The World Of Wolves

Chapter Two: A Burrow

Tristan left to begin training with the rest of the men for another hunt as soon as they made it back to the village. Lyra watched as he disappeared heading toward the village’s makeshift training grounds. She watched for a moment as various women walked around trees in the distance carrying logs, crops, and laundry. Even from the distance, Lyra could make out the glares.

Lyra kept her head down as she slowly made her way to her home. It was a small shack with just two rooms, that was falling apart. Her mother had built it when they first came to this area, but repairs didn't come too often for it. Lyra tried a few times, but usually, it ended with a hole bigger than what she started with and a lesson from her mother.

She pushed the ripped cloth door to the side and came into the entry. There wasn’t much to the entry. Just a few cut logs to sit on, a desk used for various things, and her mother’s and brother’s weapons in the far right corner.

Laura was sitting on one of the logs and was sewing up some of Eli’s clothes. Her brother must be out with the rest of the boys training, even though he was only barely 10, he showed a lot of promise and was regularly praised despite being related to her.

Lyra noticed a very rusted shovel at her mother’s feet and she could feel her stomach dropping. “Good morning, mother. How are you-”

“It’s time for you to make your own shelter and start taking care of yourself. You can have the shovel, but anything else you need to build your own house is on you.” Laura immediately spoke over Lyra. When Lyra didn’t say anything, Laura glanced up to see her fidgeting at the doorway with her head down. “You need to learn to take care of yourself. You’re an adult Lyra. It’s time to act like it.” She stood up and put her sewing project down. “I expect you to be out by the time I get back. I don’t care where you go, where you decide to build your own place, or how you survive, but do not come back here.” With that she walked past Lyra, leaving the house.

Lyra had seen it coming but hadn’t expected it the day she turned 18. Lyra bit her lip for a moment before letting out a sigh, finding herself thankful her mother waited until she was at least 18. Her mother could have easily thrown her out well before now, so she leaned down and grabbed the shovel. Despite the shovel being broken and rusted, it was still heavy to her and she felt her legs already sore from the walk she took with Tristan. She didn’t want to sleep in a tree, so she left the shack and began searching for a decent spot to dig a burrow.

At first, she considered digging close to her mother and brother, but the soil was tough and after some thought, she didn’t want her brother to see her sleeping in the dirt. Eli may be everything her mother wanted in a child, but he was still a sweet boy that had a very strong view of right and wrong. Lyra could already see the argument Laura would have to put up with once Eli realizes Lyra was kicked out, if she stayed close to the house, Eli would never leave their mother alone.

Lyra followed along the shrubs, testing the soil with the shovel along the way. Women passed her with their daily chores and disdain on their faces. Occasionally she would get a bitter remark and a sharp shoulder bump landing her on the ground. After the fourth, her shoulder started to ache and she began to really regret her walk with Tristan. She was already exhausted and after fainting, she wanted nothing more than to sleep.

“Did Laura finally wise up and kick you to the curb?” Lyra turned around to see Reanne. She stood with her hand on her hip and a basket of flint on the other. She was gorgeous as always even after doing a day's work. She had long blonde hair that naturally curled, chocolate brown eyes, and her figure was nearly a perfect hourglass and she was very toned out. She was an amazing archer, one of the few women in the came that participated in hunts as well as the upkeep of the village. She would be perfect if she didn’t have the personality of a skunk.

Lyra kept her head down, avoiding all eye contact, which caused Reanne to scoff and kick the shovel out from under Lyra causing her to stumble. Reanne used that opportunity to elbow Lyra in the cheek hurtling her toward the ground.

Lyra immediately covered her face as it exploded in pain, but Reanne just used her foot to kick Lyra in the stomach making her immediately grab her stomach and lose her breath and enter a coughing fit.

Reanne crouched down, placing her basket of flint on the ground next to her. “I heard you and Tristan snuck off this morning.” She grabbed the back of Lyra’s hair making her look at her uncomfortably. “Do you think giving him your body every time he comes around is going to keep him on your charity case? Do you think he really wants a worthless disease-ridden mutt like you?”

“H-he is j-just a-a friend.” Lyra stuttered, holding into Reanne’s arm, trying to free herself from Reanne’s grasp.

Reanne broke into a laugh and threw Lyra’s face into the dirt. “You expect me to believe Tristan chooses to hang around you out of the goodness of his heart? He is a wonderful man, but not that wonderful. I’ve seen him during a hunt…He has a very animalistic side.” She bit her lip and smirked as Lyra’s stomach dropped at the thought of Tristan spending any time with Reanne. “Do yourself a favor and stay away from him. He will be mine soon, my father has been talking to his father and they seem to both agree, he and I are a great match. I don’t want to see you near what's mine.”

Reanne kicked Lyra once again before turning her to her back and grabbing the basket of flint to place on her chest. Lyra felt the crushing weight of the basket along with the kick force all the air out of her lungs. She gasped for air as Reanne laughed looking down at her. “Do me a favor, doll, make sure I have plenty of arrowheads by tomorrow morning. I want to spend the rest of the day training with Tristan and I think this is a waste of my time before we head out again.”

She flashed her beautiful smile at Lyra, before turning around and leaving Lyra pinned to the ground. She continued to gasp for air, desperately trying to wiggle herself out from the basket while also trying to gain her breath.

She could feel a panic coming on, and bit her lip trying to calm herself down. She used her legs to push her hips up causing the basket to tip over toward her face letting the flint fall out of the basket around her face. A few hit her, but once the basket was off she stayed on the ground for a moment to catch her breath. She could feel her chest burst with pain anytime she breathed in, causing her to take shallow breaths.

Lyra forced herself to get up and found herself quite a distance from the rest of the group. She hadn’t realized she had gone this far, but about thirty feet ahead of her there was a large tree with thick roots at its base, perfect for a burrow for the night at least, and from there she could build a small shack expanding from the tree. She contemplated backtracking, to be closer to the group, but ultimately decided to stay put. Fewer people would venture this far out just to pay her a visit, the only downside being Reanne knew exactly where she was. Unfortunately, she was too tired to try and find somewhere else, plus there was no way she could move the basket by herself very far. So Lyra limped toward the tree with a shovel and slowly began digging out a small burrow. Every part of her body screamed to just lay down and sleep or at least get some food in her, but she needed somewhere safe enough to sleep.

She felt rushing anxiety as she continued to work as thoughts of the last vision she had come to mind. There was no way of knowing which part of the vision was true, when it would happen, or how. Sometimes it didn't happen at all, but it didn’t make seeing everyone around her dead especially when a wolf is involved. Usually, her visions were basic, showing storms, people’s secrets, or just basic greenery around the camp. Rarely did she see people she hadn’t seen before and there was only one other time she saw total destruction of the group and only Tristan listened to her and prevented it by convincing the group to move. That was how they found the current location and had been living here safely for years.

Lyra fell to all fours, breathing hard and wincing at every breath. The burrow wasn’t perfect, definitely wasn't deep enough, but it had to do for the night. She crawled into it settling against the cool ground. Fatigue was setting in deep, she was beginning to struggle to keep her eyes open, but she knew if she fell asleep without doing the arrowheads, tomorrow would be a lot worst.