The Calm and the Storm

Bruce stroked the edges of the picture in his hand, it was a snapshot of his parents, they had been dead for so long but sometimes it felt unreal especially when he wanted to talk to them he wondered what his life would have been like, if they had survived that accident that had claimed their lives and then he wondered if they were any point thinking those thoughts at all.
If he'd told them he loved them when they had time maybe it would feel less like a loss but that was a moot point now, he couldn't turn back time and he could never reach them so all he could do was cherish the memories.
As he sat in this room with its shining dense walls he wondered for a brief moment just why he was feeling so melancholy. Maybe it was because their two days of exploring the state library they had found not much of anything. Alpha Zavi was ready for them to leave his pack, and Logan was quite eager to leave as well although that was mostly because he didn't like the Alpha.
They had given all the information they had on the priestess including Dolores and myths about her and for their quest they only had measly histories of the four brothers they had discovered and a new location to visit while they were on their way.
He heard soft laughter coming from the room next door and smiled, that was good, Emily was stressed out, Logan was of no help and while Aspen was not who he'd have recommended for the job she did just fine, the two were good for each other.
The problem was he was not sure how he felt about Aspen and her newfound need to ignore him especially since they hadn't spoken on what happened a few nights ago.
The door opened and he felt Logan's presence in the room, he stood at the door just watching
" I can feel you watching me " he sighed and Logan grunted as he walked into the room.

" I should say I'm not sure how you can do that," he asked and he chuckled
" It's instinct years of having myself to take care of " he replied and Logan nodded sitting next to him.
" Why are you here" he nodded and Logan smiled
" I didn't want to be here but then here I am"
" You pissed her off" he muttered and Logan sighed
" I don't want to talk about it at all" he huffed and Bruce sighed
" Of course not "
" So what did you want to talk about "
" you miss them," he said softly and Bruce hissed. He knew who exactly Logan was talking about but playing dumb seemed to be the best thing to do so far.
" I'm not sure what you mean"
" I know it's their death anniversary " he replied unwillingly to let him get away with hiding
" And I would not want to talk about it"
" I know and I'm sorry for your loss" he muttered as he smiled
" It's not like you did anything to them"
" I was prepared for my duty after the loss. It took me a while but I did it anyway"
"I hope so" he replied
" So quick question, what's with all the giggling" he asked looking to the door and Logan chuckled
" They're discussing lady things that I did not understand"
He opened his mouth and shut it again
" You need to let yourself fall in love again, trust in yourself," he said a slight smile on his face, he knew just what it meant to love someone, and he wanted that for his friend
" Emily is good for you and I know that with time you'll forget Faith " he whispered, Logan looked like that was all he wanted to hear and then he looked like it was not
" Thank you Bruce " he muttered gratefully and stood up
" I'll go separate them, we need to leave early"
******
Aspen was awake from the rustling as she pulled on her boots he jostled sitting up at once
"You awake early" Bruce grumbled voice hoarse, she turned to him with a sigh
" I couldn't sleep I know where we need to go and I am too restless to sleep," she said standing
" And besides, it's not as if you were sleeping yourself"
" Get up let's find the others " she urged, he groaned and she laughed
" You're such a cry baby" she joked
" You're being a pain in my ass" he mumbled sitting up
" Thank you," she said pressing a kiss on his cheek,
" You shouldn't do that," he said softly and she sighed
" I'm sorry " Her eyes caught his glare and, he saw her intense study gave him.
" Sorry about your parents," she said softly and he smiled, her eyes were tinged with sadness
" Thank you, I have lost people you know"
" there was Bran, he was a good friend, we joined the forces together and we served our division together.
Logan was with us then we received information about rogues who were threatening to invade us. we were told to take an alternative route, fish them out and destroy them"
" turns out the information didn't check out, the rogues were in our direction. we lost four of our men Bran included"
" That was two years before my parents passed, I had just gotten over their loss " he ended taking her hands in his
" I'm so sorry Bruce," she said, he smiled kissing her fingers
"Thank you, I am grateful for your help that time and now," he said and she smiled slightly
" I know. Now enough sadness. Let's go "
"Ok let's go" he urged. He smiled tugging on a shirt
They left their room packed and found Logan outside their door waiting on Emily.
" I was wondering if I'd have to drag you two out of there" he grumbled. Aspen let out a little laugh and kissed his cheek
" Good morning Logan darling but I believe, we're early" she muttered and he smiled
" Of course you are but I need your help to get her out of there before she packs all the books into her bag" he groused pulling away from her. Bruce tried hard to hide a smile
" We're going to the Golden Fang pack " Emily offered bursting out of the doors
" You should warn someone when you do that" Logan complained pulling back a bit
" Alright, how do we get there " Aspen asked taking the book from her hand.
" It's not a long distance" she answered seemingly excited
" Darling you need to stop hyperventilating" Aspen sighed handing her bags to him.
" I'm not, can we talk about the reason we're here" he nodded
" That's a good plan. " He said and she sighed
" How do we get there " she asked
" We'll drive as usual but we have to stop at some point" Logan replied and Aspen nodded
" Yeah the Golden Fang is a distance from the roads
They like the anonymity"
" Come we don't have time to waste" she urged leading towards the room they had first appeared
" How long will it take to get there" Emily asked as she shrugged her bags into the trunk
" Not long" she muttered
The drive was not eventful, Bruce had not been out of the place for a long while, maybe almost twenty years so he was not used to the scenery. Logan was used to it more because up until his father's death he had followed him for various pack meetings.
" This is quite beautiful" Emily whispered and he smiled. It seemed whatever he had done she was not ready to forgive Logan for all she had chosen to stay in the back seat with Bruce.
"Yes, it is. You don't travel much" he muttered and she sighed gazing outside the window to, the tree in tall canopies, with burnished bronze leaves, thin sunlight pierced through them making it seem more quaint
" How far are we from the city" she asked
" A few hours" Logan offered, she said nothing to him
" It's not too far, most packs are situated close to each other " Bruce offered
Grunting she, gestured toward the window
" let's watch the view then"
The more time passed the less antsy, Emily became, soon she was dozing fitfully on the chair a book in her lap. The only one alpha Zavi had allowed us to carry the crotchety old man. She had likely read it six times and likely would do more before they got to their destination. Bruce had to admire her effort for the cause. He exchanged a glance with Logan from the side mirrors and looked back at her she, stilled and then jerked awake. he huffed,
"Are you ok?" he asked as he smiled at her, and she sighed rubbing her eyelids
" I'm fine are you ok" she returned and he nodded
"I'm just thirsty" she mumbled and he sighed
" We're almost there"
He reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle that Aspen had handed to him earlier apparently, the truck was used by travelers who spent time at the trails when passing through and tried to leave it stocked always for the next traveler.

