Chapter 10 Ylvana: I am smarter than a rabbit--I swear!

Chapter 10 Ylvana: I am smarter than a rabbit--I swear!

That stupid bird finds me in my dreams again, and this time it brings friends. I walk through the village, searching for my mother and my friends, and seeing no one. Instead, a whole murder of Crow's and Raven's erupt from the log cabins and swarm around me. I scream and try to fend them off.

What can't I dream about unicorns and faeries like every other teenage girl?

Waking up isn't much of a relief. I am in a cave in the middle of nowhere, being hunted by an evil king, with a wolf I've only just met the other night.

The only evidence of last night's storm is the lingering smell of rain. Bright sunlight fills the cave. The sky is a pastel blue, and the green pine needles seem to glow. Birds sing, adding to the joyous feeling of spring. Here I am in the most terrifying ordeal in my life, and it is a beautiful day outside. I can't help but feel like I'm being mocked by the Nature Gods. 

A blast of cold air makes me remember it's only spring. It seems to say- "You think winter is over? Ha, wait one moment-"

I walk out of the cave to look over the cliffs. The Hvitrfjella mountains stretch before me. Sharp, snowy peaks stab the blue sky. It is beautiful, but I know better. The beauty hides the true nature of the mountains; a wild, unforgiving wilderness that will test you with every opportunity.

"Pretty, right?"

The voice startles me.  I whirl around, baring my fangs.

Jay freezes. "Good mourning to you too."

I relax a little, and turn back to the mountains. Jay sits beside me on the cliff.

"You're still up for traveling through there together, right?" he asks me.

I look down at the forest below me. In between the mountains, fields of pointy trees stretch over the rocky terrain in a solid blanket of green. Since the sun is rising in front of me, I can tell East from West up here. But below that canopy it will be nearly impossible.

I sigh. "I guess I have no choice."

"I'm a good guide, don't worry," Jay says.

I yawn and stretch my tiredness away. "Let's get moving."

I am not anxious to descend into the Labyrinth of tree's, but the closer I get to the castle, the better.

Luna soars above us just as Pine lazily strolls out of the cave.

I haven't walked ten feet down the trail when Jay calls, "So, where are you going?"

I turn around in confusion. Jay stares back at me blankly.

"Where do you think I'm going?" I snap.

"Back to the camp. I suggest going this way instead," he gestures with his head down the opposite path.

I angrily march back down the right path.

"You could have just told me I was going the wrong way," I growl as I pass him.

"But what fun would that be?" he says.

"You keep talking to her like that, she's gonna get you," Pine warns. He knows me so well.

I follow Pine and Jay down a steep slope. I think about my mother and Miria back at the castle, wondering what has become of me. I don't pay attention to my walking, and I slip on the wet mud. I land hard on my chin.

"Are you okay?" Jay stops walking and watches me get up.

"I'm fine," I growl.

Of course I'm not really fine. My jaw hurts, I'm dirty, and I'm hungry.

"I know that attitude anywhere," Pine says, "Someone's hungry."

There is no food out here, and besides, I don't want to stop walking.

"Am not," I say.

My stomach lets out an incredibly loud rumble.

"Okay, I'm a little hungry."

"When we get to the bottom of the hill, we can go hunting for rabbits," Jay says. He turns and continues down the slope.

"Remember I'm a human. I've never hunted rabbits before in my life."

Jay peers at me. "Really? Never? Not even chased one for fun?"

"I was never allowed to shift," I say. "And when I did, I didn't hunt."

Jay nods. "Alright then. I can teach you. It's not that hard."

I trust Jay can teach. The question is; can I learn?

We reach a small meadow at the bottom of the slope. Pine disappears into the tall grass to hunt for mice. Jay and I walk into the surrounding forest.

We don't get too far before he stops and his body goes stiff.

"Smell that?" he whispers.

I sniff the air, taking in all the mixed scents of the forest.

"I smell . . . trees. You are talking about trees, right?" I say.

Jay looks at me. "Trees? That's all you got?"

I return his pointed look. "In case you forgot, I'm not exactly an expert at hunting."

"Okay, you're right about the trees, but try to smell beyond them. I'll tell you we're close to a rabbit." 

I scan the forest. Even in this early spring, the ground is covered in a web of brush. I sniff the air, and try listening. There are millions of scents and sounds. I can't pinpoint anything.

