With permanent smile, The Hunter kept his eyes on the soft glow of the phone as her voice came through. It was rare he ever sang anymore, it was something that had been buried along with himself some long terrible night years ago. Yet Ava had come along and managed to resurrect his voice along with a warmth he hadn't felt in his heart since. . .well since Dresden came along and made him believe he'd truly taken everything away from him. Many a night however was spent playing, passing the time until morning came, desperately trying to keep himself awake and stave off the nightmares for as long as he could. Now he simply played to hear that smile in her voice on the other line, and suddenly even if it was just for a few moments not everything in The World had to be dark and terrible, he was content lay there playing and talking to her for as long as they could before sleep would take then or the batteries in their phones finally gave up.<br/><br/>He was glad to hear it had been quiet on her end, if anyone deserved a nice rest and opportunity to unwind, it was going to be her. It brought a smile to his face, simply to know she was doing alright and somehow hadn't grown sick of his company on the other end of the line yet.<i>"We'll be together soon, I'll just hold you a little bit tighter to make up for the days I haven't been able to." </i>Wes gave a warm smile, one he attempted to keep on his face even while that silence hung in the air after he informed her of his impending absence. Whatever she did, it must have worked because he could picture the expression on her face nearly perfectly, and he hoped she could somehow see the warmth of his eyes, locked on the phone attempting to convince her everything would be okay and he'd be back before she even knew he was gone.<i>"Of course, wouldn't dream of it." </i>That playful tone had returned to his voice.<i>"Promise I'll only do something <b>a little bit </b>stupid without you. Nothing fun like shoulder tackling a chupacabra or somethin."</i><br/><br/>Even Wes couldn't believe he'd done something so unbelievably stupid, and he was the king of bad decisions. All for what? To try and avoid the one in a million chance The Beast would hurt her? Still. . .it was worth it, could never be too safe, right? In only the course of a few days, Wes found he'd lift The Earth if that's what he would have to do, simply for her. Confirmed all the more by the smile he could hear in her voice as she contemplated his offer to do just that, shimmy up a tree with some antiquated boombox and blare "Don't you forget about me" on full blast. He wad sure some pawnshop nearby would have just what he was looking for. And he couldn't help but give a soft laugh as she spoke of a certain "Silver haired someone." And her desire to keep him alive and preferably not filled with buckshot. "<i>I'm sure we could have some nice words over just why I'm bothering his beautiful daughter at some god awful time of night. Something about finding out I'm comin' to like her <b>just a little bit." </b></i>The Hunter gave an amused huff, trying to imagine just how well that would go, and how far he would probably need to end up crawling to get medical attention with both of his shins blown off.<br/><br/>He wasn't quite sure why her request caught him off guard, but it was in a good way. "<i>Of course. . ." </i>His fingers began to play around with the strings, searching his mind for a few songs he still knew enough to play confidently. Testing various keys and strumming patterns before he chuckled under his breath.<i>"Feel free to join in if you want to. I'm sure that singing voice is just as lovely as The Woman it belongs to." </i>With a final little laugh and a clearing of The Throat, Wes played to her hearts content. Following up first with a rendition of another<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2F0HNVEMXnxgg&amp;hash=14baa189e354d46d3d598f8fd0cd5e01" href="https://youtu.be/0HNVEMXnxgg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"> Johnny Cash</a>song, followed by two of<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2F2UlDhu9ye00&amp;hash=fcd98ac73c807ff52470bc844286b035" href="https://youtu.be/2UlDhu9ye00" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"> his</a><a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FqJXPV4l5Oqc&amp;hash=23dd756d2d9e960c8fc81a1319092fb1" href="https://youtu.be/qJXPV4l5Oqc" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"> favorites</a>from a time long before they had met, unknowingly giving her a small peek into his past that wasn't covered in blood and pain. Finally winding down with the first<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FwWo9EUwAjJ0&amp;hash=4567b36be057058952d86c1ee83652c7" href="https://youtu.be/wWo9EUwAjJ0" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"> song</a>he'd ever learned to play. The time had completely slipped away from him somewhere between the first moment he'd actually pressed Call and the moment she'd picked up, his face sore from the near constant smile he'd kept on it as the strings of The Guitar fell silent and he let himself drift off with their conversation. Wes awoke with a small jump, unaware of when he'd actually drifted off, yet the soft breaths he could hear from the other end told him Ava had done so as well, and he gave a small smile as he rubbed his tired eyes. "<i>Sweet dreams, babe." </i>He managed to mutter his breath before he reached forward, hesitating for a moment, making sure she was truly asleep before ending the call to finally give his phone a well deserved rest.<br/><br/>Sleep came to him almost immediately afterwards, and in his dreams somewhere lost in a fog filled with the echoes of the songs played earlier in the night, comforting green eyes warmed his soul and soft lips pressed to his own. The Hunters warm embrace welcoming him as they fell gently onto an old worn blanket, perched comfortably under a shady oak on top of a rolling green hill with the sky painted every color of the rainbow. Hand in hand as they let the world spin into a blur around them. It was the first actual dream he had in. . .as long as he could remember. With no fear of it suddenly turning dark, some unforseen event shattering the peaceful tranquility. It was only Wes and Ava, and the rest of the world would have to leave a message and wait for the two to get back to them.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center">*******<br/>
