Fire And Ice

Chapter 39 - Full Moon

Natalia's P. O. V

The next day began before the birds started chirping their wakeup call.

By the time I'd started my day, the others were up and about. Leaving my room after a shower and dressing, I found Hailey meditating on a mat in the living room, the rest of the world blocked out by her wireless earphones and closed eyes.

Kaesha was seated at the dining table, absent mindedly munching on cereal as she read her spell book that levitated before her.

Retrieving some breakfast for myself, I stationed myself opposite her and commented on Timothy's absence from the house.

"He's just a few paces into the forest, using his gift." Kaesha informed between mouthfuls.

She appeared to be making good on her offer to keep werewolves out of Pine Ridge, scanning her book for what I assumed was a suitable boundary spell. Meanwhile, Hailey had shifted from meditation to some rather advanced looking yoga, her breathing soothingly deep and even. Not being used in combat, I was sure Timothy's gift also had a soothing effect on him.

'They seem to be preparing their minds for the full moon.' Candy commented.

I nodded.

I knew all the theory of normal and full moon shifts. Full moons were compulsory, our wolves took over, and so on and so forth... but never having experienced them myself, I didn't get how stilling minds tied into it all.

Even back at the pack, I had noticed all their little full moon rituals. Quite a few drank themselves into stupor, others went missing, while some of the more level headed ones did menial things like meditate or go for long jogs that spanned the entire day. Full moon rituals had been mentioned in passing during our classes, but their full detail and significance remained unexplained.

Deciding to ask Hailey about it after we returned home, I finished the rest of my breakfast and opted to stay out of the others' way by going for a run. There wasn't much I could do before the full moon began.

With nothing to do, the rest of the day dragged on slowly. After my extended run, I returned to find Hailey in the same position in the living room, holding an entirely new yoga position. Kaesha had moved her study outside, no longer simply reading, but now experimenting on a small scale.

After another shower, I strolled outside. Following his scent, I tracked Timothy.

He sat cross legged in a small clearing, a few miniature, disjointed and twisting trees scattered around him. Remaining an imperceivable distance away, I scaled a tree and relaxed in its branches.

He wasn't doing much, just making the trees move this way and that. Once in a while, they would wiggle and twist, dancing to a beat unknown.

Watching him like this, playing around with his gift, devoid of his defensive rage, he looked like a simple, peaceful werewolf. A serene, happy life surrounded by a pack that loved him - that's what the Lightwoods had ripped him from, condemning him to a life on the run instead. And now, having possibly found his mate and a potential chance at happiness, he appeared wholefully uninterested.

All to further Clark's crazed power agenda.

And the Pine Rivers... desolate, sparse and perpetually agitated. What I was sure was a once thriving, lively pack was now a shell of whatever it had been.

'How on earth are we going to help them?'

'We could start by helping them rebuild their buildings.' Candy offered.