[Jason Sharpe]

[for Seth Perry]

A gust of wind burst through the trees, shaking branches and shivering leaves. It sang through the forest, carrying the sounds of the birds chirping and insects buzzing and water burbling in the creek. It swept aside the morning mist that hung in the air. The wind followed a muddy hiking trail that wound its way through the gentle hills, crisscrossing the creek every so often.

This morning, that breeze was also accompanied by a man. He was clad in jeans, a worn-out pair of work boots, a cream pullover that was missing the drawstring, a surprisingly dry rain jacket, and a backpack.

It was an unusually early morning hour to see anyone hiking in the park. The morning light was just peeking its way through the leaves. Dew clung to leaves and blades of grass. Long shadows cast by the soft light through the fading mist left the forest with an almost ethereal feel. Even the pleasant cacophony of birdsong was like something out of a dream.

Jason had never been to this place before and had only ever looked at it on a map once, two years ago.

Two years of wondering if he’d gotten her killed too. Two years of pain and torment and wondering. Two years of hoping beyond hope that she was okay and had moved on and forgotten about him. Two years of trying to convince himself losing her hadn’t hurt more than what any Hunter could ever do to him. Two years of failing to convince himself to let go. Two years.

If she was anywhere, she was here. And if she wasn’t here…

A sane man would have convinced himself to move on. But Jason couldn’t leave without knowing, one way or another. He walked the trails of the last place they had planned to travel together. He’d been here since the night before, letting the wind guide his steps, looking over the trees and ferns and the moss on fallen logs for any hint that she had been here.

[Seth Perry]

[googlefont=Whisper]

[attr=class,SETH]

Tomorrow is another day

And you won't have to hide away

---

Sleep was proving to be as difficult as it had been most nights the last few months. Seth tossed and turned, nightmares haunting her more than she actually had any restful sleep. She knew that the dark circles under her eyes would be telling to anyone who knew her well, but it didn’t matter much. She hardly saw anyone else most days.

Finally giving up on sleep near daybreak, Seth got up from her sleeping bag and set about harvesting some blackberries and strawberries from her garden patch, enough for breakfast and to share with Bandit, the raccoon that came to her camp most days now. He had no fear of her, and she wasn’t sure if that was really a good thing or not, but he’d basically become a pet. She looked forward to seeing him.

It didn’t take but a few minutes to gather enough berries, and then Seth headed back towards camp. She was thinking through her plan for the day, maybe she’d go fishing, or maybe she’d just stay at camp. She had a book she’d been reading, one she picked up the last time she was in town, and she was nearing the end. She could finish that and then decide what she wanted to do with the rest of her day.

She rounded the large tree, the last one before getting back home. The clearing where she had her campsite set up. This had been her home the last two years, and she thought of it fondly, though lately she’d been thinking about leaving. Maybe packing up and moving on, or maybe even just staying in town. Getting a job and finding her own place in Los Eurosia. It wouldn’t be so bad here, right? She’d made a few friends, met a few people she thought she could trust…

As she got back to camp she felt the wind pick up. A summer breeze? It felt sudden, but stranger things happened out in the woods and she didn’t think much of it. Until she heard the cracking of branches. She tuned in to the trees around her. Someone was coming.

It was early yet for hikers, but she saw the movement before long. Seth was on her guard, ready to run if needed but trying not to let her fear control her. Maybe the traveler was lost, or maybe they’d just decided to get an early start to beat the afternoon heat. It was getting to be unbearable in the midday sun, so she could understand that, certainly.

“Hello?” She called out, seeing just the hint of movement in the brush nearby. A light top barely standing out from the browns and neutrals of the forest.

---

Jason Sharpe | let me know for changes. I’m so hype. LETS GOOOOO

[newclass=.SETH b]color:#86608E;[/newclass]

[Jason Sharpe]

He'd spent the last month walking by himself, but never quite alone, some amount of breeze accompanying him everywhere he went. After so long being unable to access his Gift, he never wanted to let it go again. It was like a flame in the dark. A warm blanket. A literal comforting breeze. It was just as much a natural part of him as the beating of his heart. the few times he bought a bus ticket, or time spent indoors where the only times he stopped stoking the air. Public transit was safer than hitchhiking, even if he saw Hunters behind the eyes of everyone he passed. The paranoia rode his shoulders like a particularly vehement cat, only soothed by the absolute solitude a place like this provided.

