Hunter to Hunter; who is the prey?

Lochlann was having a bad day.

He hadn't gotten into a fight or gotten a bad grade on an exam or anything else that might turn a good day bad. That would be tolerable. That would be something he could deal with.

Lochlann has having a hard time controlling his own god damn body.

He heard a wolf howl, but Lochlann wasn't the least bit worried. He was a lot more dangerous than your average wolf.

Normally, he controlled it by drinking or, when the situation became extreme enough, by taking something heavy and making his body sleep it out in the safety of his own apartment, but he couldn't do that today. They were fixing a burst water pipe and Lochlann needed to be out for the entire day.

He couldn't be around people. He wanted to be around people, but that would be a Very. Bad. Idea.

To the average person, he might not look dangerous. He was a fairly tall young man with long dark hair and he seemed to exhale an aura designed specifically to draw people closer. He was always bumping into girls in the hallways, sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively, and he was used to eyes watching him when he passed. It was all part of his lure, part of the appeal to draw someone in.

The last place he expected to bump into a girl was in the middle of the woods.

That was part of the reason he came out here, but there she was, standing at the end of a small trail that no one ever took.

He froze, looking at the stranger, his eyes following her curves, her face, her lips, her eyes, taking in the parts of her that might mark her as a potential target.

They were out here, alone, with no one for at least a mile and a half.

He should turn around and leave, let her go.

Instead, against his will, out of his mouth, came the dreaded words, "Hey...you come here often?"

Lochlann to another step closer, eyeing her carefully. She had a spear in one hand, which struck him as a little odd, but he'd come across weirder things. Maybe she was in the athletics club--that seemed like something they'd do.

"No...I don't think I do, at least. Do you know where this is? Where we are?" "Who are you?"

"Uhh...I'm Lochlann," he said, his eyes looking past her to see if she was alone. It was pretty late--he didn't think anyone else would be out here at this time. "And we're in the woods, about two miles from the school. Did you get separated from your group or something?"

He gave her a disarming smile, the kind where his eyes lit up even in the dark.

"I could walk you back, if you'd like," he offered.

Walk her back to the lake, the hungry part of him said.

"Lochlann...an interesting name. In what woods, what school?"

"In the ahh..." Lochlann stopped, gave a short laugh, and shrugged. "I don't know their name--I've actually never looked at a map of the island. I guess they're just the woods. We're outside of Starlight Academy."

His eyes briefly glanced at her antlers, but he was more worried about that spear of hers. Lochlann had some bad luck with sharp objects in the hands of pretty girls and liked to keep them as far away from him as possible.

"I am...alone. Somehow. Last I recall, I was asleep with my pack, and I woke up here. I may have sleep walked..."

He leaned against the tree and though his senses were stronger, he couldn't hear her mumblings under her breath. Something about her was a little off, though, and Lochlann wasn't sure if he was relieved or uncomfortable knowing they're alone.

"Well, if you slept walked, surely someone noticed you're missing," Lochlann said. "When we get back, we can find a way to notify them and they can come pick you up."

So someone would notice if she was missing.

Get a grip, Lochlann, he told himself. You can't afford to slip-up.

"I am Aulalie.. "Which way are we headin-...wait. How are you accepting this as normal?" "Maybe this is another dream..."

"Hello Aulalie," he said. He shrugged, giving her a sympathetic smile. "Well, it's pretty normal I guess. A lot of people sleep walk, especially when they're stressed, and let's face it, being here can be kind of stressful. C'mon...it's not a far walk."

He turned his back to her and started down the trail, then hesitated and looked back to see if she was following.

"Can you see alright? The woods can be kind of hazardous if you're not familiar with them at night."

"I have already contacted them in the only way they would respond. They aren't within ear shot....so...""Unless some witchcraft sent me here, I'm pretty sure I'm on my own here. Finding out where this is, is most important. I can get back to Huntsville easily once I know where on a map I am. I guess you wouldn't happen to keep one on you?"

She was alone.

Lochlann instinctively smiled back, a calm, reassuring thing, but he was torn.

He wanted to help her, he really did, but he was so, so hungry, and here was this perfect opportunity practically dropped into his lap. No, Lochlann, get a grip. You came out to walk specifically so this wouldn't happen, he told himself. It wasn't working. Part of him had already decided he wanted her, and that part was loud, screaming, and begging for attention inside him.

"Well, I wouldn't rule out witchcraft," Lochlann said, shrugging again. "And I'm afraid I don't carry a map, but I don't think Huntsville is close, unless that's like a local name for something I just don't know."

"I will follow, lead, please, Lochlann. I don't know the markers in this wood." "I put my trust in you, to lead me out. And...thank you. I'm not used to kindness from humans, lately."

Aw fuck.

He really felt guilty for wanting to eat her now, and she'd basically given him the best compliment ever--he passed. He passed for human!

"Ah, that might be a mistake," Lochlann warned her, scratching the back of his neck was his hand a little nervously. "I'm not really trustworthy, so I'd keep that spear on you. There are things worse than me out here at night, too."

He started to lead her down the path, keeping his pace slow so she'd be able to keep up with him. The pace was for his benefit, too. Though he did it well, occasionally there'd be evidence of a limp, and whenever they stopped he clearly favored one leg over the other.

"Where you hunting, with your friends?" Lochlann asked, again glancing to the spear as they walked.

He was going to be good. He was going to take her back to the school, he swore. He was going to do the right thing.

His body had other ideas.

I must have gone much farther, if Huntsville isn't known. It's the only town for many leagues around where I live."

Lochlann stopped, finally realizing what to to tell her. "Ah...Aulalie...we're on an island. If you weren't on an island when you went to sleep, you might want to start panicking."

Then, he realized that wasn't the best thing to say, so he sighed and rubbed his face.

"Don't literally panic--there's got to be somewhere here to help you get home. I'm sure shit like this happens all the time."

Lochlann was trying to think about who the hell he could call. Probably Chloe, first, since he'd kidnapped her and she'd gone to talk to someone about getting home. She'd know who to talk to. Lochlann wasn't sure he'd want to go talk to Octain or the scary-mage-lady.

"No, I was sleeping. This spear is one of the few items I keep, so I usually keep it beside me. I must have grabbed it while sleep walking, out of habit. It's not much, but it's nice having a weapon with some reach. Saves you from scars."

She flashed him a grin and Lochlann returned it automatically, but his eyes were a little troubled.

"Do you....do you take other people with you, when you sleep walk?" he asked. She might not be alone then. That would probably be a good thing.

He wasn't paying attention so even though he really did want to take her back to the school, Lochlann started to veer north instead of east, taking one of the more worn paths so walking became easier. It wouldn't stay this way for long--soon the trees would crowd in and they'd be walking very close together if they wanted to walk side by side on the path.

"I am a good hunter, but we all take hits sometimes. I usually don't notice them til after...I suppose I have a strong pain threshold."

"Adrenaline will do that, too," Lochlann said, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "It's a way to keep your body prepped for fight-freeze-flight until your nervous system relaxes and you can deal with the pain in safety. Wish that worked for the big hits, though, too."

He was thinking about his leg when he talked about that and he shook his head, trying to clear the thought away. What she said next took his mind on a darker path even as his feet led them deeper into the woods.

"Have you ever hunted? I know it's not a common passtime, but some of you enjoy it."

"I...I have," Lochlann said, giving her a searching glance. "I come from a long line of hunters. What...what sort of prey do you usually hunt?"

They were getting closer. He thought they were getting closer to the school, but his heart was thumping hard in his chest and his walk had changed slightly, his steps longer and more evenly spaced.