[Relationship] It's Ours Alone

[Wanda Johansson]

Wanda was fidgety as soon as the plane left the ground in London only settling a little when it landed in Stockholm. Riding the train up to Uppsala, they picked up some gear from a small storage building that Wanda had the keys to and then they drove out into the middle of nowhere. The cabin was a small one-room affair, old but in good repair. The bed was maybe a bit small for two tall women, but otherwise there was just enough space to not have to crawl over each other to get around the cabin. "What do you think?" Wanda asked as she unpacked the food they'd brought with them.

[Isolde Schwarz]

For her part Isolde had been uneasy most of the time Wanda was, eyeing the exits and talking little.

"Aside from wondering where I'll sleep? It's nice."

[Wanda Johansson]

"You object to sharing the bed?" She raises an eyebrow and smirks. "It'll be... cozy."

[Isolde Schwarz]

"...suppose you won't get cold, at least," she concedes.

[Wanda Johansson]

She steps over to Isolde, taking her hand. "If you want to run for a bit, I can work on dinner. We're here to relax, so relax."

[Isolde Schwarz]

"Should I bring you back something? What's the game like out here?"

[Wanda Johansson]

She thinks for a bit. "Might be a moose out there and some smaller game. Shouldn't be any reindeer out here. Little early for bear. As long as you clean it, I'll cook it."

[Isolde Schwarz]

"Dinner's on me then," she says, starting to strip down as her body is already showing signs of the shift.

[Wanda Johansson]

Wanda steps over and opens the door for her, "I'll be here. Take all the time you need."

[Isolde Schwarz]

Isolde is a wolf almost before she's out the door. Pacing around the cabin, she catches a bit of movement in the undergrowth. Pausing a moment to confirm, she takes a wide route deeper into the wilderness to try to catch it unawares.

[Narrator]

The air's still a little brisk despite being 'Spring'. Her wide loop takes her out into the woods that Wanda had promised. She can see some old game trails here and there in the underbrush, overgrown enough that they likely haven't been used by anything larger than a rabbit. There's also a strange sense of... conflict is maybe the best way to describe it. It's coming from somewhere deeper in the woods.

[Isolde Schwarz]

The wolf frowns, as much as a wolf really can, and starts stalking quietly towards that part of the woods.

[Narrator]

As she gets closer, she can smell the blood and the death, though the blood is not fresh. A light coating of shadow clings to everything as she reaches the edge of a clearing. Piled towards one edge of the clearing is a pile of old armor, bones, and cloth. The ground around them is somewhat dead, though it looks like the undergrowth is trying to reclaim the spot.

[Isolde Schwarz]

The wolf skirts around the dead area, choking back a growl as she gets closer.

[Narrator]

As she gets closer, she sees that the vegetation closest to the pile is... rougher. More thorns and woody material make up the undergrowth closest to the pile. Around the pile, etched into the ground is a rough circle of thorned vines. The etching is scorched slightly.

[Samantha McManus]

Cautiously, she walks up to the edge of the thorny growth and sniffs at it, trying to see if it's healthy.

[Narrator]

It smells like plants. She can catch some whiffs of decay from the pile, but the vegetation itself seems 'healthy' if also a bit out of place.

[Isolde Schwarz]

Letting out a frustrated noise, the wolf bounds back for the cabin.

[Wanda Johansson]

Wanda is inside, having stirred up a small fire and sitting in a small chair to read a book while something cooks on the stove. She looks up as Isolde enters, eyebrows quirking. "Back already?"

[Isolde Schwarz]

"Come with me," the wolf says, canting her head towards the woods.

[Wanda Johansson]

"Okay," Wanda says, getting up and putting her shoes back on, following Isolde back out to the woods. "I remember this place," she says, looking at the pile with a shudder.

[Isolde Schwarz]

"Did you do that inscription?" The wolf asks.

[Wanda Johansson]

She moves closer, taking a look. "No," she says, thinking back. She moves over to a patch of vegetation and kneels down, moving the plants aside and looking at the ground. "Must have left my mark here though," she says, pointing at a single rune that appears to be impacted into the soil. "It was snowy when I was here last. Ended up fighting that," she says, gesturing at the pile. "This symbol hopped into my head and I managed to draw it into the snow. It seemed to lock up the thing and then I hit it with lightning. Passed out for a bit after that and then dragged myself back to the cabin."

[Isolde Schwarz]

"Then someone else has been here."

"Who knows about this place?"

[Wanda Johansson]

"My great-grandmother. Maybe my parents if she told them. Family mainly," she says, looking at Isolde.

[Isolde Schwarz]

"I think I know the answer but I'll ask anyway: any of them the sort that would do that?"

[Wanda Johansson]

"Mormor said that her father used to 'talk to the woods', but he was dead before I was even born. My mother's a professor and my father's a journalist. I don't think they'd even believe this stuff is real. So, no, not that I can think of."

[Isolde Schwarz]

"Do you see what I'm worried about here?" She cants her muzzle towards the thorny design.

[Wanda Johansson]

"No, no," Wanda nods, "I understand." She moves over and kneels down next to the pile, looking at the thorns. "It feels..." She moves her hand along it, careful not to touch the vines or break the circle. "Like a fence." She moves her hand away and places it flat on the ground. Her eyes close and she breathes deeply. "Nothing out here is like the thing this pile used to be. Even the pile is... well, not what it used to be."

[Isolde Schwarz]

"I should hope not, considering what I was smelling on it."

[Wanda Johansson]

"Some things should not be," Wanda agrees, taking a deep breath as she pulls her hand away from the ground.

[Isolde Schwarz]

"The trail of whoever did this has faded. There's no telling how long this has been here."

[Wanda Johansson]

"I can't feel any real power in the working anymore, so it's probably done whatever it intended to do," Wanda nods, reaching over to put her hand in the fur at Isolde's neck.

[Isolde Schwarz]

"But the message it sends is pretty clear," she says, choking down a snarl.

[Wanda Johansson]

"Shhh," Wanda says, patting Isolde's neck. "You said that you were told Isaac sensed the woman when she set foot on their land, right? Well, I'm not sensing anything out of the ordinary here, so I think we're safe."

[Isolde Schwarz]

"It's the principle of it. I should end her."

[Wanda Johansson]

"I know," Wanda says, "but that's not something you can do right here, right now. A time and a place and a season, yes?"