A Vacation Among Friends

Artemis was freaking out, even when Jake moved the water to put her on the boat. She rushed to the middle of the boat and sat down right in the middle with her hands over her head. Her head was beating a million miles a minute and right now she didn't want to move. Penny walked over to her to see how she was going but all she got was an evil glare from Artemis and she shuffled to face away from Penny.

No powers huh? That's fine...I'll just keep myself out of trouble....if I can. Well I think we all know it won't last long, trouble seems to find me just about every place I go. I ended up watching Salone bobbing up and down in the water like a bobber on those fishing hooks. I remember getting one of those caught in my mouth. The guy tried to fish me out, naturally I played along but boy oh boy the look on his face when I shot out of the water attached to his fishing rod. The best comparison is to go out and throw your line into a shallow pond....and suddenly pulling out a house. It, still to this day, is one of the crulest things I've ever done.

I finally got my self back onto the boat to see a heavily mentally scarred and emotionally unstable Artemis. I don't really like seeing her traumatized like this....but in the end she deserves it. My opinion and I'm sticking to it. But I still feel bad.....dagnabbit....

"Can't swim huh?"

The grin quickly faded as Salone realized the issue very quickly. She honestly had no idea Artemis couldn't swim... Salone jumped from the tube to the boat and she walked hesitantly over to the other shape shifter, their argument still fresh in her mind.
"Sorry, I honestly had no idea you couldn't swim." Salone's hair clung to her face and droplets of water. She reached over to the seat next to her and pulled down a towel in an attempt to dry off. Salone then poked the life jacket Artemis was wearing and she explained what it did. "It will keep you from drowning. Do you believe me?"

Penny watched anxiously from the side lines.

Artemis stared at Salone out of the corner of her eye. The look she gave Salone was no where near friendly. When Salone poke at her life jacket she bared her teeth, instead of human teeth they were that of a wolf. She was embarrassed and felt weak. A low growl came from deep within her throat, warning Salone, Penny and Jake to back off. She shuffled away from Salone to the indoor part of the boat. Currently she didn't want to be anywhere need them

Salone did not flinch at the flashing teeth as Artemis snarled before retreating back into a corner of the boat were she felt safe.
"Take us back to shore," Salone asked Penny. Salone sounded tired again, playing referee was never fun... especially when you had to keep your own temper in check as well. At Jake's comment she swatted at his legs, "Be nice."
She said standing up, "Lets leave her be for now. Considering she is basically a cornered animal on this boat."

By then Penny had finished hauling the tubes into the boat and putting them away. Salone settled down in a chair and patted the spot next to her, brow crinkled.
"Okay, boating was a bad idea... hngg... how about we go exploring for a bit?"
Hunting about in the forest for fun seemed like a better idea and much less stressful. In the end thats what ended up happening. Salone and Penny told Artemis that the boat had docked and she could get out if she wanted to.
Salone held back for a moment, grabbing Jake's arm.
"Are you holding up okay?" Her eyes dropped to his midsection to show what she was addressing. "You havent said anything about it..."

Penny in the mean time was trying to help Artemis get her life jacket off.

Salone got everyone to back up, which Artemis did apprecate. She calmed down a bit as the boat was driven back to shore. She heard Salone mentioning exploring the rest of the surrounding area. The though made her feel a bit happier but she still struggled with the life jacket. It wasn't until they docked that Penny came over and helped her out of her life jacket. Penny was careful at first, Artemis may of calmed down a bit but she was still fuming. But once she gained enough confidence Penny unhooked the life jacket.

Then Artemis was off. It took her a whole 2 seconds to shift into a snake. A form that could easily slip out of the life jacket and then to a wolf. She bolted off into the forest, not even bothering to look see if the others were even keeping up. Something inside just told her to run, and she did.

She didn't know how long she ran, but she just got deeper and deeper into the forest. The brush was becoming hard to navigate and eventually forced to stop and look around. She shifted back into a human, breathing heavily sweat covered her body. Her toned muscles stand out against the limited beams of sun that broke through the thick tree tops. She had ran far past the caves that Jake and herself had there little fight in. In fact she didn't really know where she was. She had to make so many twists and turns she wasn't paying attention to her way back. Not like it was much of a problem she could always smell her way back.

She continued forward through the brush in human form. She felt a lot more calm then she had earlier. But something about this form had began to put her on edge. All day there was a clear sky. So why was there fog in this part of the forest. Yeah the sun was setting but the fog didn't exactly make sense. Part of her was screaming at her to turn back. But something pulled her attention to the fog, like something was in it. Artemis wanted to find out what was in the fog, so she ventured into the fog, slowly being encased by it the deeper and deeper she got.

This was not the time to be discussing this. This subject was too touchy for anything to be brought up about it. I placed my hand over the tightly bandaged and healing over wound. I just flashed her my best smile, like a little kid and I nodded at her. I don't think she'll be able to tell there's anything well. But then again...Salone knows me pretty well. It's all up to chance I guess. But if she does know something is wrong, I can only hope she doesn't press it, or I'd better become a good liar real fast. Plus I KNOW that last suggestion wasn't happening. Things were so complicated...how could I possibly explain them to her?

