Alpha Micha looked shocked, as did the other Lupine.
He stuttered, clearly against the motion. "You're the moon's chosen form I can't -- I won't -- allow you to risk your life. It would be disrespectful!"
I stared at him coldly. "I am not a child, and I'm a Lupine like everyone else here. I'm not going to stand by while others fight for me. You know what would be disrespectful? Dishonoring one of your own by not allowing her to fight for her people. Now kindly move aside. I have a giant snake to fight if you don't mind."
He backed off, leaving me a clear path to the water. I made my way up, ignoring the murmuring behind me.
"Melody!"
Dakota ran up. He was clutching a polished dagger and a pair of hunting knives, one blade longer than the other. He thrust the knives into my hands.
"I'm coming with you," he said, holding up his hands to stop my protests, "No, I'm not here to stop you, no, I'm not going to change my mind. Nice speech by the way. Let's do this."
Suddenly unable to speak, I nodded, following him. We stopped at the water's edge. The faint outline of the serpent lay curled deep below.
I gripped the knives tightly, but relaxed my body and picked up a stone, hurling it into the water.
The serpent surged forth in anger and I yelled to Dakota over the noise, "Jump on!"
Yes, I know, not the best idea, but give me a break. I was already hyperventilating.
Clinging to the gigantic snake's slippery scales, I slowly make my way up closer to its enormous head. Dakota tapped my leg to show he was with me. The serpent squirmed and bucked, trying to throw us off.
It dove underwater, roaring, and I used the knives to anchor myself in. Sooner or later, if I kept stabbing at it, the serpent would surface.
It had to. Right?
I was starting to black out when it swam up, leaving crimson ribbons of blood in its wake. Gasping, I gulped in the fresh air and began climbing once more. Looking below, I found Dakota's pale face among the gray scales.
Good, he was still hanging on.
I was about to call out when my hands slipped and I fell, hitting coils of the snake as I went.
Oh, snap. I hadn't anticipated this.
A hand reached out and caught my wrist, and my feet dangled over open water while Dakota pulled me up.
"What in the world do you eat Mel? You weigh a ton!" Dakota's muffled voice reached me.
I retorted, "We're both soaking wet, what do you expect? You're not exactly a feather either."
Once I felt the snake's cool scales again, I wrapped my legs tightly around its body, carefully hoisting myself up. Dakota was above me now, and distantly, I heard our fellow Lupine cheering and throwing stones.
Uh, not the best idea, tribe.
I'm trying to lead it away from you, not let it devour you guys. Throwing stones won't exactly make it ignore you.
We finally reached its head, Dakota helping me up as we were side by side. The water serpent shook its head, trying to get us pesky Lupine off.
Now soaked to the bone, I pushed my hair out of my eyes, meeting Dakota's steady gaze. He held up three fingers, calm even though the monster was writhing under us.
Two fingers.
One finger.
None.
I braced myself and buried the two knives up to their hilts, and Dakota stuck his dagger between the protective scales. The serpent shuddered violently, sending even more ripples into the already stormy waters.
The serpent's tail came out of nowhere, slamming into Dakota, sending him flying. I screamed his name, sheathing the knives and leaping after him.
There was no way I was letting another one of my friends slip through my grasp.
Not again.
The wind whipped past me, and I trained my eyes on Dakota's limp form. Stretching my hand out, I tried to grab him, but he was just out of reach. I'd only caught him for a split moment when we hit the lake's surface.
All I felt was agony all across my back, and I prayed Dakota was alright. We sank lower and lower, and I closed my eyes, suddenly tired.
But I couldn't give up yet. Not when we were so close. Come on, Melody, kick, swim, do whatever you have to do! Don't give in now!
We surfaced, me sucking in lungfuls of air and Dakota giving a small cough. I tread the water, frantically struggling to stay afloat for both of us. My back still felt like fire, tears of pain coming out on their own accord.
Brooke was swimming over, so was Jerry and Ray. She took Dakota, who was still knocked out, and half hugged me.
The other boys helped me over to the shore, everybody shouting and rushing forward. Stumbling up, I followed as they took Dakota to the pack's medic. He examined the large bruises on his side, rubbing on some greenish ointment that smelled like mint.
"He'll be fine. Just needs rest. That goes for you too," The medic said, pointing at me.