"I'm smelling everything. How am I suppose to find a rabbit?" I growl.

A flash of movement forces my eyes to follow, but before I can see whatever it is, it disappears.

"Well, there goes breakfast," Jay says.

My ears drop. "Maybe if you taught me something, I would have gotten it."

At this point, I am frustrated and hungry; two of the most dangerous feelings for a girl to have.

"First rule; be quiet. Those rabbit ears are big for a reason."

I nod.

Jay looks around, and his ears shoot forwards. He signals me to follow him, and we both crouch down. His eyes are pinned on something I can't see. Suddenly, he wacks me lightly with his tail. I take that as signal to stop as he moves forwards. All his muscles are tense. Suddenly he springs forwards and crashes through the brush. He doesn't go far before he stops running, holding a rabbit between his jaw.

"Cool." I trot up to him.

He drops the rabbit at my feet. "Do me a favor: memorize that scent."

I do as he says.

"Okay, next time I go hunting I'll keep this in mind--"

I reach for the rabbit, but Jay snatches it away.

"This one's mine. Kill your own rabbit," he walks away.

"What? That's your idea of teaching me?"

"I believe in learning by doing," he smiles.

Before I can respond, his black fur melts into the shadow's around him. I'm left alone.

I take a deep breath and start sniffing around me. How hard could this be? I think.

I'm smarter than a rabbit, I'm smarter than a rabbit!  

But when I slide across the gravel, I begin questioning that philosophy.

Instead of getting up, I lay on the ground and try to think. When the first rabbit got away, I thought Okay, that one was really fast, I bet no one could've caught it. However, after this, my fifth failed chase, I am starting to think it isn't the rabbit's doing. My stomach was ached more painfully, adding to my frustration.

A pair of black paws walk up to me.

"Is falling down a hobby of yours?"

"Is being incredibly annoying yours?" I growl as I stand.

"I'll give you a tip," he says.

"Oh, now you're teaching me, after I got a mouthful of dirt," I sneer.

"Sometimes the only way to learn is to fail, " he shrugs. "You wasted too much time stalking. Don't worry about sneaking up, it's a matter of catching up before the rabbit--well, does that," he says.

I sighed. I knew this was going to be tricky. I just didn't realize how tricky.

"I think your problem is you think too much," Jay says as we walk back into the woods.

I laugh, "I think my barely-passing math grade at school begs to differ."

"I mean you use your human mind too much. Just because you can shift doesn't mean you're not a real wolf. You have the capability to hunt. Don't think, just do it."

Once again, Jay leaves me alone. I don't wander too far before I spot another rabbit. I drop to the ground and focus on it. Instead of planning on when to strike, or where to chase it, I let my brain completely shut down. 

Looking back, I don't even remember how I caught the rabbit.

I find my way back to the meadow with the rabbit between my jaws. Jay is laying in the grass, finishing his second, maybe third rabbit.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"Jay says.

I scoff. "Yeah, falling face-first wasn't hard at all."

"All you need is practice," he says.

"That's not likely. After I get back, they'll probably never let me out again," I mumble.

"What do you mean?" Jay asks.

I sigh as I plan out how to explain it all to him.

"I was born with the power to shift, which is unheard of. A rumor started flying around that I was some kind of mystical runestone-guardian."

"Are you?" Jay cuts in, "Because if you are, that would be really cool."

I laugh. "I'm no hero. My father knew Eitri McNeil. Before he left, he probably asked McNeil to give me the power when I was born, and forgot to tell my mom about it. Probably to give us some sort of protection."

"You really believe that?" Jay asks.

I shrug. "It's more possible then me being a guardian. The point is, the Crow's believe it. So the king forced me and my mother to live in the castle. King Albin was adamant that I remained protected at all times. I was never allowed to shift, and they rarely let me out of the castle. The idea of keeping me locked up sounded too stupid to me. It drove the wolf crazy. Finally, I couldn't fight it anymore, and I--"

"Ran away?" Jay says.

"I left without permission. Only to find my village turned into ghost town, my friends scared out of there wits, and a mob of Crow's ready to abduct me," I shake my head, "They gave me one rule and I broke it. They will never let me out again. That's why I know I'm no hero. A hero would never do something that stupid."

