All You Know (Kio)

[cassidytremmer]

Bits of rock crunched beneath Cassie's faded converse as she wandered along the edge of the forest. With her hands in her jeans pockets, and her eyes on the dimming horizon, she ignored the few cars that also traveled down the old, gravel road. Most were spots utility vehicles, overloaded with baggage. As if the people who were coming to hike up here really needed kayaks and fifty pairs of clothes to fill three suitcases. None of them gave her a second glance, except for the younger kids. Without any manners, they gawked at the lady in torn jeans and scarred shoes. She also sported a brown backpack, filled with water bottles and first aid kits. If Cassie could do anything about it, no injury would go untreated, and she was sure there would be some wounds. With her friend, there was always some sort of pain. Only her beige sweater and pastel Cami appeared as if they could be new.

She didn't need fancy clothes to go hiking, especially not with the friend she was supposed to meet here. Amaya was a daredevil and would likely have them climbing sheer cliff faces just for the adrenaline rush. Glancing down at her converse, a worry crossed her mind. Maybe I should have worn boots. The shoes she'd chosen to wear wouldn't provide any traction against crumbling rocks. If the day ended badly, then she'd just have to blame the shoes. A thin smile appeared on the woman's lips. In all reality, if anything even remotely unfortunate occurred, it would almost certainly be Maya's fault. Trouble followed that human like a lioness followed its prey. It waited until just the right moment, or in this case, the worst, and pounced. One thing was absolutely for sure: this afternoon would not be boring. Not with Maya around.

Untucking her hands from her pockets, Cassie took a turn down an well-worn dirt trail. A wall of noble pines and strong oaks lined both sides of the path, veiling her in shadows. Up ahead, sunlight welcomed her, and squinting, she could just make out the shape of a building. Picking up the pace, she quickly came upon the cabin and nonchalantly wound her way to the front. Emerald blades of grass poked up from underneath a thick layer of gravel, the parking lot, and hidden between two SUVS, was a small black car. It was Maya's. No one else had that dent in the bumper.

A bright grin graced the werewolf's usually cheerless features as she pivoted to face the old building. Brushing her crimson locks from her face as a bitter wind whispered past, Cassie slowly stepped up the front porch, the wooden steps creaking under her weight. On the entrance was nailed a sign. In peeling letters, the word 'open' was scrawled on the wood. Gruff voices rang from inside, and then a chorus of laughter. A much lighter voice followed, and again the chuckles resounded. There was the clunking sound of footsteps. Cassie reached for the doorknob, but just as she was about to pull it open, it swung forward, smacking her right in the face.

"Are you okay, Miss?" The rough words sounded concerned as Cassidy ducked her head, her hand on her forehead. Already, a dark red was climbing to the surface of her fair complexion.

"Huh?" She mumbled, confused as she glanced up. A bearded man in a flannel shirt was looking down at her. Slowly lowering her hand, she blushed and nodded. "Oh... Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I just never thought I'd get attacked by a door." He chuckled at that, then maneuvered around her. When he cast a fleeting glance at her, she waved and then finally continued on inside.

This was an old traveler's lodge. Now, it was a store. Here, they sold maps to any place you could imagine in New York. Most of them were trails, designed to keep hikers from getting lost. Amaya had insisted that they make a stop here, so Cassie had obliged, though she knew very well that they could never get lost. All she'd have to do was find the scent of their trail and follow it back.

& the tags » Amaya
& the outfit » Click
& the word count » 694
& the notes » Have fun trying to think of a reply to that. lol
& the credits »Evanescence & photobucket

[* Kioko]

The song So Cold rumbled from the speakers of her Nissan 350Z. It had taken her three years to save enough money to get that car, but she'd done it without a loan. Well, at least without a legal one. The convertible was her one luxury and she took care of it like no other. Even the feeling a middle-aged man had for his own vehicle couldn't come close to comparing with the love Maya bestowed on her coupe. She almost regretted bringing it out here. The roads up to the travel lodge may be paved, but there were potholes and roadkill abound, and she had already swerved around someone's shredded tire. Luckily, it wasn't that much farther to old building.

