Moonlight Ridge

17

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It had been a trying week and Leo had barely seen Brandon. He had been busy with pack business as well as checking with the guests he was hosting. Leo herself had been training with Glarald from sun up to sun down. She had finally devised a way to try to get ahold of her magic. With Glarald's help, she found that she could create a 'room' in her mind. She envisioned her magic as water and her mental block on it as a enormous stone.

The room was a completely dark space where nothing existed except the stone that blocked her magic. There was light that came from somewhere above and gave soft illumination to the dark room and stone. She also was able to manifest a version of herself in the room. The version of her in the room used a pick axe that she conjured up to try and break down the stone. When she began trying to release it, the water was only a drip behind the stone.

It had grown into a steady stream by the end of the week. But it was tiring work and the pick axe only did so much. It was late evening one day and Leo was in the middle of her meditation when she smelled something. Similar to the end stages of decay. More earthy but still unpleasant. Along with the faint smell of old blood. She opened her eyes to ask Glarald about it, but heard a loud horn going off near her. She rose in alarm and looked to where Glarald was.

She watched with wide eyes as he continued to sound some kind of warning with the horn that was normally tied to his belt. Within seconds she heard the far off yips of wolves and roars of shifters that were headed towards them. Glarald clipped his horn back to his belt and began moving his hands in a circular motion quickly.

"What it it?" She asked.

"A bloodless one." Glarald said over his shoulder to her.

No sooner had he finished speaking, when a large circular portal opened in front of where he was moving his hands. The portal shimmered as elves rushed from the other side. Tsarra led some elves that all carried bows while Orrian and others unsheathed swords. All the elves surrounded her in a protective circle and Glarald closed the portal to join Leo in the center.

"What can I do to help?" Leo asked with concern and a touch of fear.

"Find your magic." Glarald answered.

"But you need help! Surely there must be something I can do." She reasoned.

Glarald frowned and shook his head.

"I am afraid not. It is imperative that you grab hold of the magic inside in order to do anything. Sit and try to find it. The shifters will be here soon. We will all protect you." He said before turning and using his own magic to create a force field around their group.

Leo looked around nervously before slowly sitting back down. She closed her eyes and was instantly back in the dark room. She was getting back into her meditation when she smelled Brandon and Mallelis among other shifters. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment. She took in the many wolves and spotted a black wolf with a white blaze. Then her eyes were drawn to the many other animals. Some she had only seen drawings of. Different types of large cats, crocodiles, bears and large herbivore animals. Then she spotted a lone tiger. She did a double take on the tiger. It was no tiger from Earth. It had wings that were folded against it's body and horns on it's head. The tiger was quite large, even larger than the bears.

"Aranel, focus." Glarald urged.

She nodded and closed her eyes. She needed to help. She couldn't let others be hurt because of her. She struggled to bring something else into her room she could use. She entered a dream like state where she could hear everything happening outside but was focused in her mind. She heard Glarald speaking to the shifters.

"Hendu palime-! Váre- i aranel at ilya co!" ( Eyes open! Protect the princess at all costs!) He shouted.

She could hear the sound of the shifters running away. Then the energy around her changed. The smell of the vampire became stronger. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand. The sound of something moving so fast that it parted the air. Anxiety rang through her as she finally envisioned something that would break the boulder faster. A large axe.

Suddenly, something hit into the force field so hard that the ground shook. She gasped and squeezed her eyes closed. The elves were shouting to each other. A laugh echoed around the forest as the sound of arrows releasing and shifters giving chase reached Leo's ears. She fought to control her frustration and fear in order to concentrate.

Once again she was in the dark room in her mind. She got to work with the axe. The stone was chipping faster than with the pick axe but still not fast enough. She could still hear the others fighting with the vampire. In her desperation, she thought something she shouldn't have. She wished a strong being could help her remove the rock. Someone like....him.

All at once, the axe disappeared and standing next to her was Mallelis.

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A/N: Mallelis' main animal that he shifts into pictured above. As always thank you for reading!