A Duet of Wolves and Sparrows

Chapter Six

"This here is the local riding stables. I work there in the mornings to help much out the stables and let the horses out into the pasture. I'm good friends with the owners there and it pays quite well." She stopped and pointed to the farm across the road. "That's my friend's farm. His parents are the ones that own it but he works there full time. I'll introduce you to him at some point, his name is Alex. They have a lot of different crops there, but around the other side where you can't really see, they have cows, chickens and even some sheep. They sell the wool, eggs and milk at the local market when they're in season."

"Nice! I look forward to meeting more people." Hazel said, smiling widely.

"Come on, I'll show you the local shops and then I'll take you to meet Alex." Luna replied, eyes dazzling as she turned to look directly at Hazel, the sun's light catching them at just the right angle.

As they looked around the town, Hazel found herself absolutely taken with this stunning, green-eyed woman. She was otherworldly, almost ethereal in her her beauty and there was something about her, something almost eerily familiar about her that Hazel couldn't quite pinpoint in her mind.

It was as though she knew Luna, as though she had known her her whole life. Yet, that was impossible, she had never met her before, never even been to Bleydh Forest before apart from to visit her grandparents a few times when she was very young. It was so long ago that she barely had a single memory of those times and the ones she did have were hazy and incomplete. 

Hazel only remembered tiny snippets of her grandparents, of her grandmother. She could remember them smiling, she could remember the sound of a gentle voice reading her an old story. But, that was it. She had nothing solid in her mind, and certainly she would have remembered someone like Luna had they ever met before, even so long ago. 

Hazel didn't know how to explain the way that Luna made her feel, it wasn't something that she could put into words. It was, by definition, inexplicable. 

What struck her the most was those green eyes of hers, glimmering like emeralds, bright and precious. Every time Luna turned to her to explain something and looked at Hazel, it was like she was looking straight through her, like she was looking not at her face but at something inside of her, like she was seeing her soul displayed before her, bare and vulnerable.

 Luna smiled warmly and met her with such a joyous enthusiasm for everything around her, that Hazel found she couldn't look away, she couldn't bare to put her attention on anything else. It was like she was being held, guided, pulled towards this girl with every part of her body. It was a feeling she knew well, for it was the feeling she held towards the forest, towards the wolf and moonstone. It was the feeling she had in her dreams, the one that filled her with equal amounts of desperation and reassurance. 

It was a feeling that she had come to cherish, one that kept her sights on what mattered to her the most, what kept her striving to follow her heart to where she was now. It was one that held itself as a constant in her uncertain life, a feeling that followed her wherever she stepped and through whatever she did. It settled in her chest and each time she thought of what it would bring her to, it blossomed and spread throughout her like a meadow of flowers that bloomed all at once. 

"You okay, Hazel?" Luna asked suddenly.

"Y-yes, yeah, I'm fine, why?" Hazel said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"You drifted off a bit there, I think you must have been lost in thought." Luna observed, smiling as she looked into Hazel's eyes.

It should have been something that felt awkward, being looked at straight in the eyes all the time, but instead it was comforting. 

"Yeah, sorry, I think my mind joust got away from me there. I am listening though! Thank you so much for taking the time to show me where everything is." Hazel said, scratching the back of her head a little guiltily.

"Don't worry about it, it's a lot to take in in one sitting." Luna laughed lightly and Hazel could have sworn that she felt her heart skip a beat.

"You have a really pretty laugh." Hazel blurted and immediately felt her face flush red.

"Thank you! That's really sweet of you." Luna replied, suddenly looking a bit shy and blushing lightly. "Well, let's go to the farm! I can introduce you to Alex!" she said after a beat of quiet had passed between them.

Hazel nodded in agreement and they made their way back towards the farm, Floss walking happily beside them as they chatted along the way.

Upon reaching the farm, Hazel saw a tall man with fiery ginger hair carrying a bucket towards the barn. He was tall and well-built with a smatterings of freckles across his cheeks and forearms. 

Luna called out to him, managing to grab his attention. He quickly put the bucket down just inside of the barn's entrance and began to jog over to them, waving and grinning widely.

He was a handsome man up close, with defined yet soft features and strikingly beautiful amber eyes. Had Hazel been in any way attracted to men, he probably would have been her type. He was wearing a simple white button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and some light-wash denim jeans.

When he reached them, he was till grinning and immediately introduced himself.

"Hi there! I'm Alex, you must be new in town. It's nice to meet you!" He said reaching out his hand for Hazel.

"I'm Hazel, it's nice to meet you too!" She shook his hand and smiled.

"I was just showing her around town, Alex! She's just moved in and look, isn't her dog cute!" Luna said happily.