After a run of commercials and a few songs she didn't recognize, a run-down, wooden house came into view. Pulling into the gravel parking lot, the crunching of the rocks making her cringe at the thought of them hitting her car, she down-shifted, then parked. After engaging the security system, she ducked out of the convertible and grabbed her water bottle. It was the only thing she'd brought for this hike. If Cassie asked, she was just going to say she forgot everything else. On the contrary, she'd purposefully left it at her apartment. A backpack was just too heavy for her to be lugging up the side of a cliff, not that she'd actually be climbing cliff faces today. The knuckles of her right hand were in no shape for such ruthless activities.

With a quick glance in both directions, Amaya strut across the narrow lot and hopped up the rickety stairs of the front porch. She hadn't seen even a sign of her friend, but that was normal. Cassidy Tremmer was somewhat of a mysterious best friend. She just appeared out of nowhere, and disappeared around the full moon. Very strange, but then, Kaiya was the pretty much the same. Every month, around the time of the full moon, her sister would just up and leave the city. Maya had no clue where she went, but since they weren't exactly on good terms, she found it best not to ask such personal questions. It would only lead to more fights.

Walking up to the front desk, Maya purchased a map of all the trails in the area. Last time she'd been here, she'd gotten hopelessly lost and had been forced to spend the night in the woods. That was likely one of the worst nights of her life. Stranded with only a sip of water and nothing to eat. Plus, she'd had to sleep under the stars without even a tent over her head. Whatever happened today, she was not going to be sleeping outside again.

Amaya took a seat in one of the wicker chairs in the "lounge." Her eyes flickered to each of the men in the room in turn. Despite the fact that they were all obviously strangers to each other, they each looked very similar. A strong build with a protruding belly from all the beer they consumed, and scraggly looking beards. Out of the three, two had on plaid, flannel shirts, and highly abused jeans. Scuffed hiking boots also seemed to be a favorite of the men. For awhile, they ignored her. She was a city girl, a shady one at that, and they knew it. To those guys, she had no place being here, but as the minutes ticked by, they finally opened up. Of course, the first question was 'You sure you want to be here little lady?'

Grinding her teeth, Maya faked a smile and politely replied, "If I didn't, I could just leave, now couldn't I?" They chuckled like what she'd said was something hilarious, and one of them sat down on the couch beside her chair. Refusing to look at him, the girl fiddled with the make-shift cast she'd made for her fingers. This didn't divert him, though. In a low whisper that carried across the room despite his attempt to make it quiet, the grizzly man began telling stories about the creatures that lived in this forest. Amaya rolled her eyes, but masked her annoyance with fear. "W-w-what? There are m-monsters out here?" Might as well humor him. She knew she looked like a child right now. It was the combination of the innocence of her eyes, the cast on her hand, and the girlish cuteness of her face. These guys probably thought she was fourteen, but they hadn't seen her drive up in her snazzy car.

Roars of laughter erupted from the three men, and one of them shook his head. 'You don't even know the half of it, girl. If I was you, I'd get the heck out of here. Them monsters go after the young ones first.' With that, the man stomped, well it looked like he was stomping with all that extra weight, over to the door and violently swung it open. Next thing Amaya knew, she heard a loud smack, and then Cassie's voice. Realizing what had happened, the Asian girl giggled and peeked at through the door. Right in the center of her friend's face, from her hairline down to her chin, was a bright red indention from the door. "A klutz as always, huh Cassie?"

Beaming sunshine at the woman, Maya set her map and water aside, then stood up and wandered over to Cassidy. The door had already been closed, and the issue between the man and her friend resolved. Arms outstretched, the girl pulled Cassie into a hug and then stepped back. "You've finally come to New york. It's about time, you know, but I have to ask, why'd you want to come up here?" By 'up here' she meant the mountains. Cassie had always seemed drawn to nature, but a few days in the heart of New york City would have done her some good.


word count ●● 982
tagged ●● Cassie
notes ●● You made that too easy, Sun. jk Sorry it took so long, though. I had that trip.
clothing ●● Here
credits ●● Credit to The Fray & photobucket.

[cassidytremmer]

& the tags » Amaya
& the outfit » Click
& the word count » -XXX-
& the notes » I'll post soon. ^^
& the credits »Evanescence & photobucket