Word count: 1,922
Vlad and Krampus had decided to take a short walkabout like they used to. Now that Vlad was mated, Krampus had become grumpier than usual that he wasn't spending as much time with Vlad anymore, and Vlad's mate had gently suggested the two take some time to themselves. Krampus wasn't normally the jealous type; in fact, he would normally go out of his way to insist Vlad be a bit more independent. The loud, sarcastic deer often tried to get the hippogriff to do more on his own, even though he would never admit to himself that he actually enjoyed spending time with him. Since Vlad had met his mate though, Krampus had felt as if he'd fallen to the wayside. Sure, he'd met and had a fling with a particularly attractive Condor, but that had fizzled out quickly, and now Krampus had children. He still wasn't sure how that happened.
On the road again, Krampus would not shut up. Sure, Vlad was used to it by now, but he'd also gotten used to the sullen silence as of late, and truthfully, he'd enjoyed it a little bit. Vlad had been thoroughly engrossed in his wonderfully lovely mate, who encouraged him and made him laugh. She was an absolute treasure, and the fact that she'd had a large hand in saving he and Krampus played no small part in his affection. He'd been grateful, and enamored ever since. Now, he was rolling his eyes as Krampus prattled on, complaining about his "ungrateful children" for the thousandth time since they had left. Vlad knew the truth, that Krampus had adored his children from the moment they appeared, so he just nodded, and made the appropriate non-commital "Mhmm"s and "Oooh"s where he could.
Both were lost in their one-sided conversation when it suddenly began getting dark. Vlad stopped, looking around, while Krampus had continued walking, droning on and on, until he realized Vlad was no longer next to him.
"And then I - Uh, Vlad, pal, you okay?", Krampus asked, turning around to face the hippogriff, bone mask flopping on his face. He had yet to notice the quickly-descending darkness. He noticed Vlad looking around, and trotted back to him. "It's getting dark too quickly.", Vlad told the deer, a concerned and puzzled look on his face. "Oh, no it's....not...", Krampus trailed off as he noticed for the first time that Vlad was right. It had been cloudless since they had set off early that morning, and it wasn't nearly that late in the day for twilight to be setting in. Looking up, he realized that something was beginning to cover the sun.
"Hey, Vlad. Is, uh....is that normal?", Krampus asked, his voice uncertain, an edge of panic beginning to creep in. He normally wasn't prone to hysterics, that was Vlad's job, but the deer was becoming unsettled. Something didn't feel right. Turning to face the direction of the sun, Vlad finally saw it, too. A dark disk was beginning to cover the sun. This did not bode well. Something odd was happening. "No, it's not...", he replied. "I think we should get somewhere safe, just in case."
"Why?! Do you think something bad is going to happen?!" Krampus' voice got higher and higher as he spoke, his eyes wide and darting side to side. He didn't know what kind of sign or omen this was, but Krampus knew it was bad. So bad. Super bad. The baddest thing the land had seen since that angry green fire lady, and her angry blue twin sister. They were kinda hot though. Figuratively, and literally. Krampus shook his head as he remembered the crisis at hand. "I don't know what's going to happen, Kramp, but I know we should probably get out of the open before something happens like what happened last time. Hip's not here to save us", Vlad told him.
Scanning the road ahead of them, Vlad spotted a copse of trees a ways off the road where they could hopefully shelter for the foreseeable future, until whatever this was passed. Vlad hoped it would pass at least. Looking back at Krampus, it was clear that he would need to get moving to work out his panic, and hopefully by the time they reached the trees, he'd be a bit calmer. Or, at least not as frantic. While Vlad himself was definitely teetering on the edge, it wouldn't do them any good for them both to be hysterical. "Over there", he pointed with a claw. "Just down the road. We can hide and watch the road and sky at the same time, and see if anything bad happens."
Whipping his head around, Krampus looked where Vlad pointed, seeing the trees. The rest of his body followed his head, and full of nervous energy, he started shifting from foot to foot, eager to be away from their current spot. He hoped whatever was happening ended soon.
When it was clear the Krampus wasn't going to start moving on his own, he began forward past the deer, who was so on edge that he screamed, and jumped sideways, away from Vlad. Stifling a laugh, Vlad stopped and looked at him. "C'mon, Nervous Nelly", he managed to say with a straight face. Forgetting his panic, Krampus glad at the hippogriff from under his mask. Vlad did chuckle then as he began to trot away, flicking his tail feathers in Krampus' face. With a sputter and an indignant "Hey!", he began to lope after the griff.
