Dangers - Lantashi's Visit
Progress is slow on the supernatural mystery my friend and I are working on. Silly work gets in the way for both of us. NextCloud really helps with working on the story though, both being able to see edits at the same time, and modify a text document at the same time. And you don't need to be in the same place as the person you are working with.
Now if only I could somehow get Emacs to work with NextCloud lol. But sometimes Sylvans have to make sacrifices.
Lantashi is not the main character of the story, but she is playing a bigger part than when we originally discussed. Which makes me happy *wink*. And strangely enough, Lee is playing a much smaller part than originally planned. But they were main characters in the following scene.
This is the beginning of the chapter. It gets more exciting in later scenes. All the text is considered rough draft.
Lantashi's Visit
A knock at the door drew Lee out of the kitchen, coffee in hand. He opened the door to find Lantashi standing before him. Lantashi was wearing a bright puffy white coat with frills on the hood and sleeves. Her cheeks were red with the cold, and her breath was visible in the air.
Lee was still in his pajama bottoms, and wore a t-shirt with a video game character on it, the Master Chief from Halo. The shirt hugged his muscular torso, which Lantashi did her best to ignore. His hair was messy, and he held a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.
Behind the red-headed professor, in the driveway was her charcoal gray MX-5 Miata, a beautiful car but not the best vehicle in Upper Peninsula snow.
"Oh, hi Lantashi," Lee said, surprised seeing her this early on a Saturday at his door. "You look cold out there. Come in, and I'll make you a cup of coffee."
Lantashi stomped her feet, shaking snow from her boots, and then crossed the threshold into Lee's house. Lantashi closed the door, and Lee took her coat, hanging it up on a peg on the wall. As she shed her coat, Lee saw that Lantashi was wearing a pretty anarkali, deep blue with an intricate pattern on the blouse, the flared skirt flowing as she moved. She was shivering as she moved away from the entryway, down the short hallway and into the house's living area.
"You look frozen," Lee said with concern. "I'll get that coffee for you. That should warm you up. Please, make yourself comfortable." He moved off toward the kitchen.
Lee's living room was bright, with soft bulbs inside, and morning light coming through the front windows despite the light snow still coming down outside. The house was cozy in there, warm and inviting. Still, she rubbed her arms, trying to get rid of her shivering.
"That outfit looks beautiful, but it might not be the best thing to where in this weather."
Lee walked up to Lantashi, handing her a steaming mug of coffee.
"That smells wonderful," Lantashi said, wrapping her hands around the warm mug.
"It is chocolate cherry. It is really good," taking a drink from his own mug. "Make yourself comfortable. Let's sit over on the couch.
"Thank you," said Lantashi, sitting down.
"I woke up a little late. I should probably get out of my night clothes. Samantha and were late with Sammy and Kish and his friend Rachel."
Lantashi smiled. "I've met Rachel. She seems like a sweet girl. Kind of quiet though. I wouldn't have thought she was Kish's type. He likes girls kind of wild."
Lee laughed. "I won't argue with that. But he really enjoys Rachel's company. Hey, I'll be right back."
"No, no, It's fine," Lantashi said. She was starting to warm up from the coffee, and it did taste really good. "It is your house. You wear whatever you want. I, well, I wanted to talk to you about that adventure you went on with Sammy and my brother a few weeks ago."
"It was definitely something weird," Lee said, taking a seat by Lantashi on the couch. "Kish and I went back to the forest the following weekend, but we didn't find the same trail, or even the same river. Samantha teased us about that. I've always thought of myself was the best woodsman."
"What did Kish think about getting lost?"
"Well, we weren't lost," Lee protested. "It is more like we were lost the first time, and this time we didn't manage to get lost in the same place again."
Lantashi looked thoughtful. Her face was returning to its normal color in the warmth of the house. In her anarkali, green eyes and smile she glowed, brightening up the room. But at the same time, there was a touch of concern in her expression.
"You didn't answer my question about how Kish felt," she said.
"Oh, well," Lee said. "Kish was Kish. We were having fun, working our way through the forest. His GPS Receiver was working this time. And we were searching for something. I think it made him feel like as a hero from one of those roleplaying games. He did say something strange though."
Lantashi shifted her position, leaning forward and looking directly at Lee.
"What was it?" she asked. "What did my brother say?"
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