Thief of Twilight

Part One: Chapter 5

"A-Ah! G-Gold eyes! What kind of animal has gold eyes if it isn't a fucking cat!" I shouted.

The beast continued to circle me.

"Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me!" I clapped my hands together to pray. "Celene, please protect me!" as I spoke, a gentle breeze rustled through the trees. The light from the stars flickered through the leaves like silvery threads of silk. The beast before me was suddenly visible through the starlight. It was...a wolf. A large...massive wolf. Its thick fur was as black as night. Its heavy eyes were like liquid gold. The wolf simply stared at me before cautiously inching closer.

"S-Stay back!" I held up my hands.

The wolf sniffed my palms before lowering its nose to my legs.

"Stop that!" I barked. "Stop it!"

The wolf sniffed my wounded ankle before growling. A tongue pushed through the wolf's lips as it began to lick my right ankle.

"Stop!" I pushed its head away with my hands. When the wolf stepped back, I noticed there was a slight cut on my ankle. I didn't know my ankle was wounded.

The wolf shook my hands away and licked my ankle.

"I said stop!" I spat. "Stop licking me!" I pushed the wolf back again.

The wolf stepped back before sitting up.

"If you're going to lick my ankle, you might as well put me out of my misery and just eat me." I looked down at my ankle. "Huh...?" the cut was gone, although my ankle was turning purple. "Did...you heal me...?"

The wolf simply stared at me.

"Are you...some sort of beast of the forest?" I asked. "Or a spirit of some sort?"

The wolf looked up at the night sky.

"Right, I should know better than to ask an animal these questions." I sighed. "You're a wolf. An animal...regardless of your size." I looked up to the trees. "But I shouldn't have done this. I should have just stayed at the palace."

The wolf looked down at me.

"I don't even know how I'm going to get back to the palace. I know that stupid emperor is going to lose his shit when he finds out. He'll probably send a whole search party to search for me."

The wolf lowered its head.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I looked up at the wolf. "It's not your fault. It was my own curiosity that caused me to run off into the night. I should have just stayed in my room. But I'm sick of staying in the palace all day. Especially in my room. But I know I can't leave until my imperial clothes arrive.

The wolf walked toward me and stuck its nose under my arm.

"Huh?" I didn't realize it at first but the wolf was trying to lift me up. "Oh, are you trying to help me?"

The wolf continued to push its nose against my stomach before circling me.

"Are you asking me...to get on your back?"

The wolf nodded its head before pushing me with its massive head against its side.

"O-Okay..." please don't tell me this wolf is going to take me somewhere and eat me.

The wolf lowered itself to the ground. Climbing onto its back, I marveled at how soft its fur was. It felt like...I was touching a cloud. Once I was securely sitting on the wolf's back, the wolf rose to its feet and marched through the trees.

"Where are we going?" I lowered my head to its ears.

The wolf glared back at me.

"S-Sorry..." Celene, did you send this beast to help me? The wolf weaved through the trees before walking faster. Within seconds, we were racing through the forest. Gripping at its fur, I lowered my head. We were going so fast I had to lower my head to keep myself from falling off its back. It felt like we were one with the wind. The wolf jumped over a fallen tree before leaping into the air. Breaking through the trees, I saw the city wall up ahead. The wolf bent its knees before leaping into the air. We soared over the city walls. How does the wolf know where to go? Wait!