Toil and Trouble

Bright Fangs and White Hair

Yay! New chapter! Hope you all enjoy this. R.O.

The girls met again the next day in front of the diner. Osa was joined by two more people, a short girl dressed practically in hiking boots, shorts, and a t-shirt, and a tall boy, all legs and arms. His features were striking, pale blonde, almost white, hair curling around slightly pointed ears and high cheekbones ecentuating his bright eyes, one a different shade than the other. Osa introduced them as Rachel Oswald and Mathais Attwood, or Matty. Rachel had a regal air to her, and for all she looked fit, she was rather pale, like she spent a good part of her time inside. Matty stuck out his hand for them to shake, a thick silver ring on his pointer finger. "So you two are the twins Fredrick talked about. Interesting." "How do you know Uncle Fredrick?" "I work in the library. Your uncle comes in every so often to pick up a book and to chat. He loves to tell stories about you." He winked, drawing attention to his eyes. One was almost silver, the other a bright blue. They suited him though. Osa cleared her throat, pulling out a map. "Shall we get started?"
The trail head was about 6 miles out of town, heading deep into the forest and up to ruins in the hills. There was tenting spots all along the trail, allowing for overnight hikers to "commune with nature". When they reached the top, they set up hammocks between trees and ate their lunch. Osa dug a six-pack of cheerwine and passed around the bottles. The group sat in their hammocks, chatting and getting to know each other. Rachel and Matty had been friends for a while, and when Osa had come to England for school, she had met them in this town and instantly bonded. Their love for the woods and nature brought them even close together, till they were almost like siblings.
   The sun was setting just as they made it down the hill, hitting the last stretch of trail. They could almost see the clearing where they parked the car when a figure appeared in the path. Cloaked in black, the only thing visible was the persons hands, which were grey and shriveled with talon like nails. "Who are you?" Rachel asked, confusion on her face, "What do you want?" The figure moved fast, tapping the foreheads of the twins. The two crumpled to the ground, eyes rolled back in their heads. The figure gave a cackle as Osa started growling under her breath, animal-like and fierce. Matty was kneeling next to the girls, hands scrabbling in the air around their faces. The twins gasped and the figure disappeared, smoke puffing up around the spot where they once stood. The twins moaned, their faces pale as they attempted to sit up, Matty and Rachel at their sides. Osa frowned, growls ceasing for the moment, head cocked to the side, almost as if she was listening for something far off. The woods on the side of the trail rustled in the breeze, and the twins were helped to their feet. "What was that?!" Daphne rasped, reaching for her water bottle. "I don't know" Matty said solemnly, "But I don't think it was good."