This shortcut better be short.

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Larita followed Shae into the forest, the rain lessening a little once they got under the cover of the trees. But it was dark. The clouds covering the sky already made it seem later than it was, and the shadows cast by the tight-knit trees at least doubled the intensity. Almost immediately, she regretted giving her duffle-bag to Aliyra. She should have given her the rolling suitcase, which was now getting stuck on roots and sticks as Larita attempted to drag it through the forest floor. And her heels, well those were definitely proving to be a problem.

"Just how much shorter is this shortcut exactly?" she asked, stopping to brush her hair out of her face and smooth it down on her head. The rain never did good things for her hair. She looked around, trying to get a grasp of where she was. But she would have to trust her guide on this one. And for some reason, she had no doubt that he would take her straight to the castle. Why wouldn't he?

"at least half the distance" he answered grinning appearing from behind her suddenly out of the darkness and placing his hands on her shoulders.

His ghost light provided some luminance- but it was an eerie type of luminance that didn't really help much.
It make shadows longer and trees look more gnarled, but interestingly, the light itself looked quite friendly, begging them to follow it, promising a safe route.

he eyed it almost mistrustfully and whispered to Larita, still grinning though. "Stay close to me, princess, wouldn't want to get lost...^^"

"It better be," she responded, still trying to peer into the darkness and make out something of a path. All woods had paths, didn't they? Feeling the hands on her shoulders, Larita dropped the bag and stepped quickly away from the presence. "Don't touch me!" she shouted. "It's creepy." But before she could continue scolding the boy, the forest seemed to grow more menacing, and the girl shivered involuntarily, hugging her shoulders and trying to get her eyes to focus. She was sure that the darkness was causing her to see things, and if she could only focus, it would all go away. But instead, she found herself focusing on a small, comforting light.

She almost suggested that they go back to the road, but for some reason felt a sudden surety that the forest would be better. "Yeah, okay," she said, her voice slightly mistrusting. Her eyes shifted back to Shae. "Well, get going then. I want to get there before I can't even see my own hand." She grasped the handle of her bag once again and started pulling. But the thing was snagged on a root, and she couldn't see well enough to untangle it. "Wait a minute. You need to help me first."

Shae watched smiling slightly in an unreadable way as she moved quickly away from him.
What exactly did she want to do then, if she didn't trust him why had she agreed to follow his he mused almost rolling his eyes, walking over to help her unstuck her bag.

"Really princess, you're going to have to trust me aren't you?" he asked his voice portraying his amusement.
He could see perfectly in the dark and he had little trouble untangling the bag from it's snag.

His eyes flickered back to focus momentarily on his ghost light, dancing around innocently. "Whatever you do.. follow me- not the light, got that?" he asked, he didn't want her to die after all- it wouldn't look good on his report now would it, he thought sarcastically. So he decided to warn her... just in case. "You sure you don't want to hold my hand..?" he added, part of his tone was teasing, reflected by his smirk, but at the same time it was a sincere offer.

A thank you never escaped the girl's lips as Shae untangled her bag from the roots that had grabbed it. She simply grabbed the handle and took a few steps forward. Then she scoffed. "Trust you?" she said, as if it were a joke. Of course, it wasn't, because even though she didn't realize it, she was, in fact, trusting this boy to somehow lead her to the castle. Her father would be very disappointed that she was following some stranger into the forest, but she didn't think of that now. In her mind, she was somehow in charge of this situation.

"No, I don't want to hold your hand," she said, her voice abrupt and irritated. She continued a few more steps ahead, but then remembered that she didn't know the way on her own. So she stopped and turned towards Shae. "This is so stupid!" she said finally, stamping her foot on the ground. "I don't understand why we have to walk at all!" But then her eyes caught sight of the small orb that was floating in the air and she couldn't help but stare at it, so bright against the surrounding darkness. "What is that anyway?" she said accusingly. "Does it belong to you or something?"

He rolled his eyes at her blunt refusal to "trust him."
Looking around he watched her loose her temper again, waiting for her to stop.
It really was annoying.

"It's good exercise.." he began dryly before stopping sharply. "I said ignore it.. it's mine. But i don't control it so don't pay it any mind." He stated in a firm voice, if she did end up following that light and it decided to lead her away from him..

Well that wouldn't be much fun, he though, starting to walk forward again.
An owl hooted from near them, he wondered just how late it was. Not that he cared- he liked nighttime anyway he liked the dark.

Jumping at the owl's hoot, Larita stepped closer to Shae, her wide eyes once again scanning the forest. "Look, I just want to get there, alright?"

How had it gotten so late so fast? Larita wasn't sure where the time had gone, and all she wanted was to be somewhere safe. Scenes from horror movies began to play in her mind of crazed killers running through the woods and slaughtering all the people that happened to wander into it. In response to this thought, Larita let out a small whimper.

