It was pretty obvious that the woman he had been following had heard him. She ran the other way, screaming, when she finally saw what had caused the sound in the woods next to her.
The wolf bounded deeper into the woods after the girl's shrieks startled him. He ran a few yards in and turned around, scanning the trail with his eyes and the dusk air with his keen nose. The wolf cracked what seemed to be a small, toothy smile, as he continued to parallel the path through the woods. This time, however, he traveled a bit deeper in the brush.
After a short journey, the wolf stopped. The path had widened significantly into a fairly large clearing in the forest. Some scattered farms existed near the edge of the forest, but the sight and smell of the town in the center of the large clearing was clear enough.
The wolf absorbed the sights, sounds, and smells of the area before finally turning around and heading back the way he had come. He trotted quietly and quickly through the woods, enjoying the sensations of early night and his surroundings.
After a couple of hours, the wolf came upon a cabin in a clearing near the lake. The residents of the cabin were scattered around the clearing or the cabin, discussing various subjects. A trio sitting on the grass noticed the wolf as he entered the clearing in the dim combined light of the nearly full moon and the candles burning in the cabin.
"Scott? Is that you?" the lone female of the group asked the wolf.
The wolf silently and calmly loped over. He laid down, putting his head down on the female's lap.
Cindy started scratching the top of Scott's furry head. "I can see why Lisa likes you in this form. It's very relaxing to stroke and touch something fuzzy," Cindy told him.
Tony started petting the wolf's head also. "Yeah, there is something calming about doing this, now that you mention it," he said.
Kevin snorted. "I think Scott just likes the extra attention." He stood up, adding, "It's getting cold out here. I'm heading in."
"Okay," Tony replied, watching the feline retreat to the cabin.
Cindy scratched a bit behind Scott's right ear. Scott closed his eyes momentarily as he enjoyed it. When Cindy stopped, Scott stood up slowly and shook his coat loose. He trotted to the south side of the cabin and started his transformation back.
"He'll be disappointed when we get back and he can't do that anymore. We probably shouldn't encourage him to stay in that form for too long," Tony said, as he watched Scott leave.
"Perhaps, but you don't understand what kind of attraction women have toward fuzzy things. It's quite powerful. Take Lisa's fascination with Mikey, for example." She stroked Tony's arm as if proving her point, and in a rare moment of impulse, leaned on his shoulder.
"And that's why I'm milking it as much as I can," came the voice from where Scott had disappeared. He stepped out from his hiding place, reaching down to buckle the last strap on his boots. He hadn't put on his full suit of armor, opting mostly for the lighter clothes he had packed for the trip.
Cindy sat up straight, not expecting Scott to be back so quickly. "So, where'd you go off to before, Scott?"
Scott plopped down next to Tony. "Nowhere special. I was just checking out that village northwest of here. It's pretty easy to get to."
"That's good to hear. Luckily we were able to spot the town on the lake from the beach, so now we know where we need to go for both places." She sighed. "What a strange day this has been," she said, mostly to herself. She frowned a little bit.
Tony glanced down at her. He noticed the frown and instinctively put his arm around her shoulders. "Hopefully we'll be back in our own world and our own bodies in a few days. Just stay positive."
"Yeah, Cindy," Scott added, "Don't doubt yourself at a time like this. Everyone's going to have to be positive and useful these next few days for us to get back. So, don't be down."
Cindy looked over at the two men. "I wasn't really sad. Just a bit homesick." She paused to collect her thoughts. "Plus, I'm tired from this afternoon."
Tony thought back to the additional training they had done in the afternoon. Cindy had tried out most of her spells on the rest of them and had even gotten a little melee practice in with Lisa and Kevin. She, like everyone else, had the right to be exhausted. They had worked hard today, honing their skills and preparing for the coming days.
Without noticing it, Tony had started hugging Cindy during this little mental trip. Cindy, though initially surprised by the gesture, accepted the accidental hug and put her hands around Tony's waist.
Tony noticed the feeling of someone holding onto his waist, which jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked down and noticed Cindy's arms around him and his arm around her. While startled by this somewhat fortuitous accident, he didn't move for a second.
I could learn to like this, he thought to himself.
