HOWL

16

We were together.
I forget the rest.

- Walt Whitman

The market was in a frenzy. It was crowded unlike it usually was on normal days. People all round the ten provinces had come to grace the occasion.

Dancers and tricksters were performing on the streets including the jugglers. A certain juggler had juggled the ball on his hand to the extent that he missed the catch and it landed on the head of a little boy who had come to watch them exhibit their skills. The little boy clutched his head in pain, a frown formed on his face and he tried so hard to hold back the tears but he couldn't because no sooner had the ball hit his head that he broke into tears. It streamed down his cheeks accompanied with the shaking of his shoulders and a loud cry.

The boy ignored the silent giggles of the other children beside him and began making his way back home leaving the rest of them.

Cyane had watched the scenario unfold right in front of her eyes, she felt pity for the boy but there was nothing she could do. It was an accident which wouldn't cost the boy his life and most certainly he would heal if he got injured, he was after all a wolf.

The juggler had a remorseful look on his face, his performance hadn't gone well. His days of practice had gone in vain because that wasn't meant to have happened, the ball should never had slipped from his hand.

Cyane walked away from the scene and towards her home. She and Malina had agreed to discuss their moving out after the tournament was over. They had finally told Rane about their plans of moving out, at first she had begged them to reconsider but she finally accepted it. It was all in her best interests.

Their tavern was filled up with people from all over the provinces. The first week after they had opened the tavern, it was quite difficult to find people but after two to three weeks the place became known.

Charle had opposed the idea at first, he hadn't want any attention to be drawn to them and with the tournament that was coming up he had become paranoid. He knew that there was a huge chance that they could be visited by a ghost from the past. 
He strongly stood by his word that the mini tavern shouldn't be opened.

Rane had talked to him and got him to see the pros behind having the tavern. They were going to make enough money and could get the things that they lacked.

"You don't understand, my love, what if we run into him. You know the reason why I left Carnwell, don't you?" Charle ran his hand through his hair

"I do but you are just scared, what if we don't run into any one of them?"

He shook his head, he didn't want yo believe her words,"They could send spies, you never can tell what could be lurking in the hidden places"

"My love, you are just scared, everything would be fine" Rane held onto his arm and began drawing circles with her index finger in a clockwise motion, "Nothing would happen to us" She rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes peered up to gaze into his own and they held the stare for a while.

"Whose idea was it?" Charle broke the eye contact, he had a feeling that Rane wasn't the one that had come up with the idea. For a start they didn't have that much capital to start up a mini tavern. They needed at least eighteen pieces of gold, if his wife was talking about a tavern that would only mean that somehow she had managed to get some capital.