But the light was still so bright and friendly compared to everything else that surrounded them. She was either unaware or didn't care about the fact that she could possibly be getting on Shae's nerves. "Okay. Why can't we just use the light to help us see where we're going. I don't see how a little light like that could possibly be dangerous." But Shae's curt reaction to her previous outbursts were evidence that her demanding ways obviously weren't working. No matter, she had other tactics. So, she turned to Shae and pouted cutely. "Please can we use the pretty light?"

he grinned internally as she jumped.
She was reacting so excellent to their situation- and he hadn't even had to do anything yet..


"That light wont do what you tell it sweetheart, what it might try and do is get you lost in the deepest part of the forest.. so please..." he sighed slightly then smirked.

"Hey look if you feel unsafe you can always take me up on the offer" he held out his hand, raising one eyebrow at her. "Or you can just walk on your own.. either way I'm going this way" he gestured forward with his head, keeping his arm up but taking a few steps forward.

What was he so afraid of? Frowning, she took a long look at the orb of light. It didn't make sense to her that Shae was so adamant about not following the light. If it belonged to him, then why wouldn't they be able to use it. A part of her wanted to be defiant and follow it anyway, but the larger part of her didn't want to travel through the forest alone either.

"Fine, I'll come with you--- For now anyway." She took a few steps forward, still pulling the suitcase behind her. "But I'm still not holding your hand. As much as I'm sure you want to hold mine," she added with a smirk.

Looking back over her shoulder, she waited to see if the light would at least follow. "Will it come with us?" she asked.

He smirked slightly and started walking. "What's the matter... scared of the dark?" he teased.

Sure his light would probably follow- and that was fine, as long as they didn't follow it. "It'll follow." he stated simply, reaching out his hand to snap a few twigs that were in his way.
The leaves and undergrowth crackled as he passed through- but that was only because he wasn't trying not to make sound.

He didn't think there'd be too much longer to go actually.. they weren't too far off but.. he wasn't going to say that- let her keep guessing..

"Of course I'm scared!" she said defensively. "There's loads of scary things in the dark; wolves, lions, bats, rats, vampires, crazed murderers that target pretty girls! And all of them have like night vision or something, so they can see me when I can't see them."

Her whole life had been spent indoors. If she did camp (which she only did a few times as a kid before she decided that she didn't like it anymore and therefore would refuse to go whenever her dad asked her again) it was in a camper. A nice big camper with a bed, toilet, shower, mosquito net, and her own personal cook. Of course, most of her fears were the product of late-night horror movies.

"Haven't you seen Friday the 13th? Those kids all got murdered by some crazy lady who's son drowned in a lake. Kids our age. In the woods!" She stressed the last sentence, emphasizing the fact that the situation in the movie was almost exactly like their own at the present moment. "The real question is why aren't you scared?"

She continued walking as she spoke, but her heels were starting to sink deep into the wet mud with each step she took. The rain was lighter under the cover in the trees, but the ground was soaking up all that it could.

He burst out laughing.
He had to laugh- she was just too funny- he just couldn't hold it in.
Crazed murderers? In this forest? Noooooooo.. couldn't be? He had to lean against a nearby tree to support himself, his chest was feeling weak with unstoppable hysterics. Oh that was just too precious.
"Kids our.. age h.. huh... no joke " he tried to reply sincerely but it was impossible, he just couldn't stop laughing, shoulders slouched and shaking, face towards the ground to hide his insanely wide grin.

He eventually managed to get control of himself and look up, still chuckling. "Why aren't I scared, princess?" he raised a brow, his voice still full of amusement. "Well for one.. I happen to have "night vision" just like you said so i can see perfectly well right now... As for ladies with drowned sons.." he paused at the mention of drowning. "I'm not too worried.. because right now, gorgeous- I doubt you'll find anything in this woods scarier than me.."
As he finished speaking his eyes narrowed into an almost falsely wicked smile, his eyes flashing, making it hard to tell if he was joking around or not.

Well he did bring her here to mess with her, and he was pretty scary in the dark, his pupiless eyes glowing bright purple in the surrounding blackness. He almost burst back into laughter again, finding the situation utterly hilarious.
"oo..oohhhh..." he chortled, putting on a horribly fake ghost impression. "Ca.. careful i might muurder youuuu.. ooohhhhhh scaaaarrryyyy" he fell back against the tree, lapsing back into hysterics once again.

Why was he laughing? Her concerns felt real enough to her, and she couldn't understand what he had found so funny about it. "Stop it! I'm serious!" she whined before she pouted her lips and crossed her arms over her chest firmly. She had intended to bully him into believing her or to at least respect her fears, and she opened her mouth to say as much when she caught sight of his eery, glowing eyes. Did he say night vision?

Oh crap, she thought, it is just like one of those movies! It's always the one you think you trust that turns out to have been the bad guy all along. Why hadn't she remembered that?

