Remembering

My best story I've written, I think.

Alex sat in his room, looking at the now very expensive, very large paperweight.  His laptop broke with no warning and no reason, either, save for probably to spite him.  That's ok, though; nothing was going right that day anyway, so it may as well have gotten worse.  He turned away from the laptop in disgust and sat on his bed, looking out his window up to the starry night and the lonely moon, thinking I know you see the same moon as me, in the same sky as I, but with different eyes than mine.  So please, my wonderful mystery, won't you tell me your name…?

Getting no response from the stars, he frowned and turned away from them, too, and laid his head to go to possibly the only place he could see her, in his dreams...

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Maia Tala Lovette sat down near the cliff’s edge, the wind ruffling her chocolate-brown fur, the red on the tips of each hair shimmering in the ghostly pale moonlight.  She could see the entire forest from her nightly patrol up here, high above all the life in the forest, high above everything " every animal, every plant, river and stream, every pond and lake.  She knew everything in this forest, what resided in its body, what flew above and what crawled below.  Never in her centuries of life has anything changed, except for the beginning of new life every day for every animal in the forest.

She laid her head on her paws and kept a watchful eye on her centuries old home, never to be touched by the retched humans that have mangled and mutilated the rest of the world.  Her previous home was taken over, and she was forced to seek shelter in a new place, and she swore that no trace of human life would grace this forest.  She herself hadn’t changed forms since she had to flee from her old home. 

She decided to end her watch duties after a few hours of the half sleep, half alert trance she slipped into every night. The sun was starting to rise.  She retreated from her perch and went to go find some breakfast.  Every now and then, her ears would flick forward to listen to the forest, to listen to the silent come to life and prepare for the new morning. 

Wandering farther into the forest, Maia stopped by the river to get water and then be off on her way. She got to the banks of the river, and yelped in surprise.  There, in the mud, were two sets of tracks " one was human feet and the other was a set of wolf paws, not her own.  She instantly switched mindsets, determined to catch and kill whoever had managed to break through her protection spells surrounding the forest.  She sniffed the ground and came to a few conclusions.  Both sets are from a male, and it seems… They’re from the same person?  Maia leapt back and whined quietly, then howled in anger, for she had failed in her duties to keep all outsiders out.

She saw the tracks lead deeper in, towards the heart of the forest.  Her sight was no longer normal, but magnified so she could run through the forest at full speed and not have to stop to find the tracks over again.  She took off, running faster than she ever had to catch this unknown and potentially hostile… Wolf? Person? She would find out soon enough. She couldn’t allow herself to think there was another out there like her, not after the countless years she spent wishing for that exact thing.

After an hour and a half of running, she came to the heart of the forest, her most sacred piece of land in her home.  Nothing in the forest dared to tread here, because they all knew that if they came unto her land, they would die.  Going there would be suicide for all but her.  Seems this newcomer didn’t know that unspoken rule.

The clearing was fifty feet wide and long, in a perfect circle.  The 50 trees surrounding were golden red oak trees, the only of their kind.  Their leaves were stained red and deep gold all year round, and even in the fall and winter, they never fell from the branches, seemingly unaffected by the natural rhythms of the world.  She came here when she did not want to watch over the forest.  She could escape for days on end, and not care that no one was watching over all of her precious home.

She kept herself shadowed in the trees, where nothing could see her even if they looked for her.  She was near invisible in between the trees.  With her ears pressed to her head and her jowls drawn up into a snarl, she looked between the thick trunks to see who had invaded her space.  She lost all control for a single moment, and almost leapt between the trees.  There, in the middle of the clearing, was the most majestic alpha male she had ever seen in the world.  His fur was tan with a grey undertone, his nose was raised to the sun, and at that moment, he let out a howl that warmed her down to her bones. It was the most beautiful voice she’d heard since fleeing the last time.

She bristled, and stepped out of the shadows.  He didn’t even react to her showing herself, as if he had known that she was there the whole time.  Which was impossible. Wasn’t it? She thought, mystified.  She sat, and waited for him to make the next move.  After what seemed like hours, he lowered his head slowly and looked at her with a knowing expression.  He padded over to her slowly, being cautious.  She bristled again, keeping a wary expression in her eyes.  He stopped in front of her, raised his head higher than hers, and smiled. 

She snarled and sent out her mind to find out who this alpha was, only to find out he was doing the same thing to her.  She jumped back and yelped, while his eyes showed he was laughing on the inside at her.  It was like he knew this was going to happen, and he knew a lot more things than her at that moment. 

Who are you? She growled.  You’re on my land, and I don’t know how you got here.  All I know is I don’t know who you are, I feel threatened by you and I don’t want you here.

He dipped his head as if he were bowing, and righted himself again.  She could see the smirk on his face and the laughter in his eyes.  I am Alex, and it seems you don’t remember me at all.  This happens constantly with you, dear.  I come to see you, and we go through this same scene, which is why I’m so amused.  He laughed again at her, and pranced in a circle, before settling again to watch her.  He dared her to attack him, and in this forest, she was her own alpha.  She takes any challenge that’s set before her, and she takes them seriously.

She prowled in a circle around Alex, and dropped low.  He didn’t react, just continued to watch her with an amused expression.  Her shoulders tensed, she dropped low to the ground, waited a few seconds and sprang for his neck, her jaws open.  He got up and moved quickly to the side without even a flicker of fear or apprehension.  He sat down again, and crooked his head to the side.  Is that the best you’ve got? He asked her.  She just let a snarl rip through her body and show on her face as she sprang for him again.  This pattern went on for a few minutes before he grew bored, and reacted.  Just as she got to his neck, he leapt straight up, and she missed him, again.  He come down on top of her, and pinned her down, a paw on her chest and his muzzle close to her neck.

Maia whimpered and relaxed under his form, submitting to the new alpha of the forest.  Who are you?  She punctuated after each word, her voice full of awe and fear.

Alex, dear, my name is Alex, and we’re mates, though that comes later.  She snorted and rolled out from under him, shaking out her fur.  Not likely, she smirked.  She could feel he was telling the truth, and was afraid of it. 

Maia got up, and walked over carefully to Alex, her head dipped low.  How can what you say be true, and I know that it’s true, but I cannot remember it, except for a feeling that I know who you are, and I know that you never lie to me?  How can it be?  Could you… Be like me?  Is it even possible?  She whimpered and looked into his eyes for a second, before looking away.

He closed the distance between them, and laid his muzzle on top of hers.  I tell only the truth, as you very may well know, and you know what we are.  The first time this all happened, it was new to us both.  After that though, you remembered just a little more about me, about who I am and what we are.  This time, I feel you know it all.  Look me in the eye, and you’ll know you know me as well as you would wish to.

She did as he told her to, and looked him in the eye, even though it went against her instincts.  Flashes of memories flashed behind her eyes, every night they had spent together showing themselves, and she knew she was at home with Alex.  He was hers, and she was his, forever.  That’s what it means to be mates.

Alex, she breathed a sigh of relief.  You came back for me, again, when you knew I wouldn’t remember.  Yet, you did know I’d remember you. I missed you sorely, now that I know you were gone.  Welcome home.  Maia tackled Alex to the ground and laughed, appreciating the time she has with her companion.  She didn’t know if the same thing would happen again, day after day, but she was glad he was here now, and she wouldn’t worry about a thing.

Reviews

[topsyturvy]

Interesting story :P Though at first when I read the few paragraphs, I had no idea what to expect. You kept me guessing til the end great job!