Shadewylf

30 - Stowaways

Lexi stuck close to Dawn as they crossed the plaza. She felt strangely exposed walking beside the Mystwylf, like she was walking the rift between two worlds.

Thankfully, the plaza was mostly empty, and very few stray stares were cast their way. But her breath still caught in her throat whenever a wolf glanced up at them, fearing someone would question Dawn's foreign nature to this town.

She had a dozen questions, but she forced herself to stay silent, afraid of drawing attention to them. Biting her fangs together, she focused on keeping up with Dawn's purposeful stride as they turned past Storm's house, and the Thunderwylf labs, and finally turned off into an alley. The same alley Toivo had fleed along, back on the day of his ceremony. Lexi's eyes strayed to the earth dug away at the side of the path, forming a small hole swallowed by shadows. Large enough for her to squeeze into and hide from an irritated Storm.

Storm. Lexi bit back a sigh. She'd just have to apologise to Storm later for slipping away on an adventure of her own once again.

When they finally left the town behind and disappeared into the safety of the woods, she finally let herself breathe easy again, the tightness in her chest dissapating. She felt entirely in one world now - a world of adventures, a new and strange world that she was growing to like.

Still, Dawn kept moving, so Lexi followed. Once the houses behind had been shrouded by trees entirely, she felt relaxed enough to let her first question escape.

"What do you mean, a mission?"

Dawn's eyes sparkled like stars as she glanced back. "The one you wish to be a part of," she said, the answer frustratingly ambiguous. But Lexi knew she would get no more, and so resigned herself to only guessing.

Not that the guess was overly difficult. Her mind drifted to Toivo, and the Wylfire, and she reached for the lightning inside. It crackled, begging to return to that cave and unleash its might on any who dared hurt her best friend.

"How?" she asked. "And... and why?

For a long few moments, Dawn remained silent, her step as strong and steady as ever. Then she halted abruptly, stopping entirely in a small clearing, sending Lexi staggering ahead of her as she pulled her momentum backwards.

Whipping around, she met Dawn's eyes. Her jaw parted to repeat the questions, but Dawn silenced her with a flash of her eyes.

"I meant what I said yesterday, Lexi. I admire your wisdom." A soft breeze brushed Dawn's purple coat, sending wisps dancing upwards. It was times like this that she appeared so alike the claw-made drawings of Bhavisha. There was no doubting her connection to the goddess. "You could make an expert planner, if the soldiers you are made to organise will allow you." She paused, the tilt of her head inviting Lexi to continue.

It took only a moment of thought for Lexi to realise what Dawn meant. "The Wylfire aren't organised enough to complete the rescue?"

Dawn nodded. "Not in the way they need to be. They are wired to fall prey to underestimation of their opponents, particularly such a vague and cunning one as Shadewylves." A smile tugged at her snout. "All they need is a small push in the right direction, a simple idea, and they will succeed."

Eyes widening, Lexi nodded. Getting them to listen to her might be a challenge, but she'd thought that the first time. Yet, somehow, she made them listen. Maybe she could do it again.

She paused, thinking back to the cave. "The Wylfire will want to just rush in there and attack," she began, slowly. "They won't expect there to be as many Shadewylves... or for them to be so skilled." She took a step back from Dawn, picturing the scene: the mass of orange bodies, quickly overwhelmed with black. She kept the image of the cave in her mind, imagining the exact wall where Angel had emerged from the tunnel - the passage to the prisons. Perhaps they'd have sealed it up, perhaps they hadn't. Either way, that was where they needed to be.