The New Journey Part 1 and 2

My name is Firewolf, it's an odd name. I'm not quite sure why I have the name, I come from a normal family. I would like to believe I was named after Hephaestus the God of Fire and Lupa the Wolf Goddess but that's impossible right? The kids in my school used to make fun of me about my name, so my mom decided to homeschool me. Ah, my parents, I miss them being at home. Wait….where is home? Where is my home? I feel at home wherever the presence of nature is strong. Home doesn’t feel like a home without my parents though. You see they were captured, I don’t know why or by who. They were captured two weeks ago. It's now, August 19th, my birthday so I guess I must celebrate by myself. I know what I want to wish for. I want to find out who captured my parents so I can rescue them. I'm technically not 15 until I blow out the candles later. There is still one problem, I don't really know how to fight. So even if my wish came true, I wouldn’t know how to protect them and myself. It's 8:00 pm now, I guess I should blow out my candles.

It was cloudy when I got to my usual spot in the woods, a big rock my mother would take me to every night. I felt stronger on days like these, the days of a full moon. The clouds finally cleared and I could see the stars but something felt different. I felt stronger than before. All of a sudden I felt a mix of anger, anxiety, power, and a hint of wild. I was scared, I didn't know what was happening. I felt like I was changing, but what was I changing into? I felt the anxiety run through me, my heart was racing and my adrenaline was pumping through my veins. I was feeling angry too, my parents were taken and I didn't know by who. I felt powerful. It was a wild feeling, feeling power rush through me.

 When I came out of my mixed feeling state, I realized I was on the ground. I tried to stand up and I was shorter than normal. I had no idea what was going on. Again, I was overcome with fear, what was happening? I went to the water, and as I did I got angry again, well frustrated. I looked at my reflection in the water. I was overcome with panic, I was a wolf! Not a normal one though, I was slightly larger than the average wolf. How did this happen? I started to get angry, what is going on? Next thing you know there is a blazing light. I look back at the water and realize that the light I was seeing was me. I was on fire, although it didn't feel like I was on fire. I thought about changing back into a human, then poof. I was a human again but this time i had a feather in my hair and I was decked out in a chestplate and boots. Except, the boots I was wearing had real vines growing on them. I was so confused. I wanted to know what I needed to do, but how? Who would I go to? For the next few weeks I discovered my powers. I could conjure weapons of any kind from thin air! I did research and I was the daughter of the God of Fire and the Wolf Goddess!

It's been a few weeks since I figured out my powers. I decided in that time I would train and learn to fight. I can now wield any weapon I choose to conjure. I think starting my journey would be wise. It may take me years to find my parents. If my parents are gods then the only way they can die is at the hand of another god or goddess. I truly hope Hades doesn't have them. Hades lives in the underworld but to get to the underworld, I would need to make a long journey to the Town of Hellbend. The name truly speaks for itself. Well I decided to start my journey before the sun rises tomorrow morning. If there is any hope to save my parents, I need to start this perilous journey as soon as possible. I am frightened but I must stay strong, for the sake of my parents.

I must travel 5 miles to reach the next town. In that town I will find the Bank of Olym, which is where my mother and father had started saving for me. I did research and discovered that the city of Olym is home to many of the gods children and the gods themselves. The Bank of Olym is where they deposit and withdrawal drachmas they have earned. I heard that in order to get into your vault, you must place a strand of your hair on the dish of water beside the door. My mother used to tell me stories about Olym and Hellbend when I was younger. I always thought it was a fairytale. I wonder if Olym is as beautiful as my mother would describe. Once again i'm thrown into the state of despair and misery. As I continue to walk down the trail, shoulders slumped and head down, something catches my eye. A folded map, on the tree beside me. It was a map of the world, but not just any world. This world is hidden from the mortal eye. By this point I have been walking for quite a while, 3 miles to be precise. I decided to take a break.

As I pluck the map from the tree, I hear rustling. Out of sheer panic, I summon a knife and hide behind the same tree I pulled the map from. I see movement, it has to be a person. The shadowed figure appears to be tall. I'm not sure whether to present myself or not. I put the knife away and I started to step out from behind the tree shyly, walking into the light of the mid-morning sun. Then out of the blue, I hear a voice. “Hello, I’m sorry if I scared you.” The voice was coming from the figure who was walking towards me. “I-it’s alright,” I said sheepishly. The voice was calm, but I still couldn’t help feeling intimidated. As the mysterious figure stepped into the light, I saw that the voice came from a tall, fit, handsome boy. He was about 5’7”,  dark brown hair and blue eyes. All of a sudden, I was brought back to the current situation by the sound of his voice. “You have a unique set of eyes Miss.” I started to blush. “Thank you,” I said. “I suppose I should introduce myself. I’m Dean.” I was shook. “I’m Firewolf, it's nice to meet you Dean. What brings you out here?” I asked, trying to bottle the excitement of meeting someone new. “I could ask you the same,” he said jokingly. “I’m trying to get to Olym,” I explained. “I see. I was just taking a stroll and I heard footsteps, so I hid,” he said while snickering.

We talked a little more on the way to Olym, it’s nice to have someone to talk to, especially now. While we talked, I explained my situation. He agreed to help me find my parents.. I was overwhelmed by excitement and gratitude. I still didn’t know if I could trust him. We arrived at Olym shortly after noon. “We’re here!” I shrieked causing Dean to jump out of his skin. “It’s so beautiful, just as my mother used to describe it,” I said lugubriously. After walking a short distance Dean asked if we could stop to a diner to grab a bite to eat. I suppose I should eat something, I thought.

