[color=lightgray][center][h1][color=red]FLASHBACK[/color] [color=5486ae]John[/color] & [color=D0B4EC]Charlotte[/color][/h1] [h3]Part 4[/h3][/center] [color=5486ae]Time:[/color] Ignis 1 Afternoon [color=5486ae]Location:[/color] Woods near Lovers Lake [hr] The density of the trees thinned as they made their way down the final stretch toward the lake. Lover’s Lake spread out before them, its surface shimmering beneath the sun. The air felt cooler here, damp with moss and the area was shaded by the canopies of trees. A few families were still scattered along the shoreline, blankets laid out as their children dug merrily in the sand. Charlotte slowed, her steps faltering as she took in their surroundings. [i]“Charlotte…”[/i] [right][i]“John…”[/i][/right] Her gaze was drawn across the lake as that strange voice met her ears. It was just like the library. White water thundered down the distant cliffs, spilling into the basin below. The sound of it pressed against her insistently, as the waterfall itself was beckoning her too. The voice rose again from that direction, clearer now. Charlotte’s dark hair whipped behind her with the breeze. For one second, she considered it. Then she looked away. Whatever waited there would have to wait for her. The matter of finding Steven was much more important. West of the area, near an entrance to another path through the woods: the land rose gently—two low, rounded hills, their slopes mirrored on either side of a narrow overgrown footpath that vanished into the trees. The trail was well-worn by children’s footprints. [color=D0B4EC]“John…”[/color] She lifted a hand, indicating the rise ahead. Her gaze traced the shape of the hills, one… then the other. [color=D0B4EC]“Do you see them? The two triangles,”[/color] she murmured, almost to herself. [color=D0B4EC]“Placed side by side… with a path between.”[/color] Her eyes followed the trail into the trees, where the light dimmed quickly and the forest thickened. [color=D0B4EC]“They were playing hide and seek, I presume. [/color] she added softly, [color=D0B4EC]“Something obvious to them… and invisible to anyone else.”[/color] She looked back to John then. [color=D0B4EC]“If this is where the triangles lead…”[/color] she said, quietly, [color=D0B4EC]“…then the turns come next.”[/color] The duo pressed onward, occasionally pushing aside branches as they followed the narrow path into the woods. Time stretched as the trees thickened around them, until at last a crossroads emerged. Charlotte slowed, recalling the instructions—two rights, then three lefts. She gestured them to the right, committing to the first turn. The next decision point did not come quickly. The path wound on and on, and with each passing minute she found herself questioning what on earth had possessed a group of children to venture this far into the woods simply to play hide-and-seek. Nearly twenty minutes passed before the final turn was behind them, and they found themselves approaching a small clearing ahead. Smoke curled from a cookfire in the center of the clearing. Charlotte saw two men immediately in leather—one pacing with agitation, the other planted like one of the trees, arms folded. Their voices carried in a way that suggested they were in the midst of an argument that had been circling for far too long. She took John’s hand and pulled him into the shadows with her, pressing them close to a trunk. It was then she noticed a young boy was lashed to a tree with rope, wrists high, shoulders pulled back. Dirt streaked his face and clothing. He should’ve looked small like that, but his mouth narrated a different story. [color=gray]“If you’re going to execute me,”[/color] he said brightly, [color=gray]“could you at least do it now so I don’t have to listen to you two idiots talk any longer?”[/color] The pacing hunter retorted, snapping, [color=skyblue]“He’s a witch, Digby. ”[/color] and the other shot back, [color=white]“He’s a [i]kid[/i].” [/color] Steven tilted his head, eyes flashing. [color=gray]“For the record, I’m not just a kid. I’m a great kid. Practically collectible.”[/color] [color=skyblue]“Stop talking,” [/color] the pacing hunter hissed, [color=skyblue] “Hours of this. [i]Hours.[/i] You don’t get to—”[/color] [color=gray]“Oh, have we passed hours?”[/color] Steven asked, feigning surprise. [color=gray]“Here I thought you’d been threatening me for days. My mistake.”[/color] The other man’s jaw tightened.[color=white] “Enough,”[/color] he said tiredly. [color=white]“We keep him alive until we’re sure.”[/color] [color=skyblue]“And how sure is sure?” [/color] the pacing hunter snapped back, hands splayed in a gesture of maddened disbelief. [color=skyblue]“He [i]laughed[/i] when I said cleansing. He’s not normal.”[/color] Steven gave a helpless shrug as far as the ropes allowed.[color=gray] “I laugh at a lot of things. Coping mechanism.”[/color] A twig snapped under Charlotte’s boot and she bit her lip, her eyes widening in alarm. The sound seemed to slice straight through the clearing. The standing hunter paused then let his hand drift to a string of beads at his wrist—stones threaded with iron, each one etched with tiny marks Charlotte couldn’t make out. He thumbed them once. Then again—slower. The beads clicked. His expression tightened.[color=skyblue]“Hold.”[/color] He lifted his wrist toward the dark beyond the camp, scanning the treeline. [color=skyblue]“That’s not him.”[/color] Steven perked up immediately, eyes widening with vindictive delight. [color=gray]“Told you. I’m very upfront about my hobbies.”[/color] [color=skyblue]“There’s a witchblood nearby,”[/color] The pacing man’s mouth twisted with hunger. He turned toward the shadows as if he could will them to part. [color=skyblue]“Someone came back for him.”[/color] Steven’s grin faltered for a moment then he forced it back into place. [color=gray]“Well,”[/color] he said, [color=gray]“whoever it is—hi. I’m Steven. I’m tied up. I would like to not be tied up anymore.”[/color] [color=D0B4EC]“... Perhaps I should draw them off—have them chase me—while you free the boy?”[/color] Charlotte’s voice softly filled John’s ear. [/color]