Surreptitious

Chapter 7: Territorial Part II

"Whoa..." Jade whispered as she looked at the dense forest around her. It wasn't dark or scary but rather had a beautifully serene feeling to it. The light that broke through the canopy was more than enough to illuminate their path between the trees as they slowly started wandering along.

"Yeah, it's a little embarrassing." Josie chuckled shyly, stealing a sideways glance at Jade. They were walking along her subconscious after Jade had agreed to help Josie gain entry to the deepest recess of her mind. Josie had explained to the vampire that even though she had access to her subconscious when she slept and dreamed, she had very little control over what happened as dreams tended to fluctuate in stability. Jade was more than happy to take a conscious Josie into her mind and help her find her friend.

"What's embarrassing? It's beautiful here. It's so peaceful... Enchanting, even." Jade grinned and tipped her head back to watch the birds above them whistle and sing happily.

"It's a fairytale world. It's... childish." Josie shrugged, her cheeks lightly tinted in a rosy color.

"It's child-like, not childish. It's adorable. There's something so pure and innocent about this place... A lot like you." Jade smiled genuinely at the young witch, daring to let her hand brush along Josie's as they walked shoulder to shoulder. "I'm not sure I'd want to know what the landscape of my subconscious looks like."

Josie allowed her hand, and subsequently her arm, to continue to brush up against the girl next to her, enjoying the closeness of someone she felt a sense of affection for. "I'm sure it's nothing bad. You're a good person, Jade. I don't want you to doubt yourself."

"Weeeeeeell... Well, thank you. It means a lot." Jade chuckled in return, then glanced back over to Josie once more before her gaze returned to the forest floor as they continued their meandering along the trees. "So, do you have any idea where we could find Hope?"

Josie sighed then, her thoughts refocusing on the task at hand and the whole reason she and the vampire were there to begin with. "I'm really not sure. I've seen flashes of places - a cottage, some stone ruins... I've seen Hope turn into a statue, but I'm not sure whether that was real or just my dreams playing around with my fears."

"Well, I guess we start looking for these places then. If we can ever find our way out of this forest." Jade paused and glanced around again. They had been walking for a while now and she had absolutely no certainty that they weren't merely moving in circles. "Have you ever been outside the forest?"

"No, actually I haven't. I've been to the cliff at the one edge of the forest where you can see the village from..." Josie paused and blushed again as she explained what she felt like was nonsensical rubbish. "And a clearing somewhere that is covered in flowers... But that's it."

"So what do you usually do while you're wandering around the forest?" Jade quirked one brow.

Josie swallowed uncomfortably and shoved her hands deep into the pockets of the jeans she was wearing. "Hope's wolf is always with me. I... she, well... we usually just kind of play, or chill together."

Jade noticed the shift in Josie's demeanor as she spoke about the tribrid and could immediately recognize that there was more than meets the eye. It caused a burning sensation within the vampire's chest, though she dared not give the emotion a name. She just hated the fact that she was, indeed, very sensitive.

She wouldn't ask any further questions regarding the wolf.

She wouldn't have been able to even if she had wanted to. The pair was interrupted.

Standing a few feet behind the girls, they quickly turned to the source of the deep growling that they could hear vibrating through the air. Four days of nothing, and the wolf suddenly decides to show up once Josie found another vampire to help her in her search. She couldn't help but smirk at Hope's impeccable timing.

The smirk wouldn't last long though as both Josie and Jade immediately registered the aggression coming off the wolf in palpable waves. The growling intensified as it lowered its head and bared its teeth. Its eyes were locked on the vampire.

Jade lifted her hands, ready to defend herself, while Josie quickly pulled the girl behind her in order to shield her from the wolf. "You need to go Jade. Now!"

"I'm not leaving you here with that thing!" Jade shook her head vehemently and stepped out from behind Josie, then stepped in front of the witch. This caused the wolf to jolt forward half a foot in an exceptionally threatening gesture, snapping its large jaws in warning.

"She's not a thing! And she won't hurt me! YOU NEED TO GO NOW!" Josie panicked and again tried to shield Jade from the wolf, but in the flurry of movement the wolf finally lost its patience and leapt at the duo, wasting no time in viciously grabbing the vampire by the shoulder and swinging her body around to toss her like a lifeless doll against a tree. The wolf then firmly stepped between Josie and Jade, continuing to bare her razor-like incisors at the vampire as she shielded her younger companion from the vampire.

Hope was having none of this intrusion.

Jade gripped her shoulder as it throbbed in agony, the realization of her impending doom setting in on both her and Josie. "Josie... I - she - I'll die!"

Josie shook her head as she remained standing behind Hope's wolf who was still occupying an extremely aggressive stance between the two girls. "No, Jade leave. Find my father. There are vials of Hope's blood in storage. You'll be okay, but you have to leave now before she really tries to kill you! Leave me here! I'll be fine, I need to find her other half. I have to! Just go!"

At the final syllable the wolf once again jumped forward by a foot as a threatening motion to the vampire, leaving Jade with no further room to argue. She disappeared within the next second as she reawakened herself to physical reality, all while leaving Josie inside her own subconscious with the wolf.