Had Enough [Open]

[Caligrace]

“I feel like you’re challenging me, B,” she said, a smirk forming as the words left her. She could have said more - she could have pushed him, to see exactly why he thought he would be too much for her, but she didn’t. Instead, she tucked a stray scarlet curl behind her ear again, and chuckled. It felt strange, standing here with him, but not in a bad way. It was relaxing, when she knew she should be feeling as if she needed to tear her skin from bone. His voice soothed her, as did the humor that sparkled in his eyes, making them brighten even more than they already were.

There was something about the man that put her at ease, and as she stood there, she couldn’t help but let that teasing smirk warm into another smile. Realizing she’d gotten caught in her thoughts again, she brushed her fingers over the hilt of the switchblade hidden in her pocket, bringing more comfort from the object. Her slender fingers curled along it, and she held it tight in her small fist, amber eyes watching him as he spoke. With a laugh, she shook her head again, and took a step back, though not to put distance between them. She was preparing to turn, to lead them back to safety, her lips parting to say something about his not leaving the house - when the dog caught her attention.

Or, rather, the lack of dog.

The alarm she felt was amplified by his own, and she had to take a steadying breath, that familiar tendril of emotion that wasn’t her own threatening to overwhelm her. Clutching the blade tighter, she lifted her free hand, trying to silence the man for just a second. Her head tipped, and she tried to listen for the rustling of leaves, or the crack of twigs. At this point, she’d even settle for a happy little whimper to let her know that the terrier hadn’t gotten far, but an eerie, calm silence met her. Closing her eyes, she tried to hide the worry, her smile turning practiced as she rest her small hand against his bicep.

“I’m sure he’s fine, gorgeous. You can stay here,” she started, already hearing Every in her mind, warning her to stay far from the wild, “and I’ll go see if I can’t find him. The wilderness is no place for us, but I’m sure that Benny is just chasing that hare I saw earlier.” There was a momentary hesitation in her words, her dark eyes searching the treeline, as if praying the dog would appear before she took that step forward, soft voice calling for the creature.

[Baptiste (DELETED 11846)]

The funny thing about small dogs is that they don’t know their size is a limiting factor. Benny has the heart and soul of a wolf in him, even if he’s only a couple of inches tall and decides to channel all that raw power and elegance into fetching sticks, chasing squirrels, and savaging squeaky toys. It’s that same wild spirit that gets the terrier into so much trouble and gives B a heart attack everytime he has to search through the woods at night while shaking a bag of beef treats as bait to lure him out, or even when B has to dig him out of a rabbit den when Benny has gotten stuck. You'd think in a head that size there would be room for some brains, but perhaps Benny’s skull is inches deep.

It’s Benny’s devil-may-care attitude is what makes him so lovable to begin with. Family is family and even though Benny’s still got a debt to pay for ruining B’s carpet with his house-training months and knocking over his mother’s favourite vase, B can’t quite imagine life without the feisty terrier. He takes a step toward the woods and Cali steps in front of him like she’s protecting him from something. She presses her hand to his arm as her big brown eyes search the treeline. B doesn’t understand what’s going on and while he doesn’t have the same level of empathy as she does, he can feel that something is not quite right. Cali looks on edge and it makes the cold chase down his spine.

“What do you mean by that?” he asks. “That the wilderness is no place for us. Is there… bears or something out there? We should go get Benny. He’s not the smartest dog. He won’t know what’s dangerous.”

B hasn’t come around to the fact that he’s a vampire - not fully. There’s still a lot that he doesn’t understand and a lot more that he doesn’t want to understand. It’s easier to pretend that everything is normal if he sticks to his old routines, but there are things he can’t ignore. B hopes that Cali will answer his question while they’re looking for Benny. His feet hit the bare earth in a jog and he makes for the border of the wilds.

After the never ending lights of the city, B underestimated the utter blackness of nighttime in the woods. In his mind, the trees would be black trunks against a bluish charcoal sky, the path would become deepest brown, and the moonlight would bleach the stones within it. Every painting of woods at night had been like that, and that’s where expectations and reality jars as they collide. The moon’s silvery rays could not penetrate the dense canopy above; it could be no blacker in a coffin, six feet under and piled with dirt. B begins to breathe the cool air more rapidly. The darkness presses in on him from all sides and his body screams for him to run - in the opposite direction of where he’s heading. All the while he listens for bears and wolves and doesn’t know right away that there’s worse things out there.

[Caligrace]

With only the dim light of the moon to guide their way, the massive trees looked far more ominous than they should. They were too large, the shadows they cast too dark. As the wind brushed through the leaves, the gentle rustling sounded more like an alarm. It was as though the very night was trying to warn her away, and yet, she remained steadfast. You shouldn’t do this, girl. It’s just a dog, her mind whispered, and she swept her tongue across the smooth skin of her lower lip. It was just a dog - but it was his dog. There was so much love in his eyes, and she felt his panic rising with each passing second.

His voice came out in a rush, and there was a moment she swore she heard it crack. Either her mind was playing tricks on her, ensuring that she heard the fear that she felt within his voice, or he was as panicked as she was. Before she had a chance to answer him, he pulled away, and her fingers met nothing but air when she reached for him. Cursing quietly beneath her breath, she ran her fingers through her tousled hair and forced herself to take that first step, and then another, until her shorter legs ate up the distance between them.

