Chapter 10
Thorne's eyes slowly opened. He groaned, not quite knowing where he was. "I swear I fell asleep over..."
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a giggle, and a cheerful, energetic voice- "Ooh, morning Thorne!"
Crystal came bounding over to him. He noticed she had some sort of yellowy liquid all around her mouth. He opened his mouth to ask about it, but once again Crystal interrupted.
"Thorne, there's some really yummy nectar over there." She pointed to a patch of large pink flowers, on the outer area of the clearing.
"It tastes really sugary, like the candy my Mom used to buy me. And, it makes me really hyper!"
She began bouncing around and giggling. Thorne smiled, for a moment, forgetting the massive blunder he made the night before.
But, before he had a chance to think properly, Shaiden was calling him over.
She spoke in a hushed tone. "Thorne, what were you doing last night?"
He hesitated to answer. "Shaiden, I can explain..."
"Oh really?" she said. "You think you can explain why you ending up falling asleep with Crystal's head on your shoulder, huh?"
Thorne nodded quickly, before explaining the whole thing. "Crystal was groaning, and keeping me awake, so I went over to see what was up. She said that she felt homesick; I told her she was a worrier, she lay her head on my shoulder, and before I had a chance to object, she was asleep. I couldn't just leave her, Shaiden."
Shaiden said nothing. Her eyes spoke four words: Do better next time.
Thorne nodded, and glanced back at Crystal, who was happily licking nectar from the inside of the flower. She looked back at him and called: "Aren't you gonna try some of this?"
He looked over at his sister, then back at Crystal. "In a minute, Crystal!" he finally said.
He glumly walked off towards a wooded area just outside the clearing. It felt a lot more peaceful here, without the faces of Crystal or Shaiden to remind him of what he'd done wrong.
But as it turned out, being alone just seemed to amplify his feelings, rather than tone them down.
He kept having flashbacks of the night before. He couldn't be in love, he told himself. He just couldn't...
He didn't want to admit it, but he was missing his home. The Castle, the rest of the Defenders, the thrill of splatting attackers...
He flew into a rage. It felt good, the fact that his new wolf body gave him so much more freedom. He tore at the bushes, scratched at the ground, and howled into the sunlight.
He shouted into the emptiness. "SOMEBODY STOP THIS!"
He was sure no one was listening.