Yay yay another chapter!! Wow it's the first time I'm so inspired with a fic other than Red Wild (…=neglected homework though aurg!!)
Steph-Schell: Sorry, Connor is neither Jane nor Lisbon's kid (too old. He's eleven, they met six years ago) and don't worry, this fic wouldn't even exist if I didn't plan a reunion :D
Mabeline36 and BFangs: those ones are some of the best compliments I've ever had regarding my fic (teary eyes lol). Hope you'll enjoy this one for a veeeery long time, aye
Thanks to Mosie and Simonthecuttestmentalist too!!!!
PS: I confess I didn't grin like an idiot all day…but enough to make my friends worry why I was…(got a naughty grin) niark niark
Same warnings:
Warning 1: you don't like AU and Mentalist together? give it a try, you never know ;)
Warning 2: my English grammar isn't the best. I voice it better than I write it. Hope you'll still enjoy (won't blame you if you don't lol)
Wanderer
One inconvenient -or not, depending on the person- following the Dark Night was the loss of cars and everything working with an engine. A very few bicycle had been saved, but only well-off people could afford them –too easily stolen and hard to protect. The village had, in compensation, relied on a proud number of seven healthy carthorses, mostly used for ploughing fields or short trips around town. Teresa dreaded each moment she had to ride one. Only Cho –her best friend and partner when Sheriff Minelli needed help- had managed the exploit of making her go onto the animal. He had assured her for half an hour that carthorses were the most docile race -even though they were huge and she was rather small- before she consented trying to climb on one of the horse's back.
This day, Cho had asked permission to use one for an excursion. The beautiful shire –named Smart- he had borrowed was large and solid enough to bear both their weight. Once ready, they didn't waste time getting out of town, mostly because Teresa didn't want to meet Bosco by accident. After the brotherly not very subtle hints, she didn't want another drama with the main concerned.
The walk started quite well, she assumed; at least, she hadn't slipped from Smart's back yet, and wasn't handicapping the Asian man holding the reins.
"Is the source far from here?" she asked her friend, as her grip tightened the horse's mane, not very confident in her balance. In response to her hand, Smart shook his head, and she nearly dropped the few hairs intertwined in her fingers.
"Not really" Cho replied sternly, though she swore she felt a hint of a smirk in his tone. "Five, ten minutes top; but it's in the forest."
"Okay; just make this quick"
Time passed painfully slowly for Teresa, who despite getting used to the slow regular path of Smart, still felt uncomfortable on the horse's back. She occupied her mind by observing their surroundings.
The forest's floor wasn't all flat. After the Dark Night, trees had been growing up at an extraordinary speed and the ground, shattered from the earthquake, was nothing else but high humps of rocks and branches. The result was an absolute killer-foot. The path they were following wasn't too vicious though. Trees were quite distant from each others, and despite the numerous bushes in between, Cho leaded Smart without a hitch while they went farther and farther in the woods.
The place was a well-hidden cascade, falling from a small stony cliff of fifteen feet high above them. Despite the steep slope surround its back, the top could easily be reached by foot if you walked around the large rocks that constituted the cliff. Cho pulled on the reins and jumped off Smart's back, quickly followed by Teresa. The woman took a few steps closer, careful not to slip on the humid flat stones dispatched around the pool, and crouched next the closest puddle.
The source was indeed very clear. Teresa couldn't help but plunge her hand and take a sip. Her eyes widened when she tasted the purity of the water.
"My, Cho, you did some discovery. The village's going to have another source here."
The Asian man hesitated before saying:
"I wasn't intending to tell the people; only Bosco knows what we are doing now, and I intend it to remain like this. Remember what happened to the previous source?"
Teresa had to admit the man was right. It had ended with someone poisoning the water and selling antidotes out-of-price. It was set then; only the mayor and the Sheriff would be notified of the river's presence.
A soft yelp made them both look up. Barely standing on a curved rock near the very top of the cascade, a teenager girl was trying to hold on to the branch of a nearby tree. She was wearing a bonnet covering most of her head, a worn light sweater; pants too big for her, held by a string or a belt, Teresa couldn't say, and a pair of sandals. Her hand, covered by fingerless gloves, managed to get a grip on a part of the tree and she stabilized herself enough to be comfortable with her position and look for another way to go forwards.
"Hey, you!" Teresa called out. "Get down here!"
The girl gasped in shock when she noticed them, but her reaction was immediate. She turned round, and jumped off her spot. Flying away from them. Teresa and Cho exchanged a glance before running up the abrupt pent adjacent to the cascade. They caught a glimpse of a thin figure disappearing between bushes not far away
"Hey, wait!" Cho cried in turn, dashing in the direction. Teresa climbed quickly on the rocks on the side, trying to see a general view of where the girl could have disappeared. She saw her sprinting among the trees, jumping over obstacles as if she had done this all her life. Cho had no chance to catch her, she was far too agile. A few seconds later, she had vanished in the depth background. The Asian man stopped running and after catching his breath, turned round and came back to her.
"Damn the girl is fast" he growled, offended she escaped him –he was known as one of the best sprinter in the village after all. "Got a chance to see where she was heading?"
Teresa nodded.
"She went towards the main road. I think she was just a wanderer. Wonder why she ran away like that."
Cho shrugged.
"Don't know. You don't think she was alone, do you?"
The woman shrugged and let her guts speak for her:
"Go get Smart, I don't feel it safe, leaving him behind. I want to see how many they are. I don't think she's a potential danger, but who knows who she's travelling with. Better safe than sorry, Cho."