Well, almost soothing. Some of the birds were a bit persistent in their calls and he was glad to move past them. But lacking those few, he thoroughly enjoyed the morning symphony. The moment would have only been made better with a breakfast smoothie. Alas.

Jason hesitated as he thought he heard something else move. Of course it was likely just a deer, considering the time of day. He looked over his shoulder to the left-

And froze at the sound of an all too familiar voice. For a moment though, he tried to convince himself he was hearing things. That it couldn't be her, that he just wanted it and had willed himself to think it was her. It had bene two years, after all. Two years spent cherish and memorizing things over and over to hold his sanity. Jenna's laugh. His parent's face's. Seth's voice and smile. Even with one word and two syllables, he knew that voice. Loved that voice. But until he could see her, touch her, hold her, he couldn't let himself believe this was real. That she was alive and here, still here, after two years.

Jason's hands grasped the straps of the pack loosely and he turned, planting his feet in the damp earth and looking through the trees. He squinted, seeing some bit of orange broken by the greenery, a tiger hidden in the trees. He let go of the breeze and instead pulled at the air around him gently, tugging the mist back in close but leaving it around his feet. Caution reminded him to be careful, to set up for a quick, covered exit if he needed one. He wanted to call back, willed himself to, but though he opened his mouth, nothing came out. He took a breath and stepped toward the voice slowly.

[Seth Perry]

[googlefont=Whisper]

[attr=class,SETH]

Tomorrow is another day

And you won't have to hide away

---

There was definitely someone in the woods. Seth could feel herself tense as the silence seemed to stretch each second into something longer, no answer coming from her call out. Whoever it was must have stopped moving. Or, a more terrifying possibility, they were just that good at maintaining stealth. Staring at the spot where she thought she'd seen the person, she didn't see anyone now. But in the hazy morning light that didn't mean no one was there.

“Hello?” She called out again, her voice wavering with a sense of uncertainty that hadn't been there before. “Who's there?”

Seth didn't know if she expected an answer this time. She took a couple careful steps forward, towards the unknown. Had she been careless again? Had the Hunters finally caught up to her, for real? Surely it couldn't be Noah or John or Jacob or anyone else she'd met during her time in the forest, no one who knew this was where her campsite was. They wouldn't sneak up on her. They'd know better and announce themselves. Wouldn't they?

All the possibilities swirled in her mind as she moved, small step by small step. She was ready to defend herself if she needed to, ready to use the forest as a weapon if it came to it. She'd been practicing, especially since the incident with Noah. After two years in these woods, she knew these trees by heart. She wouldn't be as easy of a target as she had been before.

Luckily, she also learned another lesson from Noah. Use caution and don't just strike blindly. Make sure the target is the enemy.

“I know someone is there..” She spoke again, hoping she wouldn't have to fight anyone, even if she'd convinced herself she was capable of defending herself if she needed to.

---

Jason Sharpe | let me know for changes.

[newclass=.SETH b]color:#86608E;[/newclass]

[Jason Sharpe]

The second time the voice filtered through the trees, there was no mistaking it. He knew that voice. Her voice. Seth. It was a relief to know she was okay. To know she was here. But there was something else deep down that made it hurt to know she was still clinging to their plan. His plan. And he had left her alone for two years. He swallowed, throat feeling tight, and try as he might to call back, to say her name...to say his, to say anything... His lips made the shapes, but even that was something he had to force.

Jason hated that uncertainty in her voice. She sounded so hurt. But there was something else there. Something sharper. Something that reminded him of the tiger he saw hiding in the guise of an innocent fawn. Or a thorn on a rose bush. He didn't want to frighten her. The last thing he wanted was to find a vine growing up his leg or a poisonous plant in his face or even just a tree branch attempting to grow through his chest. He took a breath and let it out slowly. As he did, the mist he had encouraged closer around him fell away. The rest that was lingering in the morning forest floated back from him, creating a softer wall further out that was much more natural.

