That was my very first hint that something was wrong. Not with the world, but with me. It was the first clue that there was something happening that I just couldn't explain. Not at that time, at least.
You may have guessed this by now, but my running into Pavor and Ragged on the same day was no coincidence. And meeting Lyna was an event that marked the point of no return. I could never return to my simple life as a lone wolf. I couldn't hide away and pretend the rest of the world didn't exist. I could no longer avoid the inevitable. Lyna was the start of my headfirst plunge into the absurd, unfathomable world of magic and wonder that was the true Aurea.
I've heard that this world of mine wasn't always called Aurea. Its name has changed again and again through the ages. In the same way, the gods have also repeatedly taken new names. Don't ask me why, since I've no clue.
Funny thing is, Aurea is apparently derived from a word from a language known as Latin, spoken by humans of all creatures. It means "gold", if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps that particular name was chosen because Aurea is such a mystical place, rare and beautiful like gold. Though, personally, I think it's a little bit overrated. But that's not the point here.
Or perhaps it is because Aurea appears wondrous at first. It's like a dream, a fantastical world of mystical beauty. At first. But I'll get to that later. Whatever the reason, Aurea is Aurea, for however long that may be. I just hope it lives up to its namesake. For all our sakes.
Ah, but here I am once again getting off track. I'm going to apologize in advance because I am more than likely going to be doing so again. You may have noticed, but I have difficulty keeping on track, mostly when it comes to important things. Actually, this reminds me of a story I once heard about a lion and a badger.
Okay that time I was kidding. Though that is an actual story that will be very relevant later so I'll be sure to inform you at a later date. Just be sure not to forget about it.
Anyway, as you might have guessed, I don't remember what happened next. But I do remember how Ceraron described the ensuing events. According to him, everything just fell deathly silent. Everybody turned to look at me and Lyna. We were just standing there, staring at each other for what seemed like a very long time. Not saying a single word. It seemed to him as if the world itself had halted, watching with bated breath. Not even the wind moved. The leaves and branches were silent as the dead. Nobody seemed capable of moving or speaking until something, anything happened. Ceraron said he thought he was crazy, but swore he saw a bird stopped in the middle of its flight.
Then, the world resumed just as suddenly as it had stopped. The wolves all collectively blinked as if on instinct. When they opened their eyes, Lyna was gone and I was curled up on the ground next to Pavor, staring at nothing with my eyes wide open. While everybody was still in shock, Pavor picked me up by the scruff while I dangled like a totally lame ragdoll right in front of everybody. So embarrassing, getting carried like a pup when I'm a full grown wolf, mind you! It may seem like an overreaction, but that's just because you don't understand how humiliating that is.
As if that wasn't enough, Root was the first to recover and he was very quick about declaring both me and Ceraron banished from the territory. Forever. Ceraron told me he didn't hesitate, giving Root a quick snarl before turning to follow the behemoth of a grizzly. No wolf followed us or even growled back at Ceraron, but I'm pretty sure that was because they were intimidated by Pavor, not Ceraron himself.
Wing stayed with her pack. I don't blame her, and, in fact, I didn't even want her to tag along. It was obviously safer to stick with them than to travel with me. After all, I had just been carried off like a pup after falling down as a result of a staring contest with a horse. I'd avoid me too, honestly. In addition to this, I am fairly certain that there was not actually anything real between the two of us. I know, I know, I went on about it at length before. But the thing is, we had only just met. It was a little bit of puppy love and a little bit of Wing's rebellious nature. She wanted to disobey Root, and meeting me was the perfect opportunity. There was no way I could manage to be more valuable to her than her pack. I'm a stranger, and they are family. I understand her feelings about the situation. Anyway, enough of that. We will both move on. Speaking of moving on, there was one wolf who wasn't. One wolf who didn't get himself as far away from me as physically possible. That wolf was, of course, Ceraron. Though I'm fairly certain it was less because of friendship and loyalty and more because he wanted to personally rip my throat out and was just waiting for the opportune moment.