"Aww, yes what cute, fluffy doggo." Alex cooed, bending down to stroke Floss' soft fur through the fence. "What's her name?" He asked.

"Floss, like Candy Floss." Hazel replied.

"It suits her so well!" Alex said as he continued to run his hands through Floss' thick fur gleefully.

They stood by the fence for a while and chatted amiably between themselves. Alex seemed to Hazel like a very chilled out and laid back kind of person. He was cheerful and relaxed in a way that put the people around him at ease. He was easy to talk to and so was Luna. The two of them might have been the nicest folks that she had ever met. 

They were kind and well-spoken, and the friendliest two people that she had ever had the pleasure of conversing with. They were so bright and it was so easy to talk to them. 

Usually Hazel felt strained or awkward when having a conversation with someone new, but she felt so free and unrestrained with Luna and Alex. Perhaps this was what it was always supposed to be like, she had just never had the chance to be so open before.

In the past, there had always been a motive behind every discussion, ever meeting, everything was planned and purposeful. It was never certain what the other person's intentions were in approaching her. She was relieved now to be around people where there were no pretences, no second guessing and no weird expectation for how she should behave or what she should say.

"You know, you're pretty cool, Hazel. I think you'll fit in really well here!" Alex said cheerfully,

"Thank you! I'm really glad that I've been able to meet the both of you so soon. I was a little bit worried that it would be difficult to make new friends." Hazel admitted.

"Well, no need to worry about that with us!" Luna replied. "We already love you. You seem like a really sweet person, Hazel. I'm glad I got the chance to be the one to show you around."

"That really means a lot to me. Thanks so much, both of you." Hazel thanked, smiling widely, a blush dusting her cheeks.

"No problem Hazel. Hey, do you want to come inside? I've got a jug of homemade lemonade in the fridge." Alex offered and both Hazel and Luna lit up at the offer.

"That sounds perfect!" Hazel exclaimed.

"Great!" Alex said, clapping his hands together. "Just head around to the gate and head round the back to the front of the house. Luna will show you the way. I'm going to head inside and get some lemonade in glasses for us." 

With that, Luna guided Hazel around to the farm's gate and let her inside before closing it again behind them. They made their way up the dirt path, the little stones crunching under their shoes as they walked. The sun filtered through the tall line of crops, affording them both some shade from the hot Summer sunshine.

It took them less than a couple of minutes to reach the front door, which was open and waiting for them. The outside of the house was the perfect definition of a farm cottage, with white walls, wooden frames and a beautiful thatched roof.

There was even a basket of hanging flowers by the doorway that looked to be an assortment of pansies. Overall, it was very soft and picturesque. 

They went inside and were immediately met with the smell of lemons and freshly baked sugar cookies.

"Are those sugar cookies?" Luna asked excitedly.

"They are indeed!" Alex replied as he filled u the last glass of lemonade and nodded at the plate of cookies at the centre of the kitchen table. "My mum baked them earlier. She's in the back at the moment, but I let her know you guys were here and she said to just help ourselves."

"Ooh, Fantastic!" Luna exclaimed, hurrying over to the table and grabbing a couple of cookies. "Come on, Hazel, don't be shy." she encouraged.

"Okay, thank you, Alex! And please thank your mum for me if I don't get the chance to meet her today." Hazel said, taking a cookie and sitting down at the table next to Luna.

"Consider yourselves both lucky, no one is as good at baking sugar cookies as my mum." Alex claimed, laughing lightly as he took his seat at the table and had a sip of his lemonade. "So, where did you move here from? What brought you here to Bleydh?" He asked after a while.

"Well, I actually came here from the city, mostly to get away from my nightmare parents. But... I actually came here because my grandma left me her house in her will... along with this necklace." Hazel said, pulling her necklace out from behind her top to show it to them. "I just... I felt like I needed to be here, you know? I've always felt connected to the forest and when I found out I could move here, it was like everything fell into place for me."

"That necklace is beautiful. I recognise it, actually! I think my parents knew your grandma. Mrs Sparrow, right?" Luna said, looking at the necklace with fascination.

"Yeah, that's her. If your parents knew her, chances are they knew her a lot better than I did." Hazel said, letting the necklace fall back to her chest.

"From what I remember, she was a very warm woman. She was always kind to everyone, her and her husband. She was especially kind to the wolves." Alex said, smiling and Hazel almost didn't catch Luna giving him an accusatory nudge, like he'd said something he shouldn't have.

"I'd love to learn more about her now that I'm living here. I know she loved me a lot, I just wish I'd had more time with her... at least I have plenty to remember her by though. I've heard about the wolves around here, granted not much, but my cab driver mentioned that there are Moon Wolves that live in Bleydh Forest. Did my grandma know of them? Are these wolves friendly?" Hazel asked, curiously.

