Okay finally got around to finishing Chapter 2. Also I thought it would be nice to show the meanings of the names of the characters.

Tehya-Precious
Takoda-Sioux- friend to everyone
Tatewin [tah-tay-wihn]-Wind Woman
Tedmund- National Protector
Shadi-Navajo- Older Sister

Also I would like to put out there, that this story isn't one where the main character turns into a wolf. though those stories aren't bad just saying this isn't one of them. You'll understand more as the story goes on. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

A heart pounding exaltation into realms of the unknown,
Paralyzing dilemmas of insufferable images claimed as our own.
Things that should not be; yet still,
they are so.
In youth we are bold as our wisdom begins to grow.
At middle age our wisdom lets us know
Fear is something that will keep you alive
And yet,
Fear has the power to kill, body and soul.
With wisdom and knowledge, we must remain in control
Praying to the creator thereby removing fears and woe.

-Overcoming Fear, Howard kern

The forest was as beautiful as I had always imagined it would be. It was still early October so the leaves had begun to turn colors and soon would be falling off the trees. The very tall trees that is. I had always felt short but now standing next to these tall trees I couldn't even call myself short anymore. I was pint sized compared to them. At one point I did wish I could climb one and look out from the top of it. One can only imagine what they would be able to see from way up there. The only ones privileged to that were the squirrels and chipmunks that were scattering up and down them. I brought my camera up ad snapped a couple different angle pictures of them. I would definitely frame them later on. I don't know what people were so afraid of this place for. I haven't seen anything other than a few small animals that would indicate this place would be meant to be terrifying. They must have let these legends get to them too much.

The pictures we had taken so far were perfect. It was so bright out that nothing was hidden behind shadows. Everything out in the open, just the way I like it. Though I did wish more animals would be out and about. They seemed to be hiding today. I guessed they weren't used to seeing humans here. There were a few times I caught a quick snap of a bird, squirrel, or a chipmunk but other than that I was stuck to pictures of trees, flowers and rocks. In the distance I could hear the crash of the waves. First Beach was close by it seems.

It had seemed like we had been walking all day, which in fact had only been three hours. Everything looked different. There was a small creek we had passed at one point, which just set the whole beautiful landscape. I had fallen in love with this place the moment I stepped into it. Other for the small twigs we heard break every now and then, we had checked regularly there was no one behind us, everything seemed very quiet.

"Duck!"

"Where?" I said looking around camera ready.

Suddenly a sharp sensation stung my side jolting all my senses. I screamed and jumped in shock and pain. I quickly turned to see a broken branch lying next to me. I looked up to see it must have broken off of the tree above me, swung and hit me then fell.

"Are you….o…okay?" said Shadi who seemed to have trouble controlling her laughter.

"I'm fine thanks for asking." I mumble rubbing the pain away from side and trying not to chuckle myself.

"I said duck." She said walking over to me grabbing the branch from the ground.

"I know," I stated. "and I thought you actually meant a duck."

Shadi laughed harder. "I know that's why I said it!"

Glaring I reached over and gave her a hard pinch. I couldn't help smiling, when I heard her yelp in pain. She returned my glare and tried to punch as me. I quickly backed away which only resulted in me tripping over, I think was another branch, and Shadi running into me. We fell to the forest floor. I couldn't help but laugh at this. She had fallen next to me. I gave her the best mock glare I could make before looking up at the sky above us. It was clear out, not a single cloud out; which was a miracle. There was nothing to block out the golden rays today. Plus there was a nice wind so it didn't make it uncontrollably hot. We put our bags behind our heads so we didn't have to have to lay them back on the dirt. All in all, it felt really nice.

There was still a nagging in the depths of my mind. Mostly about Seth. The whole hike into the forest I could see the look in her eyes. They seemed far away as if in deep thought. I knew instantly who she was thinking about. The moment their eyes met I knew something was going to happen. I had no idea what it would be, but I didn't think it would be good. There was an anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach that was screaming to watch him. I couldn't tell Shadi though. She just met this guy and I didn't need to open my mouth and ruin her happiness. Even though I was sure a good friend is supposed to tell their friend when they have suspicions about the guy their seeing, though Shadi wasn't seeing Seth…yet.

I turned to look at Shadi, who was staring at the sky her eyes holding that distant look in them again. This would be a perfect moment to bring it up. If she was already thinking about him then maybe it would make it easier for her to talk about it with me.

"So." I said turning back to look up at the clear blue sky.

"Sooo…" I heard followed by a chuckle.

I shook my head laughing. Well at least it didn't feel like an awkward moment.

