Thea gained her consciousness, taken aback that she's lying in a large rock when she remembers dozing off under a tree. She hears a mysterious reverberating sound from nowhere and a bright, sparkling light partly covered by trees between her confusion. She stood up, advancing towards the inexplicable unworldly phenomenon with curiosity and wonder. She hides behind the tree, slowly peeking over the blinding light. She cudgeled her brain with mouth agape on what she saw. It's York, but it's not. With her two eyes, a vision of York changing under a blueish-green flame and sparks of white embers.
His entire body is changing into an animal form. Thea can't exactly describe what kind of animal he transformed to. But his feet are changing to hoof; his legs became cannon, he got hock instead of knees and gaskin above it. All coated over flat, silky-gold horsehair. His thighs grow bigger that slightly and slowly tore his soft jeans, cargo short pants. Below his belt almost looks like a horse but, he doesn't have a horsetail. Instead, a tail that looks like a raccoon, it's length almost reaches its hock and has probably eight black rings alternating the gold. His torso's shape is on his usual manly form, with broader shoulders in the same golden hairy skin, which is also partly covered with golden bushy hair surrounding his head, leaving space on his face like a lion's mane. Yet, it didn't cover his almost feet long pointed elf's ear. His eyes are tinted with gold and orange and a few red stains, and the pupil is slit-shaped like those of a cat.
She freezes in a moment; her feet and knees are stocked and shivering. She hadn't noticed, but her cheeks are now wetted with tears, skin hair standing, pulled to the air with fear and timidity. It took a couple more minutes that her feet now recklessly recede, planning to grow less visible from York's view. Yet, the crunchy dried leaves betrayed her, and it crackled as she stepped on it, that surely caught York's attention. Made her decide to run away. In which direction? She can care less, on her thought is questions above all her confusions. Yet, she feared of answers, feared that there will be no other excuses nor reasons and what she latches on to is the reality, that everything is just maybe a dream again, a very long dream turning to nightmare, fantasy turning to horror.
*****
The crisp sound of dried leaves behind the tree diverted York's attention. Eyes firmly close full of concentration opened his palm as his setting in his power of making things more apparent to the object of his target vision. Zoomed in a flash, the blocking trees and bushes disappeared from his vision and verge on Thea with his view, and she is running away. York is taken aback upon discerning her with the expression of dread on her face.
York stopped maneuvering his power, closing his hands as he slowly opens his eyes, shoulders hunched morosely and dejected. From that moment on, he perceived that by that time, Thea already knows about his real identity, and the fact that she's running away, shaking in her shoes, simply means she can't allow herself to be with him, that she can't accept the true him. Behind his mind, his amenable with the feeling of dejection; however, his hearth is protesting overpowered by love. He always knows for himself how Thea means for him. He had to talk to her, show her everything about him, and prove his unpretentious intention. Once again, he manifests his power with full concentration to fathom Thea's present location.
In his vivid mental image, the fearful Thea never stops or slowing his feet, moving further, determined enough to be in the farthest place away from him, not minding her possible destination. On the other hand, York sensed the danger coming for Thea. Few more steps, Thea will soon reach the sequestered cliff with depth to death. Not a second wasted, with a fast flick of his hand, York disappeared in thin air, leaving some scattered sparks of embers.
Gasping her breath and with her brimful speed. Thea was surprised as a horridly black in the deep and beetling cliff was revealed upon her face. She tried to stop abruptly, but it's too late that her foot slips and pulls her down to the cliff. A nostalgic occurrence of someone snatch her away from death is the last thing she'd comprehend before her scream faded, together losing her consciousness.
*****
"Thea, Thea!."
She wakes up with York's voice and the clamors in the background. She's inside the tent, back to the camp. Setting aside all the obscurities, Thea moves back, caught in a hop, seeing York in front of her. Her usual scared expression is now raggle-taggle with forlorn, suspicious, repulsive, and perplexed. "Go away from me."
"Hey! you're just dreaming." York, vouch defensively. He's already in his human form, wearing his best angelic yet hesitant and nervous smile.
"No! I'm not!" More vehement, Thea stands to believe in what she saw. " What I saw is real! and even if it's not, still it's not a dream, it's a nightmare!"
"OMG! She looks insane?" A teasing and sardonic voice of Nerie pans out behind York, as she, with the others, peeking from outside the tent.
"Can you please, give us just a moment?" York asked slowly to the group, holding back his annoyance.
"But York!" Nerie's about to insist.
Keeping the aggravation in check, York closed his eyes, utters " Please.."
She'd pulled away from the tent with one of her friends. Nerie, with knitted eyebrow and one-sided raised mouth, tugs out her arm away from her grip and move straight away back to the bonfire, leaving all of them behind.
"Thea-I.." York attempting to touch her, but then he just clenched his fist in hesitation. He's out of a perception of how Thea felt, and he's not gonna make it worst.
"Please go away from me, leave me alone." Thea's hoarse, feeble voice syncing with her lone and anguish cry.
York bowed his head in defeat and went out. Hopping to find another time, enough time to explain to Thea everything and praying she might hear him out and accept as well his veritable identity.
The natural chimes of the woods with the wee hour air, swishing with the frigid breeze. The leaves so as the thinner trees joining the air with its suppleness. Some careful steps pushing the muddy ground underneath its bare feet, moving carefully towards the quiet and sensuous moaning sound of pleasure inside one of the tent. A pair of silhouettes, a man and a woman, reflected with the weak and about to die bonfire outside the tent, moving just as thou dancing in cadence with each other, together with the sound of their libidinous moans.
Inside the tent, the girl with the ash gray hair arches her body and mouth open, so as her partner champing at the bit, thrusting her rapidly. As they reached the climax of their physical satisfaction, they flop as they lay on their back, gasping for air after consuming their strength.
"Need to smoke outside, wanna come?" He sat up and got his hand on his vape.
"Yup, got to pee too."
Together they stepped out from the tent. The boy sat down within spitting distance from the fire. He pressed the fire button of his vape while she went straight behind the large trunk of an acacia tree to take a whiz. She glances back with her seductive smile, asking her boyfriend to watch her back, and he nodded. But actually, the smoke coming out from the vape fogged his view of her girlfriend made it vaguer with the absence of ample lightings, and he doesn't care until he heard a short, trimmed shrill of his girl.
He stands up to check her out. But then, someone, a girl covered in darkness, pulls and thrust him towards the acacia tree. His body is motionless with the feel of her bosom in his chest as her lips determine and overpowering, finding his. The kiss, so whimsical never he had felt in all of his experiences, just like it's taking his soul, and it did even take his consciousness.