Chapter 9

Sonja was sitting around doing nothing. Dave had gotten back and had spent the night just talking with his wife and then went to bed. Dan had begun to claim that his sight was beginning to come back, and it seemed to be true. He didn't need her to guide him anymore and he was able to find the door knobs to turn to get into a room. Although, it was strange. His eyes...they had changed colors. They went from his usual cool blue...to gold. He had the same eyes...as a wolf.

"Sight getting better?" Sonja asked seeing Dan walk out of the bathroom.

"Yes actually, it is" he replied "can't wait to see my eyes that you keep talking about!"

"Trust me Dan, its not that good a site..." Sonja replied looking down "they look like a wolves eyes..."

"Hey you gotta problem with a wolves eyes?" Dan replied smiling and looking down at her "I personally like wolves"

"Sure that isn't just because you ARE one?" Sonja asked getting up and stretching.

"That might be a part of it..." Dan said sitting down "I'm still wondering about this 'decision' I'm supposed to make!"

"Well I'm sure its important" Sonja said laughing "at least that white wolf said..."

"Aniu...her name is Aniu" Dan replied

"How do you know that?" Sonja asked.

"Sonja, me and Aniu have been talking...when I go to sleep we talk" Dan answered "Every night she brings up a group, she doesn't tell me what that group is, she just keeps mentioning it. She mentions a waterfall, a cave behind it, a river, another wolf...and a Raven..."

Sonja gasped. The reason Dan paused before talking about the raven. Was because that used to be his stage name. A memory was coming back to haunt him.

Dan stared into Sonjas eyes. At least as best he could. He sighed and looked at the fire that was going about its endless walts of light. He sat back and felt his face. It had gone through a change, one that no one else but Sonja noticed. It was a three parralell line scar that had been givin to him by Sonja. There was one other thing that only he knew about. He lifted his lip and felt his teeth, they were sharper, more adept for cutting through meat. He took in a deep breath and let it out. Was his choice already made? Was he going to end up a wolf without wanting too? First his site, what will be next?

"You know Sonja, I think I'm going to go to that waterfall..." Dan said breaking the silence.

"Why?" Sonja replied

"Because, I want to find this group" Dan answered "If Aniu keeps contacting me to tell me about the same thing over and over its sure to be important!"

"Then let me come with you!" Sonja yelled "Come on! You can hardly see!"

"NO!" Dan yelled back "You need to stay here and tell Balto and Jenna whats going on! This is something that I need to do!"

Sonja went silent and then nodded. She wasn't going to tell him other wise. Not anymore.

Dan trudged through mountains. It was still really snowy out, and the winds didn't help at all. He looked around and couldn't find anything. Or anyone. He kept walking forward, up hill, in the blistering cold. His leg began to spasm and he fell to the ground clutching at it until it stopped. Things weren't going good at all, he had been told that his eyes were now the golden ones of a wolf, if a hunter saw those before anything else. Dan was in trouble.

He looked up and saw a figure. Not a wolf, not a dog, not even a mammal. It was a Raven.

"Having a little trouble there wolf?" it cawed

"I'm, not a wolf" Dan stammered "why did you call me one?"

"Because, you have the eyes of one" the raven replied "one isn't just born with golden eyes unless your a wolf"

"You can't prove that!" Dan yelled back "I am no wolf!"

"Keep denying it wolf, no matter how hard you try, you can't escape the eyes of the raven"

"Fine then, at least tell me who the heck you are!" Dan yelled

"Ah, yes, where are my manners?" the raven replied "My name is Ethan, who are you?"

"I'm Daniel" Dan replied "now what do you want?"

"Just to help you on your journy" Ethan replied "that is if you want it"

"Do you even know what I am looking for?" Dan asked "at ALL!?!"

"Yes, I do know what you are looking for" Ethan answered diving down, lifting his wings, and landing on Daniels shoulders "you are looking for a water fall, a group of animals together I assume?"

"Yea, how did you know?"

"Like I told you, you cant escape the eyes of a raven" Ethan replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Dan tromped through the woods, taking directions from Ethan. Eventually he came across an area with a deep chasm, and running water. They were at the Waterfall. The water was ice cold, and the snow only made things worse, the floating ice acting like ice cubes in a drink.

"There, go there" the raven instructed "you have to be careful, you can't fit through there..."

"Wrong" Dan said becoming the wolf

Ethan flew away and landed on a branch, completely unphased.

"I told you, no one can hide from the..."

"Eyes of a raven, yea yea, I never said I couldn't BECOME a wolf though...lets just get on with this"

Dan crawled through the opening, just small enough to get through. Where as in his human form he would have been cut multiple times, almost fallen at least three times, and would have been cussing the whole way. Eventually Dan come into a cavern, the same dark and dank one that Aniu kept describing. Although it was a beautiful place. He looked around and knew he was being watched, he looked around, his keen wolf eyes picking up everything that moved. There were others in this cave, other animals. He noticed right away a red fox, another wolf, a german sheperd, and a few other animals. Some birds, some cats. All looking at the new comer to their home. All looking at Daniel.