The rest of the morning until lunchtime passed normally.
Well, relatively normal. As much normalcy as can be conjured up when multiple Addams are involved. And that they were all technically the same person was certainly not very normal.
It would perhaps be more appropriate to say that the rest of the morning passed quietly, with no more escapades by the girls or run-ins with undesirable elements. Wednesday and Enid gave the dimensional counterparts a tour of Nevermore's various facilities. Friday insisted on revisiting the beehives, which allowed Eugene to meet the other Addams "cousins" and be brought up to speed on their true nature.
The beekeeper insisted that his time travel theory sounded saner by comparison.
An initially brief stop at the shooting range prompted an archery competition between Wednesday and Woe that consumed much of the morning. The competitiveness of the two came to the fore in a sublime way when after several shots they realized that without exception both were always on target.
After that they started with the tricks. Shooting multiple arrows. Shooting at movable objects. Shots at a passing student who dared to whistle at them (running away from the arrows saved him from Enid's claws, but he would never know).
The rest of the visit to the classroom and herbalist areas of the Academy was marked mostly by Needler's academic questions about the nature of the classes and how they were adapted to the different species of outcasts. The scientific Addams confessed to feeling some jealousy that her older counterpart could enjoy such a rich scholarly life at Nevermore.
"I would have loved to have been able to attend a place like this," she said.
Why such a statement caused a slight frown in Wednesday and a fit of giggles in Enid was something that would be explained to her later. Irony manifests itself in the most unexpected ways.
The hours passed, and finally the moment arrived that brought Enid to find herself before Nevermore's outer gate, ready to begin her trek to Jericho after having made a last visit to the Nightshades library to memorize strange scents.
"Are you sure you don't want to call a cab?" asked Yoko.
The vampire had met up with the rest of the group during the lunch hour. Her initial intention to meet Enid, Wednesday and the girls over breakfast completely disappeared from her mind when a call from Divina prompted a multi-hour Facetime sesión almost all morning.
"Nah, even though it's cloudy it doesn't smell like it's going to rain," replied Enid, "And it'll do me good to burn off some energy on a walk."
"Ah, yes, all the energy you couldn't burn off last night with your girlfriend because of the surprise visits," replied the vampire with a mischievous grin.
"Yoko!"
"Hey, I'm just telling it like it is."
"While honesty is an admirable thing, it can also end up with your head detached from your body, Tanaka," a new voice interjected.
The fur and the fang turned to see Wednesday Addams approaching them.
"Weds!" exclaimed Enid with a smile. Yoko couldn't help but think that if the lycanthrope had a tail at that moment she would be wagging it effusively.
"Mia lupa," said Wednesday, and once again Yoko had to disguise the urge to laugh incredulously that she always got when she saw how the Addams' entire body and facial language changed as she interacted with Enid and only Enid.
The vampire made the mistake of commenting that Wednesday was going "soft" once.
Once.
She learned the lesson. She had no intention of repeating it.
"Wait," Enid said looking behind her girlfriend, "What about the girls? Please, tell me you didn't leave them alone..."
"Friday is back with Eugene and Lenore, I think she's taken a fancy to both of them and the bees," Wednesday began to explain, "Needler is in our room under Thing's supervisión, designing some kind of technical contraption. And Bianca has agreed to Woe's request for some fencing sessions."
A sadistic half-smile crossed the Addams' face at the last tidbit of information.
"Ouch, poor Bianca," Enid said, though she couldn't disguise her amusement, "But why are you here?"
"Can't I come to say goodbye to you?"
"Why, of course, but it's just that you said goodbye to me before, in the dorm. And then in the quad."
"I'm sorry, querida, it's just that I worry," Wednesday said with a hungry expression of longing on her face, looking into Enid's eyes, "The idea that you could face danger on your own..."
She could say no more when an index finger with a pink painted fingernail rested on her lips silencing her.
"For the last time, I'll be fine," Enid said, her voice firm but with a determined smile on her mouth, "I'm a big wolf now, I can handle myself. I'll keep an alert nose out for odors and if I find the intruder's scent I'll just track their position but avoid a direct confrontation. I'm not an idiot."
"Right. You're just a little stubborn," Yoko said.
"Impulsive too," Wednesday continued.
"Zero sense of self-preservation."
"Prone to act rather than think."
"Occasionally reckless."
"Foolhardy."
"Clumsy as f..."
"Wow, I feel so cherished right now," Enid replied deadpan and with slightly narrowed eyes, "I love it when you guys gang up on me."
"Hey, roasting you is the only bonding activity I have with your girlfriend that doesn't involve her threatening me with sharp objects," Yoko said, "Let us enjoy it."
Enid sighed, "Sometimes I'm afraid of what you two would be capable of if you teamed up more often."
"Perish the thought," said Wednesday.
"Well, I'd better get going” said Enid, “Even if the plan doesn't go well and I don't find a trail I still have to buy changes of clothes for the girls if their stay is extended, and the stores in Jericho aren't going to be open late during the break."
"I know my apprehension may be overwhelming, but be careful, mio sole."
"It will be all right, mon araignée venimeuse."
Wednesday's pupils dilated as she took a deep breath, "Enid," she sighed, grabbing the she-wolf's hand and beginning to kiss her knuckles and then moving up kiss after kiss along her arm until she reached the werewolf's neck, who had to stifle a moan when…
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" exclaimed Yoko, suddenly interrupting the couple.