"So…Seth Clearwater." I say again. I know I had asked this question before, but her first answer didn't seem, right. There was more to this and I don't think she had told me everything.

I didn't hear her say anything, but I saw her nod out of the corner of my eye. I didn't want to push the subject if she didn't want to talk about it but curiosity was roaring inside of me. Something was pushing me to talk about it. I had to know what the sudden interest was. They looked like they had had love at first sight. I had never personally seen it before but the moment I saw them look at each other I just knew I had witnessed something magical, as cliché as it sounds, happening. The looks they were sending and the way they seemed to just…glow.

"What's going on?" I said cautiously.

She sat up and stared a head of her not saying anything for a couple long seconds. Then she turned to look at me with one of the most serious faces I have ever seen. I don't think she had ever looked that serious before.

"I uh…I don't know." She said standing up and walking away from me.

I shot up, but stopped myself from following behind her. She stopped a few steps just in front of me her gaze straight ahead. Something was going on with her, I felt worried as I watched her; I wanted to know what was going on in her head.

"I wish I could explain what I felt….what I'm feeling now." She spoke. "But when I saw Seth, I mean really saw him. Everything changed at that moment. I had been worrying about my history assignment that I hadn't finished. I was worrying about colleges. I had worried if I looked okay today. Even worrying about if my stick figure looked straight enough. Then…"

She paused and I waited patiently. She looked like she was having an internal conflict with herself, I didn't know what to do; I wanted to help her. I reached out but quickly stopped and put my hand back down at my side. What to do at a time like this? So I just waited again, I knew she was trying to figure something out. She was a strong person, not just physically but emotionally as well. When she did she would tell me.

"Then I saw him and they didn't matter anymore. Nothing felt like it mattered anymore. I always thought I was happy in life, but when I looked into his eyes I felt…complete. I felt like I was me, all of me." Her voice cracked, and I could see tears forming on the corner of her eyes. I didn't think it was sadness either. From what I just heard how can anyone ever be sad again. I felt tears in the corner of my eyes but quickly blinked them away. How can I tell her my suspicions now? It would break her heart if I questioned everything she was feeling now. Just come out with it. Then apologize profusely.

She'll understand.

I really hope the voice was right, for my sake and for the sake of our friendship.

"Shadi, please don't be angry but…" I stopped for a second. "There is something about Seth that is just…well it makes me worried about you. I'm sorry."

I let my gaze fall from her; I couldn't bear to look her in the eyes. She was going to start shouting at me any moment now. A pair of arms wrapped around me instead. Oh god she was actually going to kill me wasn't she? But they didn't hug in a threatening way, I felt them softly wrap around me as Shadi put her head on my shoulder.

"Thanks Tehya." I heard her say, shocking me yet again.

Now, I was confused. "Um, you're welcome? You're thanking me for being unsure about the guy you like?"

"Yes, at least I can get an opinion from you other than "oh you're so cute together!" Shadi exclaimed looking at me and rolling her eyes.

"People have said that already?" Wow, word got around fast in that school. But surprised since it is one of the smallest schools I've gone too.

"Yeah, we aren't even dating. But I don't need to hear that. I need to hear if what I'm feeling is crazy or that it's too soon to be feeling things like this. I want to hear if Seth is just some guy who decided to suddenly notice me because of some dare by his friends!" She finished her hug slightly tighter. "I am so confused right now; it's hard deciding what's up and what's down. Right or left. I feel like I need to see him every minute of the day. It scares me Tehya."

She let me go and backed up. She turned her back to me staring off into the distance again. It was just like she's been doing the past few hours. I really didn't know what to say at this point. I was really glad she wasn't angry at me for being suspicious of Seth. Now I have to tell her WHY I was suspicious, which was another story completely the only thing I could think of was why he was just suddenly out of the blue interested in her. It was at times like these I wish I knew all of the gossip going around school; it would help me out for having more than one reason to suspect a guy of untrustworthiness.

"It's scaring me too. I don't want you to get hurt Shadi. I can tell how happy you are now, and it's only been one day. This Seth guy and you have been going to the same school for I'm guessing you're whole lives and now…now he suddenly notices you. Why now?" I asked more to myself.

"I just don't want anything to happen that could hurt you. You're the closest thing I have to a sister, you are my sister." I finished.

"I know."

I think it was best to drop the subject there. Her face already scrunched in worry as it was. This was supposed to be a chance to get out and have fun and leave our worries behind for the day.

"Anyways," I started conjuring up a smile. "I got a ton of pictures. Mom is going to be thrilled when I show her these."

