at had gone to see how her sister was doing with Jess being away. James had decided to put his application in to study medicine and had been accepted so his friends had decided to take him out that weekend so Jade was on her own. Kat hadn't felt any distress or such from her sister but she thought she would go say hello all the same. She found the house empty so she headed out towards the back. The Patio doors where open and Kat could see Jade leaning against on of the porch posts with a sketch book. Kat watched for a moment and realised that Jade wasn't just looking at the book, she was drawing. Kat smiled and quietly left and headed home.

"I wasn't expecting you back so soon." Marc said looking up from some case notes he was reading as Kat entered the lounge room.
"She was out the back drawing again, I didn't have the heart to interrupt her."
"Didn't she stop drawing after Darryl died?"
Kat nodded. "She did pottery and even went back to painting eventually but she just stopped drawing. I think it's great that she has started again."
"Or a sign that she is starting to get visions again."
"You don't think?"
"Well she did make those charms."
"Now who is the worry wort?" Kat teased and curled up in his lap, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forhead.
"I'm their father, I'm meant to worry."
"Mmm, I know, I was there, remember?" Kat teased, nibbling on his ear.
"Stop that, distracting witch," Marc laughed. "Have you felt anything?"
"No, nothing. Do you think maybe I should talk to Jade about trying together, to see if anything is going to happen, rather than seeing or feeling what is happening right now?"
"Well, if you're worried, love..."
"Who's worried?" Kat smiled.
"Do you think she'd be up to it?"
"I don't know, my love. Four years is a long time to do nothing, and then jump right back in at premonitions probably isn't the best idea. You know it took us six years of working together before we could reliably see the future."
"Yes, but three of that was teaching her the basics of paganism, and then the basics of magick. Once she finally understood the theory, the premonitions came fairly easily."
"There's a lot to be said for natural talent," Kat agreed, "and we work well together because we've been so close our entire lives. But... I've been a witch since I was 13. She only became interested in paganism when we were 25. Add three years of the basics of paganism, and then another three years of the basics of witchcraft... Sure, 6 years isn't a bad effort for learning the basics of magick, but then eight and a half years later, she dropped it completely. And it's been four years since she did anything."
"And you're worried she'll just burn out."
"Perhaps."
"Kat, you have to let her make her own mistakes. Like when you took the recoil from the banishing."
Kat laughed.
"Yeah, that was a mistake, but it would have hurt her far more than it hurt me."
"And yet she's the one with the knack for protections here?"
"For other people, love, you know this."
"I know. I know she doesn't protect herself properly, and I know she hasn't done anything even vaguely pagan for four years, and I know that you're worried about her, and I know that neither of you can see the future without the other, and I know that you don't like seeing the future and are perfectly happy just feeling when something goes wrong, and I know that you worry about what would happen to Jade if she saw anything happening to Jimmy or Jess... But I also know you have been edgy since the girls told you about this trip, and so has Jade. I trust your instincts, tarrishagh. If you're worried, we should look into it every way we can."
"She's coming over for dinner tonight. We'll see what she thinks then."
"Fair enough. Now tell me what you think about this..."

***

"Guess what!" Caitlin announced, standing in front of Meg and Jess.
"Sam asked you out?" guessed Jess.
"He groped you?" Meg also guessed.
"What? No! In the morning, we have creepy-guy!"
Caitlin flopped down beside the other girls.
"And I was just talking to Sarah and Bree, and they said his hike is brutal."
"Oh, dammit."
"Did they tell you anything else about it?"
"You walk up a mountain for four hours! Apparently you get to see black bears, whitetail deer and mountain lion tracks... Lots of birds and things too."
"But you don't get to see the bears themselves?"
"Nah, too dangerous. They weren't allowed to go east into the area where the bears mostly live. Apparently most of the mamma-bears have cubs this year and are more snarly than usual."
"Shame."
"Find out anything else?"
"Well, we leave early in the morning so we'd best pack tonight. We walk for four hours and camp at a cabin type thing in a clearing. We go from there on the walks to see the animals, stay over night and have a bonfire, see some other animals the next morning, then come back to camp. That's all I know."
"Hmm. Okay. I guess we'd better pack what we're taking tonight then."
"I guess we'll just have to stick together."
"Lights out!" called Mrs Parker, and the girls obediently crawled into bed.
"We won't be this comfortable tomorrow night!"
"Never mind. We'll manage."
"True. Goodnight."
"Night."

