Midnight Snack

"Don't leave me here with her," Hunter said helplessly.

"Why? She's a delight," Eos said smirking as she made her way to the wooden door.

He glanced back at where Jade sat near the fire, for a moment she looked like someone who didn't live a haunted life, who did know how one feels as the life drains out of them. For a moment she looked like a normal girl, but then he remembered, it’s been a very long time since anything about her had been normal. When he looked back Eos was gone.

Yeah, a delight definitely.

"So are you just going to stand there or what?" Jade asked from her place sitting in front of the stone fireplace, the firelight dancing upon her skin.

Henry turned slowly around to face her, taking in a breath. He walked over and sat beside her just as he would if she were a wounded animal, her watching him from the corner of her eye all the while.

"Jade?" He asked softly, her head turning towards him slowly as if the fire had enchanted her. When he looked at her he could see the fire reflected in her eyes.

"What do you want, Henry?" Jade demanded her voice laced with venom.

"What do I want? I want to be the one going out getting our next mission but instead, I'm stuck here babysitting a freaking assassin. But you know that's just fine I love babysitting. Don't you?"

"The one time I babysat anyone was three years ago when I killed the Connell family," she smirks when she notices his discomfort with how blatant she spoke of it.

"You're sick, Jade, very sick," he shook his head as he spoke.

Henry watches as she turns to face him the fire crackling, lighting half her face as if she too were burning, the other half filled with shadows. Her face softens a little, but he can tell it's nothing but pity.

"You make it sound as if I can be cured as if you think all the ghosts will just go away. Henry, we both know that and there's no reason to pretend otherwise," Jade spoke softly looking back into the fire a moment before rising and going to the window overlooking the lake.

Henry looks up at her trying not to smile as he follows her to the window and stands beside her.
"Sounds like you're back, Rosie," he laughs as she punches his shoulder.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" Jade laughs annoyed.

"Until you can live it down… Rosie," Henry said smiling as Jade glared at him.

"It was one summer and I was ten! There is simply no reason for that name to stick around any longer than it has," Jade crosses her arms looking up at him meeting his stormy eyes with her forest ones.

"Until you can live it down," Henry said a sly smile creeping across his face as he moves a hand up to Jade's chin stepping closer to her.

Jade glares at him as he gets closer, then Jade hears the door open and she headbutts Henry, grabbing his arm pushing him against the wall his arm twisted behind his back. Closing the door once more, Eos sets down her bags laughing at the sight of the two of them.

“You try something like that again and trust me, you'll be feeling a whole lot more pain than you are as of this moment. Nod once if you understand. And if I hear you speak of this again we will have more problems than we already do," Jade growled into his ear only loud enough for him to hear.

She waits a moment and when he doesn't nod she presses his arm hard against his back until she hears him grunt in pain before nodding once. As she said she would, she releases him and steps away but a moment later she punches him hard with a right hook to his face.

"What the hell, Jade?" Henry yelled, his hand on his face and Jade laughs, Eos grabs a cold cut of meat she'd just bought and walks over to Henry.

"Whatever you did to piss her off don't do it again, we'll need to function as a team if we're gonna survive this next mission," Eos said moving Henry's hand off his cheek long enough to put the steak on it, "Keep that on you," Henry holds it on his cheek smiling softly at her.

"Thanks," he said, watching Jade as she goes through the bags Eos brought, setting the food out on the aged oak table.

"Hey Eos, I thought you were supposed to be getting our next mission from Rowan, not midnight snack shopping," Jade said tossing a piece of chocolate into her mouth.

"You know I'm always needing a midnight snack so I figured I'd pick up something for all of us," Eos said smiling brightly, "Chocolate for Jady, the cold stake for H boy over there– I knew since I left you two alone he’d need it– and you'd never guess what I got for myself… cheese!”

“Cheese is not a midnight snack, Eos. It hardly counts as a regular snack. Chocolate, on the other hand, was made by the gods,” Jade said waving around her chocolate in the air.