Shadowydreamer’s Scribbles
A Place where a Dreamer throws up stories.
Categories
PAGES
Encounter in the Desert
“C’mon, you’ve been locked in here for days.” Sasha said, glancing around the apartment. Jaana had at least managed to pick up some furniture and had scarves on the walls for colour, but it still looked like a place to pass out, not a home.
Jaana looked up at Sasha. “You have paint on your ear.” She was sitting in the middle of the floor of her living room playing with tarot cards.
Sasha scrapped at her ear and sighed, crouching down behind Jaana. “Not a spread I’m familiar with.” she said, studying the cards that looked like they predated Columbus’ first trip to America.
“It’s solitaire.” Jaana said, trying to ignore the pulse of the mortal behind her. She scented of blood, youth, and jasmine. She took her own sigh and gathered the cards with a swipe of her hand. “What did you have in mind?” She hoped Sasha wasn’t trying to convince her to go to some art exhibition. She barely ‘got’ Sasha’s work, the alternative art of Sasha’s friends was beyond her.
“We,” Sasha said, straightening to her feet with a grin of victory, “Are going to go fly kites.”
Jaana stared up at Sasha. “We’re what?”
Sasha held out her hand to the shorter woman, “Kite flying. Bet you haven’t done it since you were a kid.”
“I don’t think I did it as a kid, either.” Jaana said, accepting Sasha’s hand and got to her feet. It was hard to resist pulling her into an embrace. She couldn’t read the vibes off Sasha at the best of times.
“Even more reason to do it now!” Sasha exclaimed and tugged on Jaana’s hand, leading her to her own front door. A couple of brightly painted plastic kites were propped up by the door.
Jaana shook her head in amusement and reclaimed her hand to pull on here boots. “I don’t have a spare helmet.” Jaana said truthfully.
“S’k, I’m driving.”
She hadn’t even known Sasha *had* a car. Normally the woman was hitching rides with friends. “Alright, but I have to be back by four.” That seemed less blatant than saying dawn and it also gave leeway for lateness.
Sasha gave her a sideways glance before she opened the door, “I promise, not one drop of sunshine shall darken your skin.”
Jaana wasn’t sure how to take that so she just picked up the kites and followed Sasha out and down the stairs.
* * *
They weren’t far outside city limits, but the night sky was filled with the milkyway. Jaana was surprised so much penetrated the light pollution, it wasn’t as if there were high hills between Las Vegas and the two women with their kites. “This is slightly insane, you know.”
Sasha grinned, “Absolutely! But deny it’s fun!” she challenged.
Jaana shook her head, there was something simply and silly about flying a kite in the desert. She’d been surprised by Sasha’s car and driving.
The car was an ancient Beetle in immaculate condition. It had purred when she’d turned the key. “I’m good with the mechanical.” Sasha had offered as explaination. Jaana had to wonder why she wasn’t working as a mechanic instead of a painter.. she didn’t seem to be making much of a living as an artist. Sasha had driven very studiously and cautiously. While others weaved in and around, Sasha stuck to the speed limit and the right lane as much as possible.
The kite tugged in the wind and Jaana let the line out. “How often do you do this?” she asked Sasha.
Her friend was still grinning, “First time!” was the gleeful reply, “I was thinking you needed to get out of the house and do something different, and hey, this is different!”
Jaana blinked at Sasha and was amused. “It is different,” she agreed. She couldn’t say in her hundreds of years of life she’d ever thought to go stand in the sands and fly a kite. The desert air was sharp but not particularly cold. Sasha seemed perfectly comfortable in a pair of jeans and a tank top while Jaana was in her usual t-shirt and jeans. Her leather jacket was in the back of Sasha’s car.
They were silent for almost five minutes, before Sasha said “uh-oh.”
Jaana looked over, “What?”
“Uh. I think we should go.” Sasha said, reeling in her kite.
Jaana looked around but didn’t see anything unusual in the area. She wished she had John’s night sight once again, it was dusky to her vision. Not knowing the dangers of the area, she reeled in her own kite. While she didn’t think she had much to worry from the local hoodlums or biker gang, she didn’t really want to flex her might in front of witnesses. Her last master had suggested she learn a martial art to explain her abilities but she’d never gotten around to it.
