Page 119 of The Lands Defying
I see nothing,feelnothing.
There’s no air but I’m able to breathe, no surface beneath me but I’m floating, no water but a ripple moves outward beneath me every time I move. Like water yet there is none below me.
A shape moves in the darkness, and my eyes lock on to it as it moves closer, wrapping my arms around myself. I hold my breath, my hands clenching into my skin, but I sense no malice from the shape. No anger or violence.
I tilt my head as it comes toward me slowly, my long hair tickling my lower back. I can barely make out the shape of the head, but the small, glowing crescent moon on its forehead has me relaxing.
The wolf comes into full focus, and a cold nose touches my forehead. I breathe out a breath as it breathes me in and I press into its touch, needing to feel anything right now. He nudges me, licking my skin and purring softly. I raise a hand, stroking its muzzle and up to its ears before clasping it around its neck.
Runa stirs quietly within me, but she’s still so sleepy.
I pull him closer, needing to feel his warmth and some familiarity, and the wolf obliges. Stepping forward, he rests his head on my shoulder, and I place my nose into his fur.
I don’t know what’s happening, or where I am, but having him here makes me feel safer.
I tentatively look around the dark space from my hiding spot in the wolf’s fur, looking for the larger wolf, but I don’t see him at all.
I don’t remember much after that wolf sent the ball of flaming purple into my chest. I just remember my eyes locking onto his violet ones, and I felt like that moment was important.
That this needed to happen to move forward.
But forward to what? I don’t know, I’m sure I blacked-out from the pain, from a power filling me.
I woke a few times I think, the memories of it unclear, but I remember the wolf. He would rest his head on my chest and occasionally lick my neck. He would purr softly, nudging my face before protecting me again.
I also remember tiny, violet balls, like a million lights swirling around me like fireflies, like the stars in the night sky. They reminded me of wisps. They got less and less until I saw no more, and I see none now.
A warmth starts to bloom in the center of my chest and spreads throughout my body. I take a hand off the wolf and touch it, feeling the slight tingle there. It suddenly flows up to my neck, the side of my face until it reaches my temples.
I gasp, gripping the wolf tighter as scenes flash through my mind at a speed I can’t keep up with.
Lands, castles, people, wolves. Waterfalls, moonlight, blossoms, silver eyes and long nights.
I can’t determine what is what or what it means. I feel it all though. The sadness, rage, hurt, disbelief, love, happiness, distress, and most of all, heartbreak.
Soul-destroying heartbreak.
Wetness coats my cheeks and a sob escapes me as I squeeze my eyes shut, my body jolting with my cries with what I see next. Fire, screams, blood, teeth, claws, and death, I see darkness and thousands of eyes looking, I see a wolf looking down from above and feel longing.
I feel love and loss.
The wolf whines, snuggling into me further and I cry into his neck, the emotions I’m feeling are so strong that they feel like my own but I know they aren’t.
The wolf lays down next to me, and I clutch him closer as the memories fade out of my mind, like fog dissipating and I’m left with Runa, curled up in a tight ball, shivering.
She whimpers, her ears flat, eyes closed, paws twitching. I mentally reach out to her, stroking her face as she continues to make these sad noises that break my heart.
“It’s okay, Runa. I’m here, we’re here.”The wolf starts to do a soft purr into my neck, the sound coming from deep within him making Runa’s ears twitch, her body tensing before it eventually relaxes, the whimpers becoming softer until they eventually stop.
A growl comes from our left and I raise my head, my eyes locking on violet ones in the dark. The large wolf tilts his head, but makes no move to come closer as I grip the wolf’s fur tighter within my fingers. He moves back out of my grip, and I suck in a breath, my hands dropping to my side as he nuzzles my cheek as if to reassure me. He walks over to the larger wolf, and my fingers twitch the closer he gets to him, worried the larger one will attack, but all he does is bend his head down to see the smaller wolf better.
They stay locked in their stare, and I watch them, wondering what they are doing. The larger one releases a smaller growl suddenly and looks up above him. I follow his gaze and see where light pierces into this darkness further up. It’s like light glistening on a water’s surface, and I slowly move to stand up, my legs trembling, my eyes flicking to the wolves to keep an eye on them.
I wobble on my feet, ripples circling around me, and I start to fall to the side. A black blur is suddenly there, his back coming up to my shoulders and I use him to steady myself, hanging on to him.
A huffing sound comes from the violet-eyed wolf, and my head turns to him. I think if he were human, he would have just scoffed at me.
His eyes move down to my chest before looking back at me, head tilted, but then he walks closer, his steps making no sound as small ripples come from each paw beneath him. Fear once again makes itself known within me, but I just clutch the wolf closer. He doesn’t seem bothered by him, so I should be okay.
