Journey Of Fate ~ mayakuro

•The Unexpected•

Both women jolted and spun around, breaking hold of each other's hands momentarily. Claudine flashed her light in the direction of the sound. The icicle was no longer attached to the ceiling of the cave, but was instead laying in shattered pieces on the floor. A chill ran up her spine. Something felt off. It was the dead of winter. The icicle shouldn't have been melting yet. A footstep echoed throughout the cave. Claudine's eyes shifted over to Maya. She hadn't moved. Claudine hadn't moved either. The footstep hadn't sounded like it came from their side anyway. It sounded like it came from on the other side of the ravine...

Claudine grabbed Maya's hand and pulled the frozen actress with her down the narrow passage that they had taken. She wasn't sure what exactly was on the other side of the cave, but she didn't want to find out. Perhaps there was another cave entrance, but if there wasn't, and that thing somehow managed to cross the ravine... The two of them sped down the path as fast as they could with Claudine's flashlight leading the way. Maya was basically out of commission at this point. Her nerves had her petrified, so she just held limply onto her own phone and trailed after the blonde.

Claudine's heart clenched. She hadn't intended to put Maya in this situation. She had wanted to find a beautiful hideaway where the two of them, hopefully the two of them, could bare their feelings for each other. It would've been so romantic! But no, some demonic creature was residing in the cave with the sole purpose of ruining any chance at that.

The two of them reached the crevice and slide through after Claudine coaxed Maya to turn sideways. The outside of the crevice was much the same as before, except a few of the icicles that were there when they entered were missing. Claudine swallowed. The sunlight that made it through the trees was even less than before, painting the forest in an eerie twilight. Claudine checked her phone. The time was 3:00 P.M.

She gnawed on the inside of her check as they ascended the stairway. The stairway still had their footprints on it. As soon as the duo stepped off the top step, the wind picked up again, howling through the trees. As Claudine looked at the path in front of her, she noted two pairs of footprints. She pulled Maya along with her back in the direction they came from before the brunette could notice. Better to not ask why the first pair that they had followed to get to the Ice Cave was not there anymore.

The path seemed to wind endlessly even though they were walking at an increased pace. Did their initial journey to cave take as long or was it just her nerves that made it seem longer? Claudine had no clue. They did, however, eventually reach the fork in the road where the snow had been cleared off. Claudine heaved a sigh of relief. The rest of the trip back to the parking lot shouldn't be as strange.

Sure enough, this was the one thing Claudine happened to be right about that day. They did get back to the parking lot without a hitch, except for the wind suddenly cutting off again when they got closer to it. Claudine was no scientist, but she certainly felt something was amiss with this park. Maybe it was just the time of year, but she wouldn't be coming back for a long while, if ever.

Maya had seemed to at least somewhat get over her fright. Claudine finally got a chance to look at her properly in the parking lot. Her face was paler than usual and her eyes were slightly glazed over. Claudine's chest tightened. Her little escapade into the cave, with the whole purpose of calming her nerves about her feelings and confessing, had caused her partner great distress. How ironic. She supposed Futaba really was right. The more she tried to force the right moment to come, the more hurt she or Maya would end up in. She'd just have to... wait. How irritating. Claudine always worked for things, striving every day to be better. She would grasp her stardom and earn it with her very hands. Waiting for the perfect moment instead of creating it herself was totally against her entire being, but if that is what it took to do it properly, then she'd have to take a step outside of her comfort zone and do it.

"Are you alright?" The blonde asked tentatively, squeezing Maya's hand slightly. Violet eyes shifted to meet her own. The lingering anxiety present in them slowly dissipated.

"Yeah... I just... don't really like creepy places like... that."

"Désolée... I dragged you further into the cave. I should've realized you were nervous earlier. I just wanted to... see if there was something interesting further in," Claudine apologized, conveniently leaving out the true motive.

"It wasn't your fault! I was the one who wanted to see the Ice Cave in the first place!" Maya argued back, suddenly defensive for some reason. Claudine's lips turned downwards. She was trying to apologize for something she did. Why was Maya getting upset about it? More importantly, why was Maya trying to take the blame for something that was clearly her fault?

"But it wasn't your fault! You had no way of knowing that the Ice Cave was on a strange route that had some weird... creature, thing, I don't know, on it! I was the one who pushed us to go down that creepy crevice and further into the cave! It was my fault!"

"But I was the one who suggested the Ice Cave even after you told me that maybe I shouldn't mess around with anymore ice!"

Claudine was getting frustrated. This was so stupid. Why were they arguing on who to blame?

"Y'know what? How about this, We were both... somewhat in the wrong then," the blonde suggested. She still didn't see how Maya was putting any of the blame on herself, but she didn't look like she was going to concede the point, so why push any further? She had already caused enough trouble for them today, so if Maya felt that she needed to take some of the blame, she'd let her.

"Yes, I suppose that would work," Maya nodded seriously. Claudine stared at her grave face. Her lips quirked slightly upward. She tried to stifle the oncoming laugh, but it was impossible. This was one of the most moronic arguments they had ever had, and yet they were both taking it so severely. It was absurd. Claudine had doubled over at some point as she laughed at the pure insanity of it all, so she didn't see the exact moment when Maya joined her in her fun, but she could tell she did by her distinct laugh. Her laugh... What a wonderful laugh. Her heart leaped at the sound. Her mouth split into an ear-to-ear grin. Her chest filled with butterflies. Not only that, she felt Maya gently squeeze their still intertwined hands in the midst of her own laughing fit. Holy shit. She was going to die, right here, in a freezing abandoned parking lot. Maya was going to send her into cardiac arrest before she even had the chance to confess. Maybe that discussion with Futaba was a bad idea because Claudine realized she had become even less functional now that she knew what her feelings actually meant. Yet, she didn't regret it in the slightest. Now all these moments they shared were painted in a blinding light that filled her heart with immense joy instead of the confusion of before. The two of them eventually caught their breath and calmed down. Both of them smiled at each other. Claudine's heart galloped at the sight of Maya's toothy grin. Maya was always so poised, so being gifted with such a goofy expression that was directly specifically at her was...

"So, it's my turn to drive now," Claudine announced. Even though they agreed to split the blame, she still felt bad internally. She needed to make up for it somehow, so taking the rest of Maya's driving day would be a good way. Maya eyed her skeptically.

"I thought today was my driving day. You were so tired this morning too," Maya responded, sounding slightly concerned. Claudine had to think of an excuse fast. What could she say?

"I just feel the urge to drive right now," the blonde expanded, putting her acting chops to the test. "I really want to drive Swan. I mean, Swan is a really fantastic car, who wouldn't?" Maya watched her for a few moments before relenting.

"Yes, Swan is a beauty, isn't she?" The brunette placed her arm proudly atop the roof of the car.

"That she is," Claudine agreed as she slipped into the driver's seat. She left out the fact that the said great car had a practically non-functioning heater, a crushed-in bumper, and about 200,000 miles on it.