A Fairy Tale

Chapter 14

Agape

A breeze blows through the trees, bringing along with it the smell of pine and the cool water of the lake. The forest floor is covered in pine needles and aspen leaves. Yellow western larch trees poke out among the green scenery, reminding us of the beginning of fall.

The soft touch of my hair tickles my bare skin as it moves along with the wind. The trees bend and bow, moving in unison with one another, dancing around us. Arcturus caws in excitement.

I raise my head, watching him as he flies a little faster, encouraged by the small push that the wind gives him. The tips of his preliminary feathers curve upwards as he dodges in and out of the trees.

Smiling, I break into a run. His shadow moves across the ground before me, taunting me, challenging me to go faster. Artemis is quick to move as she passes me by laughing.

"Try to catch up." She spins around and yells at me before facing forward again. I pump my legs harder as I meet her stride for stride.

Up ahead Arcturus suddenly dives toward the ground, legs stretched out in front of him, claws unsheathed and open, wings close behind. He snatches something up before flying onto a nearby tree branch, dragging his prey along with him. Artemis and I stop under the tree.

"What'd you catch?" I squint.

"A shrew." He lifts his leg up to show a plump shrew dangling from his claws.

"Nice," I comment. Artemis bumps my shoulder.

"Now it's our turn." She says and looks around. A few yards away, a small creek passes us by, running down to connect itself to the lake. We follow it upstream before the dense forest opens up to reveal a small field. We agree to stop here and wait for some game to pass by.

Without my wings, I'm able to easily scale up a tree. I situate myself in a fork in the branches, positioning my body so I have a clear view of the field. Artemis does the same in a nearby aspen tree. The brown spotted yellow leaves help camouflage her brown hair and amber eyes. Soon, we're both situated with our bows in front of us, loosely loaded with a single arrow.

As the leaves stop moving from being brushed by my sudden intrusion, I notice nature moving around me. Birds whistle to one another in a dialogue I can barely understand. Words of 'flight' and 'migration' escape their beaks as they choose to fly away or stay behind.

There's a slight rustle in the distance revealing some fox cubs rolling around. Their rusty, grey pelts mold into one another before they break apart and run towards the bark of their worried mother.

Blue dragonflies dominate the air as they fly in jerky movements around the small creek, accompanied with water bugs and little honey bees.

A marmot peeks it's head out from under some rocks, basking in the warmth of the sun before disappearing again.

Higher up the hill, where the frost and snow start to cover the ground, a herd of white mountain goats leap their way across to a more rocky terrain. Their fast pace confuses me until I notice a disturbance in the white hillside. Three dark coats move their way steadily through the snow.

I look at Artemis and signal towards the wolves. Her gaze moves over the snow before she spots them. Her eyes widen before she smiles. The herd disappears behind a line of trees blocking my vision, the wolves quickly following.