Lost Girl Ch. 19

One minute she had just been standing there, listening to Kimi incessantly talk about Ethan, and then she'd felt the tickle in her brain. Immediately after she'd got the feeling that Tristan was *with* her, and that was when she'd turned around and spotted him. So if she'd been able to feel his presence so strongly around her, did that mean she had some kind of a gift, too?

Or was their friendship more special than she had originally thought? Glancing at her phone, she knew that the time had come to call him. So she quickly dialed in his number, and after just one ring he picked up.

"I was waiting for you to call," Tristan said. "What took you so long?"

Noting the tone of amusement in his voice, Claudia smiled. "I don't know...guess I was trying to figure out what I was going to say."

"And have you?"

"Uhh, not really."

Tristan chuckled. "So what are your thoughts on this whole thing? Have you ever experienced something like that, or was it a first for you?

"Well, It's not the first time I've sensed somebody staring at me, but this was different. It was like I could feel your thoughts, does that make sense?"

"Yes." He paused to allow a few beats of silence. "Did anything happen before you felt me calling out to you? Any unusual sensations in your body?"

"My brain started tickling and I felt an urge to turn around, but other than that, not really."

"When you felt the urge to turn around, did you expect to see that I was watching you?"

"Yes," Claudia said. "I felt your presence before I noticed you."

As Tristan fell silent on the other end of the line, Claudia patiently waited. It wasn't difficult for her to sense that Tristan was thinking over what had been said, so she stayed quiet and just listened to the stillness.

"You busy right now?" He finally asked after a long moment.

"Nope, just hanging at home. Why?"

"I was thinking you could come over," he said. "I mean, it'd probably be good for us to discuss what happened in person, don't you think?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Okay, cool. So do you want me to pick you up, or are you getting a ride from your mom?"

"I'll ask my mom to bring me."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, she's been hassling me about not spending time with her lately, so she'd be glad to drive me."

"Okay. I'll see you soon, then."

"Yep. See you in a bit."

As soon as she hung up, Claudia was off the bed and heading for the vanity table, where she freshened up her eyeliner before applying a fresh coat of lipstick. She ran her fingers through her curls a few times, then slipped into a motorcycle style jacket. The smells wafting from the kitchen told Claudia that dinner was being cooked, but as she entered the kitchen to find her mother and Big John passionately kissing, she cringed in disgust.

"Oh, God. Do you guys *always* have to kiss?"

Startled, the couple broke their embrace, but instead of looking bashful, they wore expressions of amusement.

"Would you rather we be fighting instead?" Big John asked.

"No." Claudia peered into a skillet that held sizzling ground beef. "But if you guys wanna make out, can't you go to the bedroom and do it in private?"

"It's our house too," Mona said with a smile, but on noticing that Claudia was freshly made up, a question mark came into her eyes.

"Where are you off to?"

"Tristan's. Can I have a ride?"

"Sure. Just give me a minute to finish seasoning this meat."

Turning her attention to the spice rack on the counter, Mona retrieved a jar of seasoning salt. She sprinkled it over the ground beef a few times, then focused her green eyes on her daughter.

"So you and Tristan, huh?" Mona shared a quick look with Big John before retraining her eyes on Claudia. "Okay."

"It's not what you think," Claudia said. "I'm just going over there to talk."

"Oh."

"Well I am."

"Did I say anything?" Mona lifted a brow before pouring tomato sauce over the ground beef.

"It seemed like you and Lucas really liked one another," Big John said. "It's a shame that it didn't work out."

"Yeah. Well, we're heading in different directions, so it really wouldn't have lasted long term, you know?"

"Don't rush into anything with Tristan," Mona said. "I know you're young and you want to date around, but give yourself some time to heal from Lucas."

"Tristan and I aren't dating," Claudia corrected. "We're just hanging out as friends."

"He's a boy," Mona stated while stirring the beef. "And he likes you as *more* than a friend."

"Tristan isn't a boy, mom. He's eighteen now. Which makes him legally a man."

The seriousness in her voice made Mona and Big John exchange a smirk, which in turn caused annoyance to bubble up in Claudia.

"And so what if he does like me? I like him too, but that doesn't mean we're just going to throw ourselves at each other."

"So you *do* like him," Big John said.

"Duhh," Mona stated before adding with a grin, "Really, John? You didn't already know that?"

