Diligo Est Amicitia

CHP 15: Dare At Deadwood (Part 2)

A/N: Have a Merry Christmas!

Lilith was enjoying herself; she was with her powers and battling the Rebellion. Sure, she might take some crap from William for 'endangering her life unnecessarily' or even 'associating with those magic lowlifes' but hey, at least she was letting that pent-up madness she felt - at just about everything – out right at the enemy. They were pathetic; they couldn't even get within a five-feet perimeter without getting tangled up in her vines. Mr. Blue-Eyed behind her was lost in Dreamland so he wasn't any problem.

There was a growl, too close for comfort and already breaking that five-feet circle she had mentally drawn around herself and Tyler. This was a smart one, the last attacker; it was dodging every vine, which poked out, wildly from the earth. Lilith braced herself then at the last moment as it lunged at her, and then threw her left hand up. The creature struggled in her hold but the more it moved, the more it was choking itself. Finally, it stopped moving at all and Lilith threw it away as far as she could in disgust.

"Mmmr…" Oops; Tyler was waking up. Her first thought was to get out of there and fast but she soon remembered that he couldn't see her. But anyway, she thought as she scanned the area around her, her vampiric eyesight making her able to see in the dark and further and finding no other potential danger, since my job here is done, I might as well check on the James-ster.

And with that, Lilith melted back underground, just a second before Tyler opened his eyes.

Fire… there's warmth… Jamie thought desperately as she moved her head to look at the flames Reid had created with his Power. Those alluring flames, made even more seductive by the mere fact that purely magic had been used to create it.

Behind her, she could feel Lilith materializing.

"Jamie, oh my God!" Lilith crouched down beside her.

"Fire…" Jamie thought. Her throat was parched; like she hadn't seen water for weeks. "Fire…"

Lilith's eyes flicked to the fire at Reid's legs. She nodded at Jamie. "Okay." She turned Jamie over and pulled her hand so that her fingertips were grazing the flames.

Jamie took a deep breath, then concentrated on sucking the flames in; using it's energy to replace her own, however little comfort it gave. As soon as the fire extinguished, Lilith quickly liquefied through the earth, this time taking Jamie with her. Jamie wouldn't be able to survive more than six seconds underground in her weakened state, Lilith knew but she was confident that she could get Jamie away far away from exposure.

Reid had closed his eyes for a mere five seconds when he felt the flames go out in a whoosh. The warmth was no longer there and he snapped his eyes open at the sudden coolness and lost of light. He was already Using the power when he did this and on the alert. There had been no strong wind; what could have caused the fire's sudden death?

He thought he saw a green glow-ish silhouette not five centimeters away from the fire but as he blinked, it vanished. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He had been in a trance for far too long to be thinking properly. He looked over his shoulder to ensure that Tyler was still there.

He looked a little beyond the fire… and froze. What the --- "TYLER!"

The weirdness in his best friend's voice doubled Tyler's speed as the brunette rushed to see what the matter was.

"What?" He asked.

Reid pointed to a few meters away from the fire. Tyler still could not see what it was.

"Reid, what?"

"Can't you see it?" Reid turned to look at Tyler impatiently and the brunette took an involuntary step back as he realized his friend was Using. "Look harder, Baby Boy!"

Of course, they didn't know that without Using, none of them could See.

"Reid, I'm seeing nothing. All I'm seeing is a patch of ground."

"It's… some sort of dog." Reid ignored Tyler and walked over to the inert werewolf, which Jamie had choked. He picked up a stick and started to poke it. After all, weren't that what you were supposed to do in the movies? It lay still after a few hard prods so Reid threw away the stick and crouched down beside it.

"Uh, Reid?" All Tyler saw was him poking the air, then squatting near the spot he'd jabbed.

"A really big dog." Reid said loudly. "Tyler, come over here."

Tyler approached Reid unsurely, wondering what kind of prank the older boy was trying to pull on him this time. "I'm telling you Red, if this is another one of your tricks to disqualify me, then I--- agh!" Tyler didn't know what hit him; he just knew he'd stumbled over something and tripped.

"Jeez… what a klutz. Not sure Fin likes those." Reid taunted.

"Shut up." Tyler said, more interested in what he'd just tripped over because he certainly couldn't see a thing. "What the hell was that?"

"Whaddya mean what the hell was that?" Reid asked incredulously. "It's right at your feet, dum-dumb. What're you blind?"

"You wanna know what I'm thinking?" Reid continued before Tyler could respond to that. He looked from the creature lying at their feet, to Tyler then back again. "I'm thinking I can see it because I'm Using my power and you can't because your not."

He paused for a moment, willing himself to stop Using. His orbs went back to their usual baby blues. "I can't see it any more." He started patting the spot where he had seen the 'dog'. "Right. It's still here." He turned to Tyler who had been staring at him, wondering whether his best friend had finally gone over the edge. Reid snapped his fingers in front of the brunette's face. "Damn it, Tyler! Just Use the power for a bit and see, won't you?"

Tyler hesitated, the nodded. "Together, now." Reid commanded. In a moment, their eyes went midnight black and Tyler gawked at the figure lying at his feet. "Dang." He practically crawled away as fast as he could. "Reid, I know what that is…"

There was a dramatic pause as Reid stared at him. "Dude, that's a werewolf."

Reid would have burst out; laughing and calling Tyler childish and that he had seen too many horror movies – if it hadn't been for the size of the thing. It couldn't be a dog and it certainly wasn't a wolf, however much it could eat.

"C'mon, we've gotta get outta here." Tyler scrambled to his feet. "If the others smell him, they'll come and when they do, they'll find us and kill us."

