The Unicorn's Forest

"Are you really sure this is a good idea?" the young man asked Shirley, as he loaded the vehicle.

"Of course it's not a good idea However Heathcliff decided on this course, so there's nothing else I can do. After all, you've seen what happens when you try to disregard something he tells you to do," Shirley replied, checking they had enough tents to cover everyone she expected to come on the trip.

She had three two-person tents, two four-person tents, backpacks full of supplies, but with enough room so everyone they were going to pick up could put whatever else they were brining, like changes of clothes, two first aid kits, four kids size sleeping bags, eight adult size sleeping bags, and a case of bottled water.

"Think we need anything else before we go pick everyone up?" the young man asked Shirley.

"Probably not, but I can't think of what else to bring, other than our own luggage."

"Well, anyway, are you sure this is worth it? I mean, you know I've been looking at getting out from uncle's thumb and be able to do my own thing. I mean, even if he reseals my magic, I think I'd be able to get along without it. Maybe you should consider doing the same."

"Look, I decided long ago that this was the path I needed to take for me. Yeah, this is going to be very distasteful, but I got news for you. Even politicians have distasteful things they have to do as well as the people working for them have to do. So, no matter what course I take, I'm going to have to do something distasteful at some point," Shirley snapped.

"Look, I understand you need me to come along in case we need to fiddle with the weather and I'll go with whatever you choose to do. I'm just saying maybe this task should be too distasteful for you to do. I mean, yeah, there's a lot of shady stuff in pretty much any job, but at the same time, some can be more distasteful in some jobs than in others. Maybe this should be one that you should take to rethink whether or not uncle should be controlling our lives just because we have our magic. Sometimes there's too big a price for anything."

"Maybe, but as I said, I made up my mind. If you don't want to come, I can always tell everyone you bailed at the last minute for something or other. Like maybe you got a new part-time job that would keep you from coming. If you don't come I'm sure I can come up with a different plan that doesn't involve the weather. However, if you do, remember that I'll need you to do what you promised you would do. I'm not going to just let you join us and then refuse to do what you already agreed to." Shirley was starting to lose her temper, even though she knew that her brother was just trying to look out for her.

"Relax sis, I'll do what I said I would. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into and that that's what you want to do."

"Sorry, maybe this whole thing is just getting a little stressful for me," Shirley apologized. "I mean, this is going to be the most elaborate thing we've done." Shirley paused for a moment before she started laughing. "I mean, it's almost like something you'd expect from one of those cheesy heist movies."

"Maybe, but if we've got everything we need, maybe we should get going? After all, Nick should be meeting up with us in about fifteen minutes over by the Walmart at Wadsworth and Colfax. Lily will definitely be driving her own car, so we should have enough room to pick up that Rivers girl and her friends."

"Then lets roll. I'd like to be there before Nick shows up. He's way to competitive when it comes to inane things like this," Shirley remarked.

"Then could I drive?"

Shirley laughed again. "Not a chance. This is my car, so I get to drive it when I want to."

_

Charlie was starting to get bored. They'd been driving pretty much all day since Shirley and the others picked Charlie and her friends up. The location was towards south western Colorado and didn't have a big freeway like I-70 going by, so it made sense that it might take a little longer to get to, but Charlie could only enjoy the scenery for so long and all the conversation topics they'd some up with had all been exhausted. Charlie was starting to get tired, but not enough to take a nap. Maybe it would help if she knew how much longer it would take, but at the moment that didn't help to alleviate the boredom.

Beth was sitting next to her and Wes was on the other side of her. Both were asleep and Charlie could help but feel annoyed at them for that. She wished she could take a nap, at least it would help time go by faster. She wasn't sure when they'd fallen asleep, but it had to have been in the past few mile markers.

Shirley was driving and her brother was in the passenger seat and neither of them seemed to care how Charlie or her friends were doing. They weren't playing any music or anything on the radio, so she didn't even have that to occupy her mind. Though occasionally she could hear Shirley mumbling something, but couldn't make out what she was saying.

The only consolation Charlie had really was that they were supposed to be close to where the hiking trail was. Not that it told her just how much longer. Though, Charlie was a little surprised at how easily her mind began imagining what the trail might be like, despite having done this several times already. Maybe it was because how much she loved the outdoors and especially all the plant life the she always got to see up close, including wildflowers and other plants she couldn't find at a greenhouse.

While if she looked hard enough she probably could get seeds to grow the plants herself, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to take care of it like it might need. Especially since some flowers, at the very least, required more care than Charlie would have time to give.

Charlie couldn't help but sigh as she looked back out the window. While thinking about what the trail might be like still held some interest for Charlie, she didn't seem to be able to hold onto those fantasies for very long. Maybe it was partly because they were so close to their destination, or maybe it was because she'd thought about it for so often already, or maybe it was something else. All she knew is that she was just flat out bored of the driving part of the trip.