They reached the copse within a few minutes, and found a small depression in the middle of the trees, making it the perfect spot to hide without being spotted, in case someone, or something was making this darkness happen. As they settled down in the long grass, Vlad realized another odd thing was happening; the birds had stopped singing, and the near-constant buzz of the various late-summer and early-fall bugs was gone. It was silent, except for the faint whisper of the wind. "Hey, Kramp, you hear that?", he asked softly.
"Hear what?!", Krampus hissed. He began swiveling his ears in every direction, straining to hear whatever Vlad might be talking about. "Exactly", Vlad replied. Krampus glared at him for a moment before it clicked that he wasn't hearing anything. While the question had mostly been rhetorical, he answered it anyways. "There's nothing. I guess we're not the only ones hiding", he whispered. He dared not speak any louder. It seemed almost profane to speak at all, in what was quickly becoming an unsettling silence. He could feel the fear of the other animals in the fields and trees around them.
Training his eyes on the road, Vlad waited. He was surprised that Krampus was so silent and still. He'd only ever known his companion to be mouthy and full of bravado. It was eerie that Krampus was retaining absolute stillness, his eyes also on the road. If he hadn't heard his shaky breathing, he would assume he was stuffed. He was full of something anyways, but definitely not stuffing. Turning his eyes back to the road, he waited.
As time passed, the darkness grew deeper. It could have been minutes, or hours, it was hard to tell. Their combined anxiety made the seconds tick along like frozen snails. His muscles began to cramp, and Vlad adjusted his position, causing Krampus to jump. With a deep, frustrated inhale, Krampus glared at Vlad, then slowly turned his eyes back to the road. "I don't think anyone's coming", Vlad whispered. He still didn't dare raise his voice, it was hard to tell who might be listening. Or what. Letting out his breath, Krampus replied, "I think you're right." Both visibly relaxed, and settled into more comfortable positions. It was fully dark now, the sun completely blocked by whatever that thing was. Everything was still eerily quiet. Vlad hoped his mate was alright. He knew she could take care of herself, but he still worried. He knew Krampus was worried about his kids, too, and that part of the spunky little deer wanted to run screaming back to them. They were probably driving Hipelagan nuts, acting much like their dad.
"You think they're okay?", Krampus asked in a small voice, daring to be a bit louder than the whispers they'd been communicating in since this whole ordeal began. After a moment, Vlad smiled reassuringly, and said, "Yeah, I think they are." He still spoke quietly, but now he also allowed himself to speak a bit louder than they had been as well. He'd been right. He knew that if he was worried about his mate, a father's worry was going to be just as bad, if not more so. "What do you think this is?", Krampus asked. He leaned his head down, and shook his head hard, forcing his mask to slip around the back of his head. His face was lined with worry, but he had begun to sound more normal, hopeful even. "I don't know", Vlad replied, looking him in the eye. "You think it's magic?", Krampus asked, probably hoping to try and make sense of what was going on. If he could understand it, he wouldn't be afraid of it. Or less afraid, at least. "I dunno, Kramp. Maybe. It doesn't feel like magic, though.", Vlad said honestly. He'd never experienced anything like this before, and he was sure he didn't know anyone who had, either.
They settled once again into silence, with Vlad deciding that whatever was happening wasn't hurting them, at least not that he noticed. Suddenly, it began to lighten. With a start, he looked up and around them at the sky. It seemed that whatever was covering the sun was moving on now, allowing light to once more touch the land. Krampus looked around, too, his anxiety marking his face. "I think we're okay. Safe.", Vlad said. They waited for a bit to be sure that the coast really was clear, then Vlad rose, Krampus following suit. "I think it's time to go home. We've had enough adventure for a while.", Vlad told his companion. "I think you're right", Krampus replied, exhaustion coloring his voice.
Climbing out of the depression in the middle of the trees they'd been hiding in, they picked their way back to the road, starting back the way they'd come. Vlad knew Hipelagan had anticipated they'd be gone for at least a few days, but he didn't think she'd mind him coming home early. He knew Heebie and Goose would be happy to see their father, and he them as well. Krampus kept closer to Vlad than he had on their way out, and knowing full-well it would startle him, shifted so that one of his tailfeathers caressed Krampus' hind end. Wide-eyed and shrieking, Krampus took off at a full gallop, eager to be away from whatever perceived creepy-crawly had touched him. Vlad had to stop, laughing so hard tears formed in his eyes, and he couldn't catch his breath. Krampus had gotten at least a hundred yards before realizing that he'd been had, and turned, yelling "YOU BIG MORON!" When Vlad had finally stopped laughing and caught his breath, he unhurriedly trotted over to his friend, beaming ear to ear. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go home!", he said cheerfully as he continued his trot past Krampus. With a huff and a shake to turn his mask back around onto his face, Krampus followed his big oaf of a best friend home.