{"sf1_id":784531,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Seven","author":"LucarioZer0","words":5672,"posted_at":"2014-11-19T06:28:00.000Z","tags":["Canine","Character Development","Clean","Feral","French Language","Human","Magic","Plot Development","Violence","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/784531-the-wandering-shadow-chapter-seven","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/784531","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=784531\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\n7\nAs Will and\nJenna followed David through the winding streets back toward the port, Will\nmade sure to keep a close eye on the man. He knew that if David really wanted\nto be rid of them he could be gone before they knew what had happened. But he\nwas paying attention for different reasons. He was trying to get a gauge for\nwhat kind of person David was. It was obvious that the man didn't care about\nmuch--if anything--outside of his own whims. He only seemed to care about doing\nwhat he had to preserve his own existence. He also appeared largely unconcerned\nabout anything, a perpetual smile plastered on his face.\nOutside of that,\nWill couldn't read him.\nAs though\nsensing Will's stare, David looked back over his shoulder and asked, \"Are you\nquite alright back there? You seem rather quiet.\"\nWill nodded.\n\"Fine. Just don't have much to say.\"\n\"Right...well I\nsuppose I'll have to be the sociable one then, won't I?\"\nWill sighed. \"If\nyou insist.\"\nWill's vision\nshifted and suddenly he felt a weight across his shoulders. David was standing\nbeside him, one arm draped over him. Yet another illusion. \"So then, question\nthe first. Why in god's name are you wearing a cloak?\"\nWill slipped out\nfrom under David's arm before he replied. \"It's something from a friend back\nhome. It's meant to protect me from...well pretty much any weather.\"\n\"And how's that\nworking out?\"\n\"Fine. Can't say\nI've really noticed, but then I guess that's the point.\"\nDavid nodded.\n\"Right. So then, why a gun and a sword? Seems like one would be enough.\nActually, can you even use either of those?\"\nWill rolled his\neyes. \"Of course I can. Well, I can use the gun at least. Standard part of\nI.O.M.E. training is the use of firearms. As for the sword...not technically. I\nunderstand the principles...but I've never really trained with a blade.\"\nDavid laughed.\n\"So basically it's just a meter long piece of decorative steel. Why do you have\nit then?\"\n\"Sometimes a gun\nisn't enough to defend yourself with.\"\n\"Defend against\nwhat exactly? The forces of practicality?\"\n\"And what do you\nuse to fight then?\" Will countered.\nDavid let out an\namused snort. \"Do I seem like the fighting sort to you mate? Cause I'll tell\nyou what, I'm a bloody coward. I'm not ashamed of it either. Cowards, we're the\nones who get to live to old age. Why fight when I can run while tricking a man\ninto thinking he's killed me? My illusions are all I need to survive.\"\nWill shook his\nhead. \"That'll only get you so far. You can't run forever.\"\n\"Well yeah, but\nI can certainly try, can't I?\"\n\"I suppose. How\ndo your illusions even work anyway? Is it light manipulation? Or do you\nactually alter peoples' minds?\"\nDavid gave a\nknowing smile. \"Ah...trying to figure out the trick, eh? Well, honestly, it's a\nbit of both really. When I just want to make myself invisible, I can work with\nlight. But say I want you to believe that...oh...let's say that London was on fire.\nWell that's more complex. For you to believe it, I have to not just make it\nlook like it's on fire, but it has to smell, to sound, to feel, like the very\nair around you is burning. For that I have to make your brain think it's\nsensing all those things. It's easier on less intelligent people. The\ncomplexity of the illusion also changes the difficulty.\"\nWill nodded.\n\"Fascinating. I'd never looked much into illusionary magics, as the ability is\ncomparatively rare, but it seems like you have quite the useful power. If only\nyou would use it to accomplish something that was actually...useful.\"\nDavid shook his\nhead. \"Nah. Not my style. Being a criminal is so much more fun. Actually, I\ntake that back. I rather prefer the word 'outlaw'. I go where I want, do what I\nwant, and no one can say otherwise. And even if they try, I can just make 'em\nthink I've disappeared. No muss. No fuss. Just an enjoyable life with nothing\nholding me down.\"\n\"I think I would\nget tired of a life like that. Never having anywhere to call home. Always\nrunning. I don't think I could spend too long doing that.