((This will probably be the crappies post I've ever written, but meh, writers block... I've been sitting with it for hours and now it's four o'clock in the effin' morning, hooray! I'mma give up and edit in the morning if it sucks too much. :'D)

[hider=Hedwig Eriksson][img=http://media3.corbisimages.com/CorbisImage/hover/53/15/3048/53153048/Corbis-42-53153048.jpg][/hider]

[indent][i]"Shiiiiiiiit....." Hedwig grimaced and clutched her aching forehead in her hands. It had been some sort of weird dream, and she had awoken way too quickly, sitting up with a jolt before she was even fully aware of where she was. It had been an awakening turning quickly into quite a painful and very sudden BONK! as she struck her head into the metallic ceiling of her not-so-very-spacious mobile home. It hadn't been a nightmare, and Hedwig searched her memory for what the dream had been about - but recalling very little. There was only a dizziness, and a longing for... something. She couldn't even remember what. If there had ever been a story to that dream, it had faded into oblivion in the way that dreams often do. She gritted her teeth as the pain slowly disappeared, then she turned around, buried her face back into the darkness of her pillow, and tried to go return to sleep. No sunlight flickered in through the little gaps of the curtains... whatever time it was, it was just way too early for any sane person to wanna get out of bed.[/i][/indent]

The radio of the van was the only new, high-quality thing in the entire car, and it currently purred out Turisas (their older, really [i]golden[/i] stuff) smoother than a greased soap bar running over ice. Hedwig whistled along with the melodies of the folk metal track, happily tapping her fingers against the steering wheel of the aging Mercedes Bentz. She enjoyed to simply drive, and she actually didn't know how much longer she had until she reached Lethbridge - she was heading there, then beyond, and so it did not specifically matter if she kept track of the miles or not. But she had left Calgary yesterday morning, and hopefully, she'd be in Lethbridge by nightfall at least. It was a small road, a little bit too bumpy and almost completely abandoned by other cars, but she'd make it to the highway soon enough. 

Her eyes moved to the side of the road when she spotted movement there. It was a young man, maybe sixteen or seventeen at most, pale-skinned and ginger-haired, waving his hands wildly into the air. His pants were covered in dried mud, there was.. that was a [i]rat[/i] on his shoulder. "Vhat the heck.." Hedwig mumbled as she brought the car to a stop and pulled down the window. The teenager grasped the edge of the open window.
"OhmygodI'msorelievedtoseeacarouthere like you wouldn't believe. Got room for a hitchhiker?" he breathed heavily, grasping for air. 
"Err... I'm heading to Lethb.."
"Lethbridge works great!" he said, put his palms together, and gave her a pleading look. Beneath his energetic impression he actually looked really tired - there were dark bags beneath his eyes, and he wasn't dressed for the weather at all. His jeans were completely soaked. But what really got Hedwig wondering was his pet rat... she had never seen one so.. still before. Normally they sniffed at absolutely everything. This just kind of peered back at her. [i]Ah, whatever..[/i] "Vhy not. You look like you'll get a frostbite if I leave you out here. Get in." she said and waved him inside. 
"YES." her newfound hitchhiker said with a fistbump and climbed into the car. The air outside was chilly, and he leaned his frozen fingers against the warm air of the AC with a relieved grin on his face. 
"I've got sandwiches in that little box if you're hungry. But you look like you've got one helluva story here."
"Thanks." he said and reached into the glove compartment. "And... not really. I just crashed my car. Trespassed on private land and accidentally pissed off a bunch of landowners with pitchforks."
"What? Just for getting lost?" Hedwig said and raised an eyebrow. She couldn't help but notice that the boys shoulders stiffened a little. His rat scurried into his hoodie and stayed still there. "... yeah." he said finally. "Pretty much."
"Funny trip.." she said and steered the van back into the driving field. "My name is Hedwig by the way."
The hitchhiker had his mouth full of sandwhich at this point. "Ugh.. Fhomafh."
"Right. So, Thomas... do you know how far we've got 'till the highway?"
"Bfhout an howur.."

------
Thomas had finished his sandwich in a matter of seconds and his rat had enjoyed the little crumbles. During the hours that followed, he fell dead asleep - Hedwig didn't understand how he dared to do it, sleep in a car with a complete stranger - but he was apparently exhausted, and he sunk into his seat not minding the weird angle his neck was ending up in. But his rat... now that was a peculiar animal. His rat didn't sleep. It had leaped up on the dashboard before Hedwig could shoo it away, and just.. stayed there. Still, quiet, looking out through the windshield like nobody's business. For an [i]hour[/i]. 
"You're a peculiar one, little tiny." Hedwig said to it at one point. "I've seen tame rats before. But you really take the price in fearlessness. I guess there's got to be a breeder somewhere out there who's been vorking dead hard to get kits as calm as you are." She didn't expect it to turn around and stare back. Rats didn't do that. Rats sniffed at things all the time and besides, they had really really shitty eye-sight. Yet she couldn't help but think it actually stared back at her. As if taking eye contact was a natural thing for a rat. Hedwig had to look back at the road though, and the little fancy rat looked away as well. "... aye. Definitely a weird one.." she grunted while her tiny passanger returned to looking through the window.