IX. Bat's Hunt

Earth

Thane jumped up from his seat. His plate flipping over and spilling its contents over the table. Willow jumped back in her seat, the movement shifting the chair and sending a rhythmic trumpeting sound through the air as it scraped the hardwood floor beneath it. She stood up, her right hand slapping at the spilt tea on her shirt. She followed Thane into the shop, bringing her tea to her mouth with her left hand. It's going to be a busy day. She thought. A soft chuckling whisper flitted through the air, That is an understatement my dear. Cressa’s gentle thought following behind it as she walked out of the hospital room drying her hands on the vintage apron, she wore a small smile on her face. “Stand down Thane,” Cressa said calmly. Thane was breathing heavily, practically growling. Willow stood next to him staring at the winged creature swearing up a storm. The creature had crashed on top of the check out counter. Glass and the cabinet's contents sprayed about the shop. It imploded! Willows exclamation filled the air. “It flitted in,” Thane said to her, “I think it missed its mark.” Willow took in the wings and tail of the  hold sized creature. “What is it?,” she asked with curiosity and fear ringing in her voice. “An Imp,” Thane responded with disgust, “A very pompous Imp.” Cressa kept back in the doorway watching Thane and Willow’s reactions to the creature in front of them. Willow looked up at Thane and asked, “You know him?” His response was to continue to growl low in his throat and cross his arms over his chest. Willow gawked at the Imp coming up off the ground yelling about she-devils and nasty enchantresses.

Skye

Cedric held Lxie by the arm firmly. “We are not exploring your suicidal tendencies today songstress,” Cedric growled puling her to him. Lxie yanked her arm away stumbling sightly once she was free of his grip. “I need to know what destroys so easily,” she said in a sing song voice pitched ever so soothingly to Cedric's ear. Cedric moved in front of her and grabbed her by both arms picking her slender frame up from the ground. “No,” he said, calming his voice. A sad gentleness range in his lilted tone, “You do not need to know no such thing m’lady.” He moved her o lift her over his shoulders. Lxie kicked and screamed to be let down, her fists pounding away a his backpack. He hiked higher into the mountain range, keeping the river to his right. The peaks spreading like a crescent on the horizon. He thought of home as he climbed. How much this part of Skye could be Vahala. Of the woman he loved, the children they had waving him off, smiles on their faces. If he had known then what was to come he would have held them longer. He would have showed her just how much she meant to him. Cedric allowed the pain and anger to fill him. The screaming flailing woman on his shoulder adding heat to the flame within his mind, slowing down the progress he needed to make to get her to safety. It was an old tactic even with the advantages of being undead yet effective. Pumping adrenaline through his veins to move further faster. The water was putrid and the blackened plants smelt of poison. The human urge to examine the darkened patch, to touch it, doll two of his fingers across the plants and place them in his mouth. It was almost unbearable to not give in. If it hadn’t been for Lxie acting as strange as he felt he would have most likely allowed himself to do just that. The need to examine the decay slowly faded the further they got into the woods. 

Earth

“Antonio, darling i always tell you a little to the left,” Cressa said, spreading Thane and Willow apart opening her arms wide. “Blasted she-devil you put that glass there on purpose,” Antonio spat at her. He was swiping away dust, glass and wood splinters from his clothing as he stood up.  Glass glittered in the tufts of his wings, wood splinters stuck out of his messy hair. Willow’s mouth fell open as she took the situation in. Thane leaned his shoulder against the bookshelf a few feet away from them all.  Cressa put her hands on her hips standing in front of him., “Now we both know that is absolutely not true,” Cressa said, her tone scolding. Hey mom, I'm home. The feminine thought sent the whole room chuckling. Thane relaxed a bit amused by the Facetious comment. “Hush, you two,” Cressa said trying to keep her tone scolding through chuckles, “or I'll set you to cleaning it up.” The comment sent another round of lauter through the room. Cressa sobered up quickly, “Now Antonio,” she started turning away from him to walk back into the tarot room, “If you’ll follow me we can leave these two to clean up the mess.” Thane and Willow gawked at her, protesting in unison. Cressa spun around and gave the two of them a rather stern look. One eyebrow raised with her lips pierced together. Antonio continued to seethe as he moved through the trio. “Right, well where’s the whiskey?,” he asked Cressa, throwing the makeshift curtains to the Tarot room closed. His wings opened and closed so fast Willow thought they had just magically closed behind him. Turning away from Cressa, Willow crouched down to pick up the crystals and herbs at her feet. “I’ll never understand how something so small can be so loud,” Thane grumbled. He walked over to the destroyed counter and began picking up large chunks of wood.

Skye 

Lxie groaned. Her throat was parched and her arms were tired. Her camping gear was around her and she perched up right against a tree. Fire cracked not to far in front of her warming and lighting the air. Cedric sat across the fire from her. His eyes taking in the embers as he chewed his bottom lip. He rested against the tree one arm on his knee the other his thigh. She pressed the tips of her fingers to her forehead, the pressure easing the pain throbbing behind her skull. “Hungover or bad weather,” Cedric's voice boomed against her ear drums.”Don't talk,” she said, her scratchy whisper shooting the pain into her eyeballs. The sound of shuffling and scrapping flashed light behind her eyelids. Warmth engulfed her hand as gentle weight was placed in her lap. When the warmth left she had solid wood between her fingers. She hadn’t realized her whole body was shaking. Not in fear or cold but as though everything had been sucked out of her. Holding the wooden spoon in her fingers and raising the bowl so she could eat was a chore. “Take your time. The effects of whatever that was will ease up shortly,” Cedric said as he took his seat on the other side of the fire. Lxie shifted to sit up straighter, her breath hitching as rope tightened around her rib cage. Lxies arms spread into a circle with her food in one hand and spoon in the other. Looking just under her breast she could see four loops of rope.  “What the actual fuck Cedric?,” she asked anger filling her voice