\"\nDavid shrugged.\n\"Different strokes, as they say. You do strike me as more of the 'likes to come\nhome to a wife and kids' type. I'd be willing to wager that even this trip is\nmore than a bit outside of what you're comfortable with doing.\"\nWill nodded.\n\"You would win that bet. If it weren't for Jenna being as she is, we probably\nnever would have left home.\"\nJenna nodded in\nagreement. She had always preferred the idea of going on adventures through the\nwritten word. While part of her was glad they were traveling and seeing new\nthings, she still longed fro their simple quiet life back home, a sentiment\nWill shared.\nDavid groaned.\n\"God you two are so dull. I couldn't spend a day stuck in one place. Let alone\nany extended period.\"\nWill quirked a\nbrow. \"Is that why you freaked out about the idea of going to jail?\"\nDavid frowned.\n\"I did not 'freak out'. It is perfectly reasonable to not want to be locked up\nand have all of your freedoms taken away from you.\"\nWill shrugged.\n\"I suppose.\"\n\"Lovely. Can we\nchange the subject then? Just thinking of jail cells get's me...nervous.\"\nWill nodded.\n\"Alright then. Tell us about your friend. Maxwell was it? What's he like?\"\n\"Ah...well, he's\nnot really like me at all.\"\nWill looked to\nJenna and said, \"That's a blessing.\"\nJenna made a\nsort of growling snuffling sound that Will realized was laughter. He hadn't\nheard her laugh since becoming a wolf. He hadn't even been sure she still\ncould.\nDavid rolled his\neyes. \"Well aren't you just hilarious.\"\nWill smirked. \"I\ntry. So you were saying?\"\n\"Well what I was\nsaying was that Max isn't like me. He does travel around a bit, but he actually\nhas a job. He's an archaeologist.\"\nJenna canted her\nhead when she heard that. How will an\narchaeologist be able to help us? she wondered.\nThinking along\nsimilar line Will asked, \"So how does an archaeologist know how to remove\nenergy from things?\"\n\"It's just what\nhe does. He's what you might call a curse breaker,\" David explained. \"He goes\ninto old tombs and ruins and things like that, and removes energies that could\nbe harmful to people. He actually spends a lot of time in Egypt based on what I\nlast heard from him.\"\nWill's eyes\nwidened. \"So you mean he may not even be at his home when we get there?\"\nDavid nodded.\n\"Unfortunately that is a distinct possibility.\"\nWill stopped in\nhis tracks and grabbed David by the collar. \"So for all we know this friend of\nyours may not be available, and you could be full of shit, right?\"\nDavid smirked.\n\"For all you know he may not even exist. I could have just fabricated the whole\nthing and could be planning to rob you as we speak. Not that I am, but my point\nis that you don't have the luxury of knowing everything at the moment.\" \nBecoming a bit\nmore serious he went on to say, \"You're going to have to trust my word,\ndifficult though that may be. If it turns out he's not in France, then we'll\ntrack him down. I told you before, I never break a promise. I will get you both\nto him, as long as you hold up your end of the deal.\"\nAfter a moment\nWill let him go and said, \"Fine. But if you are lying to us...if you are screwing\nus in any way...I will make sure you--\"\n\"Yeah, you'll\nmake sure I regret it. Honestly, could you be more unoriginal?\"\nJenna let out\nanother growly, snuffling laugh as Will's faced flushed slightly with\nembarrassment. Maybe this'll be good for\nhim, she thought, to have to work\nwith someone so different. Might make him lighten up a bit.\nTrying to retain\nwhat dignity he had Will said, \"It doesn't matter. Let's just keep moving,\nalright?\"\nDavid fought\nback the urge to laugh. \"Yeah. Sure. Let's go.\"\nThe three of\nthem started down the street again, headed in the general direction of the\nport. After a short while Will thought to ask, \"By the way, what are we going\nto do about the police here on London? Won't they be after us all by now? Even\nthough Jenna and I haven't done anything that's technically illegal.\"\nDavid shook his\nhead. \"Nah. I wouldn't be worried about it. Those two you ran into before were\ncomplete twits. Trust me. They still haven't given up on catching me, and\nthey've been at it for weeks now.\"\n\"Weeks huh? I\nthough you didn't like to stay in one place for too long.\"\nDavid nodded.\n\"That's true, but I can stay put for a while as long as I have the option to\nleave when I want. Besides, out witting those two morons at every turn was too\nmuch fun for me to really want to leave. Mind you, had they actually put\nsomeone intelligent on the job I would have left a good while ago. But, they\nthought I was just a pick pocket. I'd wager they regret that mistake now~.