When the women bedded down in the pine straw that night it was with an air of unease and anxiety; at least on the part of Emma. She snuggled down under the bedroll to try and ward off the chill. The blonde tried not to dwell on the way Regina's magic had affected her earlier. What the hell? She puzzled to herself. She knew that magic had many purposes: to hurt, to confuse, to heal. But she had not imagined the power being aimed at that particular area of human need. A small shiver skittered up her back as a new thought pushed into her mind: If that was what the brunette could do on accident, what she could she do if she was really trying?
The dark-haired woman lying across the fire from her was having similar difficulty sleeping. It had been a long time since she had lost control like that. It had been years since her magic had acted of its own accord. Regina knew there was no other explanation for it; she had certainly not meant to cause that reaction in the blonde. Perhaps it owed greatly to the fact that magic was more concentrated here. Or maybe Emma was just more sensitive to it than Regina had expected.
The latter thought caused an involuntary smile to curve about the woman's wide, full mouth. If that was how the blonde had reacted to a small amount of healing magic, how much more so would she writhe if Regina were to actually attempt to subdue her? A thrill of challenge rolled across her skin and caused her flesh to prickle. She could feel energy sizzling in her fingertips at the prospect of demonstrating exactly what it was that she was capable of.
Oh, the things I could teach you- she smirked to herself but immediately felt a wave of guilt. No, she wasn't to take advantage of this situation in the exact way she desired. Hadn't it been those impulses that had lost her Henry? Regina sighed. She could no longer blame Emma for Henry's shift in allegiance; she hadn't exactly acted like an innocent woman. As before, she considered that the only way to make this situation more complicated would be to act on her instincts and claim the blonde as her own. Henry was old enough to understand such things and would never forgive her. Not to mention those blasted Charmings…No, it was best to push her desires aside and focus on the task at hand. Regina rolled over and curled on her side before closing her dark eyes and drifting to sleep.
Emma's eyes flew open and she sat straight up, looking around in alarm. The embers of the fire were sizzling out and the darkness was thinning slightly as dawn approached. She rubbed her eyes, trying to determine what had awoken her so abruptly. Casting a look over to Regina, who seemed to be snoozing soundly, she looked down at her arms to find that she had goosebumps. Emma rubbed down the flesh and looked about again. She felt as though she was being watched. Massaging the back of her neck, where that hair was standing up as well, she stood and stretched like a cat before turning back to Regina.
The brunette slept on soundly and the wary woman saw no trace of the nightmares that had plague the woman the first night of their adventure. A rustling bush had her turning on the spot quickly and peering into the underbrush. Emma instinctually moved closer to Regina who slept on, oblivious to the potential harm. The bush rustled again and a growling sound rumbled into their clearing.
"Shit." Emma muttered and knelt. She grabbed Regina's mouth and the woman's dark eyes flew open. A range of emotions flashed across: alarm, relief, suspicion, before finally settling on irritation. But Emma pointed to the line of bushes as whatever stalked them moved to the right, disrupting the foliage.
The brunette rolled over and pushed herself to her feet swiftly and pushed the blonde in the direction of her sword. Emma snatched it up and rejoined her companion quietly as possible. The women pivoted as the unidentified stalker rustled the bushes in a linear path around the clearing in the lightening woods. They had nearly come full circle when Emma began to grow even more anxious. Why had the beast not attacked yet? What was it waiting for? Her senses became even more alert as she realized that something was amiss.
The blonde suddenly swung back around and pressed her back flush to Regina's. "Miss Swan-?" The quick movement bewildered the brunette but suddenly the bushes burst apart and bounding toward her was a rather large wolf with glinting yellow eyes. At the same time, she heard Emma suck in a sharp breath as the same happened from the other side of the clearing. The beasts' attack plan had been foiled when the blonde had instinctually covered their rear and now the wolves circled the two women; watchful and waiting.
"Still want to stick to your no magic policy?" Emma muttered out of the side of her mouth as the abnormally large wolves continued to stalk them.
"You have a sword don't you?"
"I'd rather not have to get close enough to use it." Came the reply.
"You fought a dragon and yet these wolves make you nervous?"
They watched as the beasts continued to circle and stalk, ears quirking toward the sound of their voices, as if listening to them. Intelligent yellow eyes switched back and forth between the women's faces.
"Well, they're kinda big if you haven't noticed. They don't make them like this in Storybrook." Emma answered with somewhat of an edge to her voice.
"Indeed, they do not." Regina said softly as her dark eyes took in the unusual animals. "Notice the way they seem to be listening to us."
"Regina, they're animals. They can't understand us."
"They can if their Animals."
Emma opened her mouth to rebuttle but noticed the emphasis placed on the word and cocked her head. "I don't understand."
"I'll explain later." The brunette mumbled then turned to the strange beasts and held up her hands. "We are passing through. We are simple travelers stopping to rest. We will be gone when the sun rises."
Emma opened her mouth in surprise and furrowed her brow when she realized that the brunette was addressing the wolf-dogs. But to her even greater surprise, the animals glanced to one another, gave what could only be described as a nod to Regina and then retreated back into the tree line. The brunette began kicking dirt on their fire before turning to her bedroll and packing it up.
Rooted to the spot, Emma watched her. "What the fuck was that all about?" She exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
Regina didn't spare a glance up as she continued to work the bed roll. "Animals in this land are different."
"Obviously."
At the sarcastic tone, the brunette did look up, blowing a wisp of dark hair from her face. "In this land, there are animals and then there are Animals." She emphasized the last word. "And then there is something in between, which is what I suspect those wolves to have been." Emma continued to stare at her expectantly. Regina packed away the bedding and gesture to the blonde that she should do the same. Emma knelt slowly and began to do as she was prompted but never took her eyes from her companion.
"Are you going to explain further? Or is that the extent of the information you are going to share with me?"
The brunette shifted more dirt onto the dusty embers and turned back to her companion who was unceremoniously stuffing the bedding into her own pack. "In Oz, there are animals like those that reside in Storybrook. They are simple and do not have the ability to speak. However, there are also Animals; meaning they have the ability of cognitive thought and intelligent speech."
"Talking animals?" Emma whispered.
"No, talking Animals." Regina replied. "There are also those that seem to have the ability to understand, but not to speak; or not verbally at any rate."
"Like those wolves that nodded to you?"
"Yes."
"Jesus." Emma said tugging absently on her long pony-tail. "So how do you know the difference without them speaking?"
"You don't."
"So you were just taking a gamble back there?"
"Yes." Regina led them out of the clearing, looked up at the sky, and then headed down the river; continuing the trek they had begun a few days previous.
"And what if that hadn't worked?"
"As I said before, you do have a sword."