"Well she never came out and officially said it, so how was I to know?"

"Oh, babe..." Mona lightly shook her head, then stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. "You are just too cute."

"Thanks, angel face." He smiled, then accepted the wooden spoon from her so that he could take over the cooking.

"Alright, sugarplum," Mona said while looking at her daughter. "Ready to hit the road?"

"Yep."

"Have fun, Claudia," Big John called out as she left the kitchen. "And say hello to Tristan for me."

"Will do."

As Claudia and Mona stepped onto the porch, a mild breeze wrapped around them, accompanying them to the car. Once they were strapped in, Mona backed out of the driveway. But it wasn't until they were traveling down the road that she finally began to speak.

"There's something special between you and Tristan, am I right?"

"Yeah."

"So do you think he's going to be the *one*?"

"I don't know," Claudia slowly said, but the truth of it was, she *did* know.

"Come on, Claude. It's me you're talking to, here. You can't b.s. your own mother."

"Okay..." As her voice drifted off, she gazed out of the window, briefly gazing at the moon before turning her eyes back on Mona. "Alright. Yes, mom. He is the one."

"Oooh, I just knew it." A smile lit up her face. "So Tristan is *it*, then. The one you're going to -"

"Please don't say it."

"Have sex with."

"Mom!"

"Oh loosen up, Claude. I'm happy for you."

"Could you not be *so* excited? It's kind of weirding me out."

"Why? It's perfectly natural for a mother to want her daughter with a nice boy." She turned left, then slightly accelerated before saying, "I mean Lucas was nice too, but it just seems like you and Tristan were made for each other."

"You think so?" Claudia asked.

"I *know* so," Mona stated. "And I think that you do, too."

Silence fell between them as they traveled another block, but as they steadily neared Tristan's house, Mona reinitiated the conversation.

"I'm glad you're waiting, Claude. God knows I wish that I had."

"Why?"

"Because I wasn't fully ready."

"When you say you weren't fully ready, like what do you mean, exactly?"

"It just didn't feel right," Mona said.

"So why did you do it?"

She eased out a sigh. "Caved into pressure from my boyfriend."

"How old were you when you lost it?" Claudia asked.

"Sixteen."

"Was your boyfriend the same age?"

"No, he was eighteen."

"And you really regretted it, huh?"

Mona nodded. "He wasn't gentle or loving at all. He just did his thing, rolled off me, and it was over."

"Doesn't sound very enjoyable."

"Because it wasn't. But then again, he was never very gentle or loving towards me. Which looking back on it now, should have been a *clear* tip off."

"Sorry it was such a crappy experience," Claudia said.

"Yeah, well..." She lightly shrugged, then gave a soft smile. "That was more than fifteen years ago, sugar plum, so it's safe to say that I'm over it."

As they pulled into the driveway of Tristan's home, Claudia's gaze was directed to a majestic looking hawk, who was perched proudly on the eave of the house. Stunned by its large size, Claudia could only gape in admiration. But before she could get a good hard look, it dove from the roof, swooping right past the windshield before ascending into the sky.

"Whoa!" She cried out while following its path with her gaze. "Mom, that was incredible. What was it, a hawk?"

"I think so." Equally impressed, Mona stared out of the driver's side window to gaze at its retreating form.

"Wow, I've never seen a hawk before. Have you?"

"Once when I went camping as a teenager, but never so up close and in detail. It flew so close I could hear the wind in its wings."

"Incredible..." Still awestruck, Claudia unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle. "Well that's gotta be the coolest thing I've seen in a really long time."

"Most definitely," Mona agreed, and with a smile she looked back at Claudia. "So what time should I pick you up?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. But Tristan will probably drive me home, so don't worry about waiting up for me, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun and give Tristan my regards."

"Will do."

Claudia got out of the car and shut the door behind her, but before she could head for the front door, her mother called out to her.

"Remember, sugar plum...when the time is right, you'll feel it in your heart. Be smart and remember what I taught you."

With a nod of her head, Claudia acknowledged her mother's words, then excitedly made her way to the porch, where she knocked on the solid wood door. Less than ten seconds later, the door opened to reveal Tristan, and with a smile on his face, he gestured for Claudia to enter. On crossing the threshold, she noticed that the house was quiet. So quiet, that she began to wonder if she and Tristan were the only ones present.

