Chapter Six - Part One

* * *

CHAPTER SIX

* * *

A trailer park was the last place that I expected Tidus to bring me, but that's exactly where we ended up. It was an abysmal, neglected, dump of a neighborhood. And most of the trailers were ramshackle, consisting of chipped paint, and broken windows with boards nailed across their fronts. But the one we parked in front of was different - quite different, actually.

An unstable fence surrounded the small property of an equally small trailer. And I could tell that the two windows were indeed lit, but covered from the inside with blinds for privacy. Hesitantly, I unbuckled myself, and exited the car, feeling instantly weary when I spied a figure moving in the shadows of the small trailer's deck.

"Claudia, I've brought her." Tidus called, and the figure shifted again, this time into the moonlight.

"Well, it's about time." the girl said. Her tone with Tidus had been light-hearted, but when she directed her gaze towards me, an immediate sense of gravity overtook her. And her large, gray eyes held a haunted, flat quality that I recognized in my own from time to time. I observed her long, brown hair, twisted and dreaded in some places, her jean shorts, red flip-flops and the artfully-torn, white t-shirt, coupled with the small gold hoop in her nose, and realized that she wasn't much unlike myself. In fact, she appeared to be an outside reflection of the girl I was within. And as she stood across from me, measuring up to equal height, I knew from her expression that she had come to the very same conclusion - that we were two peas very close to the same pod.

"I'm -"

"Naomi Noble. Yeah, I know who you are." she said stiffly, ignoring the outstretched hand that I offered.

"Ti, you really think it's a good idea bringing her here?" Claudia asked, turning her attention back to him. "I thought you said you were gonna take care of her."

"But I did take care of her." Tidus replied, with the same teasing idleness that he used on me. "I brought her to see you."

"What more do you want me to do? I already told you what I saw - and you know I'm never wrong. She fucking did it."

"Uh, hello?" I said, and they both looked back at me, as if seeing me there for the very first time.

"Yeah, still here." I said impatiently. "Look, Claudia, you have it wrong. I don't wanna kill Tidus - I barely even know him."

"Is she for serious?" Claudia said.

"I think so, actually." Tidus replied, grinning.

"You made a mistake." I said to Claudia again. "I can guarantee it."

"Oh really? And do you wanna bet on that, wolf?" Claudia said, folding her arms together in a challenging manner.

I felt the small hairs across the nape of my neck bristling, and there was a momentary flash of anger. But I steeled myself, because I knew that of the three, I was the one at the disadvantage there. And it would serve no good to square off in a pissing contest with Claudia anyway, let alone in front of Tidus. If I wanted to win this battle (and stay alive) I would have to do it the smart way.

"Look, just tell me what I need to do to fix this." I said evenly, and looking between the both of them.

"Fine, we can talk inside." Claudia replied wearily. "But first, I'll need a little insurance - just enough to make sure that I can really trust you in my house."

And from out of her back pocket, she withdrew a thin, capped syringe, filled with a clear liquid that sparkled flashes of silver in the moonlight.

"What the hell is that?" I asked suspiciously, restraining myself from taking a step backwards.

"A saline solution with silver shavings." Claudia replied, with a proud smirk. "I made it myself. Anyway, it's for you."

"Okay, it's official - you really are out of your goddamn mind." I said, in complete astonishment at this point. "Fuck you if you think I'm gonna inject myself with that - are you nuts?"

"Naomi," Claudia began, with false sweetness. "Let's take into consideration the fact that I'm the only person keeping Tidus from ripping out your guts through your bellybutton, ok? So if you like your insides where they currently are, I suggest you play by my rules. Or not..."

She gave Tidus a meaningful look, and at once I sensed the danger.

"All right. Fine." I said, and with a sigh and a forced smile, I rolled up my sleeve and offered my left arm.

"Good choice." Claudia said.