        "Yeah...Life's too short to get hidered by something like this, you know?" I asked her. I could just smile at her. Hoping that she wouldn't be able to place two and two together, because I didn't even catch myself until it was too late. Why would a 'Dragon God' would make note of life being short. Especially to a fledgling time collector. If I had said it to Artemis there wouldn't be an issue...but Salone and I don't age and as far as they know, I'm immortal... so why would I say something like 'life's too short heyuk"....I did not just think of this in a Goofy voice...I did not just think of that in a Goofy voice.... now I kinda want to die.

      We eventually went on a trek, an exploration. I don't know about Salone and Penny, but stuff like this is what Artemis and I were best for. I moved silently and quickly through the woods (Chaos control shifts to +2 ABL silent stepping and +4 to speed and +1 for augmented senses) It wasn't hard to keep up with everything around. It felt like back in the good old days...when the only thing a Dragon had to worry about was the next meal. I lunged into a tree, and I silently moved through them like a predator. I kept up rather well I like to think, though it might not have been my finest work. Still, it was effective. I eventually found myself down and by Salone and Artemis with a wide grin on my face.

      "I forgot how much fun this was...foraging and wolf-running is so fun if you can do it right." I said. As I watched Artemis move towards the fog. I squatted down, one arm out to the side and with a mighty leap I took to the trees once more, ready for everything that could happen. While Artemis followed her primal curiosity, I stalked from the trees, making sure everything was clear, and ready to help out if need be.

Salone's lips pressed into a thin line, eyes narrowing slightly at Jake.
"We will be discussing this later, among many other things... besides... I have more questions," She tried to draw out a genuine smile from Jake, the kind that made his eyes light up like he had a brilliant idea or plan instead of that grim look in his eyes like something bad was going to happen.
***
Soon after hitting land, Artemis hit the dirt and took off running, vanishing into the trees. Salone grinned savagely, shifting soon as well. Into her regular grey wolf self, ran around Jake once, before barreling into the trees. This felt normal and right, with no pain, and no feeling of death. She turned into a larger wolf while waiting for Jake to catch up. This one was black with strange frost colored hair around it's eyes.
Salone crouched down and waited, belly low to the ground before he came moving into sight. The wolf let out a playful growl before giving chase, catching up easily since Salone was faster than Jake. Then she pounced on him, taking care not to hurt him.

After they had sorted out that mess they followed Artemis' trail, seeing her vanish into the fog. Salone's nose twitched and her ears flattened... she looked up at Jake to see what was next to do. If she had her way she would go in after her friend.

The fog was very fit, Artemis could barely see two feet in front oh her and there was an overbearing unidentified stench blocking her sense of smell. Her furs were sticking to her sweat covered body. Falling and leaves stuck her her body as well. She continued deeper into the fog and her hair stood on edge. This fog was unnatural, no doubt about it. She shifted into her wolf form again as she carefully progressed through the fog.

The words from earlier...about Salone wanting to talk. They haunted me, and in this thick fog it's not exactly a calming thing. My hair stood on end, and my eyes took on their reptilian predator slits. I noticed that the fog was only getting thicker and thicker. Why was this bothering me so much? Was it because it felt...familiar? No...this can't be it. Not now. It's too soon...visions like that normally give me more time. I'm just being a little edgy right now, I need to keep a level head. That's the key thing...keep a level head. But that brings something else to mind. Why did Artemis persist on going through the dang fog!?

      I'd love to say that curiosity killed the cat, but she's a wolf. She should know better! This is bad, this is all bad. It's times like this I forget that Artemis isn't all quite there...in the humanity department that is....

Salone noticed the shift in Jake, he seemed nervous... like he was unsure what all this was. Hesitantly she shifted back. Her hand searching for his, anxious for her friend and Jake.
"Artemis?!" She called, raising her voice slightly. "You in there?"
Her ears shifted, sliding to the top of her head. The large brown ears twitched back and forth, trying to locate her.
"Artemis! Come back!" Salone stated, starting to worry. Her eyes started to glow the gold amber color again. "What if she doesn't come back?"
Salone questioned Jake, her voice low and fearful. She swallowed and looked forward again, trying to detect anything.

The hairs on Artemis' neck stood on edge. The fog seemed to wrap around her body. It felt like it was squeezing her, and it made her uncomfortable. She could of sworn she heard whispers from behind but every time she would turn to hear where to the voices came from no one was there and the voices would reappear behind her. Artemis couldn't stay there any longer. Sweat dripped down her body. She began to breath heavily as her heart rate spiked.

She took off with out direction, only reacting to what she could see a few inches ahead of her because of the thick fog. She hoped that she would escape the fog but it just seemed to get thicker and thicker. Her vision was beginning to blur and her movements became messy and unstable, unlike her confident and quick movements before. She heard Salone call her name. Artemis slid to a stop, her eyes wide as the darted around to try and find where her voice came from.