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"So, who is she?"<br/>​</div>The sudden question managed to finally break The Hunter from whatever Daze he had fallen into, sharp inhale inward given as he glanced about and got reacquainted with his surroundings. Normally it wasn't an issue, despite the thick air of The Swamp doing it's best to smother him along with whatever smell wafted forward from the pitch black kettle resting above crackling flames. However when it came to<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fimgur.com%2Fa%2FTJHB6qG&amp;hash=2ee1c7c63e962238f22218793fc4f580" href="http://imgur.com/a/TJHB6qG" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"> Madame Lacroix's</a>domain, things were. . .just a tad bit different. First and foremost, being the complete absence of sunlight. Wes had made sure to keep his promise of calling before he left, opting to wait just a little bit longer and allow Ava proper time to rest, and for him to be able to comfort her with his words if she awoke with a jolt. Assuring her he'd call once he returned, and that it wouldn't be too long, wishing her a good day before he set out on the old wooden boat he'd used as a fishing vessel the night before. He wasn't quite sure when exactly he'd crossed that unseen plane, but The Sun had rose and was piercing through the thick tree tops periodically.<i>"Is it really <b>that </b>obvious?" </i>He finally chuckled, leaning back in the old wooden rocking chair she was ever so kind enough to provide. . .even if he highly doubted it was actually made of wood, more akin to some form of petrified bone.<br/><br/>"Ya been smilin' since ya showed up. I ain't never known ya to smile unless you're talkin' about killing that devil of yours, and you ain't said nor paid em' no mind. So,<i>who is she?" </i>The words rolled calmly from her tongue, touched with a thick Cajun accent as Madame Lacroix gave a smile of her own towards that obviously smitten boy in front of her. Truly, Wes was surprised she saw at all, he wasn't quite sure if she could. With those ghostly white eyes following his movements he was sure she was in fact, not blind. . .but, most of the time he was positive she wasn't actually looking<b>at </b>him as much as she was looking right through him. Always witness to some unforseen action, event or alternate reality Wes simply couldn't begin to comprehend.<br/><br/><i>"Just a friend, that's all." </i>It wasn't that the answer wasn't truthful, it was just rather hard to try and put a definition on, well, whatever it was they were doing.<i>"Just friends" </i>didn't stay up till the wee hours of the morning hanging on every word until sleep claimed them. They didn't press themselves up against eachother in the overwhelming heat of desire and let their lips and hands melt into the others bodies. But mostly, he wasn't sure if "Just Friends" felt this strongly towards eachother. He was content to allow himself to think for a few days it was simply the left over Lust from their encounter at The Bar and once more upon the hood of her vehicle in that dark empty park. And with each text sent back and forth and every smile shared, he was starting to think it may have been just a bit more than that. "<i>A friend I'd enjoy being able to stay alive to see. Ran into a. . .bump in the road. Made me think a bit more for once, surprisingly." </i>Wes' words were meet with a hearty laugh from The Ghost Eyed Woman, bringing her hand to run along the arm rest of the chair she sat upon. "You want something more potent than simple Bullets and Knives." She responded, the same smile on her face as she stood and made her way to the kettle, carefully removing it from the flames as she poured the contents into surprisingly well maintained chalices for the two of them.<br/><br/>Wes did his absolute best to hide the questionable look he gave the chalice as she held it out to him, none the less taking it with a nod as he carefully sniffed at the bitter liquid that forced him to choke back his own gag reflex and attempt to hide it behind a forced smirk. "<i>Preferably, I'm not exactly sure how many bullets I'm going to have to pump into said bump on the road, but I'm sure I don't have nearly enough. Would be nice to even the playing field a bit." </i>The Hunter began to slowly follow The Woman as she took her chalice, sipping the contents with a content sigh as she made her way outside to the eerie darkness that surrounded them both, the hazy fog that blanketed everything around them with that strange glow as if moonlight was attempting to pierce through, but simply could not. Another strange little quirk, one Wes hadn't realized until his second visit, was the absence of any kind of ambient sound. No sound of water, no insects, no birds. . .just a strange stillness that was almost maddening, he could hear every small creak from the old wooden boards below their feet as she gazed out to. . .whatever the hell she was looking at. Wes took the opportunity to attempt and slyly pour the contents of his chalice over the railing, giving a relieved sigh. . .until he brought the chalice back up to himself and realized The Liquid had somehow made it's way back inside, brow furrowed in confusion as Madame Lacroix's laughter echoed lightly.<br/><br/>"Luckily for you, Wesley. I can provide. But between this, and your other tall order, you're workin' these old bones to dust. . ." The Woman turned to The Hunter with a kind smile, tilting her head curiously to him, those eyes once again, looking right through him. "Most of what I be requiring is here, you'll be needing to fetch the rest however. I'll provide ya a list before you return." Wes couldn't help but return that smile, allowing that tinge of hopefulness to flow over him as he bowed his head thankfully to her. "<i>I'll get right on it. Once more, you're a life saver Madame." </i>Wes was about to turn to begin gathering his belongings for the trip back, but was stopped as she reached a hand out, her touch icy cold as it rested on his shoulder. "Ya should know, Wesley. . .It isn't easy. And it isn't guaranteed to work. And I can't say, you'll live through the process."<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><b><i>"Curing The Curse from your Veins is no small task."</i></b><br/>
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*******<br/>​</div>When The Hunter finally made it back "To The Land of The Living" as he liked to call it, and his eyes struggled to readjust to the blinding light of The Sun the clock on his phone began to work again instead of simply showing various symbols and numbers which he'd never seen before.<b>3:45 </b>P.M. He had completely miscalculated how long he had been gone, and how long it would take him to return, eventually he began to glance to the little bars on the top of the screen, waiting and waving it around a few times before he finally picked up a passable signal. Wes smiled as he let himself lean back in The Boat, closing his eyes, and shaking Madame Lacroix's words of warning from his mind as he brought the phone up to his ear after pressing The Green Call Button next to Ava's name, patiently waiting for The Angelic voice to grace his ear once again.<br/><br/>"<i>Hey. . .sorry it took longer than anticipated. Hope ya didn't have too much fun without me today. . .are you doing anything tonight?"</i>