Wincing, I watched as Claudia removed the syringe's cap, flicked it, and then released a small stream of the liquid. She took my wrist in her hand, and then firmly, but gently, broke skin with the needle. With gritted teeth, I witnessed as she pressed the release, and immediately my arm was on fire. A horrible burning sensation began at the injection sight, and then began to radiate outwards, throughout the rest of my body.

"Don't worry." Claudia said, letting go of my arm. "It's like glitter, you'll piss it all out within a day or so - no harm done."

"Yeah. Sure." I said, feeling sweat beginning to break out across my forehead as the pain doubled. I began to sway slightly, feeling weak.

"Claudia, give us a minute?" Tidus said.

"Yep, I'll be inside." Claudia replied, heading towards the front door of the trailer.

"She's charming." I said, after making sure that Claudia was safe in her trailer, and no longer within earshot. "But seriously, I'm pretty sure I've met cacti that were friendlier."

"She's my friend." Tidus replied simply. "Can you blame her?"

I didn't answer. What else could I say? After all, he was right. Claudia held no allegiance to me, and clearly she knew Tidus much better and for far longer than I. So in reality, I had no right to expect anything else.

"Prove her wrong, Naomi." Tidus instructed. "Show me that I can trust you."

"Why?" I said, as he began to walk towards the porch, while I remained leaning against the fence. "What if I don't want your trust?"

"Would you be here if you didn't?" he replied without turning around.

* * *

It was warm in the trailer, and among the first things I noticed were the mismatched furniture, ugly, stained, carpeting and the cracks in the walls. But that till didn't dismiss the "homey" feeling that you derived from it. There were pictures and mismatched decorations on the walls, and fat, white candles flickered and gleamed through the clear glass votives that housed them. And while most surfaces in the trailer were covered in these candles, the rest were scattered with books that all seemed to cover topics of Witchcraft or other similar subjects.

Gingerly, I took a seat in the least lumpy-looking arm chair, and picked up a book with an illustration of a black, red-eyed wolf on the cover. "Werewolves: A Concise History" was its title.

"Well, now that the gang's all here, let's get started, shall we?" Claudia was walking into the living room from the kitchen, and in her hands was a large, green mug. And even from this distance, my keen wolf-nose could smell the harsh odor of its contents.

"That's not for me, is it?" I asked wearisomely.

"Nope, this is all mine." she replied, eyeing the mug with profound interest, as she chose the seat directly opposite myself.

"Ok," she said, setting the mug down on the glass coffee table before her. "This is a black tea infused with belladonna - a herb that witches use for inducing psychic visions and seeing auras."

"And that means you're going to try and have another vision, right? Of me." And I cleared my throat, nervous.

"Yep, that's right... but I'll need a drop of your blood in order to do it."

"You're fucking kidding." I grumbled, but still stretched out my arm to her again.

"And you're a doll," she replied grimly, withdrawing a small knife from her pocket. But no sooner had Claudia flicked it open, then suddenly the screen door to the trailer opened and closed. Confused, I looked at the door, and then around the living room, realizing that Tidus had left.

"He gets like that around blood sometimes." Claudia said, glancing at the door. "Doesn't like to be around it."

"Why? Is it because of the bloodlust? He can't deal?"

"Yeah, sure." she replied tightly, and then jabbed my finger with the blade.

"Ouch!" I cried, caught unaware, as a single, red drop formed, and then began to swell. "Hey, I didn't mean that in a bad way - I was genuinely asking."

"Well, you sound like you got your facts from a fairytale or some shitty b-movie." she replied, directing my finger over her steaming cup, and squeezing in the drop. With a single hiss it landed in the mug, and the dark brown liquid turned a bright red.

"Interesting..." Claudia said, bringing the mug eye level, and swirling it slightly.

"What?" I asked, dubiously.

"It's just... I've never really seen this potion turn red before, unless I was reading for another witch. And you aren't a witch, right?"

"No," I said frowning. "Definitely not."

"Hmm..."

"Maybe it turns red for werewolves too." I offered.

"Yeah. Maybe." she replied, but still looking doubtful. And we both jumped as the screen door was flung open.