\"\n\"Fair enough, I\nsuppose. You're still an unconscionable criminal, but your reasoning makes\nsense.\"\n\"Brilliant! Glad\nyou can see things from my point of view. That'll make traveling together so\nmuch simpler.\"\nWill smiled\ntightly. \"Right. Well let's not get too used to each other, alright?\"\nDavid rolled his\neyes. \"So damn serious. Have it your way then.\"\nFrom that point\nthey walked in silence. By the time they reached the port it was late in the\nafternoon. It didn't take them long to learn that a ship would be leaving at\naround sunset bound for the French city Le Havre. It seemed to be the perfect\nopportunity, except of course for the fact that it would mean more money spent\nthat they really couldn't afford at that point.\nDavid laughed\nwhen they brought up the cost of tickets. \"Don't worry about that. I can get us\nall on board.\"\nWill was more\nthan a little skeptical. \"How do you plan to do that?\"\n\"The less you\nknow the better. Plausible deniability, you know.\"\nJenna sighed.\nShe could already tell where this was going, and it wouldn't end well.\n\"Oh no you\ndon't. We go legitimately or not at all. I'm not going to let you commit any\ncrimes for any reason. I would rather use what little money I have than\ncompromise my own--\"\n\"Tell me Will,\nhow much money do you actually have?\"\n\"Well...uh...that's\nnot really the point.\"\nDavid nodded.\n\"So not much then. That's simple. Tell me, I assume--based on what little I know\nof you--that what you do have is pretty much all on your person at this moment,\nright? Don't answer, I already know I'm right. So then, in order to preserve\nwhat you have--at a time when you are not working--and maintain some financial\nstability, would it not make sense to take advantage of every possible\nopportunity to save a bit?\"\nWill hesitated.\nIt did make sense to save what they could. His greatest fear in all of\nthat--aside from the thought that they may not be able to reverse Jenna's\ntransformation--was that at the end of it all they may not have a home to return\nto. He wanted to avoid that if at all possible. But was that worth deception\nand what would likely amount to theft? Unable to decide he looked down to Jenna\nand asked, \"What do you think?\"\nShe thought for\na moment, and came to one simple conclusion. They would need to utilize every\nadvantage they could to return their life to normal, even if it meant doing\nsome things that would be objectionable normally. She jerked her head toward\nDavid then nodded. Whatever his idea is\nwe should go with it, she thought.\nGetting her\nmeaning Will sighed. He wasn't going to enjoy this. Looking back to David he\nsaid, \"Fine. But we're not going to make a habit of this.\"\nDavid smiled.\n\"We'll see. I've found desperation throws morals out the window. Let's carry on\nthen!\"\nAs they set out\nto find the ship that would take them out of the city another was just\narriving. Among the passengers to disembark from the ship was Logan, his form\nshrouded by a high collared black jacket and a wide brimmed hat. After ten days\nat sea he had finally arrived in London. Now he would begin to search. For his\nsake he was hoping that his quarry was still within the city. He had only left\na day after them. He couldn't imagine they would have gotten too far. \nAs he walked\nalong the docks he scanned his surroundings with his one working eye. Since\nCarmina had given him his new power, the scarring on his face had faded away as\nthough it had never been there at all. His eye though was still damaged. Were he\nstill truly human it would have been limiting, but now even with one eye he\ncould see more clearly then ever before. The darkest shadows seemed bright. The\nsmallest details were clear to him.\nOnly a hundred\nfeet down the docks and he stopped cold. He had expected his search to go\nquickly--after all, how hard was it to find a man and a white wolf? But this was\nan unexpected gift. His powerfully enhanced vision could see them, just a few\nhundred yards away. They were about to board another ship, accompanied by\nsomeone else. He smiled. Luck was on his side. He kept his distance, watching.\nAfter a moment\nor two they went up the plank, boarding the ship in spite of not seeming to\nhave shown any kind of boarding papers to the official who stood at the base of\nthe plank. Logan scowled. He would have to follow them aboard the ship if he\nwas to carry out his Mistress's wishes. He didn't pretend to understand her\ninterest in these people, but he knew he didn't want to go against he orders.