Wednesday turned her head slowly, looking at the vampire with an expression of indignation similar to that of a cat that just had the canary removed from its mouth.
"Tanaka," said Wednesday, "What."
"It's my safeword," said the vampire, "You were getting horny in public again so I thought it was appropriate to use it."
Enid, with a deep blush all over her face running down to her neck and lower, couldn't help an incredulous snort, "Isn't it a bit long?"
"That's what she said."
"Yoko!"
"No, literally that's what Divina said when I suggested the word. She's always been trying to convince me to use another one."
Too Much Information, thy name is Yoko Tanaka.
"Anyway," said Enid, "We'd better stop wasting time."
And without another word she took Wednesday's face in her hands and planted a deep, passionate kiss on the Addams' lips. When they parted the pale brunette couldn't avoid a gasp for air and the reddening of her own cheeks.
"I'll be back sooner than you think," Enid said with a smile and a wink in her eye, "Yoko, take care of my girl in my absence, okay?"
"If she lets herself," laughed the vampire.
Enid shook her head in amusement, and deciding to show off a bit, she opted to jump over the gate instead of opening the door, and then immediately started running in the direction of Jericho with a speed that would have nothing to envy to some vehicles.
Yoko came to Wednesday's side and gave her a couple of gentle pats on the shoulder.
"Come on, let's go back inside and see what your gremlins are up to."
"Take that hand away unless you want to lose it."
"Aw, I love you too, pal."
§§§
The relationship of Nevermore and the town of Jericho had always been prickly.
The inhabitants of Jericho, founded by Joseph Crackstone, a genocidal puritan obsessed with the extermination of the outcasts, had always viewed the academy's proximity with suspicion. There were more than a few bigots who believed that the construction of the academy on land once owned by Crackstone's family and his descendants had been a subtle insult and a form of twisted revenge by Nathaniel Faulkner, Nevermore's founder.
The sad reality is that Nathaniel Faulkner was one of those idealists of which there is usually only one per generation.
He sincerely believed that if the presence of an outcast academy could break down the barriers of prejudice and hatred in a place like Jericho where it had been ingrained since its very founding, then there was hope for the world at large.
Sadly, the most common dynamic between Nevermore and Jericho was one of false smiles and disguised resentment. The townspeople disliked the outcasts and their academy, but they brought revenue and benefits to the town that could not be overlooked. It had been that way since forever, despite occasional efforts by individuals on both sides to try to achieve a more sincere outreach, as had been the case with the late Larissa Weems.
And despite the tumultuous events of the past two years, that reality had not changed much in Jericho.
Enid couldn't say she would really miss the town the day she had to leave Nevermore. Jericho was simultaneously the backdrop for some of her best and fondest memories and some of her worst and scariest. It was not a comfortable dichotomy.
Strolling through its streets during spring break was also an experience that could be described as eerie.
Jericho was not a major tourist center at that time of year. The highest concentration of visitors tended to occur in the second half of the year, in the fall during Halloween and Thanksgiving. During spring break, a significant portion of the local population would leave town for more favorable territories to enjoy the holidays. As a result, Jericho was almost a ghost town that week. At that time of the early afternoon Enid was walking down Main Street not a soul was to be seen.
Her first stop had been at Uriah's Heap and it had been a bit of a disappointment.
Enid had hoped that there she could perhaps find some clothing appropriate to the tastes of the interdimensional Wednesdays, but it seemed that Mrs. Jorgensen had decided to close early. The other alternative was Hawte Kewture and she wasn't sure she could find anything appropriate there. Maybe for Friday and perhaps Needler, but Woe would surely resort to a homicidal rampage rather than wear anything with color.
Shopping thoughts aside, from the moment of her entry into town Enid had sharpened all her senses.
Although her appearance did not give it away, the young she-wolf was in a state of concentration regarding everything around her that would have bordered on the extrasensory. Her eyes were attentive to the slightest movement they could perceive, her ears could hear the flapping of the wings of a bird dozens of meters high and the sound of the breeze in the leaves of the trees in the nearby forest. And her nose mapped the smells and traces of the entire town, attending to the changes in the wind.
That saved her life when she saw something moving toward her head from the corner of her eye and felt a growing sensation of heat approaching.
Enid threw herself to the ground with supernatural reflexes, dodging at the last moment what appeared to be a concentrated fireball that burst into flames as it slammed into the bricked facade of the building behind her.
It wasn't a huge explosion, quite tiny actually, but if the impact had hit her head as it seemed to be the initial intention, Enid Sinclair's skull would have burst into flames and her death would have been almost instantaneous.
The wind shifted, and a specific odor reached her nose. One of the strange scents she had detected in the Nightshades library.
Enid looked up, a growl escaping her throat, and she could see on the roof of the building across the street a figure scurrying away. Her claws extended out of sheer instinct.
She had promised Wednesday that she would locate the trail and avoid a confrontation with the enemy.
That was before that attack, and now the wolf inside her was asking for... No, it was demanding retribution.
It was time to hunt.
NOTES
Translations:
mon araignée venimeuse (french): My venomous spider.
No comments:
Post a Comment