"Well..." Alex said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck and diverting his eyes.

"Yes. There it's true that there are Moon Wolves in the forest. They've lived here for generations upon generations. It's mostly just known as our local folklore. Not many people outside of Fernwood really believe that they exist, but they do." Luna explained, somewhat dreamily.

"They sound amazing." Hazel said, eyes sparkling with interest. "I've heard that they're bigger than normal wolves and that they have bright, glowing eyes. Is that true?" 

"Yes, they are large, majestic creatures. However, they're illusive and don't like to show up for just anyone. It wouldn't be safe to go looking for them either." Alex said, supposing that since Luna explained first, she must have decided that it was okay to share the information.

"I just... can't believe that they're really real... that's incredible! I sort of hope that I get the chance to see one." Hazel said, looking between Luna and Alex, absolutely captivated by the idea of the Moon Wolves.

"Who knows." Luna said with a shrug. "If you keep your eyes to the edge of the trees, you may catch a glimpse of one patrolling the borders of the forest. If they were friendly with your grandparents, they might be a bit less cautious." Luna ended by giving Hazel and cryptic side glance while taking another sip of her lemonade.

Hazel didn't know what to think of that look, but she would be lying if she said that it hadn't made her heart flutter. It seemed that Luna had quite the effect on her. Hazel may have been inexperienced when it came to love and dating, but she wasn't completely clueless; she knew when when liked someone and she knew that she definitely had some kind of crush on Luna already.

And, who could blame her? Luna was completely stunning. She was a vision. Her hair was the prettiest Hazel had seen, her clothing suited her so well, her features were so sweet and she glowed like the sun when she smiled. She was like the personification of a sunflower, bright and beautiful and full of colour. 

Hazel thought to herself that she would like to ask Luna out on a date one day, if she ever gave her the vibe that she might feel the same way. She didn't want to rush anything though, she wanted to get to know Luna much better before trying to pursue anything, but the temptation was there.

Hazel wasn't incapable of being self-aware though. She knew that some of this was the excitement and over-eagerness of coming to a new place and wanting to try out every last thing that she couldn't do back in the city, including finding romance.

There was plenty of time for her to explore every part of her new life, including romantic prospects. For once, she wasn't on any kind of time limit or schedule. She could just relax and take each day as it came and so she decided that she would just wait and see where things went. 

For now, Luna was her friend, her first friend in her new home.

That night, after spending the day with Luna and Alex, with Floss running around in Alex's yard, Hazel settled in to her new room.

She thought back on her day with a soft smile on her face as she went about her nightly routine. She had been lucky enough to have been invited to stay for dinner at Alex's house, along with Luna. Alex's parents had been the ones to cook everything, insisting that they all sit together in the living room and chat while they worked. It was nice, being able to have a home-cooked meal and Hazel was incredibly thankful.

Alex's parents were both very kind and it was easy to see where their son got his relaxed and friendly demeanour from. 

They had made a simple spaghetti dish for everyone and they had some peach cake for dessert. It had been absolutely wonderful and it had given Hazel a taste of what it was like to have a family that really loved and cared for their kids. Alex was truly a lucky man to have such lovely parents and it was obvious how much he loved and appreciated them, too.

Hazel had managed to convince them to allow her to help them wash up the dishes after they were done eating. She had washed the dishes and cutlery, while Alex's mother had dried them up and put them back away in their respective drawers and shelves.

They had engaged in a light conversation while they worked and Mrs Blackwood had even told her a few things about her late grandmother. Hazel had been fascinated to hear more about her grandparents. She was happy to learn that they were bright and positive people, that they were well liked and respected among the other people in the town.

It made Hazel feel like she was really, truly glad to have moved there. Everyone she had met so far had been so kind and welcoming to her. She had never before been met with such kindness and she had found herself almost overwhelmed by it. 

It was safe to say that she was hugely looking forward to spending more time with everyone she had met, and to meeting other people in the town as well.

Once Floss had been fed for the night, Hazel made her way up the spiral staircase to her bedroom in the converted loft. It almost seemed as though it became more and more beautiful and perfect every time she entered the room. The sight of the room, as well as the huge windows looking out on the forest took her breath away continuously. She couldn't have wished for a better home to call her own.

Hazel made her way to the bed, having changed the sheets and and made it up with her own blankets earlier, when she had first returned to the house that evening. Everything felt so right and she felt so at home there. She knew that she would never leave, that she would live there for the rest of her life.

Hazel rolled towards her balcony windows and looked up at the moon and stars that hung above her in the clear sky. As she closed her eyes and snuggled under the covers, she knew that when she woke up again the next day, it would be just as sweet and would bring her just as much happiness.

Meanwhile, outside, just behind the first line of trees, something moved, something watched.