Artemis shifted into her wolf form. She was more comfortable in this form, but it didn't help. She felt weird inside. She never really felt like it before. There was a feeling in her chest. Telling her to run, hide and get away from this place. She shifted back in forth where she stood. She couldn't stand still and she took of again. She had no idea where she was going and then... Wham. She broke free of the fog and barreled directly into Salone at full speed. She scurry off of Salone and took off again. By the time she stopped she had returned to the cabin. She never even transformed, she knocked the door down by running into and took refuge under the bed in Salone's room, her eyes still wide and darting around.

"This fog is so da-ang unnatural" I said, censoring myself because of Salone. She may be a mortal but that girl got the power. I lowered myself slightly and progressed into the fog a little. Suddenly Salone came off with the concept.

"What if she doesn't come back?" She asked. The concern in her voice for her friend was so pure, so sweet...so Salone... Me? I'm more listing the actual things that would happen...

I'd be sad...the I'd remember what happened earlier today. Then I'd probably laugh. Then I'd get slapped by you. Then I'd be in the dog house. Then I'd probably go get some pizza. Pizza makes everything better... I found my train of thought straying and eventually I somehow came to the conclusion that Artemis dying led to me getting a tongue piercing and a tramp stamp. Which means I can't let Artemis die...ever...

"She'll be back." I said reassuringly, and no sooner had I said it had Artemis had just Epic faceplanted onto Salone in her wolf form. Amercia's funniest videos, video title: I can haz hug! Artemis shot up and scampered away, leaving me to offer Salone a hand and a smile.

"Yeah, told ya."

Salone’s lips twitched in amusement at Jake correcting himself, old habits die hard she would guess. She let go of his warm hand and took a few steps forward into the mist. It was almost so thick one could cut it with a knife; it was wet as well, clinging to her tanned skin and dampening her hair.

WHAM!

Artemis slammed into Salone’s gut, basically head butting her and sending the time collector sprawling, landing flat on her back. No sooner that Artemis had come to a halt, landing on top of her than she was off again. Leaving Salone winded and out of breath. Closing her eyes for a few minutes she recovered before allowing Jake to pull her up.

“Well then,” She stated, still sounding slightly winded. “Guess you were right.”

Slowly they walked away from the creeptastic Halloween fog and began to their made way back to the cabin. Salone the realized something, this would be the last time they would be alone probably while they were on this trip and something was pestering her.

“Jake,” Salone stated, halting abruptly. “I have a question- rather two questions. First one,” the lesser of the two, “What’s the deal with dragons kidnapping princesses?”

After seeing his reaction and his response she asked this next question rather nervously. Which in itself was odd as Salone generally was never nervous around Jake.

“Earlier, when you said that you loved me… did you mean it?”

She studied his face apprehensively, waiting for his reaction. True this little fact had been bothering her and she had decided then and there that it couldn’t wait.

Oh the whole princess thing? I thought she was going to ask me about earlier. That might have been embarrassing. Though it's interesting that she asks about the whole princess thing. I laughed as I began to walk away from the fog, following in Artemis' footsteps, or paw prints rather. It might be fun to play with this, make up yet another grand fabrication. Or I could literally just tell her the truth...could that be that bad? Well...it is what it is, and she asked. So I need to tell her.

       "Good conversation." I replied plainly. I wonder what she'll think, or how she'll react. It's true though. "Seriously though...they are the ONLY people in the world to talk to back in the day. The pesants were all herpa-derps that made our heads hurt, and the other nobility thought that killing you made them all tough. Anyway, Princesses were defenseless and they were educated enough that it didn't give me a migraine talking to them. They were normally gifted musically, and of course Dragons naturally love music, it keeps us calm. So that's pretty much why Dragons kidnap princesses..." I explained as I smiled at her. Then I chuckled a little, like there was just a little more to the story. "Though...honestly the fact that kingdoms brought us gold to try and buy their princesses back was a plus. we get good conversation, decent music, then  got nice shiny things. Seriously, we're like a Jew with wings and superpowers...other than accounting and legal robbery." I couldn't help but laugh at that last part. It then occurred to me that I at one point had gone to kidnapping the princesses with cooking skills to cook for me. Then again that wasn't many of them, since they were royalty, the didn't need to cook for themselves.

       THERE IT WAS! The question of the hour ladies and gentlemen. Did I mean it? I honestly wanted to look at her and ask her what she thought. I stopped dead in out tracks and looked at her with a smile and arched my left eyebrow. I placed my hands in my jacket pockets and nodded slightly. I didn't want to say it, but I truly didn't have a say in it...okay I did. But it was too awesome.

       "Well what do you think? I asked. It wasn't demeaning or anything like that, I was asking like I genuinely wanted to know. I nodded and sighed. "I uh....I do. So much so that I...actually gave up a large portion of my power. I even impaled myself to make sure your friend would make it back to ya. So do I love you? Yeah...more than the next breath I take."