i never miss a beat

My first trip to Kagura hadn't been a total bust by any means. Sure, going up with both Simon and Baz had been a little awkward and Simon spontaneously turning into a human torch under that enchanted mistletoe had been nothing short of absolutely terrifying, but the skiing had been a lot of fun and the cocoa really was delicious.

Something about the place is a little magical, too. I mean, obviously, this entire town is magical, but nestled up in the mountains with all that crisp, white snow... it's almost like a fairy tale. Or, at the very least, like being in one of those jewelry store commercials that always aired around Christmas back home.

I've managed to bribe Derek into going up with me again even though I know he's gone once already and it's been just as much fun so far as I'd hoped. He'd shifted almost as soon as we got up here, his black fur stark against the bright white snow. It's the first time I've seen him in his wolf form since that other Darrow, but even if it's harder to read him like this, it's easy to tell he's a lot more relaxed than he had been back there. And it at least seems like he's having fun, his paws kicking up snow as he runs along beside me, occasionally darting in front of me, playfully weaving as I shift my body weight to avoid him.

At the bottom of each hill, I scratch behind his ears and pet along his back, laughing as he excitedly dances around me and throws up snow with the tip of his nose. He's adorable and so wonderfully carefree and I'm more than a little reluctant to call a stop to the fun when the grumbling of my stomach becomes too loud to ignore.

"How about that first round of cocoa?" I ask him as I pull off my snow goggles. My muscles are singing pleasantly and brush my fingers along Derek's muzzle. "And maybe lunch? Or do you wanna go a few more rounds first?"

I know he can't exactly speak to me like this, but I know he'll be able to tell me what he wants in one way or another.

Things have been back to normal for a couple days now. Or as normal as things ever get in Darrow, I suppose. There's sunshine now and blue skies (sometimes) and no monsters lurking behind corners or running through the streets, no horrid sirens at sundown.

For all of that, I still feel uneasy, constantly jumping at every sound and barely sleeping a wink. Derek's been nice enough to let me sleep on his couch once I discovered that I couldn't sleep in my own apartment alone. I should be embarrassed, I know, and I am, but it's an embarrassment I can handle if it means actually getting a few hours of sleep every night.

I've been baking a lot. Stress baking. Not everything has turned out great, but it's been something.

Right now, I'm on the hunt for a new hockey stick though. It's the first time I've really ventured out for longer than an hour or two at a time, but it feels important, a necessary step to returning to normal. Like I need to take back something I lost during those two weeks of terrible nightmares so I can move on.

There's a store in the mall I remember seeing a few months ago so I try there first. It's a little overwhelming being around so many people after two weeks spent in a nightmare followed by several days of basically hiding in Derek's apartment, but I force myself through the crowds, knowing that it'll all be worth it in the end. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can make it out onto the ice again and I'll definitely want to have a stick by then.

I don't quite make it to the store I came for though, distracted by the sight of Derek inside a clothing store with a girl I've never seen before. He has that sort of grumpy, unamused look on his face that I can recognize now as being not entirely genuine as she holds up a shirt against his chest and then shakes her head.

Curious, I step into the store, sliding past a rack of equally colorful shirts. "Well, fancy seeing you here," I say as I approach, giving a friendly smile to the girl. It's only then I remember exactly why Derek might be looking to buy something uncharacteristically colorful. "Oh, is this for Diwali?"