As her friends looked across the field, Shanna thumbed toward the campsite and he acknowledged with a monster wave and a wink. She smiled again as she turned away and started back toward their tents.
Opening the zipper as quietly as she could, Shanna slipped into the tent and stripped down to the long underwear she'd been wearing beneath her clothes. She checked her inflatable mattress before lying down on it and tucking her legs into the sleeping bag. Curling up in its downy folds, she blew a lock of hair out of her face as she slowly drifted off.
As she slumbered, her thoughts drifted to a dream of a surreal, crooked version of the woods she'd visited for years now. The trees were twisted and creepy, like Tim Burton's interpretation of the scene.
She was nude, and the logic of dreams being what it is it didn't seem to bother her. Her honey-blond hair was long, far longer than she ever wore it and draped over her naked form.
She felt invigorated in her dream, full of passion and energy. With a lilting laugh she took off at a run through the strange fairy-tale woods, her hair streaming behind her. Her lungs filled with the biting fall air as she ran, grinning the whole time.
The woods parted, and she reached a rocky outcropping. With a fey grin she lay down on the largest rock, her nails tapping on the stony surface. Drawing in a deep breath, she lifted her lips skyward...
...and howled.
If it were anything other than a dream it would have seemed very strange indeed. Instead, it just felt right.
It would seem her call was answered, as looking over her shoulders she saw the four women stepping from the woods. They walked perfectly synchronized, just as they had before. She saw something draped over the arms of the unhooded one.
They reached her, and the raven-haired woman draped the object over Shanna's shoulders, covering her.
It was one of the fur-cloaks...