Gypsy Moon

Chapter Forty-one: Bryce

. . . . . . (mid July)

"If someone stops and asks if we need help, I WILL tell them EXACTLY why we are stopped!" I looked over at Lilian and realized she and Kyle were blushing awkwardly. I rolled my eyes at them. "Hey, pup? We are not welcome at the moment. Want to go for a walk?" The teen sniffed slightly before standing and holding his hand up for me to guide him out of the camper.

"Alright, which way did the other two go, so we can go the other way?" I chuckled and sniffed the air. The teen lifted his hand and pointed, and I focused my hearing in that direction. Yup. I hummed and touched the boy's hand, leading him pointedly in the opposite direction.

"How did you know where they were, pup?" He pointed to his ears and tilted his head at me, as if it would have been obvious.

/:Interesting.:/

/:They ARE loud.:/

"Can we play a game?" The boy scoffed. "Fair, okay. If I walk away from you, will you wait a little bit and then find me?" The boy blinked and nodded, almost as if he were actually interested in this game. I let his hand go and patted his shoulder, then spun and stepped several feet from him. Aiden couldn't hear me walk, I watched the boy tilt his head from side to side and furrow his brows.

I let a soft purr vibrate in the back of my throat and his attention snapped in my direction and he walked the few feet separating us.

"Fascinating." The teen tilted his head to the side. "Do you remember anything about your life before that colossal douche?" The teen drew back and frowned.

"Only if you want to even try, I don't want to push you, trust me, I get it. But you have extraordinary hearing. Better than mine, I think." The teen's face cleared, and cautious interest crossed his features. He was quiet for a long time before he shook his head slowly.

"No problem, how strong is your sense of smell?" He shook his head and shrugged. "Smell me." He blinked a few times but sniffed cautiously towards me and nodded.

"Okay, give me a minute and then come find me, okay?" He nodded and I bolted to the tree line. I fluidly climbed the first tree I reached and joined with Mir so we could travel through the branches several trees away and crouched near the top of one where we had a good view down at the boy. A stiff breeze blew past him, and he tilted his head back to sniff the air, slowly turning from side to side.

I held my breath when he turned towards the highway and had to stifle my sigh of relief when he turned again and walked slowly towards the trees. He paused occasionally to sniff the air and stopped at the tree I climbed. He circled it several times and wandered to and from it a few feet, confusion clear on his face.

I almost moved when he huffed in frustration, but he lifted his head and took a long deep breath, his mouth open slightly. I recognized the action from when Aiden tried to track me and I grinned. He tilted his head and began following my scent again, pausing to check the air every few seconds. He stopped under the tree I was in and circled it, sniffing. He huffed questioningly.

"Spectacular!" He jumped at the sound of my voice and turned his face towards me. "Hang on, I'll be right down." I jumped lightly down a few branches and landed silently in front of him. He startled again when I touched his hand and turned his face down, clearly surprised by my new position. He held up his hand and sniffed me again, curiously.

"Fantastic!" He looked surprised at my outburst. "You can't place my scent? Familiar, but not?" He nodded. "That is because I am a cat." I laughed at the look on his face.

"Yeah, we know, we are a really odd pack." I chuckled and looked the kid over while he tilted his head, listening to something deeper in the trees. He tapped my hand, pointed to the trees, and shook his head. I looked at him and grinned.

"Are they done being irresponsible?" He smiled faintly and nodded. "Hey, may I ask one question?" He nodded hesitantly, his expression wary. "Do you have a name?"

He snorted and shook his head, then shrugged before pointing at me.

"I'm Bryce. Do you know your wolf's name?" He shook his head sadly and I hummed softly. "Is there anything you call yourself when you are alone or dreaming?" He blinked and his expression was thoughtful. I touched his hand gently and began walking back towards the camper, purring softly, and he followed distractedly.

As long as I took a smooth path, he followed me effortlessly, even clearly lost in thought. I stopped purring and he froze immediately, his focus automatically on his surroundings, trying to find me in the surrounding noise. I resumed purring and he started walking confidently towards me.

"You are simply fascinating, little pup. Possibly more than Lilian." He looked like he wasn't sure if that was a good thing and my purr turned into a warm chuckle and the faint smile returned to his face.

"Come on, pup. Let's put the irresponsible half of the pack down for a nap and maybe actually GET somewhere today with us driving." He actually smiled genuinely at me and shook his head in amusement.

. . . . . .