Hide and Seek

Journey was still a child. She had a habit of hiding in dark, cave like spaces in the house. She would hide in my study. I would always find her in any of her hiding spots, sleeping. I thought it was darling, but Lestat on the other hand, thought it was childish of a girl her age acting like that. One night, we got up around 6 PM. Journey was full of energy.

"Good evening, little one. Sleep well?"

She nodded. "Good evening to you too." She gave me a little kiss on the cheek.

When Lestat woke up, she hid behind me. She was still mad at him for waking her up in her hiding spot.

"Good evening you two."

"Evening. Say 'Good evening' to Lestat, darling."

"Good evening." She mumbled.

"Well, this looks like a beautiful night."

Journey ran to the window. She looked up at the shimmering stars that made the snow on the ground shimmer.

"Would you like to go out in it?" I asked.

She nodded her head. She put on her coat, hat, scarf, mittens, and snow boots. She waited for us. I was the last one out of the house. I had on a fur coat that I wore years ago, Journey calls it my Narnia coat. When Lestat and I were on the steps, she made an igloo big enough for the three of us to live in. Lestat and I got out, but Journey stayed inside it for five minutes more, but then came out. I wanted to play a game with her. She loves it when we chase after her. She thinks she's too swift for us to catch.

"How about we play a game?"

"What game?"

"Hide and seek."

"Fine with me."

"But here's the thing, Lestat and I are the wolves and you are our meal, trying to get away from us."

"What are the rules?"

"Well, it's just basic hide and seek regulations. Don't let us find you. We're going to count now. Go hide."

She ran off into the woods behind my house.

"What are you doing?" Lestat asked.

"I want to play a game with her. She sleeps all the time. I just want her to keep with us."

I made Lestat give in. I started counting aloud so she could her us. When I got to one-hundred, Lestat and I followed her footprints.

"She's so adorable." I said, smirking when her footsteps ended at an old tree-house, where the windows were shut. "I wonder where she's gone, Lestat. Maybe we should just give up." I said as if I had rehearsed it.

"Maybe, we should go home." said Lestat, trying to go along with my game.

Journey didn't budge. She was smart enough to stay put. She looked through a crack in the wall. We didn't see her eye. She looked in a crack in the floorboards, we were below the door.

"Little pig, little pig, let us come in." I said.

Not one peep from her or a creek in the floorboards. She was pretty smart. Lestat and I hid behind a tree next the tree-house. Journey opened the door of the tree-house and climbed down and started to walk back home. Lestat and I jumped from behind the tree.

"Boo!" I exclaimed, as I jumped from my hiding spot, my fingers were curve to make them look like claws. I licked my lips. "Look Lestat, dinner."

"Right Louis, A bountiful feast for two wolves like us."

Journey giggles and runs off. We weren't far behind. I finally cornered her, when I did I was growling playfully. Then I caught her and lifted her up.

"Oh Mr. Wolf, what beautiful green eyes you have." she said.

I smirked. "Beautiful enough to capture your soul." I said.

"What soft hands you have."

"Better to claw you with."

"What perfect fangs you have."

"Better to bite you with."

I started to growl playfully again while I was pretending to bite her. She laughed, then I began to laugh and then Lestat started to laugh.

I put her down.

"I'm hungry." she said.

"So am I." I said "Let's go get something to eat."

We went into town to feed, once we did, we went back home because it started to rain. Lestat went into his room. I was in Journey's room. I was in a rocking chair and she was on my lap with her head on my chest, with her thumb in her mouth. I was rocking back and forth, humming softly to her, stroking her hair. It was an hour till dawn. She couldn't sleep. She came to my room, crying because of a bad dream while it was storming. I brought my coffin with me to her room. She was asleep by the time I started to hum a lullaby. As I put her in her coffin, I kissed her and mumbled 'Night, Daddy'. Once she was in her coffin, I got into mine. She slept soundly with her thumb in her mouth. I lied awake and stared at her ceiling for a while, then shut the coffin door and went to sleep, dreaming of Claudia and how much Journey reminded me of her.