Return....
4: Show Me Through The Dark Woods "What are you doing in this place?" Was the first question he asked? I was shaken, and wary of him, seeing as how we were both the only living humans in the Dark Woods. I couldn't answer the question, but I managed to stammer out the bit that included Juniper. "Look, you don't have to be afraid of me, Chiquita; I'm here to help you out," he assured me, lending me a slender hand to assist me from the bushes. I accepted it thankfully, dusting myself off. I then surveyed the odd...boy. Although I admit he didn't act like a boy; he looked around sixteen, and he wasn't particularly unpleasant to look at, although I didn't judge by appearance. He had a shaggy bowl cut, a dusty blonde colour, and above his right eyebrow there was a white scar. I also noticed that he was tanned slightly but well, and was built like a finely oiled machine. He was much bigger than me, and I came to notice that his ego was, too, in a manner. "I-I'm afraid I'm lost." I stammered. He smiled again, revealing those pearly white... Fangs? "The name's Fang. SilverFang," he announced, not bothering to extend a hand in greeting, which was probably just as well. Had I made more physical contact, he might have gotten the idea that I (and I abhor the concept) fancied him. As if on cue, Fang laughed and said, "SO, what's your name, Chiquita? I bet you think I'm a hunk don't you?" He chuckled in way that lessened my hostility a bit, "Yeah, all the girls do, but they never stay." Appalled at his abruptness, I took offense. "For you information, I DON'T find you attractive, and that goes for you horrendous romantic manners." I automatically felt awful for losing control like that, but Fang seemed to take it in a suspiciously good humor. "And stop calling me 'Chiquita' and all that. My name is Keara." "All right, Luv." Fang said, grinning again. I growled, but said nothing. I knew that he was trying to grind my gears, and I wasn't about to give him the indulgence. Besides, his smile was so convincing... I shook my head, knowing that developing anything for him would be a mistake. I turned my back on him, though as humanely as possible. After all, his intentions seemed well, and I didn't want to be so cold to him. "So, what is it that brings you here, Fang?" I asked, smiling. He laughed, draping his arm around my shoulder casually, keeping us both walking in a certain direction. "It's a long story, but if you want to know, I was cursed here. I'm stuck here forever, by Juniper." He saw the look on my face and laughed. "Yes, I know Juniper. I mean, who doesn't? Anyway, I'm stuck here, so I figure I might as well help out people like you. Got nothing to do anyway, so..." "Well, that's nice of you,'' I said, feeling dreadfully formal, like a mother almost. "So, you help people get out of here? As in, back to the Mortal Realm?" "You've got it," Fang said, winking. "So, how old are you, chicky?" "Seventeen," I said, feeling terribly young next to him. He burst in to an almost mocking laugh. "That young, huh? I guess Juniper's picking them riper and riper these days!" "What do you mean, 'young'! How old are you, then, father time?" "Exactly one thousand-twenty two." I gaped at him in disbelief. "You're over a thousand years old?" "Well, sure; I'm immortal now because I live here." I contemplated that for a moment, breaking away from his loose arm. "You mean, if I'm here, I'm immortal, too?" I asked. Fang nodded. "Yeah, and now that I think about it, you might be older than you think. Juniper usually only chooses ones that are at least two hundred years old. Maybe you just forgot your past life." It all made little sense, but I was beginning to faintly remember things I had never seen or felt before; things no Earth-dweller could ever know or understand. "Well, if you're going to get out of here, we'd better get moving." Fang announced, brushing lightly past me, striding on ahead. He turned back at me and gestured for me to come. "Oh, uh- right," I murmured, still thinking. We walked on, through the thickly wooded path, mostly in silence, but we did get to talking about our worlds. Fang explained to me about the two realms that were the basic coexisting factors in the main universe. The two were called the Mortal and Immortal dimensions, but only certain Mortals could come to the other realm, and those Mortals always turned out to be misplaced Immortals. Fang also seemed to have a great interest in Pepsi and hamburgers. "So, what's a hambugger?" Fang asked, as we turned a semi-circle in to another section of the never-ending woods. I laughed. "Hamburger, silly. Haven't you ever eaten one?" "Well, what do you expect? I've been here for