Chapter Sixteen
On our way back we collected Birka, who was very unhappy to see the werewolves. Once I had calmed him down enough to be reasonable he went along willingly...almost. I still had to pull and tug him every once in a while. Eventually we made it back to the barn, where I had the werewolves wait in the forest out of sight. I led Birka back to the relative safety of his stall and got Karnus' saddle and bridle.
Once Karnus was all geared up with me on his back, he seemed much more confident around the massive werewolves surrounding him. With a nod in Darlican's direction, we raced off into the deeper and darker parts of the forest, travelling much faster now that Birka was safe at home. Within a couple hours, we had reached the part of the woods where the trees were deeper and lusher in feeling.
I looked around in a sense of awe. I thought the woods were natural before, but everything around here just felt so free. I could feel the wild wind running through my hair, I could smell the trees and the grass as fresh as if a rain had just passed, and the natural mist swirled around us like comforting hands trailing on soft skin. I inhaled deeply.
"No wonder why you have a den out here; this place is incredible." I told Darlican. He looked back with some surprise.
"So you feel it too?" he asked me. I cocked my head sideways in confusion.
"You feel the Earth as we do; the plants, air, and very mists seem alive and spinning to you." he clarified. I nodded, a smile growing on my face. One of the other werewolves looked amused.
"For not being a werewolf, you certainly possess most of our better qualities." he commented. I grinned shyly at him and he barked a laugh, hopping and frolicking around like a complete fool and making us all laugh with pure joy. After a minute though, he stopped abruptly and got back into his place in our grouping system.
"We're here." Darlican whispered quietly. I sat up straighter in my saddle and looked around with cautious and curious eyes. The mist began to even out around us, and soon it felt more like a thick curtain of safety. All of a sudden, we stepped out of that curtain into a large clearing at the base of the mountain. Eyes of every single shade and color were glowing from the shadows of the craggy mountain-side.
This side of the mountain was mostly cliffs and scattered boulders, and the mountain wall was full of many small caves, all surrounding a much larger cave in the center of the mountain wall. I could see a naturally formed path cut out from the cliff face that went up the mountain's wall towards the main cave. I assumed all the smaller caves reconnected with the larger one somewhere deep inside, but I was curious. If it wasn't, how did they reach the other caves?
As I wondered about that, I also began to notice several shadows detaching from the mist and joining our group as we made our way on towards the caves up on the mountain side. Our group was now twenty werewolves large, with Darlican and me in the front. Many of the werewolves up in the caves poked their heads out to watch our progress with curiosity.
As I looked around, I began to notice exactly how different each werewolf was from one another. It was obvious who the younglings were, and the elders were wiser in their judgmental eyes. The teenagers were curious and leaping to do stupid and amazing things, such as walking beside me. Those who had just started to gain control held caution in their thoughts as they struggled to control the urge to attack.
There were so many different shades of fur here too, the coats ranging in size, color, shape, length, and texture. There were werewolves with short fuzzy black coats and buff muscles; there was a female werewolf with a light brown coat with long fur and thinner muscles. Blonde, white, black, light brown, dark brown, chestnut, red, gray, spotted, striped, swirled, long-haired, short-haired, fuzzy, soft, rough, thin, thick, buff, skinny, tough, weak, old, young... it all blended together into one large werewolf community.
Also, the clothes the werewolves all wore showed their human personalities. Some wore simple dresses or slacks, but others wore exotic outfits from distant lands and outfits that had never before seen the light of day in this world. It was amazing what they all wore. I looked at the clothes of my original five companions and noted that they were all relatively the same; plain and nondescript outfits, but in different colors for each of them.
We had reached the base of the mountain by now, and the bottom of the natural path. Darlican led the way up the slope and we all followed, the werewolves coming up behind Karnus and I in pairs. Karnus and I both glanced back as one and then gave each other a look that said This could be bad.
Karnus gave me a worried glance before turning his head back around and following Darlican up the slope to the main cave. When we reached it, I was in awe of its true size. From the outside, all you saw was a cave smaller than my living room, but when you stepped behind that first rock wall you were inside something as large as a Coliseum.
I stared around in awe. Cliff-face upon cliff-face met here and created large platforms of rock circling all the way around the colossal room. Upon those platforms were many werewolves, and more were racing in to take their places on the tiers. All the werewolves howled as one, as if sending out a signal of calling to the others. As I looked at all the werewolves, I estimated there to be at least 2,500 werewolves waiting on the rock platforms, and more were racing in from branching cave entrances every second.
I stared in awe at the masses. I'd never heard of an animal grouping so large. The only other time a group so large had lived together was in a city or for an army massing for war, but this was no army. It was a werewolf city, and I was only on the front doorstep. When the tiers had filled up, other werewolves came to watch and stand off to the sides, choosing places to stand on all fours or two feet on the ground. The werewolves in our party split away from us except for the original five, choosing to stay with me other than their pack-mates.