He caught a glimpse of her bright hair between the trees and took another few slow steps forward, trying on an awkward smile he hadn’t managed for a while.

[Seth Perry]

[googlefont=Whisper]

[attr=class,SETH]

Tomorrow is another day

And you won't have to hide away

---

For a few long seconds, Seth wondered if she had just imagined someone there, if her mind had played a trick on her. She’d been living by herself for too long now, maybe it was having an effect on her, making her see things that weren’t there, people that weren’t there. But just when she was really starting to think that she was losing it, she saw movement again. Mist clearing out…

Seth’s breath caught in her throat as the man came into view again. The same light sweater she’d spotted before was the first thing that caught her attention, but quickly her eyes skated upward. The beard, the hair, those brown eyes that she couldn’t ever forget. Was this a dream? “Jason?” The name left her lips, barely above a whisper.

She was rooted in place, even though she desperately wanted to run to him, fling herself in his arms, and hold onto him so tightly he’d have to pry her off. But something was wrong. He hadn't said anything. He’d seen her, he’d hidden from her, and now he was just watching. Was this a trick? Was he real? The thought almost brought tears to her eyes as she just stood there.

“Please be real. Please don’t be a trick. Don’t be a dream…” Her voice was almost as quiet as when she’d whispered his name. She wasn’t sure if she was pleading with him or just with the universe. She wasn’t sure if she could take it if it wasn’t really Jason, if someone was playing games with her.

Seth forced herself to take a few steps closer, never taking her eyes from his face. She could see the smile that didn't quite seem to go all the way to his eyes, not like his classic smile, the one she remembered. She couldn't let herself begin imagining what had happened to him. If she thought about it, she would start spiraling and she didn't want that right now, couldn't let that happen. She needed to focus, and to confirm that this was real.

---

Jason Sharpe | let me know for changes.

[newclass=.SETH b]color:#86608E;[/newclass]

[Jason Sharpe]

He felt a little like the dogs in Homeward Bound. He'd traveled across country, through trials and fire and storm, just to find his person and be with her again. that need had driven him the entire time they had been separated. And now that he was looking at Seth, he didn't know what to do with himself.

In the mumbled sounds of the forest, Jason couldn't hear her say his name. But he could see it's familiar shape on her lips. He mouthed her name, unable to make the mechanism connect.

But he did smile. And just as she stepped forward, he found it in him to take that leap as well, the pair falling into a familiar lockstep, just like before, if just for a moment. Seth had that same enthusiastic warm that she always had, the passion he poured into everything she did. Even the camp behind her showed her care and attention. Having come this far, his feet didn't fail him now, though he slowed as they drew closer. Jason eased his pack from his shoulders and set it on the ground as he took the final steps to close the gap between them. He reached out a hand, to take hers, to wrap around her, even just to touch her, anything to pull her close, to feel her next to him, to have her small body pressed to his warm one, to know she was real and alive and that finally, finally they had both made it. No sound escaped him, not even in a whisper, but the first words on his lips were clear. Seth. I missed you.

[Seth Perry]

[googlefont=Whisper]

[attr=class,SETH]

Tomorrow is another day

And you won't have to hide away

---

Unmistakably, Jason was really in front of her. Seth had to remind herself to breathe as he stepped close, closing the gap between them just as quickly and eagerly as she was. But something was wrong...

At first, Seth couldn’t place it. She didn’t realize what was making her worry. But she noticed his mouth move, no sound coming out. What was happening? Why couldn’t he talk to her? She searched his face, seeing only his smile there. His touch almost melted the concerns away, almost blanked out her mind in a way that no one else could do. But she couldn’t forget that they’d been apart for nearly two years. He’d been attacked, maybe taken by the Hunters. What had happened to him? How had he come back to her now, after all this time?

“Jason?” She didn’t let go of his hand. She stepped closer to him, barely a gap between her cheek and his chest as she looked up at him, studying his face. “What happened to you? Where have you been?” Out of all the questions that she had for him, this seemed like the most important. Everything else could wait. She could ask him everything, every single question, in time. But right now, she needed to know what happened...

