Rieka

Chapter 11

"Rieka! Wake up! Its just a dream!" I hear a voice call out. I feel hands shake my shoulders rapidly.

My eyes burst open and I sit up, breathing heavy. My throat feels dry and I'm shivering yet I wipe sweat from my brow. The hands releases me and I see Aaron sitting over me with worry on his face.

"Are you alright? You were having a nightmare," he explains, staring into my eyes.

"You don't say," I reply groggly, gazing at our surroundings.  The campfire had burned out and all there was left was burnt wood with billowing smoke that went upward into the blue morning sky. "Im fine."

"I thought you were getting maul by a bear," adds Uncle Liam from next to me; still chain up. "I would've help, but as you can see Im alittle tied up." He gestures to the shackles. "Whats for breakfast?"

I turn toward Aaron and he shakes his head, "We have no supplies."

"Well then I guess Im going hunting." I say standing up to stretch. Glad to have a change of subject, but Aaron doesn't take his eyes off of me.

"I can help. In the pack I was known as the Great Hunter," says Uncle. "Maybe later I can teach you some things to control the wolf."

I pause and look back towards Aaron, "You told him?" I ask eyebrows furrow.

"No I didn't!"

"He didn't have to. You two are horrible at whispering." Uncle lets out a yawn.

"Aaron, can I speak to you in private?" I ask, glancing at Uncle who stares patiently in our direction.

Aaron gets up and together we distance ourselves from the campsite. I stop when I feel like we were far out of earshot.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" I ask, staring at Uncle who was now gazing up at the trees.

Aaron stares at him, "I mean Im not going to force you into training with him if you don't want to, but it could be something to rely on if things go south."

"You don't think the spell will work?" I question.

"No, I do think it'll work, but what if you loose your cape? If you learn to control the wolf you don't have to worry about it."

"And you'll unlock your true potential!" Uncle exclaims.

"How can you hear this far?!" Aaron shouts with shock.

"It comes with being a full werewolf!"

Aaron laughs, "Now that is very useful!"

"It is!"

I hit Aaron on the shoulder, "Hey focus," I whisper unamuse.

"I think its a good idea," Aaron replies. "Like I said last night you might even want to stay a werewolf. You can do extraordinary things!"

"And I can do terrible things," I add gravely.

"Not if you learn to control the wolf. Come on give it a shot. Wouldn't hurt to try."

A minute went by as I negotiate with myself in my mind before I say, "Fine."

After unlocking the shackles on Uncle's wrists, together we walk a bit away from the camp to a clearing not far. Aaron gives us space while Uncle and I transform to our wolf form.

"Alrighty then, close your eyes," instructs Uncle.

"Huh?" I ask dumbly, "Whats the point of that?"

"Do you want to control the wolf or not?" He asks calmly seeming unfaze as he steps on a bug with his paws.

Hesitantly I sit down and close my eyes, "Okay now what?"

"Well first you need to learn to have patience. This is not something you master in one day, it takes practice. Practice, practice, practice and that is to start by having a peaceful balance mind. Without these qualities you'll end up with choas and destruction."

Another reason to get rid of the wolf.

"The wolf is like fire. Without control it destroys everything in its path, but if you learn to control it, it can be the light to provide you warmth in the coldest of nights."

"So how long is this going to take?" Aaron interupts before Uncle can continue.

I open my eyes to see Uncle shift into his human form so he can say to Aaron, "It'll take as long as needed."

"Can you maybe teach her the basics or something? We're kind of in a hurry."

Uncle sighs clearly annoyed, "Fine, give me five minutes." Then he shifts back into a black fur wolf that matches the color of our hair. "Okay then guess I'll skip the lectures and go ahead and teach you the mental stuff."

"You mean that wasn't the lesson?" I ask feeling irritated.

"No, that was just part of the lecture," he answer nonchalantly. "This trick is quite simple; close your eyes again and imagine yourself in your wolf form running through the woods.

"Feel the hard ground beneath your paws as you run through the trees. Listen to them. Hear them breathe. Listen to their body move with the wind. Feel the wind run with you. Breathe in and out."

I do what he intructs. Imagining myself running through a green forest. Nothing was chasing me. I was just running freely. Nothing was holding me back. Fear did not exist in this world.

"Now you may open your eyes. You'll want to practice this at every chance you get." He yawns and scratches behind his head with his legs. "Now whats for breakfast? All this training takes alot of out a person."

He perks up before I could even answer he adds, "Ooh, we can go hunting together! I can teach you how to sneak up on prey!" His tail wags excitedly.

"Kinda already know how to hunt," I say while my gaze wonders lazily.

"Well theres alway room for improvement, come on!" He stands up and runs into the woods.

"Is he running away?" Aaron asks looking down at me. His hand rest on his sword's hilt ready to be use if necessary.

I shake my head and even though I know he can't understand me I say, "No," and follow Uncle deeper into the woods.

I immediately spot him hunch down on all fours. His ears were perk up and eyes focus on a target. I lower myself to the ground and quietly made my way toward him.

"Did you find something?" I whisper as I look into the direction he's staring in. I spot a large female deer eating fresh spring grass.

"Shh," he says, his gaze never faltering. "We'll trap her. You can stay here on this side while I take the front."

"Why can't we take her now?" I ask impatiently. I can feel my stomach rumbling. I'm afraid it'll give away our presence if it rumbles too loudly. "We can take her."

"Uh no, do you want to loose it? You have to be patient. Patience is key. Stay here. On my signal we attack." He skulks quietly and swiftly to the other side. My ears perk up to listen, but it was like he was light as a feather.

I watch the deer and Uncle. Gaze darting between the two. My stance wavering and I was close to just pouncing on the deer until finally, finally, he pounce.