“I told you to stay behind,” she snapped, her hand once more reaching for him, slender fingers tucking themselves within the material of his hoodie. It was soft beneath her skin, and for a moment, she worried about tearing it. Of course, a torn sweatshirt was the least of his worries, now that they had crossed that invisible line into the wilderness. Pressing her thumb against the opening mechanism of her switchblade, she listened for the quiet hiss in the air as the blade released, the silver catching the light briefly. “I didn’t mean bears. We can handle bears,” she whispered, a slight scoff to her words. She was far from a seasoned fighter, but the thought of being brought down by a bear was enough to almost make her chuckle. Almost.

With the darkness pressing in on them, her laughter was eradicated, and she found herself tightening her hand in his hoodie. Not to pull him back, but to remind herself that she wasn’t alone. In that second, she wished for Every, or even Bjorn. She didn’t care that they might laugh at her fear, or that Bjorn might look at her with that unreadable glint in his eye. No, the only thing she cared about in that moment was having someone stronger, someone more skilled than she, to find Benny and get them the hell out of the woods and back to the city. Of course, it didn’t cross her mind to reach out for either of them, and instead, she found herself taking another unneeded breath before stepping in front of him.

“The wilderness is home to what is known as the fae,” she began, her voice growing stronger, despite the way her hand trembled. “They are vicious, cruel creatures that truly don’t care much for vampires. They can take many forms, so anything is a danger to us within the wild. Even something as small as a rabbit.” Unwilling to even blink, she took a moment to let her words sink in, before chancing a glance over her shoulder at him. “You still have a chance to leave. I’ll find Benny,” she whispered, softening her tone with a small smile. Not wanting to waste a second more, she loosened her hold on him, and stepped further into the trees, allowing the darkness to swallow her form as she called out once more for the terrier.

[Baptiste (DELETED 11846)]

Whilst moving through the woods, calling out for Benny, B thinks he understands why people call silence deafening, sometimes. Redwoods, silver birches, conifers, and oaks flank them on all sides, there are also a number of wildflowers, fungi, ferns, and bryophytes - and yet, he can’t hear a single animal. The least he expects is a bird in the canopy or a mouse scavenging for food in the undergrowth, and worse still, he can’t hear the padded footfalls of a Boston terrier either. He’s grateful that Cali is with him and he overlooks her scolding. B looks down at the new pressure on his arm and follows the pretty, familiar hand to Cali’s face. His lips curve into a smile, but, a snapping twig snatches it from his face. B watches the treeline with concern; his brows pinching and lips tightening. He twitches when he hears the noise of metal sliding and looks to Cali who’s taken out a small switchblade.

“We can handle bears with that?” he asks.

One brow lifts higher than the other as he stares at her, looks at the blade again, and then keeps his eyes on her. Something touches the beauty’s funny bone - or grazes by it - because Cali begins to laugh and then grows eerily quiet. B sucks his bottom lip between his teeth and Cali closes her hand around him a little tighter than before. He stares down at their connection; the inner edges of his brows lift as he notices the lightest tremors run across her delicate fingers. He reaches out to give her hand a little squeeze in return and either by response or by complete coincidence, Cali steps away from him and explains why he should really be afraid of the dark - or, what’s in the dark of these forests. He listens to her explanation with a slack jaw, but, he straightens up as she suggest she should go on alone.

“Hey now, girl,” he says. Light twinkles in his eyes as he smiles at Cali. “I might not know about these fae things, but, I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that you don’t split up in situations like this. Besides. Benny’s my problem. Let’s go.”

Cali gives him a soft smile and goes on ahead. She’s only a foot or so away from him before the shadows bloat hideously between them; making her become almost invisible to his eyes. B follows her voice and picks up the pace; his intention is to walk at her side. She gives him comfort just by being there, even as he has never felt so alien in his entire life. His senses are on fire: the susurration of the branches feels heavy in the ears; the loam in the earth, and the decomposing leaves, make the atmosphere close and thick; and the darkness nurtures a sense of claustrophobia, even though the woodland stretches unbroken for miles. There are no paths to follow and no way of knowing if they are heading in the right direction. B pauses and opens his mouth to speak, but his words are bitten off by the sound of a dog barking.

“Benny?” B calls back. The sound sounds close - likely just a few metres away. “Benny!” B pivots on the toes of his sneakers until he can pinpoint the exact source of the barking and then he forgets all about the rules of horror movies and makes a run for it.

The forest floor is uneven beneath his feet; it compresses in some patches and springs back in others to offset his balance. B’s left foot connects with a belt of moss that slips back under his momentum, sending him teetering forward. He restores his balance quickly, but, he’s too close to a false acacia - its spines leave momentary scratches against his cheek as he dashes past. He follows the irritable, tiny dog barks over a small hill to find the little dog at the foot of a white birch; his snout is in the branches, his tail is wagging, and he’s practically vertical in his effort to climb that tree.

“Benny!” B calls.

He scolds the dog, pinching him away from the tree by the collar. B spares a backward glance to acknowledge what had Benny chase off into the woods after all, but, he can’t see anything. His brows knot into a frown briefly, and then he remembers to bring Benny back to Cali so that they can all get out of the forest together, so, the cause quickly escapes his thoughts.

“You are a very bad dog,” he says. “There’s going to be a ban on chicken for you for at least a week.”

Benny wags his tail regardless - a smile from big, floppy ear to big, floppy ear.