A/N
Wow, this story has as many reviews as the Comments story. I'm glad everyone likes it so much.
"Are you sure you want to come along?"
"Yes. It is my choice. Besides, you never know when you might need another pair of wings." He said with a genuine smile. I don't think he's smiled this much since we started this little trip, and he seems to smile a lot more around Adelia. I think there's something serious going down there.
I admit I felt a little put off. I mean, I felt a little attached to Crepuscule, but now he was steadily devoting more of his attention to the sorceress.
Oh well. He is about ten physical years older than I am, and who knows chronologically. Besides, they looked like they made a good match, and a handsome looking couple.
Great, feelings have to go now. Jealousy doesn't suit me. But luckily, while I'm horrible at lying about almost everything, feelings is not one of them. Product of being saddled with the belief that what your charges are feeling are infinitely more important than yours.
Besides, I may or may not have another admirer, and I'm only sixteen, for goodness sakes. I have plenty of time to find that one guy, and plenty of time to make some mistakes along the way.
Not really bad mistakes, I hope though.
Adelia had everybody assembled in the garden, and was almost ready to open the gate.
"We've covered quite a lot of ground, so don't feel surprised when you walk outside." She said, waving her hand. Not symbols, no words. The barrier opened wide enough for us to get through.
"Oh, wow! It looks like home!" Rahne chirped from behind Jubilee.
I looked out of the hole. It was a massive rolling plain, not unlike the one we had left, but this one was greener, and just a few hundred feet ahead, there was a beautiful forest, with sunbeams piercing through the trees to light the plants below. And into the distance, a large, rocky mountain sprouted out of the ground, only a part of a highland that seemed to stretch on forever.
"Wow. Wow. Wow." Jubilee whispered. I was inclined to agree.
"Well? Shoo, my home is not a hotel, buzz off."
"Thanks for everything Adelia!" Jean, accustomed now to Adelia's sudden bouts of crankiness, was the first to jump out of the garden, followed by Mr. McCoy, who bowed and expressed his gratitude as well. The rest of us followed.
I walked in front of Crepuscule, just in case Adelia needed to catch him for something. Adelia nodded to me as I walked out, and I returned it.
Just as I though, Adelia stopped him and started talking. I kept walking. Amazingly, it hadn't been all that hard for me to get over my feelings. Crepuscule would still be a friend, yes, but no more puppy love need be involved.
As I kept walking, I kept seeing little rings of mushrooms. There were four in all that I saw, then I was interrupted in thinking by someone at my elbow. I looked and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Crepuscule grinning like a madman.
"Will you stop that, I think you're scaring the birds."
"Sorry. It's just that I feel wonderful, I haven't felt this good in almost fifty years." He said, managing to dim the smile down a bit. I swear, his teeth could probably act like a night light, and be too bright for the job.
"I suppose it had to do with what Adelia said?" Okay, there was still a hint of jealousy, but I'll get over it.
"How did you know?" He said, totally confused.
"Lady's intuition." I said with a little smile.
He stayed quiet, pondering the thought. I didn't press him to tell me what she said, I had a fairly good idea.
"Hey, hurry up you two!" Kitty yelled, twenty feet ahead of us. I hitched the bag I carried a little higher and started to speed up a little. Crepuscule did the same.
Adelia took a few bags off our hands, as Crepuscule was now human and couldn't carry them. She also refilled the water containers we depleted yesterday.
Crepuscule and I caught up with the others, who were heading in the direction of the mountain. The easiest way that seemed to go there was straight through the forest.
When we stepped into the forest, I allowed my mind to wander and briefly touch with a few animals. But a good number, however, didn't have anything I could read, and I wondered quietly why.
"Look at this place, it's so cool! Mr. McCoy, can we go to Scotland for our next trip?" Kitty asked eagerly. Rahne looked like she was about to pop with swelling pride.
Jean looked around and frowned, then she turned to Rahne. "What are some Scottish myths?"
"Why do you ask?" She questioned curiously.
"Well, I've been seeing some similarities, and I'm beginning to see a pattern. My guess, is that there may be some here that we can get ready for whatever is here."
"That seems like a valid assumption. I too, have been seeing some striking similarities." Mr. McCoy backed up.