---

Jason Sharpe | it’s so short.. let me know if you need more.

[newclass=.SETH b]color:#86608E;[/newclass]

[Jason Sharpe]

Her hand in his sent a sort of figurative electric shock through his system. He tighten his grip, unwilling to let her hand go, even as he pulled her closer. He wrapped his other arm around Seth's shoulders, hugging her to his chest and closing his eyes for a moment, taking in a heaving breath. Jason had never been the overly expressive sort but he was certainly emotional. Right now, between how relieved he was to see her again and how excited he was to know she was doing well...he didn't know where to begin.

But the moment couldn't last forever. He let go slightly as she spoke. Jason grimace, trying for a hopeful expression but only succeeding at looking more tired. He wanted to answer, he really did. But it was frustrating to find there were still no words. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, it was simply...hard to. He just wanted to stand there, to feel her heartbeat against his chest a while longer, to forget about everything that had happened.

Jason loosened his hold on Seth just enough so he could look at her properly, reaching out to capture an unruly strand of hair, his eyebrows coming together a bit in concern and uncertainly. But he took another breath, and it was gone, replaced by a ghost of that smile, but an attempt nonetheless. He pulled the hand away that he had wrapped around her and reached up to the collar of his sweater, pulling it down heavily to let her see some of the torment he had been through. It didn't explain everything, but he hoped that maybe she would understand some of the where and the who if she could only see a glimpse of the chemical burns mixed with what might have been the fangs of a large beast that circled around his throat and down his chest. It wouldn't be so hard to guess. But even then he tried to smile.

[Seth Perry]

[googlefont=Whisper]

[attr=class,SETH]

Tomorrow is another day

And you won't have to hide away

---

Wrapped in Jason’s arms, Seth let the tension she hadn't realized she was holding in her shoulders easy away. She rested her head against his chest and could feel him breathing in, could hear his heart beating, and she felt safe.

Out of all the nightmares she’d had recently, she never had one where he didn’t speak to her, where his lips seemed to move without the sound to match. What did that mean? Had someone taken away his voice? She didn’t know if that was even possible, if it was a gift that existed.

Of course the embrace couldn’t last forever, no matter how much she wanted it to. Seth took a small step back when Jason’s arm slipped from around her. She looked up at him, etching the changes in his face in her memory. Subtle differences that may have gone unnoticed by others. His smile wasn’t quite the same, it didn't reach his eyes the same way it used to. He seemed worried as they studied one another, as he pushed back the wild strand of her hair.

Then he pulled down his sweater a bit, a silent answer to her questions.

Seth reached a hand up, stopping just short of running her fingers over the scars on his chest before changing her mind and wrapping her arms around his waist, pulling herself flush against him. “You’re safe now, you’re back where you belong.” Seth spoke quietly, feeling the tears well in the corners of her eyes as she imagined what he’d been put through. Her mind flashed to that day with Noah by the river, where she’d all but given up by the time he had her pinned. How much worse must Jason have been through with that amount of scaring? And here he was, still. He found her, right where they had planned to be.

“You were right about this place. It’s been a good place to stay. You’re going to be safe here.” She didn’t want to let go of him, but after a couple deep breaths to pull herself together, Seth untangled her arms and stepped back again. More than anything else, she was glad he was alive, glad he was there with her. Whatever else that meant, whatever had happened, they could figure it all out in time.

---

Jason Sharpe | let me know for changes or if I assumed too much

[newclass=.SETH b]color:#86608E;[/newclass]

[Jason Sharpe]

Seth was so much more 'adult' now than when they had last parted ways. He couldn't help but think of her as this lost little fawn. But she was a very lovely and (well, she had handled herself without him for two years, that was proof enough) capable doe now. And just as lovely.

He watched her reached out to him and then stop herself and it hurt. But he didn't fault her for being skittish. Jason grunted softly in surprise as she instead hugged him close again, smiled and returning the gesture a bit more gently, running a hand through her hair and trying to impart what comfort he could in return without words.

