Children of Ender (Temporary Hiatus!)

Chapter 5 - Tooth and Claw

Okay so I'm going back into my normal style of writing- I feel like the POV thing would be a bit too much to handle in the future chapters-

Also- I'm so, so sorry this chapter took so long to come out and that its so short! School has started for me and this is a very important year- I've got my finals coming up next year so I really do need to focus right now, but I'll try my best to keep updating this story!

I hope you all enjoy!!!

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"What the hell are you doing here?!" Jesse hissed out, baring her newly grown fangs at the redhead that sat across from her.

"Jesse, calm down. I came to apologize- and make sure you were okay." Petra held her hands up in surrender. She had no clue what the hell was going on, but it had to have something to do with that rose. Jesse was never this angry- and she sure as hell never had fangs!

"Now  you want to apologize? I think it might be a bit late for that." Jesse scoffed and sat upright, glaring at Petra with a fire in her eyes that had never been seen before.

"Oh come on, Jesse..." Petra was desperately trying to think of some way to calm her down,"I really am sorry. Everyone was ganging up on me and Lukas and the pressure of the whole situation just got to me-"

"Situations get to me  too, Petra, but I don't yell about you not being able to save anyone, much less your best friend since childhood! Oh, right, that's because you haven't had any!"Jesse hisses out, but seeing Petra recoil made her quiet down,"Regardless of the situation, you had no right to say that to me."

Petra knew she was beaten, and more importantly she knew Jesse was right. She hung her head,"I...I know. I'm sorry, Jesse. I really am...could we try and put this behind us? Please? I want my best friend back..."

The words best friend echoed through Jesse's mind, and she became painfully aware once again that nothing had changed between them. Something blazed deep down in her gut, a fire that had never been there before, and Jesse felt sudden courage surge through her,"Thats the thing, Petra. That's the whole problem. I don't want to be just best friends- I want to be more! I..I always have, but you...you and Lukas..."Unfortunately for her, that flame burned out fairly quickly, the shocked look on Petra's face making her want to curl into a ball. Was she upset? Disgusted? Jesse couldn't tell.

An uncomfortable silence came down over the two, the only sound being the snow howling outside the mouth of the cave and the crackling of the embers in the fire.

"Jesse..."Petra finally broke the silence, her voice quiet and unsure,"I...I don't know what to say..."

This was it. Jesse knew she would never feel the same, and tears pricked at her eyes. She couldn't handle this. The same anger from earlier started boiling in her stomach and she balled her fists. She had to get out of here before she hurt herself or, worse, Petra.

So, Jesse scrabbled to her feet, completely ignoring Petra calling her name as she dashed out into the blinding white of the blizzard, the wind whipping her hair around and biting cold crawling over her skin. She ran and ran, blindly, unsure of exactly where she was going. So many different emotions were blazing through her, she could hardly tell them apart. Her thoughts were swimming. Would she freeze to death out here? Would Petra even bother to come after her? After that brief little outburst it was highly unlikely she would...

She was brought out of her thoughts by slamming into something tall, hard and dark, and she stumbled back, looking up.

Jesse was shocked to see someone at least twice her height staring back down at her. They wore a long, black hooded coat. Jesse couldn't see their face from where she was standing, but everything about this person rubbed her the wrong way and she quickly drew her sword, but before she had time to react, the person uttered a single word.

"Sleep."

Jesse suddenly felt dizzy and drowsy. Their voice was feminine, and it flowed like a river of silk, very sing-song like. She felt safe, calm, and as black splotches invaded the sides of her vision and she toppled over, she felt herself fall into a pair of arms.

The last thing she heard before she succumbed to her exhaustion entirely was,"Welcome, my child, to the Children of Ender."