The Twelfth Moon || ✔️

51. Swift Moon pt. 4

The silence after our last game had been a soft one. We had just left the forest's edge, our surroundings now consisting of different fields. We still made sure the forest was always near, should we need a place to run to and hide.

Some cows, sheep, and even a few goats were occupying the fields we walked by, most of them too busy grazing or sleeping, to give us the time of day. Some looked up curiously but sensed the danger that we were and kept their distance.

I was saddened by that fact when we walked past a pasture where some lambs were accompanying their mothers, and they scattered away at the mere sight of us. The thought of being so intimidating towards such innocent creatures, simply by existing, felt wrong to me. I wasn't the predator they thought I was. Although, I experienced it differently during my first run.

By the Moons, I longed to run again. Jerr had explained that I wasn't allowed to shift on enemy grounds, because I was still too vulnerable in my wolven form.

And while Aven had no way to check if I was obeying his orders, Jerr surprisingly seemed to agree with him.

But every meadow we passed, every different type of grass was one I wanted to feel beneath my bare paws. The high grass in the unused field, where crickets were already chirping. The short, grazed grass of the field next to it, where the cows were keeping it clean.

The moss on the sides of our little pathway. Or even the grainy pathway itself. Muddy, if it would rain. Slippery, but I was sure that as a wolf, I wouldn't fall. I would keep my balance as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

I kept dreaming about running wild and free, feeling the winds of the night in my fur. How different it would feel - even more intense, to run under our Moon. To howl at her, to honor her in the best way possible.

Jerr and I kept walking next to each other, the silence somehow filling the gaps between us. Our arms grazed each other every once in a while, prickling my skin at the place they touched. The chills of the evening and the night had fallen on us, and I longed for the warmth Jerr was blasting. But the intenseness of his nearby presence scared me somehow. I was wary of letting him get too close, but I couldn't help myself but keep walking next to him.

Until we saw a small shed nearby, the smell of fresh hay and straw circling near us. The promise of shelter and warmth teased us both. "You think that will do for tonight?"

"It will have to," he answered. "Let's just hope the other animals here didn't have the same idea. I don't want to share my bed with a goat."

"I don't think any farmer would be foolish enough to give their herds free access to the hay stash," I chuckled.

"That would sound like a terrible farmer," Jerr agreed, with a small laugh.

We made our way over to the small shed, thankful for a roof and some straw and hay we could turn into beds.

"We're almost out of bread," I noticed, opening our bags to take out our dinner.

"I'll hunt for lunch tomorrow," Jerr offered. "It's safer to cook meat with a fire during the day."

Hunting probably meant he would have to transform. "I'm assuming I won't be allowed to join in on the fun?"

Jerr shook his head as he took a bite of his dinner.

I merely sighed, munching on a bite of stale bread. That fresh meat tomorrow would do us good.

"So," Jerr said again after a short silence. "You haven't met your mate yet?"

"No," I confirmed. "I don't think finding my mate is in the cards for me."

"Why?" he asked. He sounded sincerely confused.