Hours later, I woke up beneath a vibrant green canopy to see a certain mare glaring intensely at me in a proximity way too close for comfort. I let out a very macho yipe and scrambled back as fast as I possibly could. Still more than a little groggy, I tripped over my own tail and stumbled directly into something fuzzy. Something very warm, very fuzzy, and very, very unfriendly. I could feel the menace coming off of him in waves.
Startled, I scrambled back onto all four paws and looked up to see - you guessed it - Ceraron glaring back at me. He looked furious, eyes blazing and fur ruffled. I saw his lip curl into a snarl, but at the same time his gaze drifted slightly upwards and the snarl died in his throat before he could utter a sound. I didn't have to turn around to know that Pavor had shot him down. The massive beast had a sort of aura about him, so powerful that you could feel his presence without needing to see, hear, or smell him. If he was nearby, you'd know it immediately.
That seemed like it would be both useful and incredibly inconvenient at the same time. After all, how would he be able to sneak up on prey with such an overwhelming presence? Well, here's your answer. Pavor doesn't eat meat. He eats nuts, berries, roots, fruits, and vegetables. Pretty much anything other than meat that is even remotely edible.
Even weirder is that he's not unique in that regard. Where he comes from, nobody eats meat. At all. Whatsoever. In addition, the animals in his home region are gigantic compared to the ones in mine. That's why Pavor scared the wolves so badly. They had never seen such a massive beast before. For those of you looking for an exact estimate, Pavor is so tall that a normal male grizzly's head would just barely reach past his belly. He's a...What's that word humans use again? Ah, yes. A veritable tank if you will. For those of you nonhumans reading this, think of him as being like the Bravand of grizzly bears. I'll talk more about this later, because I'm pretty sure I'm throwing off the flow of this whole narrative. Honestly, I'm just trying to cram in as much as I possibly can before I die. And with that lovely thought, let's move on.
What was I talking about again? Hold on a moment, let me go back a few paragraphs... Okay, got it! We were talking about how Ceraron got shot down by Pavor. Ahem.
Pavor loomed over the both of us, scowling. His dark eyes flicked first to me, then settled on Ceraron. His booming voice rang out, startling a flick of birds into flight. "You. Wolf. What are you still doing here?" he asked, eyes narrowed slightly.
Ceraron tried to draw himself up to appear calm and confident, but looking up at the gigantic grizzly, he couldn't quite pull it off. Instead of standing taller, he instead appeared to visibly shrink. After all, how could one be brave in the presence of a scowling bear so huge you could walk right under his belly without needing to crouch? If I were in Ceraron's situation, I would have balked too.
"I am here for only one reason. This mangy stray is at fault for my expulsion from my pack. I tried to help him, to be noble and honorable and this is how he repays me." Ceraron shot me a baleful look. Yep. He definitely wanted to rip my fur off. That wasn't in question. But I still felt offended.
I won't lie. I was feeling a little bit overconfident knowing that Pavor was on my side. So I stood tall, raised my tail, and looked directly into Ceraron's eyes. "Excuse me? You were the one who walked right into a group of clearly hostile wolves and started getting mad at them. How exactly did you think that was going to turn out? Did you think they'd just apologize and walk away? 'Oh, sorry we murdered your packmate. Your feedback is appreciated and we won't do it again.' Are you kidding me? It's only because of me that you didn't get yourself killed!"
The cream colored wolf, forgetting his fear of Pavor, snarled at me, his rusty fur bristling. "Do you really think I'm that dumb? I knew you were nearby. So did the two other wolves I brought with me," he growled, eyes full of fury. "We were sent to kill you. So we tracked you. They wanted to kill you right then and there. But I figured a dopey idiot like you wouldn't have been able to murder Sly. I saw how ridiculous you were acting when I first met you. That's not how a savage killer behaves. So I hatched a plan to instigate a fight and see if you'd come to my defense. And you did, which was enough for my companions to be convinced of your innocence. They helped me round up the Pack to go and drive out the hostile wolves."
