The Hermit

Chapter 4

Eve headed over to the park, thankfully reaching it safely, despite having to take 5 detours around the area. She hated to admit it but her sense of direction wasn't one to brag about.

By the time she had reached the park, it was already pushing eight in the evening and the sky had darkened to a dark bluish hue. She liked the night air that was already drifted in the atmosphere.

She walked around the park, following the path with arms behind her back and mind at rare ease. She watched the trees shifting softly at the wind and spotted a few squirrels scurrying from branch to branch. It amazed her how similar the park's embiance was to her forest back at home. It left her mind at peace and she grinned softly at it.

Eve remembered of the mother duck and decided to search around the bushes for it. She recalled Daniel telling her that it was smart enough to return home on its own but it still worried her that a duck was out in the metal stone, filled with dangerous cars and pedestrians around.

She silently walked along the bushes, hoping to find even a single feathery glimpse of the duck when she was struck with a pounding ache in her chest.

Thud.

Eve sucked in a breath and failed, her eyes wide and frightened. She teetered backwards, feeling an actual physical reaction from the sudden pound and clasped her hands to her chest. 

She wanted to say, "What?" but she was still catching her breath from the sudden impact, and now she was more confused than ever because the ache felt as though it came from her wolf, so the question came out as "Whuh?"

As quickly as the rapid surge in her came, it disappeared just as quickly from her. It was a short but sharp ache and Eve was terrified by it.

What was that? Was it her wolf? Was it an influence by an other?

Eve spun around, searching her surroundings, paranoid that an other was here in the park with her. If there was, it or whoever it is did a great job in concealing itself. 

Nonetheless, Eve felt vulnerable and cautious. She continued her search for the duck and keeping an eye on the park, just in case anything out of the blue happened again.

Anxious to find the reason for that surge, Eve searched deep within herself, hoping to talk to her wolf.

Was that you? Could you answer me this once and tell me if that was you? She asked politely, hoping to coax her wolf into answering. 

The usual silence and Eve deduced that the surge wasn't from her. But she didn't realise the bubbling growl that she felt that traveled from her spine to her head. She dismissed that sensation as a shiver from the cold wind.

Eve continued on her path, approaching the smaller area of the park, where a fountain was supposed to be. Keeping track of her surroundings and finding the duck all at once, Eve almost overlooked the fountain standing in the middle of the park. That was until she heard a small clink of a coin. 

A penny to be exact and it should have been too soft to be heard by a human. But Eve heard it and turned to where it landed. She reached down and looked upon the winking coin, assuming that it was thrown away by someone since not a soul was seen at the park.

She looked around and saw a shrouded figure sitting at the edge of the fountain. The person wasn't wearing anything bright, all dull black that he almost camouflaged with the dark background. 

Eve frowned. Even from afar, she could sense his trail of sadness that was all too familiar to her. Hoping to strike a conversation with him, she approached the fountain in small steps.