\nLosing one eye had been enough.\n Once he was sure they had boarded the ship he\nmade his way across the docks, flitting from shadow to shadow until he reached\nthe same plank they had ascended. The port official standing there stopped him\nfrom going any further, holding out an arm. \"I'm sorry sir, but before you can\nboard I'll have to ask for--\"\nLogan gripped\nthe man's arm and began twisting it back, causing the man to gasp in pain. \"I\ndon't have time to waste arguing with you.\"\nA small tendril\nof energy flowed down Logan's arm onto the official, tracing up to the top of\nhis head and disappearing, absorbed into the top of the man's skull. Logan\nsmiled. \"You will let me on board, yes?\"\nThe man gave him\na dead eyed stare for a moment then nodded compliantly. His voice had an almost\nmechanical quality to it as he said, \"Of course sir. Please enjoy your trip.\"\nLogan released\nthe man's arm and smiled a bit wider. \"You are most gracious. I hope it will be\nenjoyable. It's certainly off to a promising start.\"\n Logan whistled quietly to himself as he\nstrolled up the boarding plank, while the port official simply stood there\ngrinning like an idiot with that same dead eyed stare. Things were off to a\npromising start indeed.\n***\n\"So...then...you\never feel any remorse about lying like that?\"\nDavid canted his\nhead. \"Like what?\"\n  Since\nboarding they had distanced themselves from the boarding area at Will's\ninsistence. He didn't want to risk someone figuring out that they had used\nDavid's illusions to secure passage. Now they were seated at one of the tables that\nwere situated out on the forward deck. Or at least David and Will were sitting\nat the table. Jenna was lying beside Will's chair, as the seats weren't really\ndesigned with a wolf in mind. \nWill jerked his\nhead toward the other side of the ship. \"You deceived that man so easily. Don't\nyou ever feel bad about taking advantage of people like that?\"\nDavid shrugged,\nleaning back in his chair. \"It's kind of...a way of life really. I've gotten so\nused to it I don't really have to give it a thought anymore.\"\n\"I might have\nknown. You probably started stealing at a young age, right?\"\nDavid nodded. \"I\nhad to survive if you must know. I wasn't born a criminal. I just happen to be\ngood at it because of my natural talents.\"\nHe smiled. \"And\nof course I do find it more than just a bit enjoyable. But yeah, I started when\nI was young. I grew up an orphan. Had to fend for myself you know.\"\nWill quirked a\nbrow. \"You know...plenty of orphans go through life without resorting to crime.\"\n\"Well, I'm not\none of 'em, now am I?\"\nWill sighed. \"I\nsuppose not.\"\nDavid nodded.\n\"Exactly. Crime is like my job really. It's how I support myself. Besides, at\nleast my work doesn't have the moral ambiguity of some jobs. Like say, for\nexample, police work.\"\nWill scoffed.\n\"Excuse me?\"\n\"Well, it's really\nquite simple. I know what I am. I know what I do. I know that my morals are a\nbit warped. But at least I know right and wrong in my life. But do you?\"\nWill scowled.\n\"Of course I do! I protect people. I make sure criminals are put away for\nputting innocents in harms way.\"\nDavid quirked a\nbrow. \"Do you now? Do you really? Haven't you ever wondered, 'did I just arrest\nthe right person?' Have you ever spent a night at home wondering, 'is what I do\nreally right?' Have you ever had to make the ultimate decision as to whether or\nnot someone lives? How can there be any right answer to that? Have you ever\nkilled anyone Will? Even to protect others?\"\nWill remained\nsilent, mostly because he didn't want to admit that David was right. He had\ntaken lives over the course of his career. Sometimes it was unavoidable.\nSometimes that one life had to be worth taking to prevent more people--even\nhundreds--from dying. It came with the territory, but that didn't make it any\neasier.\nUpon receiving\nno response, David chose to speak again. \"I feel I should add that I actually\ndo respect you for what you do. You have the courage to take those kinds of\nsituations into your own hands. It's something I'm quite sure I could never do.\nWe may not have the same views of the world, and in any other situation we\nwould be against each other, but at least we can respect each other's points of\nview, right?\"\nWill nodded\nslowly. \"Right.