I was in complete awe, and complete happiness. I felt the white light within me flare up briefly in response and saw the werewolves around me flinch back in mistrust. I calmed down my white magic and they went back to their normal stances, their muscles still tensed up and their faces distrustful.
Darlican led me to the other side of the huge ring, where one raised platform was larger than all the rest, and was seated by only one werewolf. This werewolf wore a gold collar of jewels around his neck, and had golden bracers on his wrists. I couldn't see his face, for he was looking behind him at something. Darlican stopped Karnus and I a certain distance away and Darlican announced us, as though we were in a court of some kind.
"This magic user and her steed requested to be brought before you to be introduced to our pack and swear eternal friendship after a certain misunderstanding today. We escorted her here under the influence that it was the right thing to do." Darlican told the golden-collared werewolf whom I still couldn't see.
"Does this...human...have a name?" the werewolf asked in a deep and rich voice. My ears perked up a little. I knew that voice.
"Turn around so that I may see your face." I commanded the werewolf. The other werewolves began to mutter amongst themselves, but I paid no attention to them. I was focused solely on the golden-collared wolf, whom I assumed to be their leader. The chief of this massive werewolf pack.
The werewolf hesitated for a moment, and then slowly turned to reveal who he truly was. I gasped quietly when I saw his face. I knew this man, this werewolf. My soul had connected with his so effortlessly the night before. Suddenly, I remembered what the elf maiden had said before: "Your fate is already twined with the higher figures of the future, though they themselves don't yet know it." And yet, I knew it now.
"Nyvern?" I asked quietly. The werewolf raised his head completely and stared at me in utter shock, and then let out a howl for complete joy. The pack echoed him in some confusion, but Nyvern was already on the move. He had leaped down from his perch high up in the rocks and landed on the ground with an effortless beauty, running towards me on four legs and then standing up on two as he reached Karnus.
He went to the side of Karnus and pulled me from my saddle and into his arms, laughing and spinning me around in circles.
"I knew it had to be you! I knew it Ayla!" he told me, laughing with pure joy. I laughed to, holding onto him with a big smile on my face. He stopped spinning and set me down on my feet, holding me steady so I didn't tip over. I was a little dizzy by now.
"Nyvern, I don't believe it! You're the werewolf chief? Of this entire pack? Why didn't you tell me?" I asked him in disbelief. He sighed a little.
"I didn't want you to see me as some form of royalty; I wanted you to see me as a normal person. A normal werewolf without responsibilities or titles. And I think I've accomplished that." he said, giving me a hopeful grin. I full-out smiled to him.
"You'll always be just Nyvern to me; no fancy titles will exist in my mind." I told him, winking. He laughed heartily and gave me a crushing hug, still being careful of my weak human body. He set me back down and then grabbed my hand.
"Come! You must see our glorious city of werewolves! You're a member of this pack now. Ayla the Loner is no more. You are now Ayla of the Mountain Howler Pack!" he said, his voice rising in level and booming out into the stadium. All the werewolves howled up into the sky, and for the pure feeling rippling through me I joined them, howling together. Nyvern stopped his howling to look down at me in some shock, and I stopped with a blush, keeping quiet.
"For a moment, I thought you were another wolf-sister like me, and I became confused. You were born with the werewolf inside of you Ayla; I think you know that now. All you have to do is say the word, and I'll let it out of you, into freedom." he offered quietly, a light shining into his eyes. For a moment I thought about it, warring within myself when suddenly my white light flared up. All the werewolves but Nyvern took many steps back, watching the white tendrils floating around my body and creating an aura of protection.
Suddenly, the aura rippled, and the white elf maiden stepped out of its light, standing before me and the werewolves. The werewolves all gasped quietly at the sight of such a beautiful and pure elf and many began to weep from the beauty. She looked around at them all before her eyes focused on me. Her ancient and penetrating voice bore deep into my soul as she spoke to me again.
"Ayla, you're faced with more than one difficult choice in this life. While you fear what taking on such a responsibility would do to you, it may help save you in the end. You will need the power of the strongest werewolf to keep you going, and your soul will need its limitless freedom in order to survive. The white magic inside of you will only grow stronger and freer if you were to take on the powers of the werewolf.
"However, be warned. While the magic will give you control over your form, it will not take away any pain you feel when shifting into a werewolf, and you will have responsibilities to your pack as well. It is a heavy burden, but one that you would be able to carry with ease, and even laughter. Choose what your soul tells you to, and keep close to those that your soul calls out to in the day and, more importantly, in the night.
"Also Ayla, remember my earlier warnings. You will still need them in the days to follow. And before long, you shall be fleeing from here for your life, following two strange humans to distant lands where you shall be a part of the higher leaders of the future, and not just in the werewolf community as you have now met. Farewell Ayla, and keep your pack close to you. Danger is following in your footsteps." And just like that, she stepped back into the aura of light and it all disappeared, fading back into my soul where it lied in wait.