Nobody spoke as Ceraron finished his story. His expression still held rage within it, fixed directly on me. The silence was so heavy that I didn't even register the dead leaf that drifted across my nose. I didn't know what to think of his story. I had thought he was just a bumbling idiot who I ended up having to rescue. But he was there to kill me. It sent a cold shudder down my spine to think that I had been so close to being killed and I hadn't even noticed. I had been so fixed on the Caedes wolves that I hadn't even noticed the ones from Root's Pack. It was unsettling to think that I was so close to death and hadn't realized it. And Ceraron - Ceraron of all wolves was the only one who believed I was innocent.
I felt a grudging sense of respect for this very angry wolf. He had every reason to hate me and no reason at all to help me. But he disobeyed Root's order to kill me and instead put his life in danger to prove I wasn't a murderer. For all he knew, I could have just turned tail and fled. Left him to die. There was no doubt about it. Ceraron was a brave, noble wolf who wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believed to be right. He wasn't the kind of wolf who let personal feelings get in the way of his sense of justice. And he was willing to risk his life to save a wolf he hated. There was no denying it. My opinion of him shot up several notches. No matter what your personal opinion, you had to admit that Ceraron was somebody to be respected.
Just as I was thinking this, Pavor, being Pavor, interrupted both my line of thought and Ceraron's glarefest with a bark of laughter that rumbled like thunder. "Oh yes, I can definitely see that being true. After all, Sleek is quite the bumbling moron." Apparently finding this hilarious, the grizzly slapped the ground with one enormous forepaw, making the ground shudder beneath us. That wasn't spectacular, watching a supposed friend laughing about how dumb I apparently am. It definitely stung.
Still wondering what exactly to make of all of this, I turned to Ceraron and frowned, expecting to see his snarky grin. Instead, I wound up staring at a dark-furred face half covered in long black hairs, about a paw's length from my nose. Both Ceraron and I let out a unified bark of surprise and stumbled backwards. Both of us hit the dirt in an unceremonious heap. It was clear neither of us had sensed the mare approach. She had slipped right between us while we were distracted.
I shot to my feet, shaking off the dry leaves that clung to my fur. Across from me, I could see Ceraron doing the same. The two of us almost mirrored each other, both of us startled, with our fur bristling. Lyna let out a whinny of laughter, tossing her head playfully. Her long mane bounced with the movement, but the forelock that hung across half her face only jostled slightly. The mare's head swung, her single void of an eye taking us both in with amusement.
Then, Lyna spoke. "See? For all that you yell and snarl and bicker, you both reacted exactly the same. You're both wolves and both kind, so let's try not to fight so much." She smiled, and her expression was something I'd never expected from her. It was warm and friendly. Her voice was gentle and quiet. If you took a rabbit and turned it into sound, that's what Lyna's voice sounded like. It was almost unsettling how innocent it sounded. Here was a mare who had just driven pure terror into the hearts of an entire Pack, and her voice reminded me so much of a pup. A tiny pup, asking her littermates to play. That was the purest essence of Lyna's voice. Innocence. Looking at her now, she seemed so much more frail and small than she had before. I had no idea how to react. But something still bothered me. It only took a moment for me to figure out what it was.
I had shaken dry leaves from my coat. In the summer. I looked around, and sure enough, the ground was covered in brown leaves. Even now, they were drifting from the canopy overhead, dancing like a feather in the breeze. The branches rattled like bones in the wind, sounding hollow and empty. I looked back to where we had been standing a moment before and realized that the ground there was also covered with leaves. I didn't know why, but that bothered me. A lot.
Then my eyes stretched wide with realization. These leaves were dry and crunched underpaw. Even now, I could clearly hear Ceraron approach me, each step crushing more leaves with a crisp, audible noise.
Lyna was far bigger and heavier than the both of us. So why didn't we hear her approach?