Tears of the Moon

Nocturnal Fears

~Haiden~

Pale moonbeams somberly streamed in through the paned windows, glimmering amid the ivory curtains to set the silent bedroom teeming with a ghostly lunar glow. A frown was cast upon my features as I listlessly laid among the rumpled sheets, staring up at the ceiling while twiddling the ruby ring between my clawed fingers, unable to fall asleep. 

Anxiety gripped my heart like a vine of coiling thorns as I replayed the day's events over and over in my head. Although I knew very little about human romantics, I highly doubted that catching on fire, getting thrown into a cold rushing river, and then being attacked by the most soulless and fierce creature to ever exist was top of the list.

...I have utterly failed to swoon my mate.

I sighed while wistfully glancing over at Isabelle's peacefully slumbering profile. Her sun-kissed skin was covered in small scratches and bruising goose bites, with a strong-smelling herbal salve made from calendula, plantain, and lavender glistening on her arm to help soothe and heal the mild burn. Her lustrous hair was sprawled out around her head in flowing tendrils of the deepest mahogany, while the moonbeams gently caressed her serene face with lambent affection.

"Would you like to try the Rosetti Spaghetti?" She dozily mumbled in her sleep, causing my lips to curve up into a smile.

Carefully, I leaned over and placed a tender kiss on her shoulder, then rested my head within the bow of her neck to better breathe in her calming scent. My gaze flickered up and out the window, watching how the lucent crest of the waning moon peeked above the treeline, gilding the rustling leaves and branches with its shimmering silver light... Then as though poured from the moon herself, an idea streamed into my mind.

...I shall go to the goddess for guidance!

With careful movements, I lightly kissed Isabelle's rosy lips then slipped from the bed in eagerness. I was going to have to leave her alone again, so I locked the balcony door using a key and quietly moved a heavy oakwood desk in front of the bedroom door, so she couldn't make a run for it if she awoke while I was gone. Not that I wouldn't be able to easily track her if she did though. I just didn't want the natural wolves or brown bears who wandered the forest to find her first. 

After quickly surveying the cabin to ensure that there was nothing that could potentially start a fire or explode while she was imprisoned in the bedroom, I patted Callie on her fluffy little head then sneakily snuck out the front door. A cauldron of bats squeaked and swirled overhead, fluttering upon black webbed wings while I ran down the porch steps and swiftly shifted into my wolf form. 

Starlight glistened upon the tall dew-laden grass, with crickets merrily chirping on the quivering green blades. Treefrogs croaked a raucous melody down by the peacefully singing river, while a wise old owl ominously hooted from its perch on a thick maple branch, its silhouette gently illuminated by the silver rays of the moon. Although the night was alive with estival music, the chilling breath of autumn blew through my ebon fur as I began to race down an untrodden trail through the forest.

My large paws pounded against the dense soil as I ran between the looming trees, below their twisted boughs and tangled slender branches, through shallow streams, and over mossy knolls. I moved like a shadow in the night, a predator on the hunt, silent and swift, taking in every slight sound and earthy smell of the forest.

Eventually, I came upon a steep rocky hillside, adorned with velutinous drapes of shaggy green moss and coiling feathery ferns. I quickly glanced around, making sure that no one else was in the area. Luckily, the only other being nearby was a plump grey raccoon happily perched on a mushroom-covered log, with a big shiny red apple clutched in its tiny paws.