He released his hug. Cindy took the cue and also released hers. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment.
Tony spoke first, "Sorry, I got lost in thought."
"That's what I figured. But thanks for the comforting hug."
"Uh, n-n-no problem, I guess," he stuttered nervously. He turned his head, expecting to ask Scott a question. But Scott wasn't there. He looked behind him toward the cabin and saw Scott's retreating form in the cabin's deck door.
Scott entered the cabin. About ten candles had been lit around the living room, where most of the rest of the group was lounging and chatting.
Kevin waved at Scott as he came in. "How was the little jog?" he asked Scott.
Scott sat down heavily on a couch next to Lisa. "Pretty nice, I must admit. Found the village northwest of here."
"Easy to get to?" Rich queried.
"Yeah. There's a trail behind the cabin that leads right to it. The village looks like it's a decent size, probably about three hundred people."
"Well, it's something to look forward to," Doug said, stretching slightly. His stomach gave a grumble of complaint. Dinner had not settled well yet.
"I take it that your stomach still doesn't agree with my cooking?" Rich asked, taking note of the guttural grievance.
"No, I think it's complaining about how much I ate," Doug replied.
"Well, the least it could do is also complain about how little you left us," Kevin retorted.
"Considering the tools we had at our disposal, I thought dinner was quite good, Rich." Sharon changed the subject, patting her stomach as a sign of contentment. She cuddled next to Rich who casually put his arm around her shoulder.
"Thanks, Sharon. At least someone savored it, instead of just sucking it in." Rich smiled at Doug who adopted a slightly embarrassed expression.
The group had decided to clean out the refrigerator, since it obviously wasn't working. They made a fire pit on the beach near the lake. Sharon started the fire easily, and the party, under Rich's direction, cooked up and salted most of the fish for dinner, munched on the extra vegetables, and drank most of the juice and milk. While it had not been the best prepared dinner, the food and camaraderie had nonetheless raised their spirits.
The crickets chirping outside punctuated the lull in conversation for a few moments. Kevin sat up a bit, looking outside.
"What's up with Crystal anyway? Why is she out there alone?"
A few of them sat up and looked down toward the beach. Crystal was standing next to the smoldering fire, the occasional orange glow from the coals softly reflecting off her armor. She stared off over the lake as if in a daze, concentrating and thinking about something.
"She's probably thinking about Paul," Rich said, without looking at Crystal.
"How to find him and all that, you mean?" Lisa inquired.
"Probably not exclusively that." Rich let out a small sigh. "She and Paul started dating a few months into the school year. They were a good couple, always together. Then that whole fiasco with her campaign happened. Paul dumped her a few days after we finished her campaign; essentially the same time he was starting to heavily plan this one. She was obviously quite heartbroken by the turn of events, and I was quite confused by the whole situation."
"So, if he dumped her, why'd she even come along?" Lisa asked.
"She thought that she might be able to heal over some of the wounds if she participated in his grand campaign. To say that she's probably disappointed now would be an understatement."
"That's too bad," Lisa said quietly. She stood up and started toward the deck door. "I'll be back in a little while."
Lisa strode down to the beach. Crystal, who had been staring at the sand island, heard someone approach and turned around.
"Hi, Lisa," Crystal said quietly, turning her attention back to the reflection of the moon in the lake.
"Hi." Lisa sat down on the sand. She patted the sand next to her at Crystal's feet.
Crystal sat down beside her.
Lisa began. "I noticed you were just staring at nothing. Thinking about something?"
Crystal looked dejectedly down at her toes. She shrugged nonchalantly.
Lisa took Crystal's hand in hers. "It's about Paul, isn't it?"
Crystal looked at their clasped hands, then looked Lisa in the face. Lisa's eyes were so warm and understanding that Crystal pulled her closer into a hug and started to cry gently in her shoulder. Lisa, slightly surprised by the response, hugged back, softly patting Crystal's hair.
"I'm sorry about that," Crystal said, wiping her eyes a few seconds later. The two women disengaged from their embrace. "I didn't think any of you knew about my feelings for Paul."
Lisa gestured back toward the cabin. "Rich just told us how you and Paul dated for a while and that you two broke up a little while ago."
"Ah, should have figured Rich might tell you guys."
