Moonlit Fur Chronicles: Lucid Fur

I polished off the water bottle and tracked down Casey and River. They had a soapy sponge in their hand. They liked to keep the truck and RV pristine. “I need to pick your brain on something,” I started the uncomfortable conversation. “I’m listening,” Casey replied as they rubbed a soapy sponge on the truck door. “Phoenix just told me something and I don’t know what to do. I’m very angry and I feel like I want to rip something into pieces.” River descended the stairs of the RV and waited for me to continue. “She says she has feelings for Quinn.” River gasped. Casey dropped the sponge.

“Yeah, I don’t know what to do. I can’t throw her out of the pack, she has nowhere to go. And I don’t want to be that kind of person or Alpha.” Casey retrieved the fallen sponge and plunged it into a bucket of soapy water. “How does Quinn feel about all this?” “She hasn’t spoken to Quinn yet. She doesn’t want to worry Quinn while she is still sick.” River interjected, “There’s a silver lining.” I rolled my eyes, “Yeah well I don’t need this cloud or silver lining right now.” Casey added, “Sounds like you need a road trip more than we do.” I felt irritation and anger rise within me, “Yes that’s exactly what I need. To go away and let my girl be stolen from me?”

Casey raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t called for,” I muttered. “All Casey meant was you’ve been under a proverbial mountain of stress. It will help if you can unwind a bit,” River added. “Where and how am I going to do that?” Casey ran the sponge across the passenger door, “Didn’t you say you had reconnected with your parents. Maybe go see them for a day or two.” I was interested in seeing my father again. “Long drive for a couple days,” I muttered. “I’ll drive you to the airport,” Casey volunteered. That was an intriguing notion. I could check in on Dylan while I was out there.

“What about Quinn,” I interjected. “I’ll take care of Quinn while you’re gone,” River answered. “Phoenix will need a break as well. Two birds, one stone.” I agreed and gave my parents a call to get their opinion. They seemed thrilled at the idea. My father would pick me up at the airport. With all the details all in place, I crawled into bed with Quinn and held her close. I missed her terribly. She smiled in her sleep as I placed my arm around her. I hoped she had happy dreams. “I missed you, Reese,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, did I wake you,” I asked her. “I’ve been sleeping all day. I want to spend time with you.” My heart melted. “I missed you so much, Quinn.”

“Reese, have you heard of polyamory?” I was stunned by the question, “Isn’t it like three or more people who are boyfriend and girlfriend with each other?” Quinn nodded weakly. “What do you think about that,” she continued. “I think people should do what makes them happy. Where are you going with this, Quinn?” Quinn smiled faintly, “Phoenix has a crush on me, I think she has one on you too.” I was blown away, my jaw dropped. “She told me about crushing on you. You really think she has a crush on me too? That would explain her reaction when she told me about you. She was shaking like a leaf in a windstorm.” Quinn giggled and coughed.

I told Quinn how I wanted to go see my parents and Casey thought it might be a good idea to go clear my head. Quinn agreed with Casey, “Go on. Get some rest and enjoy yourself. You’ve been under a lot of pressure lately.” I looked into her eyes, “What about you?” “I’m not going anywhere,” she coughed again. “I’ll be fine.” I squeezed her hand twice gently . Quinn snuggled closer to me and squeezed my hand twice. We didn’t speak much more, simply enjoyed each other’s company. It was incredible to have her in my arms again. I fell asleep in her arms.

The sun peeked through the curtains. I rubbed my eyes; today was the day I would leave to visit my parents. Casey was right, I needed to get away for a while and relax. I booked a flight and Casey drove me to the airport. The flight was uneventful. My father Davey picked me up. He mentioned he had a surprise for me at the house. He smiled and refused to give me a hint. He said that I would love it. I rolled my eyes and impatiently waited to arrive at my parents. I grew tense as we drove through town. I knew Isadora was out to get me, it made my skin crawl.

Davey navigated the labyrinth of streets and we finally arrived at the house. I smelt something delicious in the kitchen, my stomach growled. Davey led me up the porch stairs and into the front room. Someone was on the couch with their leg propped up. “Reese!” Dylan exclaimed, “It’s great to see you again!” I gave him a half hug and replied, “It’s good to see you too. I’m glad you found a safe place to recover.” He nodded and asked all kinds of questions about my wolves, if we were safe, if we had any trouble with the hunters since we last spoke. I shook my head, we had more gargoyle and witch trouble than hunter trouble at the moment.

I told him I needed to figure out a way to translate an ancient dead language. Dylan suggested my mother, she was a linguistics professor. My eyebrows lifted in surprise, a lot had happened in a few short years. At dinner I asked my mother about a possible translation. I kept as much details to myself as possible, she didn’t need to know about Quinn or Cordelia. Melissa suggested we go to her office in the morning and begin research. I was thankful she listened to me. My parents’ track record was spotty at best until recently. Dinner was delicious and I helped with the clean up. I strolled the halls until I found my old room. Davey and Melissa had kept my room just the way I left it. I tumbled into bed, fell asleep, and dreamt of Quinn.