It's for the Moon Godnes to know

Chapter 13

Angel POV

I woke up shortly before dawn, Marvel was fussy so I cleaned her, breastfed her and found something on a shelf to eat and drink myself. Then I opened the doors, took all our stuff and Marvel in a sling made of the rug. It was not difficult to leave the settlement, to walk through the forest or to cross the meadow. It was only when I reached the road on the other side of the meadow. The road marked the boarder on our territory to the south. This was the longest I had ever been away from home. I looked at the road, first to the east then to the west. I knew nothing about the world outside the territory, which way should I go?

I went up on the road, went west first, but there I could smell that here was a territory. I may not have known much, but I did know that one never crossed a territory border without permission! I turned around and headed east, hoping there was not another territory. There was not, I was free to go east. I walked and walked, I could follow the sun going over the sky and as it stood just south, I pulled away from the road and into a wooded area. I had no idea how far I had gone, but I knew I was not on wolf territory, so it could not be completely bad! Although I would have liked to have met friendly wolves who might want to help me, I was afraid to meet rouge wolves. I had never met one, but my parents had warned me against them and said they were dangerous!

I drank the last of the water in the glass, in the forest there were to be found many berries, so I ate what I found. Marvel had been able to suckle in the sling, so she just needed a dry diaper. I found a small creek where I washed Marvel and put her to sleep warm and dry on my skin cloak. I washed the diaper she had used at night, as well as the one I had just changed, before I hang them to dry over a few branches. Then I filled my water glass and put it in the net. It might have been only in the middle of the day, but I already had to think about food and shelter for the night.

I walked against the stream of water until I came to a ford. This was a place where animals came to drink. With a piece of leather cord, I put a snare on both sides of the banks. I went back to Marvel and looked around. While she slept, I built us a shelter. I found a large spruce tree, I cut off the lower branches and turned them upside down. If I put my cloak on these, we would be protected from the cold from below. I use other branches to braid small fences on each side of the branch pile, and then stuffed them with moss so we would have shelter from wind that might get under the tree. Marvel was still asleep when I was done, so I looked at my snares, there was a rabbit in one of them, the other was empty. But it was also plenty food for me! When I got back, Marvel had woken up and rolled over on her stomach. She lay down and looked in my direction, with her head raised high. She chuckled as her small hands played in the fur. I let her lie and play while I took the fur off the rabbit and cleaned it. I hung it high up in a tree so no fox or anything came and took it while I was moving Marvel. When the cloak was in the shelter under the tree and Marvel was sitting in the sling sucking, I made a bonfire and picked up the rabbit. I hung it over the fire in the smoke. what I could not eat that day could then be saved for the next. I protruded some embers and put a stone on them, on top I put a potato. Then I lay down on the cloak in our shelter with Marvel and waited. When the sun was almost in the west, I went down to the creek again, I washed Marvel and her diaper again, she could get one of the clean ones on right away. Back at the tree, I took the food off the fire and ate what I could. The rest of the rabbit came into the net with the potatoes and was hung up in our tree.

As we lay there on my cloak under the tree, I could not keep the grief from coming. My wolf howled inside me, she also mourned the loss of our pack. I missed lying in Ryan's arms, feeling warm and just a little safe. I missed my mother's smile, which I had seen more and more often since I turned fifteen, especially after I got Marvel. I missed the quiet noise that was always around someone in the settlement. I just missed so much. I held my breath not to sob, I did not want to wake Marvel. With tears rolling down my cheek, I fell asleep under the tree, in a place I did not know!

The next morning, when Marvel was breastfeed, washed, and sitting safely in my sling, I set out to look for berries and other things to eat. I drank from the brook and then set off. I walked back towards the road, but when I could see fresh wagon tracks, I retreated into the woods and followed the road from a distance. This made me move slower than the day before, but I could gather food in the meantime. Just before the sun was highest, I came to the edge of the forest. I lost a little courage because there were fields outside the forest. Fields meant farms, farms meant people. I sat up against a tree and looked out over the fields and the road. Ate some of my rabbit and drank some water. Marvel got a dry diaper and I was thinking about what I should do. If I went out on the road, there was a great risk of meeting people. If I walked across the fields, the risk might have been smaller, but still present. When I drank the last of my water, I got an idea. As I got up and continued, I walked along the edge of the forest until I found the small stream that ran through the forest. I filled my water glass, then continued along the creek against the current. Along the creek there were trees almost all the way, so I had a chance to hide if people were to come. It went slowly, I was a little worried about slipping and falling into the creek, but I found that many fruit trees were growing along the water. I picked what I could carry, and ate what I could without getting a stomach ache. Marvel hung contentedly in the sling, She suckled when she was hungry, slept when she was tired. I actually got a little proud of myself. It actually went well for someone who had never tried anything like it before. But I was still scared! In about fifteen weeks, marvel would become a big sister, then she would have to share her milk, or I would have to be able to find food she could eat! I chose to push the thought beh my head, it was too early to worry about, first I had to find a way to survive, then I had to take the rest when it came.