Winter twisted the ring on her finger. Had she imagined it? No, the hand that held her own felt cold and very real. What was that then? She swallowed. "Winter?" Leo called her from outside the tent. She took a breath and then peered out at him, "Yes?" He folded his hands behind his back, "What are you doing in there?" Winter shrugged. She had gotten into the habit of keeping the thought barrier up. She looked behind her one last time before leaving the tent, "I just wanted to observe how powerful they were. Test if they could give me some clues." He surveyed the tent, "And? What's the consensus?" Winter sighed, "There was no one there at first. Then a veiled person appeared." Leo, although he hadn't moved, seemed to take a pause. He stayed quiet so Winter asked, "Do you know anything about that?" He shrugged, "I heard that sometimes people see weird things, strange creatures roaming the halls. I heard a girl talk about seeing a veiled person before who claimed to be able to see the future and past. I've never witnessed anything out of the ordinary though." Winter tilted her head, "Strange creatures?" Leo nodded. Winter turned her hand, there was more research to be done.
Mandy walked back up to Winter and handed her some cotton candy. Winter placed it on her tongue where it quickly dissolved. It was rich and sweet in her mouth. Winter was fond of the taste. It seemed to call all her attention to her taste buds. She closed her eyes and savored it. Everything. The taste, the sounds, the moment. For a split second, Winter allowed the thoughts to still in her mind. The feeling was brief, interrupted by a squeal that caught Winter's attention. Mandy tugged Layla excitedly when she saw a petting pen that was run by a group of animal whisperers. Winter narrowed her eyes and observed the two, the bond they seemed to have. She smiled. Soulmates. She glanced at Jax and Lucas chattering by the pretzel stand about their victory. Their bond was obvious too. Her thoughts begin to roam at the sight. If ending up with your soulmate was inevitable, why was Brenna fighting it? Was her opinion of M.J. that tarnished? Leo snapped his fingers at her, "Rome wasn't built in a day Winter. Why not take this time to relax and enjoy the festival?" She had accidentally let herself slip. Winter groaned and put up the shield again. He sighed, "I really hate when you do that." She raised her eyes, "I know." He grabbed her hand, "Seriously though, if all you do is think about your next plan, you're going to exhaust yourself." Winter pulled her hand away, "Thank you for your concern, but I got this. It's what I do." He just looked at her, "And we all have faith in you. I'm just worried is all." She grinned, "Relax. I won't overwork you too much." Leo glared at her, "You know that's not what I meant. I want you to rely on me. Don't carry all your burdens alone." She softened at that, "I'll need your help tomorrow with my next plan." He nodded, "You can count on me."
Lucas and Jax approached them and she changed the subject, "How often do festivities like this happen?" Jax answered, "Well the festivals happen after every war, but we have several events throughout the year." Winter raised a brow, "Events?" Lucas chimed in, "Like the annual gala and the field trip." Winter stored the information in her head and Leo watched her. She could tell he was trying to get used to reading her body language instead of her mind. Mandy dragged Layla towards them, "Guys let's go to the haunted house over there." Winter nodded, noting how Mandy seemed to have a knack for ignoring social cues when she was excited. They made their way to the attraction and Winter nudged Mandy, "You sure you're not going to be too scared?" Mandy huffed, "As if." Layla smirked, "I'll be right here if you are." Mandy happily latched onto her arm.
The entrance to the haunted house was littered with bats and creepy hanging ornaments. Loud, ominous noises were coming from the dark space within. Jax and Lucas went in first. Winter and Leo went next with Mandy clinging onto Layla close behind. Winter examined the decorations blankly as they meandered through the attraction. Someone emerged from the shadows and grabbed her arm. Neither afraid or amused, Winter shrugged them off. She heard Mandy squeal behind them and grinned. She looked ahead to see Jax's arm was draped on Lucas' shoulders protectively. Having a haunted house was an easy way for people to get closer under the guise of fear. She smirked. In the darkness, something caught her attention. She swiveled, grabbing it. In her fingers was something scaly and hard. It yanked away from her with such brutal strength that she had to let go. She followed after it, her friend's voices fading into the background. Winter couldn't hear any footsteps of the thing she was chasing after. She stopped running and glanced around, listening to the ghastly panting of the creature, the blackness hiding it from view. Winter kept still, knowing it was watching her. Instantly, a ball of light appeared above her head. The creature, foreboding, released a piercing screech that made Winter cover her ears. It dashed out of sight. This time she did not chase after it. Instead, she etched the image of the creature into her mind and walked toward the exit.
Winter stared into the ground, remembering every detail of its physical appearance vividly. With its size, it made no sense that there were no audible footsteps. Jax's voice broke the trance, "Winter what was that?" As her friends emerged from the haunted house, they looked at her with troubled expressions. "You guys didn't see the creature?" Leo approached, "What creature?" Winter motioned with her hands, "The large scaly thing walking on two legs." They all exchanged glances and Mandy's eyes widened, "You saw one?" Winter raised her head, "What are they?" Lucas glanced back at the haunted house as though he could see it, "They're monsters. They come out sometimes. It's a rare occurrence. Most people never see them." Layla added, "We just hear the stories." Jax glared, "What was one of them doing at the festival?" Winter shrugged, trying to lighten the mood, "I was probably just seeing things." A silence fell over the group, "We can worry about this later. Come on let's go to the balloon animal cart." Unconvinced, they made their way towards the clown manning the cart. Mandy's ears perked when they got close, "I want an elephant." Layla laughed. Winter surveyed the area and happened to notice M.J. trailing after Brenna. Winter motioned him over when she caught his attention, parting from the group. When they were at a reasonable distance from the others she whispered, "Take Brenna with you to the haunted house." M.J. nodded and turned to approach Brenna when Winter grabbed his arm, "Can you cast an illusion that makes me invisible so that I can observe you two at a close distance?" He raised his head, "You got it."