New Life

Chapter Six

I've got another chapter for my readers! Thanks so much for all of the support via comments, votes, and fanning! You guys are the best. This chapter and the next one are two of my favorites. I loved writing them out.

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He got up and waited for me to follow. "Wait a minute," I protested. "Now? Of all times?"

"Why not? The weather is perfect. Oh, and one more thing. You'll need this." With lightning quick speed, he produced a silver object out of nowhere and tossed it at me.

A sword landed at my feet and he scoffed. "Pick it up. You need a lot of work," he turned to keep walking. Not taking a good look at the weapon, I picked it up and hurried to follow him, not wanting the rest of the packs to find me alone.

Keiyo led me out of the clearing, growling at any one who stared too much, and we headed even farther away from my cave. Though in the form of a human, he kept up a grueling pace in the thick snow. I was tired, exhausted, but I didn't want to complain. Keiyo seemed different now in some way and this aided my resolve to keep quiet. Suddenly, he held no sweet smile, no laughter in his voice, no bounce of joy in his step. His beheld seriousness and so did his attitude. Somehow I knew that this time that I would spend with him would be difficult for he would drive me hard.

"Are you holding up alright?"

I was startled by his question, considering that I was pondering his new attitude. I muttered that I was fine and he nodded. Perhaps I was wrong about him. He could have hid compassion behind the mask of seriousness and still, strangely, seemed to care for me. I found this fact to be a little odd, but I could not dispute the emotion in his eyes every time he looked at me. They told me that he would sooner hurt himself than to put me in harm's way, even if only for a moment. It had been like that since he met me about a week ago.

Truthfully, I was lost once again. My mind had no idea what that could mean for me. Was he put up to the job of being my babysitter by my parents or did he actually choose to do this? I didn't know, and thinking about it distracted me while walking, leading me to trip and fall flat on my face.

Instantly, he was picking me up off the ground and handing back that sword. "Are you sure that you're holding up alright," he asked, his hand lingered on my hip from lifting me up.

"I told you, I'm fine." I said that with an edge in my voice. I backed up a bit and his hand fell from my waist. "Just keep walking. I can care for myself, thanks." My voice was snippy and impatient, embarrassed by my lack of coordination.

Before he turned around, for a brief moment, I thought that I caught a hint of hurt in his eyes, and I instantly felt bad. Maybe I was getting a little cranky from the lack of sleep. If all of this really was real, I should be thanking him, not wasting my energy on hostile implications. I was about to apologize when he stopped in his tracks.

He stood in front of me, looking down into my eyes, and said, "Welcome to your training ground." Then, he moved aside.

A beautiful scene came to light before me. It was the frozen lake from my dream, only the dream didn't do it justice. In real life, every surface sparkled with ice or snow. Snow still continued to fall in a light, alternating pattern over the lake. The flakes crissed and crossed before us in a kind of hypnotic dance that seemed to entrance me in its silent song. Although it was dark and the moon still hung high within the sky, the whole landscape appeared to glow under the sweet moonbeams that shimmered over everything.