"You okay, Meg?"
The others paused at David's question, looking back to where Meg was standing.
"Meg?"
"What? Oh, I'm fine. Do those clouds look funny to you?"
The others peered up at the sky.
"They're pretty dark."
"And moving fast."
Mark frowned.
"We'd better walk faster, we don't want to be crossing the river once that storm hits."
The group increased their pace, and shortly had no breath left for talking. The day so far had been enjoyable - Meg had told David that the girls thought Mark was a bit creepy, and so David and Sam had been very careful not to leave any of the girls alone with Mark. The five of them had chatted as they hiked, enjoying the morning, but now the threatening clouds had put a damper on things, and they tramped along in near-silence.
"Right, here's the bridge," Mark said, peering at them through the gloom of gathering darkness. "Cross over one-by-one."
The rain began to fall as Jess made her way across the bridge. By the time Mark had crossed, the rain was pouring down.
"The cabin isn't far from here," Mark shouted over the crash of thunder. "It's just up this gully. Be careful where you step, the ground will be slippery."
"I'm cold," Caitlin said, softly.
"Me too," Meg replied. "I'm not having fun."
"Me neither," Jess added. "Something bad is going to happen."
Meg and Caitlin exchanged looks.
"We were thinking that too. Let's be sure to stick together."
Mark stopped dead, causing Sam to walk into him.
"Way to go, man."
"Shut up!" hissed Mark, causing the girls to exchange looks and grasp hands.
"What is it?" David whispered, moving to stand near the girls.
"It's a bear cub," Mark said. "Back up slowly."
"Aw, it's so cute," Caitlin said, peeking around Sam's back.
"Its mother will be nearby. We don't want to be anywhere near a mamma-bear in this storm. Back up!"
"Um, Mark."
"What?"
"I can see its mother."
"What?"
Jess pointed silently behind them, and Mark swore as a flash of lightning illuminated the mother grizzly bear on the path below them.

She growled, and the cub replied, causing Mark to swear quietly again, and unsling his gun.
"Okay you five. The cabin is just up this path. Find shelter, if you can, but don't wander too far. I'm going to distract the bears. Don't move until they're gone."
The girls silently nodded, and Mark unslung his pack.
"Be careful," David said, and Mark nodded and jogged down the path.
The five of them watched in silence as the bear rose up onto its hind legs and roared. Mark swerved off into the bushes, and the mother bear swiped at the trees, angrily. A gun fired, and she roared. The bear cub walked towards them, growling, imitating its mother, and they all held their breath as it walked past them. It paused to sniff at them, but then its mother roared again and trundled into the forest after Mark, and the bear cub followed. A couple of minutes later, when they were all breathing again, Meg looked up at the sky.
"This storm is going to get worse before it gets better. We need to find some shelter."
"We'll keep going towards the cabin," David said. "I'll lead, then you Meg, then Jess, and Cait, and Sam, you bring up the rear."
The girls agreed, and they walked through the pouring rain.
"I can barely see," said Meg after a while. "It's so dark, and the rain is coming down to hard."
"The path is getting muddier," David added.
"And I'm freezing," Jess said. "It was warm when we left this morning."
The five paused again, digging through packs for their jumpers.
"I'm stupid, I should have suggested that before," Meg cursed herself.
"It doesn't matter, Meg. We're all soaked, and so is our stuff, it's not going to make much difference."
"I thought he said the cabin was near."
"He said we were almost at break point when we still had half an hour to go, remember."
"Good point. Let's keep walking."

***

"Hello?"
"Can you see what's happening to the girls?" Kat asked Jade as soon as she picked up the telephone.
"Why?"
"I've been feeling them all afternoon - they're cold and miserable. And for a moment about an hour ago they felt scared."
"Scared?" Jade looked worriedly out her back door to the garden. "I'll try."
Five minutes later, Jade opened her eyes with a smile.
"It's no wonder they're cold and miserable. They're on a hike. In the rain."
"That's all it is?"
"That's all," Jade reassured.
Kat laughed, and picked up her cup of tea.
"Thank the Gods. I've been so worried; I keep getting these feelings from them! How are you? Did it hurt you to see?"
"No... I think I've stopped blaming myself for not seeing what happened. That particular gift is something I've had with you all my life, but it was always sporadic with Dazz. And perhaps if I had known, I would have gone and been killed too, and then what would have happened to Jess and Jimmy?"
"You know Marc and I would have taken them. But I'm glad you're feeling a bit better about it."
"It's strange... Having been able to see when you were in trouble for my entire life, and having you feel when I was in trouble my entire life... Then to not see every time with Darryl... And yet with Jess and Jimmy... I see it every time."
"Perhaps it's something to do with the blood link."
"Perhaps."
"Marc and I were talking... How would you feel about trying to use our gifts together again?"
"I don't know, Kat... I don't want to rush it. You know how much I loved being able to see into the future... But I just... don't know."
"That's fine. Are you going to start meditating again?"
"I think... yes."
"Good," Kat smiled, and Jade could tell she was pleased. "I'll see you for dinner tonight then."
"See you then."
"Bye."