She laughed before showing me some of the pictures she took and commenting on each one as well. Her carefree attitude was back and in full spirit. We went through each of our cameras showing what we had taken and what could be deleted to get extra space. After a half an hour of looking through we grabbed our bags and took out our sandwiches, thankfully still intact from when we laid on the bags. We started talking about our day in school. Gossip wasn't something we did, though we did talk about the rumors that went around in the school. Mostly wondering if half of them were true or just something someone made up. It was especially funny if the few we got wind of happened to involve us. It was rarely they involved us, but it was fun nonetheless when they did.

A chill suddenly went down my spine and made my body shake in something I think was fear. I turned slightly to the side so I could see behind me. There was nothing there, but it felt like something was there. Something was watching us. My heart started to pound against my chest as I tried to keep my breathing as a slow intake and out. Why was I feeling this? It was as if there danger was nearby, but there was nothing, from what I could see, there. A red haze started to mask over my eyes. The fear that formed in my stomach began to work its way into my blood and travel into every part of my body. My legs started to burn with an anticipation to make a run for it. I felt the muscles in them begin to tighten until it hurt to stand still. I have to move. I have to run!

Stop!

Suddenly the feeling of warmth washed over me. The haze began to disappear slowly until I could every vibrant color around me again. My body started to feel as if it was unwinding and the terrible feeling of anticipation and hysteria began to dissolve away until it felt like it was never really there. My heart still hammered away against my rib cage. I looked around me and suddenly this didn't feel like the cheerful place I had walked into a few hours ago. Something dangerous had walked into it. I think it was time to leave.

"…Mr. I-hate-all-teens gave me the evil eye today because I walked into his class as the bell rang. He looked ready to blow a another hole in the ozone layer-"

"Shadi."

"Yeah T?"

"I think it's time to go home." I said taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling.

She looked at me confused. "It's time already? It's still early."

I'd hate to play this card, but I really felt the need to get us out of here and quickly. "Seth's coming by to pick up right? So we should get home and you can ready. He looked like the type that might arrive early."

"Oh, okay. You're probably right. Beside I still haven't got any clue what to wear." She said putting her camera in her bag. "He did say casual though. So I'm thinking jeans and a plain shirt will be fine. I wonder if I should make up on."

I nodded. "I'll help you pick something out-"

Owoooooo, ou ou Owooooo

We both stopped as the sound of a howl broke the silence of the forest. It was loud and clear and rang throughout the entire forest, making it seemingly echo everywhere. My heart started to pound harder, as if it was possible. We had to leave now! I backed a few steps away from the loud sound. It got louder and almost seemed to shake the whole forest. I turned to Shadi ready to grab her and run, but she wasn't in front of me anymore.

"Shadi!" I yelled when I realized she was walking toward the sound.

She didn't even look at me. As if my screaming at her didn't even register in her mind. Her eyes were open in awe and her own breathing had picked up. What did she think she was doing? It wasn't a dog or a puppy. This was a wolf. Though all animals seem to be fine unless provoked, I didn't want to test that theory.

"It sounds so heartbreaking. It's in pain." I heard her say. I didn't know if she was talking to me or herself.

I practically ran over to her and grabbed her arm. "We have to go. Now!"

Her trance seemed to break as she looked at me in confusion. It was like she had forgotten I was even here. She turned back toward the howling, her eyes looking longingly at the direction it was coming from. I started to pull her along with me. Something was going on here. This forest was having some weird effect on us both. I should have just listened to everyone else about this place. It was dangerous. Even worse there seemed to be actual wolves in it.

I felt Shadi trying to break away from my grip. Her pull wasn't strong, which surprised me; she had always been stronger than me. Then again she wasn't exactly paying attention to what was happening to her. That scared me. The howling started to slowly fade, until it stopped. Shadi finally stopped pulling and started to follow me, without hesitation. We ran until we finally saw the edge of the woods and all but flew out of it. We stopped and both looked at each other before turning to look at the forest again. The brightness of it seemed to fade away. It looked bigger than it did when we entered. The trees had seemed to have gotten more threatening and swayed from a heavy gust of wind. There were noises coming from it now, that we hadn't noticed walking into it. The birds were suddenly cawing loudly and scattering everywhere.

"There…there are…" I could hear Shadi gasping, as if she had finally been brought back into reality and was now remembering everything that had happened in there. I didn't look at her. I couldn't bring myself to look away from the forest. The darkness of it was just, haunting. My breath was caught within me. My chest hurt, it must have been from the running. Though, I didn't feel the ache in my legs from a long run. It felt more like, it was feeling like being caged in. "…wolves."