Wolf-blood

Arrow Boy

Flashback

I immediately started sniffing the air to get her scent. Got it! I followed it out into the street and then into the woods. Where was this guy taking her? Every now and again, I'd lose the scent and have to search for it, but I always got back on track. At one point I found a huge portion of her scent on the ground in the woods. She seemed to have been brought here, where she woke up and then was... what? Questioned? I didn't know, but I followed the scent onward. I took me about 3 hours to finally track her down. Hey, don't judge, those were big woods! Eventually, though, I was led into a clearing which held a pack house. It was as big as Indie's home, three floors and a basement. It looked Victorian, and was painted an olive green. 

I admired it for a while, when suddenly a tremor passed through the ground. I fell to the floor and covered my neck with my hands, when I heard a loud crash. When the quake was over, I looked up to see the remains of the magnificent building. "Indigo..." I mumbled, knowing she was in there. I quickly stood and started towards the remains.

Suddenly, though, I saw a boy about my age with rusty hair and a bow and sheath bolted into the clearing. "Artio..." Arrow Boy mumbled, taking no notice of me. He climbed into the remains, probably looking for this 'Artio' he was referring to. I followed him, hoping I'd come across Indigo in his search. It was early morning, just enough to see by. He over turned tables, climbed into small spaces, all for this Artio girl.

He must really care about her...

Eventually, Arrow Boy came across a hole in the ground. He hopped in without question, and I heard him say, "Artio." He found her. I went in after him to see this girl. "Artio," he said a bit louder. I jumped down from the ledge and turned to see him leaning over someone. "Artio! Wake up!" he practically shouted. I could hear the desperation in his voice. Arrow Boy said in a more gentle voice, "Come on, you can't leave me, not yet... Artio. You have to wake up." I leaned around him to see the girl. But what I saw was not some strange girl, but Indigo.

I got a bit angry at the guy crouched over her. "Indie? Who the hell are you?! Get away from her!" I shouted at him.

He slowly stood up and turned to face me. "Look, I don't know who you are, but I do know that the last time Artio saw you, she lost it. And I don't want to see her like that, ever again. So I suggest you stand back."

I'll admit it, I lost my senses a bit here, but I wanted Indigo away from him. "Are you crazy? Who is Artio? Indigo is my best friend, and I won't leave her here in the care of a rogue scoundrel. Move, now," I growled.

Arrow Boy bared his teeth. "Never going to happen."

Suddenly, Indie took in a deep breath and started coughing. "Indie! Are you okay?" I shouted out and started towards her, only to have the boy reach down and start soothing her.

He said, "Calm down, Artio, you're okay, you're going to be just fine." 

Her bright blue eyes opened a slit and I saw her look at the boy. "Orvar?" she asked shakily.

Arrow Boy, Orvar, smiled and launched her into a hug. "I thought I'd lost you before I even had you... Dear God, if you ever do something like that to me again, I... I don't even want to know what I'll do..." He buried his face in her hair. She, however, looked over his shoulder at me. Then she pulled back. For a second I thought she was going to tell him that she was going to go with me, back home...

But instead, she looked into his eyes, and said, "You can't get rid of me that easily." I felt a pang in my stomach when she said that. It was exactly what she had used to comfort me when I was worried we were going to drift apart. I looked at the ground, hurt.