almost hundred years." We walked on a bit further, and I could have a moment to recall how long the day seemed to be. It already felt like...Like Fang and I were good friends. Well, perhaps not that far, but we were companions in this journey. "So," Fang broke the silence, "What do ham...Burgers taste like?" I tried to remember what they were like. I wasn't really a meat-eater, myself. "Well, they're little pieces of compressed meat between two baked goods, topped with different vegetation and preservatives." I said, than blushing. I sounded like a walking dictionary. "Ah, I see," Fang said. I knew that he didn't see, but we just kept going. "Hey, what's that?" I pointed to a large canopy of trees, surrounding a dirty clearing, like a cave. Fang reached his arm in front of me, halting our stride. For a moment, we just stood there in the breezeless air, stopped dead in our tracks. "That used to be the dwelling of a dark witch. When she died, some werewolves and even a couple of poltergeists cursed the place. It's not safe." I was really curious, but I didn't dare risk either of our lives. But... Werewolves? Poltergeists? Dark Witches? Mortals and Immortals? Cat people? Earth Guardians? What did it all mean? I asked Fang. He explained that the Dark Woods were a regular hangout for those sorts, and that made it all the more challenging for trainees- like myself- to get out alive, AND within three days. When I asked what he was doing there, if he was so normal, he just blushed and said that he had a rather checkered past. We kept going past the clearing. Fang then spotted something in the growing darkness of falling night. "Come on, it's a rest stop!" He said, relieved. "A rest stop? You have rest stops here?" "Well, yeah. We have to. I mean, usually humans get tired." I nodded my head, tawny bangs falling across my eyes. Fang led me over to a tree with a large wooden porch built around it, and a tent not unlike the one Juniper had. I wasn't picky about where I slept, so I gladly slumped down on to the steps of the terrace. Fang sat down beside me, graceful as a cat. We both just sat there for a while, watching the sun set around the autumnal trees. All the hues of orange, crimson, deep purple, lilac, and feathery pink were normal for a sunset, which surprised me. Finally, Fang asked, "Are you tired yet? You should sleep before tomorrow; we've got a long walk ahead." "You're right, I should. It's just that I can't stop finding something new around here- the Mortal realm was never like this." I stood up, feeling the blood return to my weary legs. All around, darkness slept. Stars glimmered in the sky, and golden lights winked on and off in the now peaceful black forest. I sighed, admiring the gentle beauty that Fang could dwell in for eternity. And yet, something tragic came from that, too, like the loneliness that I had gotten used to myself, and the stars that made everything vanish beneath their glorious light. "Fang?" I stepped behind him, still transfixed on the stars. "Do any of the people you help out of here stay?" He shook his head, standing up. "They always fear for their lives around me; they want to go home, and some have even forgotten their lessons. They don't even work as Earth Guardians." I felt the sadness in his voice, though I knew he must be a natural solitaire anyway. I knew how he felt, and it was a sometimes a dark thing to be your only relative and friend. "They're out of their minds, then." I said, smiling. "I think it's beautiful here." Fang's eyes opened wide. "You're not scared? Not even of me?" "Why would I be? Your ego might be a tad big, but I think your heart is bigger. You're very kind, Fang. Thank you." I walked round the base of the tree and opened up the tent flap. Fang stood there on the edge, looking back in what I thought to be awe. I didn't see why anyone should be afraid of him, but there might be some things I still didn't know. However, I wasn't going to fear him. I'd come this far, and hopefully made up for the things I'd said to him earlier, before I had gotten to know him properly. I slid in to the tent, the softness of the floor welcoming me. I wanted to sink in and doze off, but there was something I needed to do first. "Fang, aren't you going to sleep, too?" He stepped over. "No, I don't need to. Werewo-I mean, people like me don't really sleep at night. We get excited and, well, it's hard to explain. Just get some sleep." "Goodnight." "Sweet dreams, Chiquita." Okay, so the names ground me a bit, but nobody is perfect. I sank in to velvet dreams, assured that I had found my first true friend. Maybe I had even found the place that I had so long been searching for, the place where I belonged.
