A Rare Gem

Chapter 2: Taste of the wind

Rose POV:

Present day-

The wind feels amazing today. The sun is shining on a cloudless day. Walking through the field looking for herbs and edible plants for dinner, I spot a rabbit. Setting my basket down and slowing circling around the rabbit, careful not to spook it. Grabbing my knife from my boot, I take aim. Slowing my breathing, like I was taught, before letting my blade fly and striking the rabbit in the eye.

“Whoo-hoo. A perfect hit.” I cheered myself, walking over and collecting my knife and prize. “I am eating good tonight.” Grabbing my basket and making my way back to my cabin.

The elder couple that raised me lived in this little cabin in the middle of nowhere. I’ve never been outside of these woods, never seen another person beside the couple. They taught me everything I know, how to hunt, farm, gather herbs and plants. Which plants are edible, and how to make antidotes for when I ate the wrong plant. The number of times I was punished for eating the wrong mushrooms by being forced to make the antidote myself, no matter the poison in my system. They meant well, they just wanted me to learn. I owe… owed… them so much. They always talked about how they rescued me from the river. They said that I was floating down the river on a piece of driftwood, crying, hungry, wet, and sick. They had no idea where I came from or how long I was floating down the river for, but they took me in and cared for me and raised me. Until 5 days ago that is.

We always dealt with rogues attacking us. We were neither pack wolves nor rogues, so it became a regular thing that I would see my parents fighting the rogues. I was never allowed to fight with them, even though father had trained me to fight and hunt since I was 6.

That faithful day started like any other…

-Flashback-

I went out to gather herbs and plant in the fields and trees to the south of our cabin, while father was fishing in the river to the north. Mother was still at the cabin folding laundry that she had washed and dried yesterday.

I heard her howl in pain and bolted for the cabin, shifting along the way. It was only the third time I had ever shifted; it was quick but still stung. My wolf and I dashed through the trees, reaching the tree line by the cabin just in time to see my father’s wolf, Clyde, tackle a rogue that had mom’s wolf pin to the ground. There were a lot more wolves than usual, typically these attacks consist of a max of 3 rogues, today it was 7.

I crept through the shadows in the tree line to get behind to rogues and ambush them. Once I was in position I realized that mom and dad were slowly pushing the wolves away from where I was. My wolf and I were both confused. Mom slowly retreats into the shadows by me, shifting back into her human form and grabs my muzzle. She looked panicked and scared.

“RUN. You are not to fight. You need to run and hide. Come home at dusk. Your father and I will take care of these rogues.” She orders me.

My wolf hesitates and a soft whimper escapes at the thought of leaving my parents to fight these guys alone. Something was screaming at me to stay and help.

Mothers slap across my muzzle for hesitating knocks me back to reality and us slowly back up further into the shadows.

‘We love you. Be strong our little nightshade.’ Mom whispered with a smile before turning back to the clearing and jumping into the air. Shifting into her wolf, Cynthia, mid-air and tackle the closest rogue.

The last thing I saw before turning and running was a shower of blood from Cynthia’s rogue and Clyde taking down another.

I returned at dusk like mom said too. The grass around the cabin was no longer a bright, vibrant grass but instead a dark, crimson red. My wolf whimpers as her paws cause the ground to squish with blood. I tried to soothe her but we were both scared for mom and dad. She smelled the air but couldn’t catch their scent. Whimpering again, we continued to search around the back of the cabin towards the front. So far the only bodies outside the cabin were the rogues. We counted 6. Where is the 7th?

Walking around to the front, the front door made our breath catch in our throat. The long, bloody, deep claws marks couldn’t be a good sign. I didn’t want to think of what they could mean. My wolf whimpers like a pup as she nudges the door open with her nose, the c***k in the stone floor had been turned into rivers of blood. The first thing that came into view was the body of the last rogue. A sigh of relief, maybe all this blood…. My thoughts were cut off as the door swung all the way open to reveal the human forms of mom and dad. They were covered in wounds and blood as they laid next to each other.

I screamed and my wolf howled in pain. The only family we have known was just taken from us. I don’t remember much after that. Blips of the rest of the consisted of my wolf piling the bodies of the rogues in the back of the cabin, dragging logs through the forest, and howling a sad song to the setting sun.

