Chapter Thirty-Nine: Erik

                                    

                                          
We'd been moving for countless hours and were almost out of our lands and into unfamiliar territory. It was honesty more intimidating then being back at home, this was a whole new playing field and now we knew even less about what was going on. From what about these woods we're about to enter there are a lot of bandits that roam around and I doubt that they were used to seeing wolves, much less people who turned into them. 
                          
We cross the border. 
                          
"Keep alert... these are no longer our playing grounds,"  I tell her. 
                          
"Right..." 
                          
Soon the familiar pines shift in to dense thick forest, the clean, crisp smell replaced with the heavy earthy smell of the surrounding forest. Out here Luna was way more vulnerable, her white coat shown out like a rare jewel against the sun in this forest. 
                          
We travel until the sun began to set, we didn't get as far as we wanted but it was close enough that we should be able to get to the town near here in a little over two hours of travel tomorrow. 
                          
"Let's stop here for the night," I say. 
                          
"Alright," she agrees. 
                          
Both of us slow our sprint down to a jog and then stop in a relatively clear area. 
                          
"How does this look?"  I turn to her. 
                          
"Good, It'll do, easy perimeter to guard." 
                          
"Agreed,"  
                          
"I'm gonna go shift back..."  she says. 
                          
I nod, watching as she disappears behind some trees and then a few moments later I do the same, when I come back out I find Luna looking up at the sky. 
                          
"What's so interesting?" 
                          
She looks back at me, smiling slightly. "It's just the stars here... they are pretty." 
                          
I look at her a little confused. "Luna, we're from the mountains, we see them all the time..." 
                          
She laughs again. "I know and I know that better than anyone... But something about them here, they seem brighter." she pauses looking around the forest. "There's something about this forest... something tells me that there are other people with abilities besides us and this forest is their home," 
                          
I look around, she was right, there was a feeling about this forest. "Well lets hope that they're on our side." 
                          
She nods. 
                          
***
                          
The next morning we arrive in the town and try to find an inn to stay in. The people around this town seemed lively, there was a heaviness in the air, as if everyone knew about it but refused to talk about it. Acted like it wasn't there. 
                          
"What has happened to these people?"  asks Luna the concern was clear on her face and completely laced in the tone of her voice. "These people, their souls... they are so scared." 
                          
I sigh. "I don't know, Luna... But it means getting on their trail isn't going to be easy,"  
                          
I look around and finally find a sign for an inn, The Sunrise Inn, was the name off it. It almost looked out of place among the gloomy atmosphere of this town. This place seemed to still have a light protecting it. 
                          
We enter the building, a bell at the door signaling our arrival. The elderly woman attending the desk looks up and smiles, her hair was completely white and she seemed frail. But I'd learned my lesson from living with the old lady all of these years, never judge a book by its cover.