The Light of Dusk

Chapter Three - Hwlyn

Fern soon reached the edge of the Star Lands. Here we go.. She padded in, sniffing the air. A tantalizing smell ringed around the terrain. It was strange; it wasn't prey. What could it be? She cautiously followed one of the many scent trails. There were plenty, seeming to meet in a center of some sort. That meant there was an animal in the middle, Fern knew. It smelled like cat, but different. A heavenly sort of cat smell. Not dangerous, but not peaceful either. It was strange how she could get so much knowledge from a single scent. 

She felt drawn to follow the scent. It was like instinct, instinct to hunt, to mate. To obey those who are dominant. Why do I feel.. As if I should go to whoever is there..? It was not a what. It was a who. Fern knew with a steely certainty that the animal was a cat, even if it may be different. A special kind of cat, it seemed.

The matriarch quickly spotted the cat in the distance. It was sitting on top of a hill, as if it was.. Waiting for her. But.. How could it know she was coming? Fern kept ambling onward, not knowing what she was doing. I have to go check on my neonates.. Yet, something pulled her onward. That was when something sparkled on the cat. It was shining. Like a star. Wait- no, not exactly. As if the stars had poured some of their mist into that cats' pelt, not a star. It was angelic.

Soon, she stood in front of the figure. Fern couldn't exactly describe the cat. Its fur seemed to change colors- from black, to ginger, to white. And its eyes- could eyes appear to be every color at once? Fern didn't know what to do, except for bow her head. Whoever this cat was, they had great power. Either that, or she was crazy. But she knew what she had seen. This was real. The other cats had seen it too. The rogues who had come from the Star Lands.. this was what they had meant. But what about the felines who went into the Star Lands? What had happened to her father? A chill ran down her spine. Perhaps this cat had killed him... She had to be careful.

"Salutations." The voice echoed from the cat, neither female nor male. "You are Fern." It wasn't a question, but Fern nodded. "Yes.." How could this cat know so much?

The cat said nothing else, so the mother grew uncomfortable. "Who are you..?" She meowed quietly. The cat had not given permission for her to rise yet, so she stayed down.

"I am.. a representation, you might say. The soul of what binds Pack of Shining Stars together. I have no name, though some call me Hwlyn. It means 'the spirit of the Pack'. But, you did not come to talk about me. You are here to talk about Dusk." The Hwlyn's tail flicked. "You may rise." 

Fern could hardly process any of this as she stood up. She focused on the part about 'Pack of Shining Stars' and 'packs'. This 'Hwlyn' must be talking about a dog or wolf Pack.. But it just didn't fit. Why would a cat be the spirit of a canine Pack? "Hwlyn.. What are you talking about, Packs? Please explain more.." The Hwlyn shook its head. "No. That information is not for you to know. That information is for your son to know. But he won't trust a stranger. You need to tell him to trust me. All you need to say is 'the Hwlyn will take care of you.' He will understand." 

Without another word, the Hwlyn vanished. Fern stood there, blinking in shock. The only thought in her mind was why does everyone keep disappearing? 

She numbly walked back. Halfway there, she found a rabbit that was recently killed, as if seconds ago. But there was no scent of the hunter. Fern suspiciously picked it up and carried it to her den. No animals were tracking her down, that much she knew. The only explanation was the Hwlyn.

At the hollow stump, Fern wasn't sure if she should eat it or not. Surely the Hwlyn wouldn't go through all that trouble of leading her there only to poison her? She hesitantly took a bite. It seemed normal. Too normal. Fretting, she tore it apart, searching for berries that would have caused her death. Nothing. But now, she was covered in blood. She didn't want her neonates to see her like this. Good thing they were napping at the moment..

Wait. No they weren't. They weren't in the nest. Trying to keep calm, Fern followed the freshest scent she found. They couldn't have gone far. They had just learned to walk, and Fern had given them many lectures on not leaving while she was away. Despite it all, she felt a stirring of anger. Why would they disobey me?

That could wait. She had to-- There they were! Sitting in the patch of permafrost she had shown them!  Her anger boiled over her worry as she sprang over to them, hissing. "What were you thinking?! Running off like that! It would have been bad enough if I was going somewhere safe, like the Pine Grove, but you had to run away when I was going to the Star Lands?! If I had died, you would have had nothing! NOTHING!" Sobs beginning to rack her body, the matriarch curled up into a ball. 

Unknown to Fern, Dusk crept over, laying next to her.  Squirrel, Turtle, and Dawn followed suit. They said nothing for a while. But eventually, Dawn mewed, "I'm sorry, mama.." It went silent again, until all the neonates had apologized. Finally, Fern sighed, "I'm sorry too.. I was just so worried.." 

No more words were said as they walked to the Stump that day. In fact, the Hwlyn had completely slipped her mind until she saw a perfectly restored rabbit where the destroyed one had been. It had the same graze of mahogany on the neck.. Even the bite she had taken out of it was magically healed. 

Fern had heard of tales like this, but she had thought they were all superstitions. Well, the stories usually were about mysterious beings tearing apart prey that had been caught by someone, instead of vice versa. 

The mother considered telling Dusk about the Hwlyn, but he looked so sleepy, and if she was being truthful, she didn't want to do it. She would put it off for tomorrow. Meanwhile, she was actually going to eat this rabbit. It was gone in a matter of seconds.

While she slept, she had a strange dream. It could hardly count as a dream, really. Everything was black, like it should be while sleeping, but there was a whisper. It was hard to make out, but she caught the words 'tragedy' and 'regret'. Perhaps 'creepy dream' would be a better description. But, sadly, the Hwlyn and creepy don't go well together.