The Crow and The Wolf

Chapter 30

30.

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The room was deafeningly quiet, and they didn't say anything to each other. The silence between them wasn't one of discomfort but quite the opposite actually, as they were both engrossed in their own thoughts to really try and have a meaningless conversation.

Well, it was more that, the younger wolf in the room was engrossed in her thoughts, but the elder was content to sit in silence, he didn't want to disturb the child from her thoughts, which he knew she would voice out in her own time.

'No need to rush one's comprehension,' he hummed to himself.

The sound of a whistle echoed in the small kitchen as Mr Edgar got up from his chair to address the small kettle in the corner that buzzed and brewed. He strolled around the small table, and the sound of shuffling feet and the kettle were the only things that were heard in the house.

He took out two small cups from the tea set, which brought him a small smile as he remembered the memories that came from looking at the set. The sound of his wife's laughter filled his ears, and he turned and placed the two cups in the middle of the table.

The male watched Valeria from the corner of his eye as he walked to grab the kettle from the stove. His stand forever remained attentive to the child, and he mauled over her stoic expression as he poured the tea into the small cups. He placed the kettle on a mat before finally settling in his chair across from her.

He took a sip from the cup and placed it back on the table with a sigh, and his eyes lingered on her before deciding to read a book that had been given to him by his daughter when he went to visit her. He got up to retrieve it but halted his movements when he heard movement. He watched as she took the cup and brought it up to her lips for a sip and held the cup there for quite some time before bringing it down to her chest but not seemingly wanting to put it down.

He sat down and sighed again, "Okay, well, that's enough comprehension, come out with it, child," he waved at her.

Her brown eyes met his green ones, and he offered her a smile of encouragement. "What's got you so lost, my dear?"

Mr Edgar seemed to notice the hesitation on her face, but he waited for some minutes, giving her the time to work up the courage to ask her question. For a while, he thought she wouldn't, but when she did eventually ask the question, it was one he hadn't expected at all.

"Mr Edgar, what is your Etome like?" Her question, he knew, didn't stem from just anywhere. He knew something must have happened or she must have seen something to ask such a question.

It was early in the afternoon when Luc showed up on his doorstep with a sleeping Valeria in his arms. He had asked what had transpired, and when Luc explained the extra activities that had plagued the girl, he understood her exhaustion. He spent half of the first five minutes of her arrival making sure she was comfortable and warm before settling down and reading a book.

He would only raise his eyes from the pages of the book to check on Valeria whenever she made slight movements or a small sound. He would often heighten his senses to listen to the little being that was growing in her. The heartbeat was small and very hard to hear, but it was very much there, and he would smile whenever it seemed that the two seemed to sync their heartbeats.

Valeria had woken up just past sundown, and Mr Edgar had forced her to eat something even when she continuously said she wasn't hungry, but he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Let me ask you this, what do you know about the Etome?" he instead asked.

She fiddled with her fingers before she answered, "Well Luc has come to make me realise that the Etome isn't our own world created for our wolves individually but as a pack, a world of floating islands, but when I was there and seemed to travel between the islands, they looked different, others looked...." Decayed, as if dying, she wanted to say but the words seemed to escape her, so she just looked into his eyes, hoping he would see the rest of the words she was afraid to say.

"Well, he isn't wrong," Mr Edgar took the cup from her hands and placed it on the table. He then brought his and the tea kettle together on the table, with the kettle seeming to be placed in the middle.

"He is right in regards to us having our own islands, but he makes it sound as if there's no real order to it. In most packs, I've come to realise it's different, but with ours, ours seems to be quite the oddest." He pointed to her teacup and said, "This is your island, your wolf's island. Luc described it as a cave surrounded by grass plains and trees, is that right?" and Valeria hummed in agreement.

"Well, your island is connected to those you love, like family, and these are connected by an invisible force, but your family is entirely connected to a selected group of hierarchy. This is where it differs from other packs, whereas our pack believes in strict order, which can also be depicted in the Etome," he then takes his cup and places it after Valeria's.

"Now, Valeria, because you are a salutary and a tracker, you rank higher than me and the rest of your family, thus your island moves closer to the middle, to the alpha island. With his rank, there's a circle for itself, do you understand?"

Valeria shook her head before attempting to explain it according to her understanding, "meaning that the middle point is the alpha, and his island links to all of us, like a spider web."

"Yes, exactly, and the more you branch out the weaker the links are but the last circle of islands are the first line of defence," he sighed before going back to hold his cup, "now every island is formed or based on the werewolf of the human. When we are born, we're not born with the Etome but our wolves are, they only lock into place when they shift, as this solidifies the pack link. My Etome is a forest, a never-ending one with a mountain where there's a cave, quite similar to yours, but instead of a plain like yours, it's made of huge trees that create a shadow over the world, and there are fireflies that are forever active."

"Mr Edgar you just described the environment in which you met your mate, well except for the cave," she mumbled, and she could see the smile in the man's eye.

"My wolf must have loved the beauty of that night so much that it changed his Etome," he thought out loud with a shrug.

"Can our wolves do that, change it so easily?" Mr Edgar could hear the wonder in her voice.

He shook his head, "No, there has to be a significant influence for our Etome's to change, it does not happen so freely," he eyed Valeria as she thought over what he said, "Why do you ask this child? Who's island did you see?"

"I saw my...my mothers," his eyes didn't miss the pain he saw in her eyes before it was gone, and she looked into his eyes, pretending to act as if the said island didn't affect her.

"And what did it look like?"

What Mr Edgar didn't tell Valeria was that the islands always reflected the wolf's state of mind, after all, it was a world in the wolf's head, and the male could only begin to imagine what her mother's wolf's Etome looked like.

"It...it" but the words never left her mouth as she turned her attention to the living room, where a second later a flustered Luc walked in.

His expression worried Valeria so much that she had crossed the space between them and was already by his side with a look of question on her face that she knew he could read perfectly. His eyes met hers before meeting Mr Edgar's cautious ones.

"The Luna, she's missing."

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YESSSSS!

Thats It! I know it's not a major cliffhanger but a win is a win! And it is also a great way to bridge the gap between Part 1 and Part 2. I really hope you enjoyed Part 1 and I just want to say thank you for taking the time to read this. I really enjoyed writing this book and I hope I also enjoy writing Part 2. 

More details will come out in regard to it but don't worry, I won't keep you guys waiting. Two to three months tops about this but like I said, I will keep you guys updated.

For now, goodbye from my side and if you want to read more of my stories while you wait for Part 2. I highly recommend The Inauguration. It is currently going through Editing right now but I try to update each and every other day, so there's not really much waiting there. I heard it's a good read and a good way to pass time. 

Bye Birdies, see you next time!