Into the wild

The night had become almost unnaturally quiet.

Behind them, the distant glow of the outpost was barely visible through the trees.

The diversion had worked.

Greta and the others were making enough noise to convince Leviathan's forces that a much larger assault was underway.

Which was exactly what Cassandra had been counting on.

She stood beside Joey in the darkness, one hand resting lightly against his chest.

“Ready?”

Joey looked back toward the faint glow of the fighting.

“Not particularly.”

Cassandra smiled.

“That is probably the healthiest answer you've given me.”

“I'm trying to be honest.”

“I appreciate that.”

Her fingers tightened slightly against his shirt.

“Stay close to me.”

“I've gotten pretty good at that.”

Cassandra's crimson eyes softened.

“Yes,” she murmured. “You have.”

Darkness curled around them.

For Joey, the sensation was still strange.

There was no feeling of movement.

No sensation of falling.

Just the world disappearing.

Then—

it returned.

They stood in a dense forest.

Joey immediately looked around.

Nothing.

No sounds of battle.

No lights.

No distant highway.

Just trees.

Cassandra released him.

“We're across the border.”

Joey swallowed.

“And this is Leviathan's territory?”

“Yes.”

He looked around again.

“It's surprisingly boring.”

Cassandra gave him a sideways glance.

“Give it time.”

As if summoned by her words, something screamed in the distance.

Joey froze.

“What the hell was that?”

“I don't know.”

“That was not the answer I wanted.”

Cassandra smiled faintly.

“Come on.”

They moved deeper into the forest.

---

They traveled for several hours.

Cassandra kept them away from roads and established trails, instead following narrow game paths and occasionally using her shadow abilities to cross particularly dangerous sections.

They encountered signs of Leviathan's presence more than once.

The first was a crude wooden marker carved with a serpentine symbol.

The second was a collection of bones hanging from the branches of a dead tree.

Joey stopped beside it.

“Those human?”

Cassandra examined them.

“No.”

Joey exhaled.

“Okay. Good.”

She looked at him.

“You were hoping they weren't human?”

“I was hoping they were deer.”

Cassandra smiled.

“You're learning.”

They continued.

Eventually, they reached a small clearing.

Cassandra stopped.

Joey immediately lowered his voice.

“What?”

She pointed toward the ground.

Tracks.

Several sets.

Large.

Three-toed.

Joey crouched beside them.

“Lizard men?”

“Some of them.”

“Some?”

Cassandra nodded.

“Something larger has been traveling with them.”

Joey looked at the tracks again.

“How much larger?”

Cassandra considered them.

“Large enough that I don't want to find out.”

“Fantastic.”

They moved away from the tracks.

Neither spoke for several minutes.

Then Joey quietly said,

“You know…”

Cassandra looked over.

“This is the longest we've been alone in a while.”

Her expression softened.

“Yes.”

“No Greta.”

“No.”

“No Taylor.”

“No.”

“No Crystal.”

“Definitely no Crystal.”

Joey smiled.

“No mercenaries.”

Cassandra smiled back.

“Just you and me.”

“Kind of nice.”

“It is.”

She reached over and took his hand.

They continued walking together.

---

By midnight, Cassandra finally decided they needed to stop.

They found a sheltered depression between several large trees and established a small camp.

Cassandra produced a small magical device from her pack.

Joey stared at it.

“What is that?”

“A ward.”

“It looks like a rock.”

“It is a rock.”

Joey frowned.

“You just said it was a ward.”

“It is a magical rock.”

“Of course it is.”

Cassandra placed it beneath a tree.

A faint shimmer spread outward.

Joey watched it disappear.

“What does that do?”

“Anything that crosses the perimeter without being invited will trigger an alarm.”

“That's reassuring.”

“It also makes it so no one can see us or hear us while we are inside the perimeter.”

“That's even more reassuring.”

Cassandra sat beside him.

For several minutes they simply listened to the forest.

Joey eventually leaned against the tree.

“So.”

“So?”

“We're probably sitting inside enemy territory, surrounded by monsters, hunting a plant growing on dead dragons.”

“Yes.”

“And we're supposed to be terrified.”

Cassandra looked at him.

“Yes.”

Joey smiled.

“I'm actually feeling pretty good.”

She laughed quietly.

“You are either becoming very brave or completely insane.”

“Probably both.”

Cassandra leaned closer.

“I'm proud of you.”

Joey looked at her.

The teasing expression disappeared from his face.

“You really mean that?”

“I do.”

She reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead.

“You've changed.”

“Good changed?”

“Very.”

Joey smiled.

“You're not exactly the same either.”

“No?”

“No.”

He hesitated.

“You seem happier.”

Cassandra went quiet.

For once, she didn't have a clever response.

“I am,” she admitted.

Joey took her hand.

“Because of me?”

“Partly.”

She looked toward the darkness surrounding them.

“I spent centuries believing that caring about someone was a weakness.”