Where he belonged. With her. To her. It felt impossibly good, after everything. As much as he had hoped, as much as finding her here, in the place they had decided they met - the place he had decided they meet - had kept that spark alive, it wasn't until he heard her say it so plainly that he was sure. He was meant to be here with her and her with him. That old spark kindled into a flame once more and his fingers in her hair held her close to his chest for as long as she let him. When she pulled back, he nodded at her words, managing to hum a soft affirmative. With her, he knew he would be. He closed the space between them yet again, loath to be away from her after so long. Jason would turn her in his arms and gestured back toward her makeshift camp, not really sure how to ask for a tour, but desperate to know what she had been up to.

Honestly, he was desperate to know everything that happened to her while they were away. She must have escaped the hunter group that grabbed him in Oregon. And who knows how many others on the way. How long she had been here, if she had a job, friends, if she'd discovered a new favorite food or dared to contact her family or his, if she knew if they were okay, if she still sang to the forest, how tough winter had been alone. How tough everything had been alone. But he would get to that, somehow. Probably best to just write it out. But he didn't have his phone anymore.

[Seth Perry]

[googlefont=Whisper]

[attr=class,SETH]

Tomorrow is another day

And you won't have to hide away

---

Seth took comfort in the feeling of Jason’s hand brushing through her hair, in feeling his warmth against her cheek as she pressed it against him. She had been losing hope lately, but there had always been a part of her that refused to believe that he was truly gone. She wanted to cling to the belief that he was still out there somewhere, that he’d make his way back to her.

And now, he had turned up at her camp, very much alive and real.

She wasn’t sure that this was going to look like in the coming days, weeks, the rest of their lives. She didn’t know what he’d been through. She didn’t know if he’d even stay. But he was here. He was alive. For the moment, that was the only thing that truly mattered.

The space she’d created between them disappeared again when Jason stepped closer, pulling her to him again. She understood. He didn’t have to say anything for her to know that he needed her close, that he needed to feel her. She felt the same. She needed his warmth against her to remind her that this was real, that she wasn’t just having a dream that he’d come back to her. She let him turn her without resistance, and found herself facing her campsite. Home, as she’d thought about it for the past couple years. She understood his gesturing, his silent request.

“I had to replace our tent, it got ripped in a really bad storm last year.” She began explaining, slipping her hand into his and moving forward, tugging at him gently to get him to follow. She moved around camp, a couple cloth camp chairs set up, a folding table, a small grill and a fire pit. All the things that made living in the woods possible. “I’ve got to show you my favorite part, though.”

Seth led Jason along a path from the back of the campsite, opposite from the side he’d approached from. It took a couple minutes, but soon enough they came to a little clearing, a small garden patch. Her garden. Far enough off the main hiking paths that the weekend campers didn’t usually stray that far, but it was close enough that it wasn’t a big pain to get to.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” She barely whispered the words, looking back at Jason, hands still clasped. She was unwilling to let go, terrified that he would just slip away. What if this was another dream? Sometimes they felt so realistic. She could feel the panic welling up, but she took in a deep breath to keep it at bay. No. This was real. Not another illusion playing tricks in her mind.

---

Jason Sharpe | let me know if I moved him around too much

[newclass=.SETH b]color:#86608E;[/newclass]

[Jason Sharpe]

Jason grinned faintly and pressed his free hand to his chest, feigning he was wounded by the loss of that tent. He had liked it, the rugged orange and brown colors, with the fancy tarps and extra pockets. But it was only a tent. He was amazed it had lasted her that long. But the one she had now was just fine, if a bit cozier. Then again, she was only camping for one.

He let Seth lead him through the little camp, taking in the tent, the table and chairs that assured him she hadn't be entirely alone this whole time, the firepit and grill and locked cooler. It was surprisingly cozy for a campsite. But then again, Seth had always been a bit more...organized when it came to them setting up a camp. Given she had been here for a while, it made a lot of sense.

Her favorite part? He looked around and noticed that while the plants nearby looked quite well cared for and seemed to hide her camp effectively, he did notice a distinct lack of purposefully cultivated bits. Jason looked form Seth and then ahead of them on the path she led him along, feeling the anticipation mounting.

