The sound of the river grew louder and louder as they travelled along the path until eventually Jenny realised Holli was riding them directly towards it. Sensing Jenny’s tightening grip around her waist she looked back to reassure her,
“Don’t worry, it’s not that deep, she can handle it” Holli said, stroking the horses neck, “You’ll probably get your feet wet though”
Jenny winced as they approached the flowing water’s edge and their steed started to wade in. Holli looked back and gave Jenny a quizzical look as she watched the cheerleader lifting her feet up behind her, trying to keep them out of the water. “I don’t want to get my socks wet” she said defensively.
This made Holli burst out laughing as they waded deeper and deeper across the river, “You’re not going to get your sex wet!” Holli was in hysterics, laughing, “It’s not that deep”
Jenny gasped, Holli had no idea what socks were and had misheard her, her embarrassment grew even more as the laughing girl continued, “besides, your sex it pretty wet already, I can feel it on my back!”
As they climbed back up the opposite bank, Holli, still laughing, patted their steed thankfully on the neck and Jenny lowered her legs again. As they continued in the direction of the village Jenny started to panic, she couldn’t do it, she couldn’t pretend and keep quiet, she couldn’t blend in to this world without help and Holli was her only hope of someone she could explain everything to.
“Holli…” Jenny started weakly, causing the rider to look back at her again with a reassuring smile. “I… I’m not foreign… I’m not even… from this reality…” Jenny said, looking at Holli’s questioning face she tried to explain, “I know, I sound crazy, but I have no idea where I am, how this world works or what anything here… is… Where I’m from people wear clothes… drive cars… there aren’t horrible monsters in the grass!”
Holli pulled the horse up to a stop and looked Jenny over carefully, “Another reality?” she said with a scrunched up face.
“Another reality” Jenny repeated. Holli bit her cheek and went very quiet, looking Jenny up and down over and over. She reached back and felt at the material of Jenny’s cheerleading top and her eyes narrowed. “Please say you believe me?” Jenny ventured weakly. Holli sat in silence for a moment then spoke very quickly.
“When we get back to the village there’s going to be a lot of attention on you, new people always attract a crowd. They’re going to want to know all about you, especially where you’ve come from. Your kloavthes aren’t going to help” Jenny’s stomach dropped, Holli wanted her to strip? “Just say as little as you can, stay with me and do as I do, I’ll take you to my house, you’ll be safe there and we can talk about everything.”
Jenny nodded quietly, squeezing Holli around the waist a little tighter in a hug, making them both smile. They sat still for several moments before Jenny realised they weren’t moving towards the village anymore, and Holli was looking at her expectantly.
“You uh… want me to undress now?” Jenny said meekly, causing Holli to shrug.
“You keep using words I don’t know… does ‘hundress?’ mean get rid of your kloavthes?” Holli asked, “but yes, do that…”