"Are your parents home?" She asked.

"Nope. They went to a bingo competition at the Casino."

"Oh."

As they reached Tristan's room, Claudia was shocked to find that it was tidy and orderly. Just three weekends ago, when she and Kimi had stopped off to pay him a visit, piles of clothes had covered the floor, as well as discarded candy wrappers and empty soda cans. But now it was nearly pristine, and as she noticed that Tristan was closely eyeing her reaction, she came to the realization that he'd tidied up just for her.

"Your room looks nice," she exclaimed. "Smells good in here, too."

"That's lavender and sweetgrass. I use it to purify the air in my room."

"Nice." She smiled, then took a seat in a swivel desk chair.

"So..." Tristan said while sitting across from her on the bed. "Did you like the hawk?"

"So that *was* you." A smile slowly spread across her face. "I had a feeling that you were somewhat connected."

"Did you notice the way it flew down from the roof?" Tristan's eyes were bright with excitement. "That wasn't just a normal type of dive, it was an aerial courtship display."

"I didn't see any other hawks around," she said. "So who was he trying to impress?"

"You."

Claudia's brows faintly knitted. "But I'm a human being. Shouldn't he have been doing it for a female bird?"

"I sent him to you," Tristan stated. "He was acting on my behalf."

"Seriously?" She looked incredulously at him before asking, "So how exactly did you do that? Can you talk with birds, or send them a signal, or what?"

"It's done through prayer," Tristan stated. "And the hawk is one of my spirit animals, so they come when they know I'm in need of assistance."

"Wow." Her brows lifted, skin tingling as she saw the way that Tristan looked at her. "I don't even know what to say. That's probably the coolest thing that anyone has ever done for me."

"Really?"

"Yes."

As silence fell between them, Claudia found herself studying Tristan's face. With his soft brown eyes and prominent cheekbones, Tristan was still boyishly handsome in her eyes. But his jawline, which seemed to be more defined than the last time she'd seen him, made her realize that he was shedding that boyish part of him and growing more into a man. He clearly wasn't shedding his hair, however, because it was now chin length.

"So I notice you've been growing your hair out..." Her eyes focused on his shiny black mane.

"Oh, yeah." As if suddenly remembering, Tristan ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm on the sweetgrass path now."

"What's the sweetgrass path?"

"It's a spiritual thing," Tristan said. "It means I'm cultivating the gifts that the Creator gave me, and dedicating myself to walking the red road."

"So you're becoming more traditional."

He nodded. "My grandfather was a medicine man and my uncle is a healer, so I guess you could say I was destined to do this since birth."

"You have healing gifts, too?"

"Yeah. But I'm just beginning to develop them, so I'm not exactly skilled or anything, yet."

"Wow. That's really fantastic, Tristan."

A smile tilted his lips, gaze briefly lowering before he looked up at her through his long, thick eyelashes.

"So you've got a lot going on right now," Claudia said. "I'd better get in my visits with you while I still can."

"I'll always have time for you, Claude," he said while staring unblinking into her eyes. "That's never gonna change. You know that, right?"

She nodded, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"So I was kinda wondering about something..." Tristan shifted his seating position before clearing his throat. "Are you and Lucas still together, or are you strictly just friends?"

"Friends," Claudia said. "Why? I thought it was pretty obvious we'd broken up."

"Well yeah, that's what I figured. But earlier today I was standing near Lucas, and I noticed that he smelled like you."

"What?"

"He was carrying your scent," Tristan clarified.

"What scent?" She asked. "I wasn't wearing any perfume today."

"Pheromones," Tristan stated. "Your scent is really distinct, and I can pick it out a mile away."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Everyone gives off a particular odor. But yours is like, really different."

"Different good, or different bad?"

"Oh definitely good," he said a little too enthusiastically, but by that time, Claudia was already smiling at him.

"Oh. Well that's...interesting."

"It sounds weird, I know it does, but I've had this ability since I was a little kid."

"Clairalience," she stated. "You pick up on scents that others can't."

"Yes, that's right." His eyes shone with excitement. "So you actually know what it is."

"Well, my mom's always been sort of a new age nut, so I've learned a lot of this stuff through her."

"New age, huh?" Tristan lightly chuckled. "The new age movement is filled with a bunch of frauds and Native American wannabe's."

"Not a fan?"

