescue a tinsy bit quicker?" she smiled weakly, trying to make light of the situation.
A very sleepy Susan poked her head from Kara's pocket. "What's going on," she mumbled.
"I can't believe you slept through that!" Kara exclaimed.
"Slept through what?" asked the confused mouse.
"Creepers," Hunter explained grimly.
"Uh oh." Said Susan and Kara got the feeling there was something she wasn't being told.
"What?" She demanded.
Hunter and Susan exchanged looks. "Creepers are usually set up as traps," Hunter explained.
"So Jareth..."
"No," Hunter cut her off. "Jareth isn't fond of creepers himself. Only werewolves use them."
"Oh. If there's a point, please explain."
"The point is, I don't think that was an accident and we really should get moving." Hunter swung her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing.
"Put me down!" She protested, "I can walk!"
"I'm not going to walk," he said and broke into a run. She could see why he was carrying her. It was almost nothing for him to do so and she would never have been able to keep up with him on her own. He was moving so fast the trees were little more than a blur. Soon the edge of the forest came into sight and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hold that thought, sweetheart," Hunter said grimly, "We're not out of the woods yet." It was then she saw the two dark silhouettes of people up ahead.