White Moon

I tracked the creatures’ movements from the corner of my eye making no indication I had noticed it. It wouldn’t do to pay it any attention until the very last moment. A gentle breeze whipped through the forest bringing with it the sounds of howling wolves though no pack had called this part of the forest home in decades if not centuries. The branches of old trees swayed in the breeze allowing the few rays of sunlight to shine through and turning the forest into an emerald lake as the light reflected off of the morning dew on the leaves and grass. A small ray of light highlighted my target, it's pink body and yellow legs shimmering in the light and giving it a colorful halo. I sat still humming beneath my breath, the slight vibrations causing enough of an interest to the curious critter as it ventured closer. It scuttled down the tree bark and stopped at the base to assess its surrounding and make sure I still posed no threat. It repeated this until it sat in the palm of my left hand shivering as it no doubt enjoyed the heat and vibrations my body gave off. That was when I moved the jar in my right hand coming down over him, quickly flipping it over, and attaching the lid. “Got you!” The little guy became frenzied trying to climb up the sides of the jar and bumping into the wall to break out “Oh stop fussing. This is for your own good,” I said not that he could understand me I pulled out a few Yewlon leaves from my side pouch dropping them into the jar. I watched as he became less frenzied and regarded the leaves before pouncing on them with gusto. “I know the feeling buddy. What I wouldn’t do from some homemade Thornberry pie.” But alas I could never get the water quite cool enough to make a proper dough and the crust just ended up chewy and not flakey. It was tricky business baking. “Don’t you worry, we'll get those limbs black in no time.” I mused. “Yella might also enjoy the company,” I said thinking of what to name him to speed up the bonding process for them. Krylins were not native to the southern lands and no one was quite sure how they got here. Especially this far south where most of them resided. The lack of magic flowing through the air meant that they should not have been able to survive at all. But here we were. The lack of magic did have the curious effect of turning their black spots yellow and decreasing the potency of their venom. Nevertheless, with a steady supply of its native food source that wouldn’t be a problem for long. “Well, my new friend what do you say we finish this shopping trip and head back home.” I placed the jar in my pouch ensuring that it was secure before pulling out my list and marking it off. Just three more items to go. Looking at the position of the sun through the trees, it wasn’t quite midday, and seeing as the most time-consuming item to acquire on my list had been marked off, I calculated that I would make it home before the markets closed. It was shaping up to be a good day. Moving through the forest I quickly marked off two other items on my list. “One more to go.” I turned in a circle tapping my lips. “Now where would a cluster of Jerryroots move to?” The semi-sentient blue)colored moss never stayed in one place for long and while you never saw it move, you had to keep it within your site when you found it or else it moved again. “East I think,” and headed deeper into the forest in that direction. I hadn’t walked far when a sudden gust of wind blew through the forest. It was stronger that any I had experienced so far whipping my black hair about and blinding me for a few seconds. The howls that accompanied it sounded strange like a pack of agitated wolves and sent involuntary shivers up my spine. By the time I was able to contain my hair and restore my vision I knew something was wrong. For a start, I wasn’t in the same patch of forest I was mere seconds ago and secondly it was darker than it should have been. Just around sunset from the position of the sunlight filtering through the trees. I looked around questioning how I could have lost such a huge chunk of time, but nothing came to me. I walked backwards trying to retrace my steps in case I had fallen into hidden spell but nothing seemed to indicate that was the case. After wondering around aimlessly for a few minutes, I concluded that this had the markings of Amalia’s divine magic written all over it. “Would you mind telling me what this is about?” I was met with silence on all sides. “I haven’t done anything to break our covenant.” Again nothing but silence. Knowing this she wasn’t going to make it easy on me I picked a direction and began walking. I walked through the forest for hours as the sunset over the horizon and the forest became bathed in silver moonlight and shadows. It was then that I noticed the odd lack of nighttime forest noises. Everything was still and silent. Not even the sound of the wind could be heard. A chill rose in the air as the temperature began to drop and I began to shiver. The simple springtime shift I had donned on that morning no match for the elements. Tired, cold and hungry I was just about ready to find an overturned log and plop down after the last tree branch assaulted me – Goddess be damned – when I stumbled into a clearing. The moon shone overhead bathing the place in an eerie silver glow as mists of silver light rose from the ground to the sky. I stumbled to the center of the place as the magic saturated air brushed against my skin sinking into me and leaving me feeling light-headed. This shouldn’t have been possible. The magic of the South was contained in the people and the land. But the feeling was heady. After going so long without a connection like this, I didn’t think twice about basking in the mists. If this was the Goddess’s doing then I must have done something right. I also mentally apologized to her for all the curses I threw her way over the last few hours. The snap of a twig brought me back to the now as I turned around to find a pair of glowing blue eyes watching me from beyond the clearing. The beast, larger than any that would have been naturally born stepped out from beyond the clearing’s edge, teeth bared and aggression leaking out from every inch of it. If I wasn’t already convinced, the glowing blue lines that ran all over its body, marking it as a Guardian Wolf surely sealed the deal for me. It was then I realized why it was growling at me. I had let my essence out and no doubt, it had noticed the threat I posed – or should have posed. I take back my apology to the Goddess. That b***h was evil, “H-hey boy,” I called out in a quiet tone I hoped was soothing while I frantically tried to pull my energy back. However, like a starved beast, it wasn’t having it. “T-this is just a b-big misunderstanding,” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I-I’m really n-not what you t-think.” Clearly, it could understand me and begged to differ about my claim if the snarl and low growl it emitted were anything to go by. Okay on to plan B. I was roughly in the center of the clearing and it would take about ten maybe twelve steps to get back into the cover of the forest. “I-I know you don’t b-believe me but it’s t-true.” I started taking small steps backward hoping not to startle it and trigger its hunting instinct. I kept up my stream of inane chatter hoping to distract it – somehow – while moving back. I had taken five steps and was halfway to my goal when it decide to act. On my sixth step, the aggression that seemed to permeate the air snapped and it lunged. Giving up any hope of a calm exit, I turned around and sprinted towards the forest. I never made it. I was knocked down from behind the massive weight of the beast disappearing almost immediately before I felt its teeth sink into my left ankle as it dragged me back. The pain was unbearable but I twisted around arms flailing as I tried to find anything I could use as a weapon. A couple of shakes from its mouth left me dizzy squashed that idea. When I could get my bearings again I looked up to see the beast towering over me, hate in its eyes. This couldn’t be the end. Those were my last thoughts as it lunged for my neck.