The Taste of Seduction

Atlas had his eyebrows creased together as he thought seriously and deeply. He took a bite of his steak and chewed on it slowly, as if every chew contained answers to their questions.

"Take it easy," Meredith reminded softly, pouring Atlas a glass of water, snapping him from his thoughts. "You have to enjoy your food."

"I know… and we need the energy tonight for the trip." A smile appearing on his face. "But we have no time to waste, Meredith. If breaking the bond is what we are aiming for, then we have to at least have a lead as to how to get it."

Meredith cocked her head to the side. "You\'re rushing?"

Atlas couldn\'t help but roll his eyes at the statement. "Who wouldn\'t rush in breaking the curse? Remember what I told you a moment ago," he added, Meredith still cocking her head to the side as she was slightly confused as to what he meant.

"You said a lot of things a while ago. Which one?"

Atlas\' lips curled into a lopsided smile. With him pinching the bridge of Meredith\'s nose in a way to tease her, he thought that she was feigning ignorance when in fact, she is just really confused.

"That you\'re mine and I don\'t want to share you, you silly goose," he reminded, Meredith\'s eyes slightly wide in surprise with how Atlas pinched the bridge of her nose. "Let\'s break the bond so he doesn\'t get to touch you and attempt to steal you away from me ever again."

"Oh…" Meredith blushed slightly, giggling a bit as well. "Quite the possessive man, huh?"

"Me?" Atlas asked, pointing at himself as he released a scoff. "Oh, I\'m not ashamed of that. I\'m possessive of what\'s mine. And no one… gets to have what I want--not even an opportunity from here on."

Meredith grinned like a fool the moment Atlas stopped pinching the bridge of her nose. She then proceeded to cut her meat into smaller pieces so she could easily chew on them, the two continuing on with their conversation.

"So what do you think would be the best lead to start on this quest?" Meredith asked, Atlas going back to business as he released a small sigh. He took a piece of his food in his mouth and chewed before answering her question.

"I\'m betting on The Book of Shadows as Austin said but we don\'t even know where it is," he answered, Meredith\'s eyebrows creasing together as well.

"It would be hard to find it with no clue…" she said silently, still enough for Atlas to hear. "Hmm."

"That\'s what we\'re going to find out," Atlas replied, staring into space as he continued talking. "I saw the book when I was a kid and I told Austin about this, too."

"Yeah but it could be anywhere now" Meredith nodded slowly, continuing the conversation with her question. "So how are we going to start? I mean… do we have a hint at least of where it is?"

"On earth," Atlas answered immediately, looking at Meredith as well. "Definitely on earth."

Meredith shrugged, possibly wondering where it could specifically be.

"You speak as if you are certain, Atlas," she commented, continuing to speak. "How can we know where specifically on earth? That is the most important question."

"We will have leads on it. Have faith," he replied, tapping her shoulder to encourage her. But seeing as to how this is really vague, Meredith was kind of impatient in her reply.

"But HOW, Atlas? Where?"

The werewolf looked straight into her eyes. With him catching her complete attention, he asked her a question out of nowhere.

"Do you trust me?"

Meredith blinked her eyes a few times, discombobulated.

"Where did this come from?"

Atlas chuckled. "Answer my question."

"Of course, I trust you," Meredith answered immediately, taking a piece of meat in her mouth and chewed. "Why should I not?"

"Then believe me when I say we\'ll be able to look for it." Atlas reassured. "It\'s on earth, and we\'re going to look for it from the first clue."

Meredith stabbed her fork in a small piece of meat and paused. "Wait… first clue? We have a first clue?"

"Yes. Austin told me earlier. Your mother let clues for each of the leaders of the 4 realms to find the book in case of an emergency.

Atlas replied, getting his wallet from his pocket. He then got a piece of old paper that seemed to be burnt, with words written in cursive. He opened it and revealed the following statements to Meredith:

"At the end of the rainbow is where I can be seen."

Meredith looked at Atlas with a puzzled expression on her face. "At the end of the rainbow is where I can be seen?" she repeated and asked, scoffing at the same time. "Is this really a clue to The Book of Shadows? It sounds like a child\'s riddle!"

Atlas agreed, nodding at her statement. "But what is at the end of the rainbow?"

"I don\'t know…" Meredith shrugged, answering halfheartedly. "A pot of gold?"

"Precisely what I thought, too. And what creature comes along with it?"

Meredith sighed, wondering where they are going as they answer the riddle on the piece of paper. "I dunno… the leprechaun."

"Correct," Atlas said, nodding at the same time. "There is a reason why leprechauns chose to dwell on earth, Meredith."

She stayed silently for a while, listening to Atlas\' reasoning that\'s slowly now having more sense and direction.

"They always have treasured possessions at the end of the rainbow. For mortals, they always think that this is myth so they don\'t bother looking for them. But for us magical beings who know who they are and what they keep? They tend to steal. That\'s why leprechauns chose to hide on earth."

Meredith sort of had a eureka moment, speaking almost in a whisper.

"That\'s why they decided to hide on earth…"

"And at the end of the rainbow--" Atlas knocked on the wood twice and continued his statement. "--may be another clue they might be keeping, leading us to The Book of Shadows."