The Medallion

Nilla: Who Would've Guessed

I looked around the area. It felt tainted with lies and treachery. It was a little scary being out there alone, but I knew my friends would be with me soon. I sat perfectly still listening to the sounds of the night air. It wouldn't be long before sunrise. It seemed so dark and cold.

I heard a rustling in the woods and turned on the flashlight pointing it to the sound.

"Ali?" I called out.

There was no response.

"Ali, quit trying to scare me."

I looked in the direction of the woods and saw eight sets of eyes seeming to glow in the dark as they caught the light. The wolves had come. Whether they wanted to harm me or not was yet to be seen, but if that dream was any indication, they only wanted to capture Jace and return him to the ocean where he belonged for his dolphin crimes.

I walked toward them, a few of them growled. It was like a scene out of a horror movie with the low light and glowing eyes. I should've been terrified.

I looked around with the flashlight and suddenly saw legs. I followed the legs upward. It was Banta.

"Get that light out of my face!" she snapped.

I quickly lowered the light. "Sorry, Banta. What are you doing here?"

"I sent you a dream," she said. "I expected you to show up."

"Oh. Well, why would you do that?"

"Because I need for you to see that man of yours as a dangerous entity capable of inflicting much pain to many creatures."

"What do you plan on doing?"

"I only want to know what it is that you know. I need to do my job as protector of the land."

"Banta, if you don't mind me asking, you seem nicer than before, more patient. I think it's starting to scare me."

She smiled. Such a beautiful smile. "I thought you were in league with him, that you were partners hell-bent on destroying us all and taking over the earth."

"What made you change your mind?"

"I watched you. I've been watching you since that day," she hesitated "and I've also been speaking to one of your friends."

I heard rustling behind me. I turned and saw the golden shimmer of Halo's hair. At least, the animal I was looking at appeared to have Halo's hair, a little blonde wolf full of grace and joy that it had to be her best friend.

"Halo?" I was surprised.

The animal barked and appeared to be smiling. I could picture Halo laughing at her and pointing as if saying she played an excellent joke.

"There's something I didn't expect. So you hid it from me all this time? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Banta huffed. "She couldn't tell you. How could she possibly tell you? At least, not until you believed such a thing was possible."

I went over to pet Halo. She wagged her tail and licked my face. She was so soft. I never imagined an animal could be so soft.

Banta snarled in disgust. "She should not let you treat her like a pet."

Halo growled low at Banta.

"I'm her packmate," I said. "You allow the wolves in your pack to be playful and loving towards you, right? Well, it's the same here with us." I nuzzled my friend. "You're soft."

"Fine," said Banta. Her kind demeanor seemed to melt away. "So will you tell us what you know?"

"Well, I just think it's all like that old story I'm sure Halo told you about, the one about the dolphin."