Reid stared at Tyler. "Ty, you were the one who dared us to do this. I'm not gonna back out of it."

"Oh yeah? Well, guess what? If I run and you stay, I'm the only one who's going to see the Sun rising tomorrow. Don't underestimate the wolves, Reid. They travel in packs; they're extremely protective of one another, especially if this one has its mate." Trust Tyler to go all Fact-man for a minute.

Reid huffed. "Whatever." He went back to where he had been seating, Used his power to light up the fire again and sat there, arms crossed over his abdomen and glaring at Tyler, as if daring him to run.

"What are they doing?" Lilith groaned. "Aren't they supposed to be running scared after they saw that thing?"

"Throw them a growl, Soren." Jamie ordered. The lycan beside her threw back its head and let out a howl.

"That freak 'em out?" Jamie asked. She sat; leaning against a boulder on top of the cliff Lilith had transported them to. From here, they could get a perfect view of what the boys were doing. Since Jamie was still pretty much energy-less, Lilith had made her sit down while she went to peek at what the boys were doing. She had been a little anxious when the boys; had discovered the werewolf but Jamie told her it was a good thing; if the boys left, then maybe they wouldn't have to look out for them the whole night. Soren had emerged from the shadows after feasting on some poor doe and was there to watch their backs.

Suddenly, there was a muffled scream of pain as the clouds hid the full moon temporarily and Soren was turned back into human.

Soren was a man in his late twenties though he had lived for a century. His accent was hardcore British and for that, the girls already liked him. He was very fond of the three girls, Jamie in particular. They shared his love of hunting the Rebellion and the power that coursed through their veins as they succeeded in killing a number. Though he was an extremely loyal aide of William's, he sometimes hid things the girls had done that wouldn't have hurt the Pack anyway. Of course, these things were always minor like being out late or partying too much. Besides, they always repented and kept away from these things after he had given them a good talking to… most of the time.

"A little bit." Lilith replied. "They need something. Something more."

She held her hand over the earth and began to chant. Over where the boys sat, the trees moved, slightly and slowly; to creep them out, Jamie knew. They wouldn't see it because the dark cloaked the movement but they would feel it. Keen to help out although she knew she shouldn't due to her already significant loss of energy but she was confident she could do it.

Her silver eyes concentrated itself on the flame near Reid.

"Lady Extraxi." Soren called, reproachfully. "You've lost considerable energy. Do you really think you should…"

Jamie ignored him.

Tyler and Reid sat opposite each other, their heads bent down. They were both sulking; a really very stupid thing to do in these circumstances. Tyler shifted uncomfortably; he was getting restless with each passing minute, Reid noticed. If he was lucky, Tyler would flee before the hour had passed.

Suddenly, the brunette sat still and seemed to be listening very carefully. Reid frowned but did the same. He couldn't hear anything; maybe a few rustles of probably fallen leaves and the branches making some noise in the breeze but that was nothing, right? Really? His inner voice seemed to ask him. There was no wind. Suddenly, a howl, far off but very clear echoed through the woods. The sound sent a chill down his spine and he cursed himself for even considering in believing Tyler.

He looked around him but all he could see was the dark forests of Deadwood, surrounding them. Wait. Something's moving. He looked back at the spot but there was nothing. Another movement caught his attention off vision. Something was there. He just didn't know what it was or where it was.

"Reid." Tyler whispered, letting a little of the fear he felt slip into his voice.

Without warning, the fire between them abruptly exploded then went out completely. The trees around them seemed to enjoy the darkness and both boys could feel the hair on their necks rising. Goosebumps traveled all over their skin and they shivered though they knew it wasn't the cold.

"I don't know about you but I'm getting out of here." Tyler stood up. "Now, you can either come with me and forget this dare, think up of something else like jumping off some unsinkable ship or you can sit here and keep lighting fires that will go out. Your choice. First idea gets you a chance to win, second idea makes you the winner, although I doubt we'll be seeing you in class tomorrow."

Tyler walked off, leaving Reid sitting there in the dark like some poor idiot. Reid contemplated his choices. Just as he was about to make up his mind that indeed, he was going to sit there and see sunrise tomorrow, another howl, this one more colder and vicious than the last, came. "Hey, SHUT UP! IT'S MIDNIGHT, GODDAMNIT! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" He yelled into the dark, knowing how stupid he sounded, even as he said it.

"I can't believe him." Lilith said, shaking her head. "Can you believe him?"

Jamie just kept quiet, preferring to let Lilith finish her rant. "People are trying to sleep? Gawd, no one lives here; what is he, the most ignorant blonde of the century? He is so… stereotypical. Dumb ass."

And, lemme guess… you love him for it? Jamie bit back her tongue before she blurted it out. Soren was nearby and though he was back in wolf form, he still had an intelligible mind.

"That's it." Lilith decided. "I'm pulling out the big guns."

Before Jamie could ask what exactly were the 'big guns', there came a loud 'boom'.

The tree Reid had been leaning on suddenly just… stood up, pulled its roots and jiggled itself. Reid's eyes widened as he turned around and came face-to-face with the most… well, angriest tree he had ever seen. It was like a horrible re-play of Lord of the Rings, only he was sure that this big, great… organic creature wasn't on the good side. It suddenly started leaning forward, alarmingly close and Reid only barely threw himself aside before the tree fell down on the spot where he had been only seconds ago. It stood up again and continued to try to crush Reid.

Knowing that it would be pure suicide to stay there and challenge nature, especially since it seemed as if the whole forest was against him tonight, Reid hightailed it out of there. He was impetuous, but not stupid. Although Caleb would claim that both things were the same, who the hell even would give a damn about his opinion anyway? Reid thought angrily.

Crickes