The mugs gave me: Something Furry: blanket, haunted tree. The sap is all my fault. This is just a side job and not part of the current hanging storyline.
Something Furry Halloween Drabble 4
"So where are we supposed to be again?" Wufei snarled.
"I'm not sure," Heero flipped the map over and frowned at it. "I can barely read the handwriting on this thing."
Sally snorted and yanked it out of his hands. "Give me that. Men!" She turned the map around and studied it under the golden glow of her flashlight.
"You could just trance out and try to feel where the damn thing is." Wufei suggested.
"I could, but why waste my energy when we have a map?"
Heero looked away from the pair and frowned slightly at the sight of his mate. Duo stood still, head tilted to the side, his eyes glowing faintly with reflected light. His expression seemed distant; as if he was listening to something none of the rest of them could hear.
Maybe he was, Heero thought with a shiver. Duo had turned down a flashlight and was the only one of them who hadn't put a foot wrong in the darkness of the woods.
Duo's expression cleared a little and he caught Heero's gaze. He smiled and Heero moved closer, drawn like a fish on a line. "You okay? Cold?"
"No," Duo shook his head and lifted the corner of the blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders in invitation. "You?"
"Fine," Heero replied, but he slid his arm around Duo's waist anyway, pulling his mate close. "I just want this over with."
"Me too." It was Duo's turn to frown. "This once, I'm hoping Sally's wrong."
Heero squeezed him reassuringly. "It was only one possibility."
"Still..." Duo didn't get to finish his sentence as Sally had turned triumphantly around and was gesturing for them to join her.
"I think I have it! We're not far now!"
Heero nodded, flipping his flashlight back on and moving out from under the blanket. It took an enormous effort of will on Duo's part not to clutch at him, to keep his mate safe with him while he could.
"Dangerous," Sally had said when the customer had left.
"For who?" Wufei had asked.
"For Heero. Maybe. One of the possibilities."
"Avoidable?" Wufei had frowned.
"Yes," Sally had inclined her head a little towards Duo and Wufei had nodded.
"Then we should take it. Unless Heero has an objection...?"
Heero hadn't. Duo wished otherwise. He didn't think his mate had caught the look that had passed between the other two- he'd already been buried in the book the customer had brought. Why had they looked at each other like that? Was he supposed to do something? Was there some action of his that would make this less dangerous for Heero?
He'd wanted to pull Sally aside, but there hadn't been time. And now... now they were too close to the danger area.
So he kept his eyes on his mate and hoped that he'd be able to figure it out before something dangerous happened.
Sally suddenly staggered, nearly falling to her knees. Wufei grabbed her before she hit the ground. Heero and Duo hurried forward.
"Close- it's close-" Sally's voice was faint, her breath coming in short gasps.
"Shield!" Wufei snapped at her and she nodded, regaining her balance.
"Do you feel that?"
"No," Wufei looked at Duo, who shook his head. He turned to look at his mate.
Heero was pale, sweat beading at his temples. "It's strong," he said.
"Shield."
"I can't, Sally. It's psychic- not magical."
"What is it?" Wufei asked.
"Voices- feelings-" Sally shook her head. "Something out here is projecting bad things- no wonder this place is a death trap-"
Duo strained his senses, but he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. "Why don't we feel it?"
"We aren't human," Wufei frowned and tightened his hold on Sally. "Maybe you two need to stay here..."
"I'm fine as long as I don't drop my shields." Sally countered.
"I can manage." Heero agreed.
"Then let's get this finished fast."
Duo hadn't taken his eyes off of his mate. "Heero?"
"I'll be okay." Much to his surprise, Heero reached out a hand. "Just- stick close. Please?"
Duo clasped Heero's hand in his own tightly. "As close as you'll let me."
They followed the other two along the faint trail until it opened out in a clearing.
In the middle of the clearing stood the object of their search. Leafless, its twisted branches gilded by the moonlight, the tree looked like something right out of a horror movie.
"I'm guessing it's the one in the middle?" Wufei asked dryly and Sally nodded.
"I'm going to drop my shields to make sure-"
"It is." Heero's voice was soft. "There's bad magic all over that tree."
"I thought it was just haunted."
"I don't think the client realized it." Wufei was frowning. "Heero's right. This site is crawling with spells- spells to invoke emotions- despair, fear, loneliness... Blood magic- non human blood magic- invoked to pull people here and drive them to suicide..."
"That's why it's haunted- their spirits are here still-" Sally frowned. "I can send them on- but that tree-"
"I'll disrupt the spells." Heero smiled faintly at his mate. "Come with me?"
Duo nodded, a sick feeling rising inside of him. He handed Sally the blanket and she spread it on the ground, before sitting down, Wufei beside her.
"Don't unshield until I finish," Heero told her and she nodded. "It shouldn't take long."
Duo's worry grew as they approached the tree. He still couldn't feel anything, but the expression on Heero's face set off all of his inner alarm bells.
"What can I- what should I do?" He asked as Heero stopped a foot away from the tree.
"Hold on to me." Heero lifted his arms in invitation and Duo slid behind him, wrapping Heero in a firm embrace. "Don't let go."
"I won't."
Heero raised his hand and light shot out from the tips of his fingers, carving strange patterns in the bark of the tree. More light fountained around them, bursts of red and orange, scouring the ground. Duo held on tightly until the light faded and Heero collapsed against him, his face grey with exhaustion.
"Heero?"
"Finished. Sally?"
Duo cast a glance over his shoulder. Blue light surrounded Sally- familiar and reassuring. "Doing her thing."
"Ah good," Heero said and passed out.
Much later, when Duo had gotten Heero safe home and in bed, he finally relaxed. "Think we can make sure Sally doesn't take one of those sorts of jobs again?"
Heero smiled, amused. "Why?"
"I was worried sick the whole time. You were in danger and I couldn't do a damn thing. I couldn't even sense the bad stuff this time-"
"Duo," Heero reached up and pulled him down beside him on the bed. "You did great. Think about it- I had to go right into the heart of that thing- all those bad feelings pushing at me all the time-"
"And I couldn't help-"
"You did help. You were there- as my anchor- my reminder that life is worth living. I couldn't have done it without you."
OWARI
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