Her fingers intertwined with his.

“Then you came along.”

Joey smiled.

“Sorry.”

Cassandra laughed softly.

“You should be.”

She leaned toward him.

Their lips met gently.

There was no urgency to the kiss to start with, but that changed.

Desperation.

Maybe it was the danger.

Joey pulled back "You sure this ward covers all sound?"

"Absolutely"

Joey grinned then pulled Cassandra toward him, his lips slipping down to her neck, he started kissing her neck and ears.

Cassandra purred at the attention he was giving her. She started to unbutton his shirt.

Joey shifted his weight pulling his shirt off and unbuttoning his pants.

Cassandra disrobed quickly, her supernatural grace and speed an advantage.

They came back together quickly hands, legs, and lips and tongues all dancing to pleasure each other.

Both attempting to pleasure the other turned into Cassandra ontop of Joey licking and sucking his rabidly stiffening cock, while Joey attacked her nethers with his hands and tongue.

Joey was having a hard time concentrating due to the intense pleasure of Cassandra effortlessly deepthroating his member while providing massive stimulation with her hot wet tongue.

Cassandra was equally fighting off an orgasm as Joey kneeded her firm butt while using his lips and tongue to stimulate her clit while his fingers penetrated her depths.

Joey won the race, but it was a photo finish, Cassandra moaned loudly as her orgasm took over, the vibrations causing Joey to pass the threshold of his own orgasm.

Both partners did a great job of licking and kissing each other clean, only to have Cassandra reposition on Joeys still hard cock. Lowering herself down sinking deeper onto his hard dick.

"I forget why dont we do this more often?" Cassandra sighed looking down at Joeys grinning face.

"Oh you know, stuff trying to kill us, us trying to kill stuff, girlfriends etc..." he laughed.

"Oh yeah, dont know how that slipped my mind." She smiled.

Joey lifted his head her breast, taking one into his mouth, his tongue swirling around her stiff nipples, his other hand grabbing a handful of her other breast.

"Unnnmm...." Cassandra groaned, she started to move up and down on Joey's dick, throwing her head back enjoying his attention to her chest.

"Fuck, Cassandra you feel so good, your driving me crazy" Joey hissed.

Cassandra pulled his face between her breasts squeezing his head between the large spheres.

"Just fuck me burger boy" she have moaned / laughed.

Joey indulged her request.

Grabbing her firm ass with both hands he started thrusting her down against his hardness, she made a deep noise everytime their bodies slammed together.

Soon both were panting and groaning and finally Joey came first, but with him flooding Cassandras depths, her orgasm was also triggered.

When they separated, Joey rested his forehead against hers.

“I missed this.”

Cassandra smiled.

“So did I.”

She kissed him again, lingering a little longer this time.

Joey wrapped an arm around her waist.

For several minutes the forest ceased to matter.

Eventually Cassandra pulled back slightly.

“We should sleep.”

Joey looked disappointed.

“I suppose.”

“You need rest.”

“So do you.”

“I don't actually require sleep.”

“Right.”

He grinned.

“Forgot I was dating a vampire.”

Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

“Dating?”

Joey froze.

“I—”

She smiled.

“I like that word.”

Joey relaxed.

“Good.”

Cassandra rested her head against his shoulder.

“Very good.”

---

Joey eventually fell asleep.

Cassandra didn't.

She sat awake beside him, listening.

The forest was quiet.

Too quiet.

Then something moved beyond the ward.

Cassandra's eyes opened.

She slowly reached for her knife.

Nothing crossed the boundary.

Whatever was outside simply watched.

Then it moved away.

Cassandra waited.

One minute.

Two.

Five.

Finally, she relaxed.

She looked down at Joey sleeping against her shoulder.

His hand was still loosely wrapped around hers.

Cassandra smiled faintly.

Then she looked toward the darkness.

“Come find us,” she whispered.

Her eyes glowed crimson.

“Just make sure you're ready.”

---

Morning came slowly.

Joey woke to the smell of coffee.

He opened one eye.

Cassandra was sitting beside him holding two cups.

He stared.

“You made coffee?”

“No.”

Joey blinked.

“Then where did that come from?”

“Magic.”

“Of course.”

He accepted the cup.

It was surprisingly good.

Cassandra watched him drink.

“Feeling rested?”

“Mostly.”

He stretched.

Then looked toward the forest.

“How much farther?”

Cassandra's expression became serious again.

“Another day, perhaps two.”

Joey sighed.

“Two days?”

“The dragon graveyard is deep inside Leviathan's territory.”

“And presumably guarded.”

“Very heavily.”

Joey nodded.

“Then we'd better keep moving.”

Cassandra smiled.

“That is my boy.”

Joey stood and offered her his hand.

She took it.

Together they extinguished the small remnants of their camp.

Then they disappeared into the forest.

Neither of them noticed the faint movement high in the trees behind them.

Something had been watching their camp.

Something with pale yellow eyes.

And it was following them.