\"\nThey were jolted\nat that moment by the boat moving, finally leaving the port. The remainder of\ntheir trip passed in silence as the ship traveled down the Thames, crossed the\nEnglish Channel and finally arrived in Le Havre some time after the sun had\nset. Making use of David's abilities once again they procured a place to stay\nfor the night in a somewhat nice hotel, planning to begin heading south the\nnext day.\nWhen morning\ncame the three left Le Havre behind, traveling on a boat down the Seine to\nreach then city of Rouen.\nThey left Rouen on foot shortly after noon, following a road along the Seine\nthat quickly lead them into a forested area. After a few hours of walking under\nthe vibrant emerald leaves of the forest canopy a thought occurred to Will.\n\"Here's a question: why are we going to Paris on foot? Wouldn't it have made\nmore sense to stay on the river until at least that point?\"\nDavid nodded. \"It would have, but I was growing\nrather tired of your bitching every time I used my illusions to expedite our\ntravel.\"\nJenna laughed and Will scowled. \"You're a prick, you\nknow that?\"\nDavid shrugged. \"Think what you wish.\"\nWill sighed. There was no point in arguing. The\nsituation couldn't really be changed at that point. \"So where are we anyway?\"\n\"We are in an\nold part of the Forêt de Rouvray or 'Forest\nof Rouvray', if you prefer. Most of the forest doesn't actually exist anymore,\nhaving been clear cut over the centuries. But you'll find little bits of it all\nalong the Seine between here and Paris.\" \nWill nodded. \"So\nthen how long until we reach Paris?\"\nDavid thought\nfor a moment then said, \"As things are now it'll be about two days, assuming we\ntake adequate breaks and rest at night. Might be two and a half days.\"\n\"And what about\nafter that?\" Will asked. \"You've yet to tell me what our ultimate destination\nis.\"\nDavid nodded.\n\"Right, yeah. Well, after we get to Paris we're going to start heading south toward\nthe town of Arles. Max lives in the southern part of the city.\"\n\"Great. How long\nuntil we get there?\"\n\"If we get a\nquicker method of travel we could be there in just a few days. On foot though...a\nweek, if not longer.\"\nNeither Jenna nor\nWill found that estimate to be very encouraging. Their trip was turning into\nfar more of a journey than they had planned. A few moments of silence passed as\nthey wondered how long it would be before they could return home. Those few\nmoments began to stretch on until nearly an hour had passed without any of them\ntalking. The silence led to a rather enjoyable peace, with nothing but the\nsounds of nature intruding upon their thoughts.\nTheir peace was\nshort lived though, for the silence was broken by a woman's scream.\nWill's reaction\nwas immediate, running off toward the source of the sound, leaving David and\nJenna to wonder what had just happened. Looking down to Jenna David asked, \"Is\nhe always like that?\"\nJenna nodded.\nWill had an undeniable heroic streak. It often led to him charging into\ndangerous situations without much thought for his own well being.\nDavid sighed.\n\"We're gonna have to go after him, aren't we?\"\nJenna nodded\nagain, and without waiting for David took off in the direction Will had gone.\nDavid watched her go, reluctant to become involved in someone else's problems.\nHe sighed again. He was already involved in the problems of others. \"May as\nwell add another then.\"\nHe followed\nafter Jenna and Will, catching up with them after only a moment or two. The two\nwere ducked down behind a cluster of bushes. Seeing this David started to ask,\n\"What the bloody hell is going--?\"\nWill motioned\nfor him to be quiet and come over to them. When David knelt beside them Will\nsaid, \"There's another road just past these bushes. There's a cart on the road\nand it appears as though the owners of it are being robbed.\"\nDavid quirked a\nbrow and pushed some of the foliage aside. It was as Will had said. There was a\nfour-wheeled horse drawn cart in the middle of the road. There were four people\naround the outside. Two of them--a man and a women--were on the ground,\napparently bound. The other two--both men--were standing over them, arguing about\nsomething.\nPulling the\nleaves back into place David asked, \"This isn't our problem, so let's get back\non the road, shall we?\"\nWill scowled.\n\"Not our problem? I--you know what, I wouldn't expect any different from you.\"\nWithout waiting\nfor a response Will burst through the bushes out on to the road. David groaned.\n\"There he goes again with the damn--\"\nHe stopped as he\nrealized he was talking to himself. Jenna had followed after Will yet again,\nleaving David alone behind the bushes. He gritted his teeth and said, \"Dammit,\nthese two are going to get me killed.