"Not able to sleep, short stuff?" Shirley asked, startling Charlie out of her thoughts.

"No, would be nice if I could," she replied.

"Well, I'm sure it won't be long."

"Any guess of how much longer?" Charlie asked, hoping that it might help her alleviate her boredom.

"Maybe about thirty minutes?" Shirley asked. "I haven't been to this trail before, so I can't really say. All I know is I'll know it when I see the signs.

"How long do you think we'll hike before we set up camp?"

"Now that is a good question," Shirley's brother Rick said. Rick had black curly hair that was well maintained and groomed, brown eyes, stood around six foot six and shoulders that made Charlie wonder if he wouldn't be good at sports, though from what little she'd heard from him, he wasn't very athletically inclined. In all, he seemed to have interests closer to Wes' than anyone else Charlie knew. "One thing to consider would be when to get a fire started to make dinner so we can find a campsite before that time, so we'd be able to gather enough wood and get the fire started."

"What time do you think we should start working on dinner?" Shirley asked.

Rick shrugged. "Hey, I'm just giving my two cents. If you don't like it, then you can give them back."

"Well, we probably should be ready to start the camp fire before the sun goes down. That way we'll have the wood we need before it gets too dark," Shirley commented.

"Oh, what did you bring for lunch today?" Charlie suddenly remembered how they were promised lunch when they arrived.

"Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. What else?" Shirley asked. "I mean, what else to have that could last this long in a bag for this long? After all, it's almost one in the afternoon. Then there's how we didn't stop at any fast food place, 'cause that would just add to how long it would take to get to the hiking trail."

"If I'd known that I probably would have brought something to add to it," Charlie laughed.

"If you'd like, I can see what I can get for you," Shirley offered.

Charlie thought about that for a minute, but in the end shook her head. "I'll be good. Thanks anyway, Charlie said, looking out the window at the scenery.

Maybe it was another conversation that did it, but the scenery was no longer so boring to Charlie now. If nothing else, she felt a resurge of the excitement she'd felt that morning when they left around six-thirty. While she had been camping before, it was always by where they'd parked as well as not traveling from campsite to campsite before. It also was with her family, but now the closest to her family was Tim, her second cousin.

The strange thing though was that she was starting to get the urge to take her clothes off, but couldn't fathom why. Not only was it something she generally didn't do in front of others, there wasn't a real reason to anyway. Yet, the urge was still there.

"Mind if I roll the window down?" Charlie asked. Maybe it was because she was getting too warm in the car.

"Go ahead," Shirley replied.

As the window went down, Charlie felt a little relief as she felt the wind from the airflow as the vehicle traveled come in through the window. If nothing else, it rejuvenated her a little. Though, the urge was still there and she wasn't sure what the problem might be.

However, the window opening didn't just help Charlie feel refreshed, it also woke up Beth and Wes. "Almost there?" Beth asked.

"Still about thirty minutes," Shirley replied.

"That's what you said half an hour ago," Wes joked.

"Please, you were sound asleep an hour ago," Shirley said. "And this is the first time you heard how much longer it would be."

"Fair enough," Wes replied.

–Is there a problem?– Beth asked Charlie with her magic.

–Why would you think that?– Charlie asked, not sure what could be a problem exactly at the moment.

–You're agitated about something. I don't know what, but usually you're a lot more settled.– Beth said.

–Well, the only thing I can think of is for some reason I have an urge to take my clothes off.– Charlie felt herself blushing as she told Beth that while she looked out the window.

–If anything else like that comes up, would you let me know? Even if I'm asleep?– Beth asked.

–Sure.– Charlie agreed.

–Oh, when we get there, I think I should give you something I've experimented with as a focus. I mean, I should be able to sense it no matter where it is, right?– Beth said.

–Yeah, but why would that be important?– Charlie asked, a little surprised, her gaze remaining out the window.

–We're going to be in a wilderness area. I just want to make sure if something happens I'll be able to find you as fast as possible. There's no telling what exactly they have planned or when they'll try something, so we should be ready with every possible contingency we can. I'll ask the others to help keep an eye out for anything suspicious, okay?– Beth answered.

–Alright.– Charlie agreed after thinking about it for a minute. –But would you not tell them about what I just told you about the urge to take my clothes off? I'd rather no one know about that.–

–Of course, Charlie. I'll keep that secret for you.– Beth assured her.

–Thanks. I owe you one.– Charlie said, and meant it. While it was a secret she wasn't afraid Beth would tell, she still felt like she should owe Beth a favor for all the little bits she was willing to keep for her.