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Aurora Borealis (pt.5)
It took about three days before Shadow and I were able to see anything besides the snow covered plains. In that time I had realized that what River had said was true. Shadow hardly spoke. But there was something about the way he looked, acted, even moved that made him seem so wild. It was fascinating. I had never been so close to a wolf Canthine or spent so much time with one.
For the first two nights Shadow curled up about six feet from me to sleep. He would watch me until I fell asleep. I thought perhaps he didn’t trust me. But on the third night he did something I hadn’t expected. I had just closed my eyes when I heard him get up and approach me. I nearly panicked when I felt paws on my back. Shadow had lain down beside me with his front paws and his head on my back. That was something I hadn’t expected, because even when I had lived with the River Bend pack the Canthines always just slept next to each other. Perhaps it was something unique to wolf Canthines. After all, wolf cubs would sometimes sleep in a pile if it was cold enough.
I received no explanation the next morning, so I let the matter go. It wasn’t long before we could see a dark mass on the horizon.
“Senthihal City,” Shadow said gruffly.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Is that where we’re going?” the black wolf inquired.
I glanced at him. He was eyeing the city with suspicion.
“If you don’t object,” I said. “It may be dangerous.”
“Bring it on,” the young Canthine growled. With that he took off toward the city at a pace I could hardly keep up with.
When we reached the fence surrounding the city I sniffed the air and froze. Shadow stared at me as I wandered back and forth searching for a scent. I couldn’t find it. That was impossible. Why couldn’t I find the scent?
“What are you looking for?” my companion asked.
“Guards,” I replied.
“What?”
“They’re human-canthine hybrids,” I explained. “I know their scents. The humans use them as guards at the city limits. I doubt the guards actually know what they are, though. But I can’t smell them. Every city has them. I can’t find their scent.”
“Perhaps there aren’t any here,” Shadow suggested.
“Impossible,” I exclaimed.
But Shadow wasn’t listening. He had already begun to dig under the fence. With a yelp, I flung myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him back.
“NO!” I cried.
Shadow growled at me, barring his fangs, but I cuffed him across the head and clamped a hand around his muzzle before he could bite me.
“You can’t just go digging without even looking at your surroundings,” I told him. “You don’t know anything about humans, do you?”
Shadow growled again and transformed, effectively breaking my hold on him. “And you do?”
“Yes,” I said. “I grew up with one. She was part of my pack. She taught me quite a bit about the humans. And I’ve learned more by travelling in the cities.”
“Fine,” Shadow snapped.
He sat quietly as I paced back and forth along the fence looking for weak points. There were very few and I only found one big enough that I could fit through it. Silently I motioned to Shadow to come to me. He followed me through the hole and stood sniffing the air.
“Don’t do that,” I whispered to him.
“Why?” he asked.
“You look suspicious. Keep your head down when you search for scents,” I instructed. “Follow my lead. And keep away from dogs. If anyone asks, I’m Celestar and you’re Shaman.”
“Are you sure those are human names?” Shadow winced.
“Yes,” I said. “They’re names from the clan of the human from my pack.”
“If you say so,” Shadow sighed.
“Come on,” I hissed. “This way. And remember our names.”
“Celestar and Shaman,” he said. “Got it.”
I could tell Shadow was uneasy as we made our way through the city. I kept us mostly in the shadows, but at the same time I didn’t want to make us look suspicious. As long as we acted like we belonged there we’d be ok, assuming we didn’t run into any guards. The only problem was going to be Shadow’s total lack of knowledge about humans. He still looked out of place. His eyes didn’t help either; they were too wild, though I wasn’t sure if the humans would be able to see it.
Finally I spotted an empty building up ahead. It looked to be about three stories and most of the windows were gone. That wasn’t uncommon in the cities. They were over built and overrun and now they were beginning to die.
“Up here,” I whispered, grabbing Shadow’s hand and pulling him behind me. I was startled when he snarled at me.
“Don’t growl,” I reprimanded. “What part of ‘act human’ did you not understand? Humans don’t growl.”
“Fine,” he snapped. “But let go of me.”
“Touchy, aren’t we,” I said, letting go of him. “Just keep up.”
“You think I can’t keep up with you, anche?” he growled.
By this time we had reached the second floor. I slapped him across the face hard enough that he lost his balance. Not half a second later, though, he was up on his paws, snarling and lunging at me. I pinned him against a wall in short order, though he did manage to tear up my shoulder.
“What the hell is your problem?” I demanded, changing back. I had had it with this kid’s attitude. “You were the one who followed me. I understand now why Amber didn’t like you. Do you think you’re superior to me just because you’re a wolf Canthine and I’m a pureblood? Is that your problem?”
“No,” he growled. “But I’m beginning to think that’s what your problem is.”
I slammed his back against the wall again to get his attention. “Listen, wolf. I don’t care what you are. All that matters to me is that we both survive this. I don’t doubt you’re faster than me out on the plains, but in here what I say goes. You don’t know the first thing about the cities, so just shut the hell up. And if you ever call me anche again I’ll break your neck. Clear?”
Shadow’s only response was to whimper and bare his neck in a show of submission. That was good enough, though. I knew he would listen. I watched as he changed back and moved to curl up in the corner farthest from me. Good enough.
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