\"\nWith less fervor\nthan they had done he emerged from the bushes and stood beside them, much to\nWill's surprise. Will didn't give voice to his surprise though as he was more\noccupied by the two highwaymen shouting at him in angry French. The two had pulled\nguns and pointed them at the trio. David sighed. \"I knew this was a bad idea.\nThey're telling us to put up our hands, by the way.\"\nWill glanced at\nhim. \"You speak French?\"\nDavid nodded.\n\"Yeah, and they aren't happy. I would suggest complying...but...\"\nA few seconds\npassed and the two men stopped shouting. David smirked. \"That was easy. These\ntwo are pretty dumb. They think we're being nice and compliant. They also think\nwe're standing about a meter to the left.\"\n\"Excellent. Keep\nit that--\"\nAll three of\nthem flinched as one of the bandits fired a shot to the left of them. Then both\nof them started to laugh. Will turned to David and asked, \"What was that?\"\n\"Oh...er...they\ner...well the one thinks he just shot at Jenna and made her jump about a foot in\nthe air.\"\nA dark look\ncrossed Will's face. \"Excuse me?\"\n\"Well he...\"\nWill held up a\nhand. \"Don't even bother. He'll pay for that.\"\n\"Why? He didn't\nactually shoot her. Or even at her?\"\n\"He still made\nthe attempt.\" Without another word Will drew both his sword and his gun and\nstarted walking over toward the bandits. When he reached them her pointed his\ngun at the one who had taken the shot and placed his blade against the neck of\nthe other one. \"David, drop the act.\"\n\"You sure?\"\nWill nodded.\nBoth of the men were rather shocked when they realized they were now at the\nmercy of their would be captives. Will smiled tightly. \"Now that I have your\nattention...David, translate for me, would you?\"\n\"What, like\nverbally? Or would rather I just make them hear French when you speak?\"\n\"The latter if\nyou can do it.\"\nDavid nodded.\n\"Anytime you're ready mate.\"\n\"Excellent. Now\nI want you two to listen very carefully. I'm going to give you a chance to turn\nyou lives around. Run. Leave this all behind you and you get away\nunharmed...relatively. Am I understood?\" Will asked.\nThe two men\nnodded. Will smiled a bit wider. \"Good. Drop your weapons.\"\nThey complied,\nalbeit with obvious reluctance. \"Wonderful, now before you go...\"\nWill pointed his\ngun straight in the face of the one who had tried to shoot at Jenna. \"You\nattempted to hurt the most precious thing in my world. That was a mistake.\"\nThe man started\nshaking slightly, and Will laughed. \"I'm glad you understand.\"\nIn one fluid\nmotion Will holstered his gun, pulled back, and slammed his fist into the man's\njaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. Will spat in the man's general\ndirection and said, \"Now, get out of my sight.\"\nThe two men\nexchanged a glance then the one on the ground stood and they started to walk\naway. Will turned to David and Jenna. \"That went smoothly. Let's get these two\nuntied, shall--\"\n\"Behind you!\"\nWill managed to\nduck just in time to avoid a punch thrown by the man he had laid out a moment\nbefore. Taking advantage of his lower stance Will rammed his shoulder into the\nman's gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him reeling back. Using his\nmomentum to continue moving forward, Will wound up his arm before hitting the\nbandit with a full force uppercut. The man tipped backward from the force of\nthe blow, landing on his back in the dirt.\nWhat Will didn't\nnotice was the other bandit diving to the ground and picking up the gun he had\ndiscarded. Jenna was the only one who spotted him as he pointed his gun at\nWill. She felt a surge of anger, a surge of instinct. Her body acted on its own\nwithout any real thought as she surged forward, her fur rippling as her muscles\nmoved.\nA dark energy\nbegan to flicker around her maw as she bared her teeth. It flowed out around\nher body, her whole form cloaked in shadowy black energy. Reaching the bandit\nshe jumped at him and bit into his arm. The energy around her muzzled exploded\noutward in ragged bursts and the man screamed in pain.\nShe released his\narm and jumped back, growling. Her whole body was tensed like a coiled spring,\nwaiting for what may come next. \nThe man dropped\nhis gun and held his arm in close to his body. Trails of smoke were rising from\nhis flesh and the areas around the bite wounds were bleeding profusely. His\nskin looked as though it had been burst open from the inside, rent and torn in\nevery possible way. His remaining skin was blackened, as though burnt.