Who doesn't like oneshots? [ON HOLD]

Away From Home[Jetra]

Requested by eMo_PuPz

Petra's POV.

The night was dark and cloudy, not a star could be seen on the black sky. The birds had long since stopped their songs and were now asleep in their comfy nests. Rarely a drowsy rabbit or two would cross our path and squak in horror before bolting away in the bushes, usually right towards a wild ocelot or a fox.

Predators weren't unusual in this part of the Devil Forest, but it weren't wolves or bears that made me and Jesse step as silently as possible, freeze every time a twig snapped under our feet or communicate by slightly tapping each other. Although at this point I could proudly say that we had got so used to this forced silence that it would be a miracle if somebody had actually heard us.

Jesse let out a silent sigh and stopped in his tracks, turning around to give me a tired look. I could only make his sillhouette out, it was darker than the darkness around us, but I didn't need to see his eyes to know what he wanted to tell me.

His fingers brushed against my arm for the tenth time that day, and he tapped on my skin once. I knew what that signal meant, and the fact that my friend gave it again made me groan so silently that I myself barely heard it.

He was asking me to go home. He was asking me to turn around when he had almost made it through the scariest forest of all, to run away like beaten dogs, to give up on the dream we'd had for a few months now. All because, apparently, the guy thought: 'It will be too dangerous to continue, and what are we trying to acieve, and I admit I am a chicken, just please let's go home'.

And just like all those times before, I pressed my finger to his stomach and brushed it diagonally down. No. We were not really turning back just because there was a possibility of being attacked. We were the world's most famous heroes, surely there would be nobody stupid enough to jump on us with a sword in their hand!

Jesse sighed and stepped away, allowing me to lead the way now. I rolled my eyes. He was being such a baby sometimes! Like now, what bad would it do us if we really crossed the Devil Forest, which was something nobody had ever done! It would be our new achievement, our small victory we would all laugh about when we get back to Beacon Town!

Besides, we all knew that my friend wanted nothing more than to cross this forest as well. We had had this idea when some people from a village so tiny that it didn't have a name told us about the dark forest that no human can cross on foot. And the thrill of doing something that had never been done before really got to Jesse, I could tell. It's just... He wasn't used to being so tense and scared all of the time.

It was what, our fourth night there? I really couldn't complain yet, because this place was simply amazing! Fighting with wild animals, hunting, constantly checking on the map that had been given to us by one of the few people who had crossed this forest on a horse... It was muct better than any adventure imaginable! Oh, I knew I would miss this, I knew I would never ever feel anything quite like this.

Suddenly Jesse tapped on my shoulder. One, two, three times. Before my mind could process it I bent down, making myself look almost invisible in the darkness, head low so that my face wouldn't be a bright spot. My hood was up, hiding my fiery hair, because they were far too visible even at nights like this.

My eyes narrowed. Three taps. Danger.

I turned to Jesse and gave him a short nod, asking what was going on. His sillhouette, the only thing I could see nodded towards the bushes, and his hand grabbed mine. I smiled silently. Either he was comforting me or trying to comfort himself, I really wasn't sure.