2031
Jacinda didn't even feel guilty Cameron had turned out to be nothing. She supposed she should have. It was still out there. But the clouds were heavy and dark, the San Francisco peaks loomed in the distance, and drifting flakes of snow already had begun their slow descent from heaven.
And she felt a strange sense of excitement in her stomach- the roiling anticipation as the wolfkin finally showed itself; the chupe sniffing the air cautiously- and you knew that one way or another, something was about to change.
The forerunner's heat wasn't cranked up too high. Like most first snows, the cold on the ground wasn't that bad. If anything, it felt they were in some sort of cocoon, the earth below, the heavy clouds above, and somehow the air between seeming warm and compressed. They drove the rest of the way.
Flagstaff was much bigger than Page. Old Route 66 signs on hotels and businesses showed where that ancient highway that once connected the American midwest all the way to California used to dominate. But the I-17 and I-40 now crisscrossed, the new arteries of the city, along with frontage roads and major streets.
All of which said, this was a real town.
In the hotel parking lot, getting their bags, the night strangely bright despite the clouds, the snow started to fall in earnest. Snowflakes jeweled Jill's hair, framing her laughing face. And Jacinda couldn't help wanting to touch them. She held back though. The cold ice melting at a touch on Jacinda sent trickles of cold down her neck to her back and collar bone. They laughed as they hurried into the room.
After getting settled, they hit up a restaurant- one of many- near the row of hotel chains off 40 they had chosen. The day had been long and the drive tiring. Conversation was light and the food good. A night for relaxing.
Jacinda's boots crunched through the freshly fallen snow as they walked back to their room. At one point she caught herself slipping and Jill steadied her, catching her. Just a moment, but the feel of her arms, the solidity of her presence as if it were an anchor was something she latched on to. Strangely, she felt safe.
Funny. Suddenly she remembered how Regan had done the same years ago. It was just a momentary memory, but somehow....well, it was nice. She murmored a thanks.
That night, they each got into their beds. It seemed neither was ready to drop off right away. Casual conversation eventually led to the hunt. And Jill didn't seem to shy away from the subject. A good sign.
In her bed, head nestled comfortably in a pillow, another between her knees, the air keeping her legs from being too hot as the heater ran, she couldn't see Jill. But she could picture her, not 6 feet away. And somehow their conversation felt more intimate.
At a lull. "I've faced a lot of stuff out there. A lot! Skinwalkers are the wierdest yet."
A laugh- not amused- came from the other bed. "Wierd isn't the word I'd use."
A bark of a laugh. "Fair enough. Just....they're so different from anything I've hunted. Normally, I don't care. Just tell me how to kill them. But...it does make you wonder."
Jill was quiet for a bit. "Obviously, the Navajo- the Dine- know of them. The Hopi too. And the Apache. The Dine and Apache are related. I've read of Ute legends that might be them too. And hints going all the way to Canada. There's a First People's tribe up there who may be descendants of our ancestors. At least, the language is related. So....who knows."
Jacinda listened, only vaguely familiar with some of the tribe names. Finally, "In legend, where'd they come from?"
Somehow, despite the dark, she had the impression Jill was smiling. Her tone seemed serious, though. "After the people- the Dine- fled the flooding of the third world up the stalk ladder through the layers of heaven into the fourth world, they found themselves within the sacred land, bounded by the four holy mountains."
She paused. "But..." she said ominously, "Some of the women had seperated from the men and had begun to use objects for copulation. Carved stones and shaped sticks and even bone. Eventually, they became pregant." A pause. "And so the monsters were born, of rock and wood and bone. And others. The naaldlooshi, the skinwalkers were one them."
Jacinda couldn't help her chuckle, then felt bad. "Sorry. Didn't mean to offend. Just that...well....Heh. If that's how it works, any monsters I gave birth to would be pink and their heads would vibrate and spin."
Jill exploded with giggles and Jacinda felt relief flood her. And then Jill piped up, after a moment of hesitation, "Heh. My 'kids' would need to be plugged in to do anything."
Jacinda laughed and laughed suddenly realizing she could finally sleep. Why on earth that conversation meant anything, she didn't know. But it did.
It really did.
"Night Jill. Sleep well." And she drifted off, feeling happy and at peace.