We walked into the diner and it had such a nostalgic feeling. The aromas coming from the diner were delightful. This town was such a secluded place that it probably doesn’t get many visitors. I admire this town. The population wasn’t very high. At most there were maybe 118 inhabitants. I looked at Dean who was looking at me already. “What?” I said playfully while laughing. He smiled, “Nothing, it's just the way the sunlight hits your eyes. They are beautiful and so is the person they belong to,” he said with admiration. I blush wildly. I realized something in that moment, I'm smitten to Dean. Oh no, this isn’t good. I can't be smitten to anyone, I need to focus on finding my parents. That's my top priority, but he is so amazing. I guess liking him couldn’t hurt that bad, could it?

I came back to reality when Dean spoke up. “Are you enjoying your blueberry art?” he asked jokingly. I look down and realized I rearranged the berries on my plate into a heart. I nervously swipe all the berries to the side of my plate. My voice shook nervously as I uttered, “Heheh yea…” He smiled at me, it was a tender and warm kind of smile, enough to make my heart skip a beat. I blush profusely.

We finished eating so we started to head back into town to explore. The sky was grey when we wondered out of the diner. It was different shades. It varied from dark grey to light grey. You couldn’t be able to tell apart the clouds, even if you tried. They blended so nicely, almost perfectly. I look back towards Dean to realize he was staring right at me. Our gazes met. I found myself lost in his blue eyes. They were crystal blue. They were absolutely gorgeous, the dull lighting made them pop more. I was mesmerized by the beauty of his eyes. People say, “The eyes are the windows to the soul,” and I can see into his. He had an honest soul with good intentions. I decided to break the glance by looking down, intentionally but subtly, informing him that I liked him. I don’t know why but I felt protected when he was near. I looked up to the sky once more and the clouds were starting to disperse from one another. “Dean, can we head to the Bank of Olym now?” I asked nervously. “Yeah!” he answered almost immediately.

We approach the accountant, she’s tall and beautiful. Blue eyes, blonde hair, and skinny. “What can I do for you today?” she asks. She must have caught a glimpse of Dean because she was looking at him like he was her boyfriend. “I would like to make a withdrawal, Box: 2886.” I stated politely. “Name?” “Firewolf.” She turned around to go to the box and I glared at her. If looks could kill, she would drop dead. I stopped glaring when she started to turn around. “How much would you like to withdrawal?” she questioned. “All of it please.” “Alright come with me.” All of a sudden a door opened and I walked back to the vault. She handed me a blade, it was what was in the box. “Place a strand of your hair in this dish of water and then glide the blade across your hand. Then let a bit of your blood fallon the vault door.” “Um, o-okay…” I did as she said and the vault opened. Inside was a large amount of Drachmas. I was then handed a bag. As the lady was explaining what it does, I started to put Drachmas in the bag. About 15 minutes later I was finished, so I decided to take the knife. The bag weighed almost nothing.

We could finally leave and continue the trip to Hellbend. “Thank god!” Dean said, relieved. I look at him, clearly confused. “You saw the way she was looking at me, I don’t like her. I like someone way prettier and nicer but has looks that could kill someone. She seems to be strong-willed.” He said with so much affection in his tone. “Aw so cute, she sounds awesome!” I said, trying to sound cheerful. “I haven’t known her long but I want to tell her I like her. Do you think you could give me advice?” He asked. “Yeah, Of course.” I answered kindly. “Thank you! You’re the best!” He said nervously, yet excitedly.

I explained to him how to properly confess to a girl. I also informed him that not all girls like straight forward, honest confessions like I do. “Okay, what do you say we head to Hellbend.” he responded. “Yeah, sure. You do know we will have to camp on the way, there are no other towns on the way.” I addressed. “That's alright, we can get supplies. They don't have much here though.” We packed our supplies in the bag with the drachmas. “Shall we?” I asked enthusiastically. Dean nodded and we were off. Mom and dad, I thought, we are coming.

Author's Note

There will be another part if you are interested, I hope to make a book out of it.

Reviews

[Jeremy]

You have some really cool ideas. It reminded me a little bit of the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Not so much with the religious elements, just the fantasy elements with wolf powers.
Your writing could use a lot of work but it shows tons of potential, seriously. You have a lot of great ideas, the execution just needs some improvement.
The best advice I could give would be to write more. Read everyday and write everyday. When you read everyday, you subconsciously get a sense of the proper rhythm of a story. Your story has a lot of things happening that just happen. There's no buildup or reason for them happening, like finding the map in the tree, or randomly running into Dean in the woods who is clearly a major part of the world you're building.
If you ride the bus or have the chance to be around people, don't wear headphones. Listen to the way people in conversation talk. Take note of it without eavesdropping. Some of the best dialogue I've ever written came from natural conversation.
Also, write about all the senses, not just sight and sound. You want your reader to feel like they're in the story to some degree. When she is a wolf, is the ground cold when she runs on it? What does the air smell like as a wolf. Is there a sulfur smell when she's on fire? Compare the sound of the metal armor clinking together to something else metal, so that the reader feels like they're already familiar with it.
I hope you don't find this discouraging because I really think you have a lot of potential. Hone the craft a bit more and come back to this story. I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised at the result. Good luck, thanks for sharing!

[Julia Marie]

Thanks for the advice, I just started this in school. Still learning the ropes of this whole "short story" thing. I only just developed an interest for it. the reason she runs into dean and the map on the tree thing will be explained in the next part I write.