\nThe man had an\nexpression on his face that was part pain and part terror as he tried to push\nhimself away from Jenna. The bandit Will had been fighting with--seeing what had\nhappened to his partner--pushed off the ground and ran, avoiding another strike\nfrom Will before disappearing into the underbrush without so much as a backward\nglance.\nThe now injured\nbandit did his best to stagger to his feet, nearly falling again as he started\nto run after the other one. Once he was gone Jenna let out a sigh of relief as\nthe energy faded from her body. Then she tensed up all again, her eyes going\nwide as she realized what she had just done. She had never hurt anyone before,\nlet alone so severely.\nShe turned to\nlook at the others. Will and David were both dumbstruck, and the bandits'\nvictims were watching her with unmistakable fear in their eyes. They were\nscared of her. Even Will seemed nervous. She shook her head. What the hell is happening to me? What did I\njust do?\nSeeing her pain\nWill rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her an holding her close.\nLooking over his shoulder to David he said, \"Get those two untied, and make\nsure they aren't hurt.\"\nSeeing that\nDavid understood, Will returned his attention to Jenna, who was trembling ever\nso slightly. He remained quiet at first, searching fro the right thing to say.\nFinally he simply said, \"I know you didn't mean to do that Jen. I know you\nwould never mean to hurt someone like that. You're not...you're not responsible\nfor that. It's this...energy inside you.\"\nShe took a small\namount of comfort in his words, it was true, but she still felt horrible. He's right, she thought, it's not my fault...at least not entirely. But\nI was still the one who did it.\nShe didn't have\nmuch longer to think about it though as a wave of exhaustion suddenly came over\nher. She passed out almost immediately, her body spent from channeling that\ndark energy. Will was concerned for the briefest of moments when she went limp\nin his arms, but breathed a sigh of relief she started snoring softly.\nHe picked her up\nand carried her over to the cart, where David was standing, talking to the man\nand woman who had been bound only moments before. \"Are they alright?\" Will\nasked.\nDavid nodded. \"Yeah...uh...hold\non.\"\nHe continued to\nconverse with the two for a moment before turning back to Will. \"Alright, so\nthese two--Jean and Chloe, I think--want to express their gratitude for us coming\nto their aid.\"\nWill nodded. \"What\nelse? That seemed like a rather lengthy conversation for just gratitude.\"\n\"Yeah, well they\nsaid they'd like to repay us in some way, so I said I would ask you how they\ncould do that.\"\nWill hesitated\nfor a moment. As an officer he generally helped people just because it was what\nhe did. His first instinct was to send them on their way and to tell them they\nowed no debt. But them something else occurred to him. \"Ask...ask if they would\nbe willing to give us a ride to Paris. I can't carry Jenna for too long, and it\nwould make the trip a bit shorter.\"\nDavid nodded,\nturned back to Jean and Chloe, and after a brief exchange turned back to Will\nagain. \"They were on their way to Paris anyway, so they would be willing to\ntake us. The one thing is...they aren't too thrilled with the idea of bringing\nJenna along. Which...I can't say I blame them.\" \nWill scowled. \"That\nwould be a deal breaker. Tell them that Jenna won't be an issue for them. Be\nconvincing.\"\n\"You got it\nboss.\"\nAnother brief\nexchange of words followed. Judging by the expressions on Chloe and Jean's\nfaces Will was unsurprised when David said, \"Alright, they agree to have her\nalong, but if anything goes wrong we're on our own.\"\n\"Good. One last\nthing: ask them if they speak any English.\"\nDavid started to\nask then turned back to Will. \"Why?\"\n\"Don't tell them...but\nwe need to talk about what just happened with Jenna...and I would rather not have\neavesdroppers.\"\nDavid nodded. \"I\nunderstand.\"\nTurning to Jean\nand Cloe once more he simply asked, \"Parlez-vous anglais?\"\nJena\nand Chloe exchanged a glance, clearly confused by the question. Though Will\ncould easily understand if everything going on was confusing them. After a few\nseconds Jean shook his head. \"Non.\"\nWill\nbreathed a sigh of relief. That was at least one thing he didn't need a\ntranslation for. \"Perfect. Tell them we'd like to get moving as soon as\npossible.\"\nDavid\nrelayed the message, and the two nodded compliantly. Five minutes later they\nwere on the road again, moving at an appreciably faster pace toward their\ndestination."}