"So, you really miss him?"
"Yeah. When we first met, everything felt so good, so perfect. So, we started seeing each other more often. He was a great guy who understood me better than anyone else had. He really encouraged me to let my creativity flow, which for an artist like myself is everything."
"You're an artist?"
Crystal nodded. "Yeah, mainly a painter and sketch artist."
"Neat. You'll have to show me some of your work when we get back."
"Sure. The problem is, though, that most of my best work came when I was dating Paul. He was a great inspiration, and his stories from the role-playing gave me lots of ideas for scenes and characters to sketch. And he said that I kept his creativity and his spirits high."
Lisa looked over at Crystal. A small tear was still hanging on her cheek, glistening softly in the moonlight and firelight.
Crystal continued, "So, when I mentioned that I had an idea for a campaign of my own, he naturally encouraged me to develop it and try it out. He even helped out a bit here and there. But the group enjoyed my campaign more than any of his. I think he missed being the center of attention, so he probably became jealous of me. A few days after we finished the campaign, he formally broke up with me."
She sniffed quietly. Lisa noticed a new tear falling down Crystal's face, so she lightly patted her shoulder. Crystal felt Lisa's hand and touched it softly.
"Thanks, Lisa. You're the first one I've told this to since Rich." She paused for a moment before continuing. "He never gave a reason for the breakup, which frustrates me even now. Since then, he got absorbed in his research and this campaign. I had hoped that by coming along to be a part of his game that I might be able to rekindle part of that which we lost. I thought that maybe he would accept me again if I played in his grand game."
She sighed softly. With a small tinge of anger in her voice, she added, "But obviously I was wrong." Crystal looked at Lisa directly in the face.
Lisa shook her head. "You don't know why he did this. Don't go guessing about him until you find out straight from Paul himself."
Crystal frowned slightly. She looked back over the lake. "I know that, but it doesn't make it hurt any less."
"Yeah, but do you really have to hurt yourself with that speculation? You're just going to have to find him and ask him for the truth."
Crystal sighed. "Yeah, you're right," she hesitantly admitted. "Thanks again, Lisa. It feels good to talk with someone about this."
Lisa jumped up from her seat. She wiped the sand from her bottom.
"You're welcome, Crystal. And I promise not to tell anyone about this, if you like."
Lisa helped Crystal up to her feet.
"Thanks much, Lisa."
The two women hugged. Crystal motioned up to the cabin after the embrace, asking, "Well, shall we rejoin the group in the cabin?"
Lisa nodded and the two started back up the hill.
"By the way, I've been wanting to ask you," Lisa started as they neared the deck. "Where'd you find that beautiful necklace?" She pointed to the crystal pendant which refracted the moonlight onto Crystal's breastplate.
Crystal halted in mid-stride. Her hand slowly grasped the pendant as she spoke quietly. "It was actually a present from Paul for my birthday three months ago. He wore it occasionally, during our gaming sessions, and I fell in love with it instantly. He took me out to dinner for my birthday and gave it to me. I refuse to take it off if I don't need to."
"I'm sorry about bringing up Paul so much," Lisa apologized, placing a kind hand on Crystal's arm. "I guess I'm just a bit too curious for my own good."
Crystal looked her new confidante in the eyes. She smiled as a small tear trickled down the side of her nose. "That's fine. It feels better to talk about this to another woman finally."
Lisa grinned. "Glad to help." With a sweeping arm motion, she gestured toward the cabin. "Shall we join the rest of them?"
Crystal nodded, wiping the tears from her face. The two finished their walk back to the cabin.
There were only a few people left in the living room when they came in. Kevin and Rich were in a quiet, yet heated, discussion about Rich's magic abilities. Sharon and Cindy were chatting quietly. Doug was sprawled across one of the larger sofas, fast asleep.
Lisa nudged Doug softly. He jumped slightly, and after a moment to let his eyes refocus, he incomprehensibly mumbled something to Lisa. Lisa squatted down beside him and whispered in his ear that he might be more comfortable in his own bed. His sleepy brain processed this suggestion. He slowly got up from his prone position and headed toward the stairs, still half-asleep.
Eventually, the conversations died down, and all retired to their beds for the night.