In love and war… by Windcall
Disclaimer : this story is based on the wonderful stories of J.K. Rowling. I do not own any material in it nor do I make any money with it.
1– The stray
The sun was slowly and grandly appearing behind the peaks of the Estern Fells of the Cumbrian Mountains, turning in glorious orange and yellow the wild and beautiful landscape around the small wooden cabin. The birds in the forest were wildly singing their welcome to the new day before getting ready for the chores of hunting food for their growing chicks. The first rays of sunshine were slowly creeping on the landscape, until they touched the slim figure standing on the porch of the cabin, her hands warmed by a cup of coffee and a blanket thrown around her shoulders to ward off the chill. Sylvia Shaw took a long breath before releasing it with a sigh of contentment. What a wonderful place this was. So full of peace and the curious mix of both violence and serenity that one can only find in an oasis of forgotten nature paradise. Like here. Through the branches in front of her, she could see patches of water from the lake at the foot of the mountain near which she had taken residence…for a while at least.
"For a long while, I hope." She prayed silently while taking a sip of hot coffee. She sighed again, this time in hopelessness, before turning toward the door. "Time to start working." She took a step, before a flash of dark movement caught the corner of her eyes. She froze, a spear of white fear shooting through her. "Come on, don't be such a dork. Open your eyes and LOOK." She struggled with the fear that held her up in place, the very worst thing she could do if HE ever came looking for her here. Disgusted at her own instinct, dark panic and a very unsettled stomach were fighting for supremacy inside of her until she forced down the turmoil with sheer will and willed herself to turn her head and look in the direction of the movement.
"A dog. It was only a stray dog." Relief so strong filled her that it was actually too much for her poor stomach. She ran to the banister and threw up on the grass, emptying it of the morning breakfast.
Slumping down on the hard wood of the porch, she adjusted the blanket around herself, seeking the warmth to comfort her. Tears of defeat were in her eyes ready to drop at the first sign of weakness on her part. But she kept them from falling by repeating to herself over and over, "I'm NOT going to cry, there is NO reason to. I am safe. I'm strong. I can do this. Relax. Breathe…" She refused to think of anything else for now. If she went down on self-pity and self-hatred now, it would take her weeks to regain the small ground she had won for herself since she had fled here.
To keep her mind occupied while she was struggling and shaking with shock, she took a slow survey of the cause of her anxiety crisis. The dog was still there, low on his stomach, observing her with curiously intelligent eyes across the small clearing surrounding the cabin. He was of a very dark color, maybe even black, but Sylvia could not tell for all the filth and the dust covering it. He, "maybe it's a she." she thought absent-mindedly, looked underfed and almost skinny. So, a very hungry black stray dog was looking at her, rooted in place with no indication that it might move anytime soon. "Well, I can't very much stay here for the rest of the day. If it won't move, I will. But slowly, Sylvia, it's hungry, it might attack you." She started to stand up, moving slowly, concentrating on the dog to keep her emotions from overwhelming her again. She backed unto the cabin door, opened it calmly and went inside, her eyes still fixated on the dog. He looked back at her the whole time, following every single one of her movement until the door was closed.
Once inside, Sylvia put her forehead on the door, still trying to get her emotion under enough control so that she could at least function throughout her day. That something as simple as a stray dog could turn her into a simpleton in a split second was a sign that her last encounter with HIM had been more troubling than she had thought. She had worked so hard to attain her independence, had tried so forcibly to forget and had lost so much just to have the right to live alone, in peace. Tears were threatening again. "NO. I'm done crying. Get a grip on yourself, woman!" She said aloud to herself like a promise that she was not sure she could keep.
Straightening her shoulders, she raised her head and walked to the kitchen putting a spring on her footstep, trying to force her mood to change. She washed her face, which did made her feel better. Turning while she was toweling her face, she saw through the window that the dog was still there, lying on the grass as if it had no more energy left to move. It looked so frail and miserable that she could hardly believe that she had been scared out of her mind by such a pitiful creature. Moved by the thought that she could feel pity for someone or something else than herself, she decided to confront the morning catastrophe and try turning it into something positive. Reassured by the decision, her stomach finally settled enough to let her prepare a snack from yesterday leftover in a big bowl for the skinny excuse of a canine lying outside.
As she opened the door, the dog's head snapped straight up and its eyes pierced her, making all thought of frailty and pity to wisp out of her mind like smoke in the wind. Frozen in place, she almost started to panic again, but the mistrust, the hunger and the calculation in the stray's eyes held her still. Suddenly, anger came to her rescue. After all, it was just a filthy beggar of a dog, how dare it look at her that way, when it was living out of scavenging, deceiving and stealing. Trusting her chin forward, she abruptly walked down the few steps in front of the cabin, put the food down and glowered at the dog with her fists on her hip. "You better eat all of it because you're not going to get any more out of me, not with the manners you have anyway." As she swirled around to go back up the stairs, she did not see the eyes of the dog going big and round with surprise then small with amusement. When she looked back before going inside, she only saw a black stray dog obediently stuffing itself.
Back inside, she felt both elated and embarrassed by her outburst. Wasn't it silly to take her fear and her frustration out on a dog! But however silly, it made her feel like she had won a battle in this war she was waging against herself, she felt much calmer and in control now, almost happy. "Wow!" She thought, amazed, "Poor dog though. If I ever see it again, I'll make it up to it." Giggling at the thought of making amend to a dog, she made her way back to the kitchen table and the laptop computer waiting there for her.
* *
The day went by much faster than she had anticipated, concentrated as she was on modeling the half-tiger, half-eagle monster that her client needed for an ad in a sci-fi magazine. She had been so lucky that her best friend Elizabeth's brother in-law was in the multimedia business and had accepted to get her contracts. In fact, it was all Max's idea. A little more than two years ago, she had ended up at her friend's house in the middle of the night, scared to death and bleeding from her wounds. Max Carrington and his wife, Elizabeth's sister, were there visiting. Once she had told them her story, they immediately decided to help her. They smuggled her out of London and got her a place in a private clinic in Brampton. Supported her with love and encouragement, they also lent her some money for a six-month intensive course in 3D digital arts to put some new polish on her five year old degree in graphic design.
Now, she worked for Max who sends her jobs that she could send back through a high bandwidth internet connection. She could work anywhere and move in a split second without losing her job. It was the perfect solution to all of her problems. Only Max knew where she was and as long as she kept out of large dwellings, she should be all right…
Sylvia groaned when she noticed that her wandering mind had cost her to blotch a good part of the skin near the third vertebra of her monster. Now the tiger part in that area looked like acid had been poured on and was melting it. Sylvia stretched her arms in the air, yawning. She knew from past experiences that there was no point in trying to correct the situation now when she was tired and losing her concentration. Looking at her watch, she decided to go for a swim in the lake, then see to diner and continue working in the evening. Saving her file, she felt pretty happy on how the creature was starting to pulse with a life of its own. This was one of her best job yet, Max and the client, Mr. Trummel, were going to be pleased. This was what she liked best about her new career, she could do very different kind of stuff, like that teddy family she had done for a web oriented toy store. One of her first few contracts, that was, very colorful and full of warmth.
Smiling at the souvenir, she took a towel, and headed for the lake, not bothering to snatch her swimsuit. As she walked down the path, she reminded herself not to forget to take back inside the now empty bowl the stray had left, wondering if she would ever see it again. Whistling softly, she never noticed, the two glowing eyes following her from the bushes in the darkness of the forest floor.