Rahne looked a little taken back. So were I and the others.
"Well, there are the good folk; faeries, leprechauns, then shape shifters, a few other things."
Shape shifters? Well, that made sense. No wonder I couldn't understand them I don't understand Rahne in wolf form because she's actually not a wolf, she's a mutant.
Maybe I couldn't understand them because they weren't animals, they were something else.
"Okay, so keep an eye out for these things." Jean ordered us.
Kitty looked at Jubilee and whispered, "We're looking for Tinkerbell?"
Jubilee grinned but didn't say anything. Jean glared at then both.
"Take this seriously. We don't know how dangerous these things are."
"What? We'll get in trouble with people that are six inches tall?" Jubilee snorted.
"She's right. Don't underestimate the good folk. Not all of them are nice." Rahne said crossly. "You think Leprechauns just sit around and count gold on the edge of rainbows? Some leprechauns are worse than those stories about Transylvania vampires."
That kept us all quiet, wide eyed as she kept going.
"And the Faerie circles, if you walk into them at night, you'll be caught in their spell, and you'll dance until you die, or they do something else horrible to you! You have to tread carefully around the good folk. The Good folk are only good until you piss them off." She stopped to take a big breath. " And don't think that the good folk are the only ones you have to be careful of. They're not only called the good folk because they're nice, it's because they're nicer than everything else."
"Whoa." Was all Jubilee had to say on the matter.
"And Druids! Druids—"
"Calm down Rahne! We get it!" Jean said sharply.
"Sorry. I got a little carried away." She said sheepishly.
"Let's keep going, we should keep moving." Jean said, waving us forward. We all followed.
I let my mind wander again. Almost half of the creatures surrounding us were shape shifters. I decided not to divulge this to my companions, they were jumpy as it was, and the shape shifters didn't seem to be all that impressed, if the ones I actually caught sight of were any indication.
A big brown dog had watched us from the underbrush but then wandered off. A few birds chatted back in forth and stopped to glance at us but just started up again. A stag had moved out of the bushes and brazenly walked in front of us, gracefully ignoring but obviously pleased with the gasps from Jubilee, Rahne, and Kitty.
A few mice, some squirrels, some others creatures I didn't recognize, all of them were shape shifters. Personally, I envied the dog shifter. I want to see what it's like as a dog.
A twig broke behind us and I turned around fast to see…absolutely nothing. I turned back around to the front. Crepuscule had been walking a few feet ahead of me, and hadn't noticed me lagging. Neither had the rest. And they didn't seem to have heard the twig, either. I wondered if I wasn't being paranoid and kept walking.
But I still had the odd feeling, that if, just if, I had turned around a second faster, I could have seen what was there.
I walked a few feet behind Crepuscule, touching minds with a badger like creature that had been sleeping in a burrow under a log, of which I could actually understand and asked him to watch out behind me.
Why? Was his gruff reply.
(I want to know if there's someone behind me. Or if I'm paranoid. I would be most pleased if you told me.)
Will-O'-The-Wisp. They always follow travelers.
(Oh. Thank you very much.)
He grunted and went back to sleep.
Will-O'-The-Wisp. I think I've heard of them, they're a type of faerie, but I don't know what kind. They must be curious.
I really hoped it wouldn't get bad. Just let it stay curiosity.
A black shadow flashed through the forest just out of the corner of my eye. I almost jumped. There was no end to strange occurrences. And something told me that was no faerie.
Hoping it wasn't something worse, that never really helps. If anything, it tends to tip the scales in favor of worse, so I simply kept an eye out if it showed up again and tried to ignore the scuffling that I swore I heard behind me.
This may turn interesting, I'll have to pull out my old books on fairytales.
Asteria: Ha, thank you. I'm glad you like him. I tried to fit him to his form, dark fur, dark skin, that sort of thing, and I'm pleased it came out so well. I hope you like this chapter as well!
PrincessOfWildfire: Good! Curiosity satiating is part of the story's job! I'm glad you liked it and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!
Raliena: Herman thanks you and we hope you like the chapter!
Anon(girl): You are the second to mention Crepuscule's appeal. I'm glad I made him likeable. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Herman shall take the reviews! Watch out for faeries!
