Rune chuckled then nodded towards the unconscious man. “So what are we going to do about him? We can’t leave him out here. He’ll either get eaten by something or just attack the next person who comes this way.”
Willow’s smile went predatory. “Don’t worry. I’ll let Aunt Celeste know. She’ll take care of him and see that the authorities take care of the field. Between her and the rest of the family, he won’t be a problem anymore,” she said, then sighed. “Speaking of my family, you’re going to have to come with me and see them. They’re not going to be too happy when they find that I squatched out in front of you. Could you grab my jewellery for me?”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Because if I touch it I’ll go back to being human. But since during my change my clothes got ripped…I really don’t want to hike through the forest naked and that’s without the whole it being incredibly embarrassing part.”
Rune smiled as he moved towards the small pile of gleaming silver half hidden by tufts of grass. “Technically, that’s what you’re going to be doing either way. By the definition of the word, you’re naked right now.”
“Thank you for that,” she said dryly, watching him scoop up her jewellery.
“It’s what I’m here for. What’s up with it anyway? How does jewellery keep you from being, well, that,” he said, gesturing to her hairy form.
She shrugged. “None of us are one hundred percent sure. The generally accepted explanation is that because silver’s known to have purifying properties, being in physical contact with it keeps the curse from affecting us. There’s been some limited testing done, but with the dangers of being exposed, not enough to really tell us anything useful.”
“Curse?”
“Yeah. The whole family’s been cursed with a half-bear body. It’s why, even with the silver, all of us with Byron blood are tall, have brown-hair, and our eye colours only come in the brown to green range. We also can’t be inside for long periods of time, except when sleeping. Unless we’re close to a source of fresh air, then it’s not as bad.”
“Do you at least get any super powers out of it?”
Willow snorted. “Not really. Heightened senses, like my eyes are better than yours right now, except with regards to colours. Well, and we’re stronger in this form, but that’s more just because we’re overall bigger. And I guess I don’t get as cold in winter when I’m like this.”
“Clearly you guys got gipped when they were giving powers out.”
“Tell me about it. It’s not like any of it even crosses over when I’m touching silver. Well, mostly not. My senses are a bit better than normal but that’s pretty much it. It sucks.”
Rune grinned. “I just love the disconnect of hearing a sasquatch say something sucks. It’s like having a dog come up and bum a cigarette off someone.”
Willow shook her head, leading the way towards the trail they’d come up. “You are aware that if I hit you when I’m like this, it’ll hurt twice as much, right?”
“Suddenly your Neanderthal-like reactions make so much more sense. I hope your whole family isn’t the same. I might not survive meeting them.”
“Yeah…you don’t have to worry about that exactly. Just, they really don’t like it when strangers find out about us, so things might be a bit…interesting.”
“I’m not going to ‘disappear’ or something, am I?”
“What? No! They’re just going to interrogate you a bit to make sure you’re not going to tell anyone about us,” she said, shaking her head. Then she eyed him, doing her best to keep her voice neutral. “You’re not going to tell anyone about us, are you? I know this would make a crazy story so…”
Rune laughed. “No. First off, I imagine your whole family would hunt me down and that’s a terrifying thought, especially now that I’ve seen what you can turn into. And what you can do. Secondly, without some kind of proof, something I know you and your family would do everything to keep me from getting, my story would just go to a tabloid. And not even a good one. Thirdly, this isn’t something that affects the world as a whole, so there’s no reason to destroy your family’s lives and privacy by exposing your secret. Lastly, and most importantly, I’d much rather have a sasquatch for a best friend than a story in a tabloid.”
Willow took in his grin, the steady beat of his heart, and the easy way he carried himself and smiled back. Whatever her family said, whatever they decided, Willow knew she wasn’t going to regret having met Rune.
The End
To be continued in What He Heard
YOU ARE READING
Silver Bound Girl
FantasyWillow's a Byron and they aren't just your average family. Not just because there are so many of them, but because they have secrets and traditions far outside the norm. Like spending as much time outside as in, and doing everything to keep rumours...
