Chapter 6: Seeing a New Destruction

That meeting with that girl stuck inside my head, running on replay countlessly, I wanted to see her again. Yesterday had been her Day of the New Wolf. Inside my mind I imagined running alongside another wolf that I had never seen before. The wolf had her eyes; her fur was blurred, but I assumed it was a light brown like the other females from the castle; yet somehow different. I was up early, before the colors brightened and laid outside my den, staring at the colors of the sky. The deep purple rippled through the bright orange that was trying to break its sequence. My muzzle was on my paws and my ears were relaxed, my mind running away into the unknown state of mind that I assumed was only what I desired. Then a scent hit me, and I bolted up trying to see over the tree line. Dark gray plumes were exhaling into the sky. It was smoke, but it smelled unnatural. The smoke did not smell like it was just wood but tinged with something of death. Glancing in the den to see if my aunt and uncle were still sleeping, I stalked off to the West towards the smoke unnoticed, wondering if anyone else caught wind. My heart was instantly in panic; something did not feel right, something was out of place, and something was wrong, very wrong. I ran as fast as I could through the Nyssa trees, I had to run all the way through the South to get there. I was grateful for my thick wolf fur once I hit the chill of the South's weather. White powder was lightly padded onto the ground and the ash trees were becoming dim of their leaves, the powder seemed to be weighing them down. I could see the willow trees off in the distance; there big trunks reaching up into the sky with their dark canopies as their shield. Before I was even halfway into the ash trees, I began to become fatigued about a quarter of the way. It was too far, and it would take almost half the day to get there. The rest of the day to get back. Telaerion was just so big and yet only two civilizations that were known; I feared that there was a third that was ready to take what this unknown territory has to offer.

The scent bothered me too much to stop, so I pushed through my fatigued state and ran as fast as I could toward the origin of the smoke. Getting closer only made my stomach churn even more. So, I stopped to catch my breath, panting heavily. I did not want to face this alone, but I also did not want anyone else to be in danger. So, I kept moving forward into my fears. Pushing away my conscience yelling at me to turn around and get help.

Each step I took the scents of what was being burned as it hit my snout stronger and stronger. The scents of burning flesh and charred wood filtered through my nostrils. My ears pricked as voices began to become clear ahead of me. I heard shouting from deep voices, chopping, hacking, coughing, yelling, and so many uncomfortable sounds that I did not want to face. I stealthily moved through the trees trying to be unseen, viewing the scene in front of me, as I crept closer to what looked like a camp. Small huts that looked as if they were built quickly and not thought about very well; tents were scattered all around, large leaves from the trees held up and nailed into large sticks. There were men in armor, garments, leather, and most of them were all busy doing something with metal, wood, or food. Trees were lying dead all around the camp in a huge circle that kept spreading out into the forest. Men hacking at the wondrous willow trees and leaving debris in a careless mess. It was obvious what these creatures were. They were normal humans from above my world. I have only seen two humans in my life, it was intimidating to see this many in the same place.

The smoke came from what looked like a huge stack of animal remains from the wildlife that came from the woods. It made me furious seeing all the animals go to waste yet made me viciously ill at the marks that were left on the bones, knowing what could have happened while these animals were alive.

Near one of the bigger tents, I saw a post with a girl tied to it; she looked dirty, beaten, and hungry. One man came over to give her a pitiful piece of meat then began to yell at her. Her eyes just stared at him red and raw, full of sadness and fear. My nerves were screaming at me to run away or look somewhere else, but I wanted to save that poor girl. What has she possibly done to deserve being treated like this? I stalked slowly around the camp to get closer to the girl, and when I did, I noticed the type of clothes she was wearing and her faded castle scent. It was suddenly very clear to me that this girl had been captured by these men. How could she have even gotten so far from the castle for these men to have found her? Even though she was from the castle, I had to do something, I had to save her. I sunk back into the undergrowth of a large willow tree and waited. As I waited, I examined each man's task and waited until they went to sleep.