Kites in hand, Sasha started hurrying back to her car, but stopped short with a curse in a language Jaana didn’t know. That surprised her, she was pretty sure she’d heard most of Earth’s tongues. It was then she heard the growling and the shapes uncurled from the darkness. “Li’ha’eer.” she cursed as dogs the size of ponies came up behind the humans. Perhaps four dogs, three humans.
“Shit.” Sasha breathed before clearing her throat, “We’re not in your territory.” she said to the foremost of the humans.
“We’re expanding, Fae. What’re you doing with the death eater?” He looked like someone who lived on the side of a mountain and had yet to discover running water, he sounded like he gargled gravel.
“Blood sucker.” Jaana said, getting ready for the fight that was predictable. She could smell their agression even if they were upwind.
“Excuse me?” He turned to her, eyes narrowed.
To hell with the veil, she’d play with Sasha’s memories later. “Blood sucker. I don’t *eat* death, that would be a zombie. I suck idiots who piss me off dry.”
The dogs and their masters were starting to circle. Correction, wolves. Great, freaking werewolves. She hadn’t heard they’d made it over here from Europe. They were supposed to be extinct. She could only wonder what other lovely surprises Las Vegas would hold. “Are we pissing you off, *blood sucker*?” asked a female.
“You’re in my way.” She replied calmly. Sasha seemed to be working her way casually to a weapon at the back of jeans.
“Oh, terribly sorry. And what are *you* doing with one of the fae?” snarled the leader. The wolves were starting to growl louder.
“Flying kites, what the fuck did it look like?” Jaana replied. Sasha was so startled she laughed. The doggies looked less impressed. Sasha produced the silver bladed knife she apparently had sheathed.
“Nice toy,” the girl growled and pounced towards Sasha. Sasha side-stepped; or at least that’s what Jaana assumed, one blink Sasha was there, the next she wasn’t. While she could probably take on two or three werewolves an entire pack was suicide and she wasn’t going to let the one friend she had be eaten by them either. She hadn’t wanted a friend, but apparently Sasha hadn’t been willing to give her a choice.
She hoped she could do this, she’d never had to do it before.. but her master could, so in theory, so could she. She felt within, felt for the chaos and wild, and expanded it. She felt herself disolve, a very disconcerting feeling, and then reform. Her vision seemed flat, but wider, her senses of smell metallic. She pawed a hook, sparks of fire coming off them into the sand. ~Sweet.~ Hellhorse, there worse other shapes. She charged a very startled wolf that was getting ready to pounce on Sasha and gestured for the woman to clamber on.
Sasha grabbed blade in teeth and with both hands in mane, hauled herself up. She barely had her seat when Jaana was off in full gallop, wolves baying at her heels. Holding on with one hand and legs, she shoved the dagger back home. “Holy shit, I didn’t know you could do this.”
“Me neither,” Jaana replied, her voice sounded hoarse, like it was coming from the depths of a grave. “Learn something new in the face of adversity.”
“UH.. yeah.” Sasha shuddered and turned to look over her shoulder. “Can you outrun them?”
“Of course.” Jaana replied smugly, “But I don’t want to.”
“Hope you have a plan,” Sasha muttered, grabbing onto Jaana’s mane with both hands, trying to ignore the smoke coming from the equine’s nostrils. Jaana could see her sideways glances every time she breathed out. Jaana felt closer to mortal since she’d been taken into the night the second time.
She reached out with her mind and sensed what she was looking for and turned in the direction she wanted. The wolves and their masters were baying at her heels. The werewolves in human form had shifted to a less human form to run along on fore-knuckles and back feet. Dog met ape with big huge honking teeth. She’d love to find the mage that dreamed up werewolves and have a long and painful chat with him.
Minutes passed and they came up on the SUV that was parked on the highway. As she came up, she saw the humans inside swearing and grabbing their rifles. They sighted past Jaana and her passanger to shoot at the wolves chasing them. Two went down with yips of pain before the rest turned and fled. Jaana seriously doubted the downed wolves would be injured for long, she doubted the state patrol would be packing silver bullets.
“Oh thank you officers!” Sasha breathed as Jaana danced, doing her best to look like a freaked out horse. “I don’t know where they came from.”
Jaana tuned out the airheaded busty blonde routine from there on out, she could sense Sasha was doing a mental weaving of some sort. Soon enough they were circling back to Sasha’s car.
Once back at the VW double, Jaana felt within and returned herself to two feet. “We so have to talk.” She said flatly to the supposed-to-be-mortal woman.
Sasha gave her a weak smile. “Yeah, I guess we do.”