The Asian man glanced in the general direction he had lost the girl. She knew he agreed with her.
"Let's go then"
--
It was a beautiful day. Despite the early time, the sun was shining with all its might and the weather warming up quickly; soon enough, the trio had put their coat back in their backpacks and traded heavy boots for sandals. They didn't take long to find the river's emplacement. It was smaller that the man expected, but enough for what they needed of it. After they had put their bags down and settled for a washing, Grace glanced expectantly at the man.
"Father? May I go and explore?" she requested. "I'd like to know where it leads."
The man looked up at the sky and frowned, thinking.
"It's still a little bit early for people" he thought out loud. "Yes you may, Grace. Don't go too far though."
Her eyes sparkled when he agreed, and not waiting any longer, she started following the current driving into the woods. Connor opened his mouth to ask if he could tag along, but the man shut him with a glance. Once she was out of reach, he sat down on a rock and waved at the boy to come closer.
"She needs to be alone right now" he told him, then added with a smile: "And you need to wash your face."
Connor pouted but obeyed reluctantly. A few minutes later, he was happily splashing in the water. Bare footed in the chilly water, he played at throwing pebbles, making ducks and drakes. In the meantime, the man was trying to catch a few fishes with an improvised fishing rod; with no great success. The boy suddenly paused in his entertainment and eyed him warily.
"Say father, I was wondering…why does Grace never smile? I mean, we've been together for a long time now, and I almost never see her smile. You don't really smile either" he pointed out, frowning, "but at least you try."
The man's expression softened at his 'son's' observation. Of course, he would have noticed. The only question was why he had waited so long to ask. Perhaps he wasn't comfortable talking about it with the teen, or she had already pushed him away. The boy was still waiting.
"Grace has a complicated past, Connor" he said, calling the boy by his chosen name for once. "You must understand that. She forgot how to smile a long time ago."
The boy nodded slowly and both turned back to their previous activity. Moments later, Connor was happily lying back on the grass, drying his legs in the sun, arms crossed behind his head. The man had eventually caught a few fishes. He was cheerfully about to start a fire to cook them for later; when Grace arrived, running and panting.
"Father! There were people in the woods! A woman and a man with a big horse."
Connor jumped on his feet and the man frowned worryingly.
"Did they look like hunters? Thieves?" when she shrugged at both answers, he wondered: "Perhaps they're people from a close village. Did they see you?"
Grace nodded frenetically, adrenaline colouring her ordinarily pale cheeks.
"Yeah, the woman called me, but I got scared and ran away immediately. The man ran after me but I got him lost in the woods. I'm sorry; I should have been more careful. What should we do, father?"
The man sighed and stood up.
"I'm going to wrap up the fishes in some towels. They're small; they shouldn't smell too much for some time. Both of you; get ready to leave. I don't think the two are a danger, but better safe than sorry. Come on, get ready children."
The two nodded and prepared themselves to hit the road again. While he was packing his fish, the man had a feeling, like he should stay a little more and wait. Wait and see. His instinct was dictating him –no, ordering him- to stay still. As he put their lunch-to-be in his own backpack, he hesitated. Time had taught him the best way to survive after the Dark Night was to stay backstage. However, his instincts had never failed him. And right now, he was over washed by the temptation of letting fate decide. The last time he let his guts lead the way was the night he decided to change his mind and entered that night club six years ago…
"Father? Are you ready?"
He raised his head. The anxious looks on Connor and Grace's made up his mind. Had he been alone, he would have gambled and stay. But he wasn't anymore. He had two kids at charge, and he would never put them in danger.
"Let's go children."
Then why was he feeling he was making a big mistake?
--
Teresa and Cho eventually arrived near the main road. They had followed the river current, presuming the girl was just exploring the environment and went further than planned. Lisbon wondered if she ran off because she was as surprised as them…
Smart stamped impatiently and shook his head, as if to say 'there's nothing interesting here'.
"Hey, Lisbon, look here" Cho called his friend and pointed out an area where grass had been flattened. A few footprints of different size were visible in the nearby mud, surrounding the humid limits of the river. "She wasn't alone. They were at least three. One man for sure, and maybe another teenager."
The traces were fresh, but none of them indicated in which direction they had departed.
"We can't chase them more" Teresa sighed, disappointed. "I just hope they weren't thieves."
"We'll tell Minelli" Cho replied calmly. "At least he'll be warned. Let's go back now; Bosco is waiting for my report."
Teresa nodded, but didn't follow immediately. She couldn't help it, but something in her wanted to follow the main road and try to catch the girl and her group. Something was calling her. It was the same feeling she had that night, when she accompanied Ray to the dance club and met him. An irresistible calling…
"Lisbon? You're coming?"
The voice of reason personified in Cho's helped her getting a hold on herself. This was just ridiculous. The chances that the man was standing here a few minutes ago were close to nothing. She couldn't waste time on fantasizing about it. Right now, she was going to report to Bosco that the source Cho found was indeed clean, go back to her brother and apologize for her cold behaviour and pass by Sheriff Minelli to see if there was anything she do. There; clear and set. As she climbed back on Smart's back with Cho's help (and a slight smirk on his face), she couldn't help but wonder.
He couldn't have been there.
He just couldn't.
Could he?
ps: Shires (that's the name I found in French, don't know if it's the same in English) are known to be the most strong and resistant carthorses existing.
Next chapter, our three travellers will come across a man named Rigsby (...doesn't he sounds familiar?) and Teresa confornts both brother and Bosco about her constant refusal (sorry, no preview yet XD) In the meantime, you can always push the green button below and make me a very, very happy one. till next time!