Don't Take Thirteen

She didn’t often have business in Auster, but there had been a few herbs that Vail had spoken about, that Shaye had wanted to find as a gift for her sister. She had heard that some could be found in Southern lands, and had crossed the sandbar as she put considerable effort not thinking about Malleus and his pack.

She had spent the day chasing her tail, so to speak, and had found only one of the herbs she had been looking for. Tucking it into a leaf she had wrapped about her leg for the purpose of gathering, she had continued her fruitless search much longer then she should have. When day turned to night, the land seemed to take on a different atmosphere, sounds in the trees struck her as unusual. But, it made sense that the South would have creatures that she was not as familiar with as those in the North, right?

A particularly spiteful own hooted at her just as she passed its perch, and her fur stuck on end in surprise. She spat at the creature, startling it into flight, as she attempted to smooth back her fur and shake off her surprise. She was six years old, she wasn’t afraid of things that went bump in the night. She was making a fool of herself, and was simply grateful that there was no one around to see it.

The next creature she heard rustling through the woods, she would begin to stalk. To prove to herself just how foolish she was being, and to get a late night snack. She crept through the woods as quietly as she was able, until the scent of them struck her. Was that another wolf? In her surprise she let herself be seen, and in tern would see the wolf. He was a young creature, with an interesting smattering of brown across his coat. The lighter shades of him glowed in the moonlight. But, worst of all, he smelt like Mallus. She hid her groan. What was she getting herself into now?

“Oh, Hi there, do you know these lands?” she asked the younger wolf softly.