" You need to rest " he nodded toward the books and she looked at them and smiled
" Yeah. I should but it's hard to stop" she mumbled and he huffed
" Yes" she leaned into him whispering
" Why are you arguing with Aspen" she asked and he smiled.
" She didn't tell you why," he asked and she shook her head twisting the cap of the bottle it slid into her grip and water spilled sharply from it before she sipped from it
"No she didn't and I didn't pry" she replied softly and he nodded
" Of course" he paused unsure what to say, how much to reveal, and all the more disturbed for it
" Let's just say that it is something personal"
" What are you guys talking about "Logan called out from in front of them
" Nothing that should concern you at all" she muttered back at him and she hissed pulling away from him, Bruce smiled leaning into the chair. It was fun watching someone else's fighting for now.
" I think we're here" he mumbled and Aspen looked out the window and then at the map
" We're close"
Logan stopped the car almost too soon and they got off. They had to find more information about whatever this was. He could only wish that the answers would be provided by the Golden Fang pack, the faster they knew what the hell they were dealing with, then the faster it would help.
They got off, and he held on to the almost too-large bag that Emily had with her, Logan kept looking at her and she kept ignoring him. It seemed to happen with mutual consent and he found it amusing.
" How long do we walk" he asked, Aspen looked at him and shrugged
" I am geographically challenged "
" Of course you are" Aspen replied and he huffed
He was more fascinated by, the forest.
This was far different from their home pack or even that of the Dark Moon pack
They boasted of tall trees with leaves of burnished brown, almost red. Fall was not for another six months
" They are called the tree of the Red dust," Aspen said to Emily who was fawning as he was.
Then there were the animals, most of them hidden from noise and away from sight waiting for the cover of the night so they could slip in and out and away.
But then he heard something that wasn't just an animal roaming in the forest.
They were being followed and he was sure they were not animals, he could hear them breathing, counting their breaths as he wandered down the hall
Logan slowed coming to walk by his side
" I can hear it " he replied to the unspoken question"
" What is going on, what are you hearing" Emily asked
" Duck, I said duck" Logan roared as a ball of fire rushed across the air and towards them.