Devious Claws

Chapter Twelve

Travelling by wolf back was, surprisingly, very convenient. Every sharp rock and treacherous root was easily avoided by Eros and despite travelling off-road I after a while felt like we were actually following a trail, albeit a less obvious one. Not once did the body underneath me hesitate, although it seemed the farther we went, the slower he felt comfortable being.

Now we'd fallen into a fast-paced walk.

My eyes kept drifting upward. The trees surrounding us weren't like any I'd ever seen before; the trunks were covered in vein-like patterns and their circumference were more than twice the size of any tree I'd ever laid my eyes on in Hillstone. Me and Eros were travelling alone (each wolf was, it was a way to make sure we couldn't be easily tracked according to Eros) but a consistent chatter of birds and fowl rushing through the brush joined the sound of Eros' breathing. The forest was alive - and after a few hours I was certain that no human had ever stepped foot in it.

"So, this is your world."

The large ears before me flicked, but I recieved little response besides that. I made a mental note that he couldn't speak while in this form, and made sure to remember to tell Luke later. Then I stretched my arms over my head, wondering if Luke was okay. I hoped so.

"So, did we, like, travel through a portal?"

Eros' ears flicked again. His head moved a little.

"Alright..." I bit my lip. "Do you think we're safe just walking here? No wolves coming to bite my head off?"

He huffed.

I felt a pressure on my bladder, making me squirm. All of a sudden, I couldn't keep still. "Err, I think nature is calling."

Not giving Eros much of a heads up, I swung my leg across his back and slid down onto the ground. My slippers didn't gain much traction on the frozen forest floor so I awkwardly waddled to the nearest bush. I motioned for Eros to look away, which he did, and had to force myself not to get too freaked out by how scary he looked.

As I returned to Eros' side, I felt how stiff my legs were.

"Actually, I'd prefer to walk for a bit."

Eros fell into my pace and although I didn't admit it, I loved zagging through the trees. My nails ran over the veins of the bark. The ground was fairly sloped so I took sprain against all the rocks sticking up from the ground.

I felt like a kid exploring.

"Lectures are going to start back up soon. I bet they're all studying back in my dorm," I said to no one special as I paused in front of a particularly big rock. We'd need to scale it to keep going, all surrounding brush being pokey and dense. "God, I should've brought my books."

"What do you study?"

I jumped. Then screamed.

Eros came up beside me. He was human again, wearing the same pants as always. His skin seemed permanently sun kissed and gleaming even in the frozen woods. God, his side-profile was perfect. Actually, it wasn't; his nose was arched and prominent and his jawline harsh - but he was beautiful. He was also looking up at the rock, his arms crossed at his chest. I forced myself to stop staring, beginning the ascent by grabbing a protruding edge. It was cold, and slippery, but I managed to have myself to the next indent.

"Law. It's a pain in the ass but I do like it."

"I've studied Law," said Eros from slightly below me. I had a feeling he could easily pass me but was saving my ego. "My father had a great interest in it."

"Somehow," I gritted out, heaving myself up as my foot slipped, "I have a hard time seeing you study infringements and reasonable doubt."

"Well, not human law." He kept close by, holding on with ease. Yellow eyes creased at me. "I study our law. It's important to know what's right and wrong in this world."

"Right!" My mind wandered back to earlier. "Where are we, exactly?"

"It's hard to explain." Eros paused for a bit and we climbed in silence. As my hands finally gripped the ledge and I pulled myself onto the flat surface of the rock, he spoke. "This is a different world from yours, but also not."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I had forced myself to stand, shaking the ache out of my arms a bit, and began walking down the sloped rock.

"You humans have limited vision, and limited senses. Some colours, you can't see. Some scents, you cannot smell." Eros joined my side but kept his distance. Above us, an anonymous bird chirped. "This world exists in the same realm as yours but it can hide from you - and it chooses to do so."

"Err, yeah, I'll stick to Law." I made the last hop and we'd officially passed the rock. In front of us was the woods once more; trees sprouting from frozen moss. The fresh air almost made me dizzy as I kept walking. "You should tell Luke this though, he'll lose his mind."

Eros hummed next to me. It almost sounded like a growl. I realized he did that a lot, those small sounds. "Luke," he trailed. "You like him. You insisted he joined us."

"Well, yeah, I guess. He's my friend."

"Friend," Eros echoed once again. "Are we friends?"

I laughed. I just couldn't help myself, the situation was so absurd. And once I'd begun laughing, I couldn't seem to stop. My stomach had almost begun hurting when I saw Eros' sour look. He grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"Alright, time to get moving again - get on my back," he grumbled.

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A/N
NEXT ONE IS GONNA BE SO GOOD