I nodded in assent, I was nearly dead on my feet anyways. My back was still throbbing too.
The medic glanced at the crowd, "You better make sure to leave them alone, understand. No bothering them. Do so and you'll find some chili powder in your tent tomorrow night."
It wasn't a question or suggestion, but a certainty.
They muttered, but reluctantly backed off. Thank goodness for grouchy doctors. I don't think I can handle any questions at the moment.
A peek back toward the lake showed coil upon coil of lifeless snake floating. The water was still stained crimson, steaks flowing out of the body.
Seeing Alpha Micha stride up, I stiffened. He looked delighted, yet a little sheepish. He started to lay a hand on my shoulder, but then thought better of it.
Yeah, I'd like to see you try that again.
"We're camping here tonight, your tent is all set up, so is your friend's," He explained. He opened his mouth as if continued, then closed it, walking away.
I received some minty salve too, then let Brooke lead me over to the tent. Jerry and Ray carefully lowered Dakota onto his tent roll, leaving him to slumber.
Making sure he was alright, I went back to my tent to change into dry clothing. I lay on my side, staring at the tent wall. Closing my eyes, I let sleep pull me in.
Awaking to the sound of scraping, I pulled on my jacket. Since I slept fully clothed and ready, I peeked out into the cool night air.
The noise continued to my right, into the woods. I rubbed the fog out of my vision and got up. Checking that no one was awake, I sprinted towards it.
What was that?
Resolving to find out what it was, I shifted, warily padding towards the trees. The unnatural sound grew a little louder and I knew it wasn't the ordinary, run of the mill, woodpecker. It was too constant, too metallic.
Trailing the sound with my ears, I found a large boulder, a shadowy shape on the top of it. It seemed as if this person was striking stone against the surface of the boulder. An arrowhead to be exact.
I brushed past some undergrowth and accidentally stepped on a branch. I stopped but thankfully the branch didn't break.
Something else must've alerted the person, because he or she turned, and I caught sight of the moonlight reflecting off of shining white hair. I relaxed, putting a paw forward, into the light.
"Hey, fancy meeting you here."
I saw the tension go out of his shoulders. He motioned me over, and I climbed up. I settled down where the rock was somewhat smoother and wrapped my fluffy tail around my paws as I lay.
Dakota leaned back, looking up at the starts that mirrored the ones on my fur. For a few moments, we sat in peaceful silence.
"Shouldn't you be resting?" He sighed, letting go of the arrowhead.
I replied, "I could say the same to you."
He grinned and suddenly started to rub my ears affectionately. I went still, and he looked surprised.
"Oh, um, sorry, when you're a wolf...I, uh, kinda forget..." Dakota stuttered, "I mean, I wasn't trying to, I don't know, sorry."
I was frozen for a few more seconds. I knew what he meant. He wasn't meaning to treat me like a dog or anything. I would've known if he had been trying to.
Relaxing, I said nothing but followed an old instinct. Though I was a wolf, my distant domesticated cousins were dogs. And dogs don't bite their friends or at least this cousin of dogs won't.
I lay my head on his lap and sighed. Still exhausted and bruised, I closed my eyes. Dakota resumed stroking my fur. We watched the sky and clouds and stars, the moonlight on our faces.
Slowly making out way back to the temporary camp, I questioned Dakota, curious. "So what tribe did you come from?"
He answered casually enough, but I still saw the pain in his eyes when he said, "Avian. I don't care much, though."
"You do," I said softly, "You do care, and you still think of them. As do I."
Dakota glanced at me, surprised, "Yeah, I guess I do."
"Oh!" I exclaimed, "I forgot! Your knives, I forgot to give them back."
He stopped my hands, wrapping my fingers around the hilts with his own. "No keep them, they'll do you more good than me. You use them well anyway, you're a natural."
I flushed at the compliment. Too used to my parents' scolding, but they weren't here now.
Looking down at the knives' handles, I smiled. I'd made friends, defeated a giant snake with Dakota's help, and gotten away from my parents. I felt a pain in my heat when I thought of my joking, fun-loving, caring brothers. Pushing those feelings down, I focused on the present with me and Dakota both in our human form, sharing laughs.
I was Lupine. This was my new family now.
(Side Note: This story still has a long way to go...But it's my first completed book. Progress!)