***

"This is ridiculous. We've been walking for hours now, surely."
"I can't tell. My watch doesn't work anymore."
"I can't see to read mine anyway. What are we going to do?"
"We have to find somewhere to get warm and dry."
"Yes, but we've been walking for hours now and we still haven't come to the cabin. Mark said it was just up the path."
"You don't think..."
"It doesn't matter. If we're lost, we're lost. But we have to get dry."
"Let's make something then. Meg, Cait... We know how to do that, it's just fae houses on a larger scale."
The five of them set to work, sitting in the mud, in the rain, winding vines through tree branches to make a rudimentary shelter.
"Hey, guys."
"What?"
"Come and look at this."
The girls stood and went to look at Sam's discovery.
"What is it?"
"I think it's a cave."
"Do you think a bear lives there?" Jess whispered.
"I'll look," David volunteered. "I think it's unlikely, look at the way the vines are grown all over the entrance."
David picked up a stick and vanished behind the vines. Meg, Cait, Jess and Sam, stood there shivering until he reappeared.
"Couple of spiders, couple of snakes, now deceased, but otherwise uninhabited. There's a little bit of dry wood inside, but let's look for more now and then get settled in."
The five of them searched until they had a small supply - looking under rocks and beneath thick undergrowth, as dry wood was in short supply in the pouring rain, and eventually, they huddled within the cave. The boys made a fire, thankful for Mark's matches in a plastic sandwich bag, and the girls sorted their food and laid out the contents of the packs to dry.
"How long do you think we'll be here?"
"I don't know. I don't know where we are. I don't know how far we walked. I don't know how long it will take them to realise we're missing. I don't know."
"We don't have much food. We were only supposed to be out overnight."
"Right now we're cold and hungry, but we HAVE eaten today. Why don't we get dry, have a bit of chocolate and try and get some sleep. Save what food we do have until tomorrow. And if it's stopped raining, we might be able to find some berries and things to eat. Meg, you remember what Mrs Parker said was edible from the other day, right?"
"I remember some of it. I think we should have a bit of chocolate now though."
"Good idea. Was anything in the packs dry?"
"Mark had a jumper and a blanket under a rain jacket, so that's mostly dry, but everything else is soaked."
"We have to get dry. Is the blanket big enough for all of us?"
"No. It would be big enough for us three, or for the two boys, but not for all of us."
"Well, we'll share the blanket, one of them can have the jumper, and the other can have the rain coat. And we can hope that our clothes dry overnight."
"I don't think they will."
"I don't think they will either, but we have to try."
"Should we try reaching Mum and Aunt Jade?"
The girls exchanged looks.
"I think we're too exhausted. Let's leave it until tomorrow."
The boys turned their backs while the girls got undressed and slid under the blanket on the dirt floor of the cave. The boys tried to give the jumper and rain jacket to the girls, but they refused, pointing out their body warmth would keep them warmer than the jumper would anyway, and soon the five were curled close around the little fire they had managed to keep going.
Exhausted, they drifted into sleep.

***

Kat entered the room, looking pale.
"What is it?"
"It's... the girls."
"What about them?" Jade demanded.
"They're... missing."
"What?!"
"Their tour leader left them to draw off some bears, and when he got back they were gone. He went to where he thought they would have gone and they weren't there, so he went back to camp and raised the alarm. The girls are missing, and there's a huge storm there. They don't know where they are!"
Jade's chair clattered to the floor as she stood up, and Marc quickly wrapped his arms around them both.
"It's okay, they'll find them. We'll go there tomorrow."
"There's a helicopter from the airport to the camp."
"Good, we'll take that."
"Mum?"
Malcolm entered the room, looking puzzled.
"Mal, my love."
Kat wrapped her arms around her son and kissed him.
"What's wrong?"
"Meg and Cait and Jess are missing, my love. Dad, Aunt Jade and I are going to look for them in the morning."
"Can I come?"
"If you want to."
"They're my sisters too!"
"My God, Jimmy!"
Jade rushed to the phone to call her son, and Marc wrapped his arms around his wife and son.
"We'll find them," he promised.

"He is on his way." She said quietly and then turned to leave the room.
"You couldn't have known." Marc said. As soon as the words had left his mouth he regreted it. He had only meant it to be comforting but the look on Jade's face tore at his heart.
"I couldn't have known? No, ofcourse not. After all you have taught me, after all I did for them. Damn them. I gave up so much for them and they take Darryl and now my baby. So don't tell me what I should and shouldn't know." Then she turned and left the room.
"Marc!" Kat said turning to him.
"I..."
"I know love, I just. I knew she hurt but never before has she outwardly blamed the God and Godess. I don't know if I can ever help her."

***

The girls woke up early in the morning well before the boys. Carefully and queitly they headed over towards the pile of wood the boys had gathered and all the clothes they had hung up to dry. Sure enough the wood and clothes were still wet. They held hands and together slowly drew the moisture out of the wood and clothes. Then they dried their own clothes and the clothes the boys were wearing. Then just as quietly they went back to bed.

About 5 hours later the boys woke up the girls and proudly announced their fire had helped dry their clothes. One even teased the girls about being sleepy heads. The girls just smiled at each other.

"It looks like the rain has actually gotten heavier." Sam said.
"Well we can't just sit it out." David replied.
"And we can't head out there, we will get sick." Jessica commented.
"Hey look, the cave extends." Meg's comment caught everyones attention and they turned towards where she was standing.