And then Marcus walked me to the nurse's office," Adriane explained, examining the bandages that now adorned her palms and fingers. Adriane sat beside Emily at the kitchen table, while Tweek stood in front of her on the tabletop.
"How are you feeling now?" Tweek asked, running his HORARFF over the Wolfstone.
"I feel fine... normal, I guess?"
"Peculiar..." Tweek's quartz eyes whirled in his mossy head.
"What is it, Tweek?" Emily asked, leaning in to take a look at the Wolfstone.
"Well..." the EF paused as if for dramatic effect "I think you should take a trip to the Spirit world."
"Why?" Adriane asked, rubbing her Wolfstone as if it bothered her.
It was often hard to decipher the tiny figure's expressions, but now a definite frown crossed his twiggy features.
"I have a theory," Tweek paced "but I'll need you to go to the Spirit World to check something out."
"Okay," Adriane shrugged as she stood, pushing in her chair and walking towards her bedroom, Dreamer close on her heels. Adriane closed the door behind him, taking a seat on her bed cross-legged.
Dreamer sat in front of her.
"Are you ready?" Adriane asked, searching Dreamer's deep green eyes. Adriane didn't need to be alone, or even be in a quiet place to world walk. In fact, she could do it pretty much anywhere; it was just faster if she didn't have any distractions.
The wolf nodded. Adriane closed her eyes, focusing on the Wolfstone, and then on the Rocking Stone. A familiar feeling of weightlessness shifted over her; soon she was flying over the green forests of Ravenswood, leading Dreamer right into the Rocking Stone.
Emily sighed, leaning her head in her hand.
"Don't worry, Emily," Tweek twirled across the table, leaving a trail of moss and twigs behind him. "I'm sure we will get to the bottom of this."
"I hope so," Emily replied "Adriane has been acting weird for the past couple of days."
"Well maybe-"
"Adriane!" Gran called as she opened the door to the house.
Emily grabbed Tweek, squishing him under the table.
"Hello, Gran!" Emily called from the kitchen, pasting a grin on her face.
"Oh, hello Emily. Where is Adriane?" she asked, setting some groceries on the table.
"Um, she's just getting something from her room," Emily explained.
"Will you be staying for dinner?" Gran asked.
"No, actually, I was just about to leave..." Emily stood, leaning to discreetly shove Tweek into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder. "Do you think you could get Adriane to call me later?" she asked as she made her way towards the door.
"Of course, Dear." Gran nodded.
"Thanks! Nice seeing you," Emily exclaimed before heading out the door.
"What now?" Dreamer asked as they stepped onto the spirit trail.
"I guess we should find the Spirit Pack first," Adriane mused, whistling a short try at the wolf song.
Howls could be heard in the distance, accompanied by the thunder of paws on web.
"It seems they have found us" Dreamer cocked his head in the direction of the sounds.
Sure enough the trail in front of them began to fill up with thousands of ghost wolves.
A large, silvery wolf greeted Adriane with a bow of his head.
"Wolfsister."
"Packleader," Adriane bowed in return.
"What brings you to us?" He asked, standing proudly before her.
"I'm not entirely sure," she was hoping he could tell her.
"Zachariah is not with you today," he commented.
"No, of course not," Adriane frowned, looking around. Why would he be?
"No," the wolf shook his head "Zachariah is not with you today" he repeated.
Adriane gave another frown.
"Have you seen Silver Eyes?" she asked, scanning the crowded area for the silver shewolf.
"Adriane!"
Adriane opened her eyes. She was back in her bedroom. She stretched before standing, making her way across her bedroom. Followed by Dreamer, she opened the door, tip-toeing down the hall and into the kitchen where Gran was unpacking groceries.
"Could you help me put these away?" she asked.
"Sure," Adriane agreed with a nod, plucking a box of pasta from the brown paper shopping bags. "Where did Emily go?"
"She said she had to go do something," Gran explained, opening the fridge.
"Hmm..." Adriane made a face, opening a cupboard and placing the pasta, as well as a couple of cans of soup, inside. "I see... Are you making dinner, or should I?"
"If you don't mind, I'd like to sit down for a bit" Gran responded.
"Alright," Adriane began pulling things out of cupboards, pots and pans and a couple of jars of sauce. Soon Adriane was serving up two plates of spaghetti. Placing them on the table, she padded out to the living room. "Dinner's ready. I made spaghetti, is that alright?"