Larita couldn't tear her own eyes away from the bright purple glow and her pupils constricted to tiny pricks of black as she stared into it. She began to back up quickly but tripped on a gnarled root and fell back hard against a tree. Reaching down, she slid off one of her red shoes and hurled it towards the crazed boy. "Stay back!" she shouted as the shoe made a low arc in the air. Quickly removing the second shoe, she held it up in front of her, pointy heel aiming outward. Her eyes were wide, the purple glow reflected in the exposed whites.

He cut himself short and looked back up as the shoe came dangerously close to hitting him in the head.
It was a nice shot for the dark- but then his face was one of the few things really lit up, due to his eyes.
He rolled his eyes and scoffed at the way she held the second shoe out.

Sighing he picked up her thrown shoe and walked a few steps closer, but stayed still a couple of meters away.
"Really princess.. you're making a total fool of yourself- do you REALLY think I'm going to kill you?" He asked in a rather amused, yet dry tone- as though pointing out how ridiculous she was being.

"Come on sweetheart.. you can trust me.." he schooled his looks back into a charming smile, speaking in a less dry and slightly comforting tone, using just a hint of his manipulative talent to try and calm her down- he didn't want anyone at the school to think he was a psycho after all...

Larita relaxed slightly, but still held the pointy, heeled shoe between them. She narrowed her eyes in the darkness, her focus still on the glowing eyes in front of her. "If you're not going to kill me then why did you say that you were?!?"

As she relaxed though, her attention was brought to the fact that she was now barefoot in the cold mud. It was not a feeling that she was used to. She could feel it seeping between her toes and she grimaced. Shifting her weight between her feet only made it worse.

She didn't want to lower her defensive shoe, but she also didn't want to remain barefooted. Her discomfort was obvious as she stood, waiting to see what response Shae would give so that she could make her next move.

He chuckled once more, holding out her thrown shoe to her.
"Couldn't help myself.. it was just too tempting to tease you.." he eyed her with amusement, shrugging. "I wasn't lying about being able to see in the dark.. but I have no intention of hurting you, princess.."

"I just like to tease sorry.."
He stretched slightly, looking around, they really didn't have long to go... should he prolong the trip and mess with her some more? Naah.. he'd already scared her enough by the looks of it.. no point in overdoing it..
"If you are scared though, the offer to hold my hand still stands..."
he raised an eyebrow slightly, as though questioning whether or not she'd like to take it.
"I'll even carry you if you like.. there's not long to go now..."

She had two options. Leave and try to find her way to the castle, or continue to follow this might-be murderer. For some reason, walking through the woods on her own seemed more dangerous. She nodded. "Fine. You can carry me then." She lowered the shoe that she held, and reached out to snatch the other from Shae's hand.

Her feet were too dirty to put her shoes back on, yet she also didn't want to walk any more than she had to in the mud. This seemed like the most suitable solution. She stepped towards him, flipping her hair so that the stray hands would fall behind her shoulders. She reached up, aiming to wrap her arms around his shoulders so that he could lift her up, baby-rocking style. Her eyebrows raised expectantly.

He grinned as she agreed, but glanced to her suitcase with a small contemplative frown.
".. Unless your ok to leave that here, I'm going to need you to carry it while I carry you.." he knew it wasn't exactly "prince charming" styled to ask her that- but unless she'd rather leave it behind..

He shrugged and went to pick her up, supporting her legs and backside under one arm so he could use the other to -after walking a couple of paces- pick up the suitcase and hopefully hand it to her, if she didn't have any more spoiled objections that was.. "You'd rather not leave it here, right?"

Larita let out an obviously annoyed sigh. "Can't you do anything by yourself? Fine. Pass me the handle and I'll drag it behind us. Just try to be quick okay? I'm going to catch pneumonia in this rain." Allowing herself to be cradled, she reached a hand in the direction of the suitcase. The handle was already extended since she had been dragging it just moments before, so all Shae would need to do is get her close enough that she could grab it.

Resisting the temptation to roll his eyes he stepped closer to the suitcase in order to let the girl grab it, before continuing to walk in the direction of the castle- and it really wasn't far now at all.
Really she was impossibly annoying- but impossibly fun to tease at the same time.. interesting. And he would have plenty of time to pull her strings, of course- but in the meantime he'd had enough, and he was sure she had as well. So he was glad they were almost there.

As Shae carried her closer to the suitcase, Larita reached out and grabbed the handle securely. She had to pull on it a few times in order to jostle it loose from the tree roots that surrounded it. "Alright, I'm ready," she said once the wheels were free. "Just try to avoid climbing over anything too bumpy. And please, tell me I don't have to withstand this torture for much longer."

When they arrived at the castle, Larita had every intention of complaining to the administration. She would complain about the lack of driver, the insensitivity of her fellow students, and most of all about this annoying boy who tried to frighten her to death in the woods. Oh yes, they would be getting an earful up there, and she couldn't wait.