When I awoke it was roughly dawn the next day, I was in a meadow that mom and I came to a lot to have picnics and read books. I had never left the woods surrounding the cabin. I’ve never seen or been around anyone beside my parents. We lived a solitary life. We had each other and the earth and gods provided for us. I was surrounded by the flowers we would always pick. I sat amongst them and screamed, cried, and begged for hours. When my tears finally stopped falling and I closed my heart to the pain, I gather some of the wildflowers and began the walk back to the cabin, humming the song ‘You are my sunshine’. After about 30 minutes, the pile of rogue bodies came into view. Stopping for a brief moment to catch my breath, then continuing to the cabin. Coming around to the front, I see the pyre that my wolf built for our parents. She managed to wrap their bodies in the traditional white silk cloth and placed on the pyre. Highly flammable herbs were under the logs. I place the wildflowers around them and say a prayer to help guide their souls to paradise. Using a match, I lit the pyre and sat down by the cabin and just kept singing ‘You Are My Sunshine’ over and over till the fire finally died. Crying one last time, I gather up some of the ashes and place them in a wooden box covered with runes of protection. I go into the cabin and place them on the mantle. Grabbing some more of the fire herbs on the way back out of the cabin and going over to the pile of bodies. Stuffing the last of the herbs throughout the gaps in the pile. The mutts didn’t deserve a prayer but I said one anyways before lighting the match and tossing it on the herbs.

-End Flashback-

Now as I walk back to the cabin, my rabbit over my shoulder and the basket full of herbs, wild carrots, and wild onions. The scorched earth at the back and the front of the cabin a painful reminder of the danger I now face alone.

My days have been peaceful but lonely since then, but I go on.

I clean and prep all the ingredients for my dinner and go outside. Dad had built a nice fire pit just for cooking small animals. I walk over to it and start the fire. Once it is good and hot, I place a cooking pan on the fire and add the ingredients and water before covering it. I take a moment to look around at the cloudless sky, the sun is just starting to set below tips of the trees. The outline of a wolf in the shadows of the trees catching my attention. Slowly rising to my feet, I take a couple steps closer. Ready to fight off any rogues that want to come after me, I was ready to shift at a moment’s notice.

“WHO’S THERE?!” I shout. My response comes in the form of a low growl as the one turns into three, I stand still as they move to form a sort of circle around me and move clockwise. I take note of their coats. Clean and well kept. These wolves aren’t rogues; they are pack wolves.

‘Never trust nor fight pack wolves. Rogues are careless, they don’t think before attacking. Pack wolves are the opposite.’ Father’s warning rings true in my ears.

I slowly knelt to the ground to fake submitting. The wolves stop moving and turn to face me. They seem to be speaking through mind-link. Father explained it as having a conversation with someone in the same pack in your mind. It’s how pack members talk to each other while in wolf form. I notice the wolf directly in front of me starting to shift back to human form. Taking the opportunity just as he finished shifting to shift myself, tackle the naked man to the ground, and pin him with my paw. I growl mere inches from his face.

“Shift back now! She thinks we are a threat.” He orders. The other two wolves look skeptical but follow the order.

‘He must be in charge. What do we do now?’ my wolf asks me.

I was now surrounded by three grown and naked men. They weren’t rogues. They wouldn’t shift back if they meant me harm. ‘Let him up.’ I tell her.

She huffed, skeptical, but listened. Lifting her paw and sitting on her hind legs, the man slowly stands up.

Suddenly our muzzle is forced to the side, he punched us. The suddenness of the of the impact left us dazed and on the ground. The man kicked us in the head repeatedly as the other two shifted back to their wolves. Once then proceeded to grab one of our hind legs and toss us back over his shoulder. We tried to land on our feet but failed and one of our front legs broke. Yelping in pain, my wolf tried to shield her pain from me but I still felt it. We cried together. I started apologizing to her. I couldn’t stop. The other wolf grab our hind leg again and threw us in the air, we saw the ground and couldn’t correct ourselves to avoid head injury. We landed on our head and like a light switch we were out.