"That is fine," Gran took her time getting up, slowly migrating into the kitchen. She was getting old, but Adriane knew that Gran was far too independent to let her help her with anything.
The pair sat across from each other in their usual seats. Adriane's attention drifted out the window as they began to eat. The sun had fallen, plunging the woods into darkness.
"It's getting dark early," Adriane commented.
"Winter is coming early this year," Gran agreed with a nod.
"Yeah... I guess," Adriane shrugged, suddenly feeling restless. She gingerly picked at her food, realising that she had grossly overestimated how hungry she was.
"Is something the matter?" Gran questioned.
It felt like everyone had been asking her that. Joey, Marcus, Emily. Had she really been acting so strange?
"I don't know... I mean," Adriane sighed "not really."
A strange, but familiar feeling came over her, causing her to jump. The portal was open.
"Actually, Gran, I have to do something!" Adriane pushed her chair out as she stood, rushing towards the front door. "I'm so sorry! I have to go" Adriane slipped on her jacket, pulled on her shoes and ran out the door.
"And they still think I don't know," Gran smirked, shaking her head.
Adriane ran down a trail, Dreamer and Storm materializing at her side. She turned sharply, taking a short cut through a small stretch of trees. Adriane broke into the field, shielding her eyes from the abnormal bright light that hung in the center of the field. Wind gushed out of the portal, whipping tree leaves around the field. Letting her eyes adjust themselves, she spotted a familiar blonde boy near the portal, though he wasn't facing her.
"Zach!" Adriane called, running towards him.
"Adriane!" Zach turned, as if not expecting her to be there.
Adriane stopped. Something was wrong; she pushed her bangs out of her eyes, trying to get a clearer look.
"I was just about to call you," Zach walked hastily towards her. Adriane took a step back.
"Stop," she commanded. He obeyed.
"Hey... what's wrong?" he asked, taking a small step forward.
Adriane took another step back, examining the person in front of her.
"Zack?"
"Yeah?"
"No," Adriane shook her head "You're not Zach, are you?"
"What are you talking about?" he chuckled "Don't be ridiculous, of course It's me."
"No," Zach wouldn't come here, knowing she was mad at him. He also wouldn't call her 'ridiculous'. "Who are you?"
"Adriane, I'm telling you, it's me," he raised his arms, revealing his wrists.
"Where's your stone?" she questioned, raising her right arm, sending beams of light towards him.
'Zach' stared at her for a moment, a look of shock drawn across his face. The look disappeared, replaced with a bizarre, twisted grin, a face that not even Zach himself could make. Storm and Dreamer crouched, moving slowly on either side of him.
"You're a lot more observant than I thought you would be," he said in a voice that no human could make. He gave her one last final smirk before jumping back threw the portal.
Adriane followed, running into the fairy glen. She looked around the glade, which was empty. Whoever, or whatever it was, they were already gone. That was impossible, they couldn't just disappear.
"Zach?" she called, running across the glade and into the surrounding forests. "This is going to take forever," Adriane mumbled, stumbling through the unfamiliar terrain. Rushing into the woods, Adriane felt her foot catch on a root. Falling face-first, her landing was cushioned by a soft thicket of silkvines. Adriane huffed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes as she sat up. A glint of silver caught her eye a meter away. She scrambled towards the shining object. Adriane lifted the sword from its earthy resting place, exposing it to direct moonlight, tiny gems inlayed in elven metal shimmering in the light. Behind her Adriane could hear a rustling coming from the Fairy Glen. Adriane stood, weaving in and out of trees as she ran back to the glen.
"Zach? Drake?" she called, receiving silence in return. Breaking into the field, she ran up Okawa's branches to Zach's room. Of course, he wasn't there. Adriane walked out of the front platform. "Drake?" she yelled, searching the forests for movement. Her heart thumped in her ears, what if Drake was gone too?
"Mama?" Adriane exhaled sharply, relieved.
"Where are you?" she asked, glancing around the field.
"Dragon home"
"I need you to come home, now."
Adriane, didn't anyone ever teach you not to run with sharp objects? I seriously think Gran knows, but just doesn't say anything. I'm sorry this chapter jumps around so much, I'm probably gunna re-edit it tomorrow. Tell me what you think!