It might have been a small garden, but it was hers. He could feel it in the flowers and the bushes, the way everything was ordered just so. He squeezed her hand in his and smiled. This place was perfect. Her words made him take a heavy breath and nod. He was glad to be here. Even the time he'd been a free man again had felt...empty up to this moment. He knew he had been missing something, knew that something was her. He just hadn't been sure he would find her again.

He pulled on the wind a bit, letting the warm breeze wrap around them gently. He reached out to cup her cheek in his hand, seeing that flicker of fear in her eyes and wanting her to know he was so very glad to be here too. There was the desire to do more than just hold her hand and meet her soft green eyes. To kiss her. It felt like the time they had spent together was both only yesterday and a couple life times ago, but he ached to hold her close and tell her how proud of her he was. He let his hand move over Seth's cheek and down her neck and to her shoulder, hesitant for a moment, as if he himself wasn't sure what to do. But he couldn't stop himself and didn't want to. He pulled her gently toward him, breathing in the scent of her garden around them and leaning down ever so slightly to kiss her.

[Seth Perry]

[googlefont=Whisper]

[attr=class,SETH]

Tomorrow is another day

And you won't have to hide away

---

Whatever wasn’t right didn’t matter. Seth had Jason back, and everything else could be figured out and worked out in time. They had time again. She knew that they would both need to adjust to being together again after so long, that it wasn’t going to be all sunshine and daisies, but she couldn’t think about that right now. No, those would be problems for later.

Now was time to be happy, time to celebrate being together again.

Seth had really come to think of this forest as home in the time she’d been living there. She didn’t realize how much so until she was showing Jason around, telling him about the different spots, about the garden. Her garden. Even as she’d been considering trying to make a more permanent life in this city, maybe getting an apartment and a job, the forest still felt like home.

The warm breeze picked up gently, and Seth let a smile settle across her lips. The breeze was Jason’s doing, unmistakably. She took almost as much comfort in it as she did in the hand that caressed her cheek.

Time felt like it slowed. Seth could feel the tension in the air between them, she knew this was a delicate reunification. It had been two years. Neither could be quite sure what the other had been through, though Seth was certain that Jason had been through much worse than she’d dealt with. Her worst moments had been with Noah in these very woods, not too far from where they stood now, but that had all been a misunderstanding. Whatever Jason had been through, it had changed him, it left a lasting impact.

His lips brushed hers, and Seth could feel a tremble travel through her limbs. She wanted to tug him closer and never let go. Instead, she let the kiss end when he pulled back. She brought her hands up and rested her fingers on both of his cheeks gently, green eyes turned up towards his brown eyes. “I’ve missed you so much.” The words were barely above a whisper, but she knew he’d hear them.

---

Jason Sharpe | let me know for changes

[newclass=.SETH b]color:#86608E;[/newclass]

[Jason Sharpe]

Jason could feel her conflict, had the same battle himself. But he needed her to know that he was here for her. No matter what happened. It wouldn't be the same. But she was his person and always would be. He cared about her too much.

He returned her smile, knowing she knew. It was a relief to use his powers around her. To touch her. To hold her close. He ached for that moment, to show her what she meant to him. But as he kissed her, she seemed hesitant. So he allowed the moment to end, afraid to push her further.

Instead, Jason ran a hand through her hair, offering a lopsided smile as she pressed her hands to his cheeks. There was a moment where he stood there awkwardly, struggling to put together words that didn't want to come out. But he had to try.

He touched his forehead to hers in response to her saying she missed him, the breeze swirling around them softly. He missed her too. So much. He wanted to squeeze her, to pull her close, to make love to her. But he mastered himself.

Instead he promptly sat down, slipping off his pack. He opened it, exposing a change of clothes, a first aid kit, a lantern, a few other supplies as he dug out a bag of Albanese Gummy Bears, offering it up to her. He meant to do something a lot more verbose and flowery when he presented his small gift to her, but he didn't want to dwell on his weird inability.

He was eager to open it then and there, to stretch out in her garden and just enjoy her company. Or, with a quick glance back toward her camp, return there, to whatever she had been up to before he arrived.