Their picnic lunch by the waterfall ended all too soon for Carmen Henderson, the redhead finishing up her bowl of salad with reluctance. Across from her Diana seemed equally unwilling for the meeting to end, the glossy black haired woman gracefully plucking sliced bits of tomato from her salad and eating them. "I never get over how beautiful it is out here," Carmen murmured as she looked away from Diana's hazel eyes, "and I miss it when I stay away too long." Diana smiled slightly, "You come out here often, then?" "Whenever I can," Carmen said ruefully as she looked out past the waterfall at the glowing sun... a sun that was falling alarmingly towards the horizon. "I'm sorry," she sighed as she began to pack up the food, "I think I'd better start getting back to my camp, it's going to be dark soon." Diana put the slid on her salad, then gathered together some of the other containers to hand to Carmen. "I'll follow you back," she offered as Carmen efficiently packed, "it isn't safe to be walking out in the woods after dark." Oddly feeling a sudden need to stand up for herself, Carmen said wryly, "I have done this before, you know." Diana just smiled, seemingly unoffended, "And normally I wouldn't be worried, but..." She hesitated, almost as if she didn't want to say it and then continued, "Something has stirred up the local wolves, as you saw." "I remember," Carmen said quietly, thinking of the wolf she had seen earlier that day. "Most of the time," Diana surprised her by picking up the backpack and slinging it over her shoulder, "a wolf wouldn't bother you, but something has riled them up... I'm finding it hard to guess what they'll do." "All right," Carmen smiled as she tried to grab her pack, "but you don't have to..." Diana set off at a brisk pace, Carmen hurrying to catch up. "I still owe you for yesterday's and today's lunch," Diana said cheerfully as they headed down the trail in the evening sun, "consider this a first installment." "If I get this kind of service from giving some lunches," Carmen chuckled as she trotted along behind her, "what will I get for giving you dinner?" Diana looked back at her with sparkling eyes, "You'll just have to try that and find out." "Oh ho," Carmen laughed. Diana turned to offer her hand as they clambered over a fallen tree trunk, firmly helping tug Carmen over without making her lose her balance. "There's some loose earth," she cautioned as her hand lingered in Carmen's Carmen smiled in gratitude, "Thanks." Holding Diana's hand she looked into those hazel eyes and felt her heart skip a beat as she realized exactly why she had been joking with her so much. 'She's beautiful,' she realized, 'and I' attracted to her.' "Are you all right?" Diana asked, noticing Carmen's faintly stunned look. "I'm fine," Carmen answered, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. To Carmen's great disappointment Diana finally let go of her hand as she said, "The sunset is nearly here, it'll be dark soon." All around them the setting sun tinted the trees a gorgeous looking red, the shadows long all around them. "It's a good hour yet from camp," Carmen said as they continued on, "I guess I should have been watching the clock more." "I'm sorry for keeping you so long," Diana looked at her apologetically. Carmen smiled back reassuringly, "It was worth it." Diana seemed to search her eyes for some hidden meaning then smiled, "I'm glad." They walked on as the sunlight fully faded away, the bright glow of the day being replaced by twilight. Diana led the way, picking her way along the path with a remarkable show of skill, her hazel eyes seemingly able to pick out fine details in the growing darkness. "Did you hear that?" Carmen asked, the soft sound in the distance causing her to tense. Diana stood oddly still, her long black hair gently stirred be the breeze, then quietly she swore. "They're coming," she murmured. "What?" Carmen blurted, feeling a sudden increase in tension. The night that had seemed so pleasant before was now becoming frightening, the inky darkness concealing so much from her eyes. There was the sound of breaking branches, a few barks then off in the distance.. then a wolf howled. "You have got to be kidding me," Carmen said weakly, feeling a moment of dread. "Stay behind me," Diana ordered her softly, even as the gray furred shapes slid from the darkness up the trail. There were three wolves, the alpha female from before and two others, smaller but clearly powerful, all growling softly. "We've got to run...," Carmen managed to weakly say. "No!" Diana raised her voice slightly, the wolves watching them warily as they began to circle. "That would just trigger their instinct to chase you," she said quietly, "and there's no way you could beat them." Before Carmen could try to form a reply the smallest of the three wolves grew restless and charged, body flowing across the uneven ground towards them. Carmen jerked backward, her voice soft as she tried to make herself smaller.... ...then Diana moved. With an almost inhuman speed she put herself squarely in the path of the wolf, growling low in her throat. It clearly wasn't expecting something like that and it jerked to a stop, making a soft questioning noise. Remarkably she barked, her voice crisp in the night air, then made other wolf-like noises in the back of her throat. "Oh my god," Carmen whispered, watching in some awe as the woman held a barking conversation with the young wolf. 'She said she was studying wolves but I never expected this,' she thought, biting back a hysterical laugh. "Don't move," Diana asked Carmen as she walked towards the alpha wolf. Carmen whimpered softly as the younger wolves all backed off a bit, but still staying close enough to keep an eye on her. Silently Diana approached the pack leader and knelt, her hazel eyes meeting that of the wolf, and an deep yet unspoken communication seemed to pass between them. The alpha stood still, then her form seemed to blur for a moment before a older woman stood where it once was. Her long black hair was tangled, her body nude as she stood in the moon light, looking at Diana thoughtfully. "This one is yours?" she asked softly. "Yes mother, she is," Diana had a gentle respect in her voice, her head bent submissively. A pause and in a much more annoyed voice she added, "What did I tell you about hunting humans, mother? You know it causes nothing but trouble." The woman looked sullen as she complained, "But in such a place as this, they would never find the remains." "Yes they would," Diana looked like she had a headache as she rubbed between her eyes, "just take my word for it, mother." The other woman turned, walking to where the other two wolves had retreated once they knew they weren't eating anything here. "All right," she said, "I will leave this one be, little wolf." With that she shifted again and three wolves bounded off into the darkness. "You're a werewolf?!" Carmen squeaked. Diana looked at her with a wry smile, "Sorry, no." "Eh?!" Carmen asked as her train of thought derailed. "My mother is a were," Diana explained as she walked over, steadying Carmen with a gentle touch, "I was born human. She took care of me until it became clear I couldn't change, then made her way to a human city and dropped me off at a orphanage." Carmen looked at her blankly a moment, swayed slightly... then fell over in a dead faint. Smoothly Diana caught her, hoisting the stunned young woman in her arms. "I do this to all the girls," Diana sighed, starting off on the final push to the camp.
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