"Nope. The new age movement profits from Native spirituality. Which not only goes against tribal beliefs, but pretty much amounts to theft and exploitation."

"So I guess I should tell my mom to burn her Native American tarot card deck."

He snorted. "She actually has one of those?"

"Embarrassingly, yes. But she stopped reading tarot cards years ago, so I doubt she's really into it anymore."

As she fell silent, so did he, but their strong and steady eye contact made Claudia's body warm up.

"So...about Lucas," Claudia said. "The reason he smelled like me, is because I hugged him at lunch."

"Oh." Tristan paused for a moment, then questioned in a curious tone, "So you guys hugged, huh? What kind of a hug was it?"

Unable to hold back, she broke into a smile.

"Was it a friendship hug that just lasted a few seconds, or the type of hug you give when you really care about someone?"

"I don't know, it was a friendly hug, I guess." She lightly shrugged before adding, "We are still friends after all, so it's not like we can't show *some* affection."

"Of course." His tone indicated nonchalance, but the way his jaw firmly set told Claudia he was jealous. "I mean, you and I have hugged before, so that was showing affection too, right?"

"Yeah, sure."

Tristan seemed pleased by this answer, but the way he leaned slightly forward on the bed told her he was preparing to ask her a question.

"So about earlier..." He slowly started, "now that we know we have this telepathic link between us, what do you think we should do with it?"

"I don't know," she thoughtfully said before adding, "I mean, nothing like that has ever happened to me before, so I'm kind of uncertain what it was even about."

"It was a test," Tristan said. "I wanted to see how strong our connection truly was."

"So now that you know, what happens? Should we further explore it, or..."

"That's up to you," Tristan said. "But before we go any further with this, there are a couple of things you should know. Nothing bad or anything, but I feel it's important to open up and be honest."

"Okay."

Slowly, he reached out to grab her hand, and as his palm pressed flush with hers, Claudia knew that he wanted her to sit on the bed. No sooner had she done so, did he angle his body so that his face was aligned with her own. Then in a steady and soothing voice, he began to speak.

"When I told you I can pick out your scent a mile away, I was being truthful. But there's a specific reason I'm able to do it. And I've used it to my advantage more than a couple of times."

Clearly intrigued, Claudia's body posture perked up, breath bated as she waited for Tristan to continue.

"When I pick up a human being's scent, it tells me a lot about them. Like whether they're feeling positive or negative, and the type of energy they're carrying around."

For a moment he averted his eyes, looking off into the distance as if recalling a memory. But as he looked back at her, she noticed his face had gone very serious.

"The ones that carry dark energy have this underlying smell. It's kinda faint, sometimes buried beneath their natural body odor, or even cologne. But it's still strong enough for me to pick up."

Gazing with focus, she blinked expectantly.

"They smell like death, Claudia. Or to put it bluntly, rotting flesh."

She felt her shoulders tighten up. "Wow, sounds pretty disgusting. Not to mention completely creepy."

"Oh it *is* creepy," Tristan said. "And this probably sounds crazy, but people with dark spirits have another face."

Claudia's brows rose questioningly.

"Yeah." He nodded to affirm his words. "It's like they have their normal face, right? But if I look at them long enough, I get a flash of what their inner self is like. The dark energy they carry around starts to seep out and deform their features."

"That's really freaky." Claudia's eyes were wide with astonishment. "Does it trip you out at all, or you're just pretty much used to it now?"

"Well, I've been seeing stuff like that since I was a little kid, so it doesn't scare me at all. Does make me pretty disgusted, though, at how many face-changers there are among us.

"Have you seen any on the reservation?" She asked. "Or what about in school?"

"None at school," Tristan quickly answered. "But I have run into two or three here on the rez."

As if encouraging him to continue, Claudia leaned in just slightly.

"Kimi's dad is one of them. The other two are men you've never seen before. They live on the outskirts, in cabins that are isolated from everyone else."

"Not a surprise about Kimi's dad," Claudia said. "But out of curiosity, what does his other face look like?"

"Well, it's sorta like he's got this shadow falling across his face. His eyes are dark and hollow, and his lips are twisted into this horrible shape...kinda like he's smirking and sneering at the same time."

The chill that ran through Claudia went right down to her bones. "That's definitely creepy. Have you ever told Kimi about this?"

"No. She already knows how horrible her father is, so what would be the point?