"You escaped from that camp. Not just anyone could do that," Jay says.

"I escaped because of luck and great friends. I could not have done anything like that on my own."

Before I can react, Jay jumps up, grabs my rabbit, and runs to the other side of the field.

"What are you doing?" I stand up.

"Proving you wrong." He throws the rabbit behind him.

"This isn't funny, Jay. I'm starving!" I whine.

"Then I suggest you get it quickly," he grins.

I groan as I walk over to him. I try to go around him, but he blocks my path. I go the other way, and he blocks my path again.

"You'll have to do better than that, Wolf Girl," he laughs.

I roll my eyes and pretend to start walking the other way. As he turns to block my path, I ram into his shoulder. I try to leap over him, but he rolls and tackles me. He stands over me, pinning me down with his fore-paws. I try to bite at his neck, but it's out of reach. I push against his rib-cage with my back legs, but he's solid as rocks.

"This is kind of sad, actually," he grins down at me.

I go slack with defeat. "You outweigh me, and I have no battle training what-so-ever. How is this suppose to prove your point?"

Jay's ear's droop a little. "Ah, well . . . your right, maybe I should of let you win."

I stare at him, trying to figure out which mountain top I should throw him off of. That's when I notice a little detail about him I had previously failed to see.

"You're eyes are blue," I say quietly.

Jay quickly backs away from me. I don't stop staring at him as I stand up.

"It's a defect," he says, somewhat nervously. "My eyes never changed colors from when I was a pup."

I know wolf pups are born with blue eyes, but the colors change into shades brown or yellow. The only wolves that have blue eyes are shifters like me.

I wait for Jay to say something more, but he avoids eye contact. I let the matter drop, for now.

I look over to where my rabbit lays in the grass and start thinking about how I'm going to cook it. 

Behind me, Jay shouts "Hawk!"

I wonder what he means until I see the hawk swoop out of the air, grab my rabbit, and take off. I sit in the meadow in utter silence as I watch the bird fly off with my dinner. In the distance it lets out a high pitched screech as if to say "You snooze, you loose, suckers!"

Jay looks at me nervously. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"You sir, owe me a rabbit," I growl.

I feel talons poke my back.

"Hey, Luna! A hawk just flew off with my dinner. Any chance you could--"

"Sorry, Ylvana, but I need your help. Pine got his head stuck in the ground."

"What now?"

Luna sighs. "Just follow me," she says, taking off.

Jay and I follow her to the other end of the meadow.

Luna was right: Pine was completely stuck in the ground. His red furry body was crouched, and he struggled to pull his head out of a mouse's tunnel. Call me a terrible friend, but I couldn't help laughing.

"Pine, just"-I laugh-"what did you do?"

"Hmm!" Pine shouts. But his words are smothered by dirt.

"What?" I tease, stepping forwards.

"HMMMMM!"

"What?" I step closer.

"HHHMMM MMMM!" He struggles more.

"Alright, hold on, I'll get you out," I say. I start digging on one side of Pine's head, and Jay goes over and digs on the other.

"I actually like him better this way," Luna says.

"Vrry fnnn," Pine mumbles.

A pile of dirt later, Pine pulls his head up. His red fur is muddied, and he holds a white mouse in his mouth.

"Are you kidding me?" I say as he swallows the mouse.

"What?" he says.

"That's why you got stuck! Why didn't you let go of the mouse?"

Pine shrugs. "I'm hungry."

"You have to respect his ambition," Jay laughs.

"Did you catch a rabbit yet Ana?" Luna asks.

"I did, but I lost it no thanks to Sensei Bird-Brain over here," I nod at Jay.

"I said I was sorry, didn't I" Jay says.

"No, you didn't. But I will accept your apology after you replace my dinner."

"Fair enough," he says. "Should we continue?"

"I'd take a rain check on that, wolfie," comes a voice.

We all turn and look. A white weasel stands on its hind legs, poking it's pointed nose over the blades of grass.

"Ya'll ain't going nowhere," he says.

Reviews

[A.L.Exley]

Cool, that exactly the kind of character I was going for!

[DRAGO]

I also like how real the charactors are. They are not just real though, they are likably, and not without flaws(not flaws in their writing but just them. It adds to their realisticness)

[DRAGO]

I like the time passes symbal

[DRAGO]

cool______________________________