Lunar Distance

1 - The Bird and The Rabbit.

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She sat perched up on the small cliff. It wasn't that far a fall if she had decided to jump. And Avem was the girl to jump if it had to be anyone. Her gaze drifted over the field of daisies hidden in the tall grass, her eyelids felt heavier and heavier as she got close to finishing her snack; a small rabbit that found itself in the wrong place on the wrong day. The soft sunshine felt like a blanket on her naked body, and it was so tempting to just lay back and take a quick nap, there and then, on the forest floor.

But Avem knew better.

Such a beautiful backdrop for such a shit day.

Her mom and her had yet another fight about the same thing. It was futile fighting with her. No one ever won, yet somehow it always felt like she lost. Her mom was determined to send Avem away to acquaint herself with their traditions and others like them. But the white blonde would rather stay in her family's cabin and go to normal school like all the other normal kids.

The daisies swayed in the gentle breeze, but there was a small area where the flowers were rustling as if a predator was trying to quickly sneak up on its prey. Like Avem with her rabbit.

The sleep slipped away and her blood heated in caution. She didn't know at the moment if she was the intended prey or not.

But then the daisies stood still as a bird flew low and leisurely, just above the tall grass. And then out of the flowery mass jumped a large wolf. It was a mystery to how it kept itself hidden in the field, but the bird had no clue until it decided to pounce at it. The wolf's teeth missed the bird by just an inch, and so it jumped again in determination. But yet again the bird maneuvered out of the way just in time. The wolf let out a small growl and kept on trying just as the bird kept up its mocking.

It was quiet comical for Avem as she watched the large, daunting creature disappear and reappear from the field of white daisies. Eventually the bird started to fly towards the cliff she was sat on, and the wolf followed, jumping every now and then but miscalculating its strength and jumping over the bird instead.

Avem decided to help the wolf out. To her chagrin, it was getting kind of pathetic, so when the bird started flying higher to get over the cliff, the blonde jumped into her shift and caught the small critter in between her teeth, just tight enough to hold the bird securely without killing it.

The brown wolf peaked its head up from the flowers to see where that thud came from. And then to it's surprise popped a white blonde wolf—with brown fur on its ends—from the flowers as well. For a moment the two wolves starred at the other. The brown wolf panting from all the jumping and running, and the white brown one clutching the twitching bird in its mouth. With its great eye sight, the brown wolf could spot the small daisies along with strands of grass entangled in the other wolf's fur, and because of its strong sense of smell, he could tell that this other wolf was a girl. Argan oil and candied pecans, that's what she smelled like to him.

The brown wolf closed its mouth and tilted his head in anticipation as the white one dipped below the grass, and reemerged as a beautiful girl with light bronze skin, soft vanilla swirls for hair, and with sparkling green and brown eyes. He was in awe as she smirked and lifted the flailing bird in her right hand. She was quite comfortable in her naked form which told him she grew up with their kind.

"Looking for this?" Her voice was playful, not patronizing.

Then, with some reluctance, the brown wolf did the same as the girl, and shifted back into his human form.

He was handsome. Was Avem's first thought. If his tan chest and biceps had to account for the rest of his body, she couldn't wait to get a glimpse. His rich, dark brown hair was going every which way from all his fun. And he looked down, and scratched his arm like he was embarrassed.

"Uhh-yeah. Had some trouble hunting and I saw the bird."

"Well your first mistake was to hunt in a field full of nothing but insects."

"My friend convinced me that they were just hiding." A tint of red crossed his cheeks and Avem's heart skipped a beat or two.

"Whose your friend?" She swore she didn't want to sound jealous, she didn't even know his name.

"Um, Lukas. I'm staying with him for a while."

Avem knew Lukas, their families were close but the two teens weren't. Lukas was always getting into trouble here and there, and with his social skills and Avem's lack of said skills, she couldn't say for sure if Lukas even knew she existed.

She nodded her head, and brushed her wavy hair out of her eyes with her left hand, "Lukas can be an ass." She affirmed. And then after a moment she regarded his closed off stance and the fact he was chasing birds for food. "I'm assuming you're new to this."

"You assume correctly. Let me guess my bird hunting form was all off?" He showed off his pearly whites in a big grin.

"We don't have a bird hunting form as we usually don't hunt birds." Avem chuckled, "but if we did, I'd say you were a pro."

They both laughed together. With the sun and the wind and the flowers it all seemed so picturesque. Save for the bird clutched tightly in the she-wolf's fist.

"I'm Sylvanus." He out stretched his arm to shake her hand.

The blonde walked slowly but not as if she were scared of stepping on thorns. "Avem." Her small hand met his, and their touch felt like it turned the sunlight into static.

Sylvanus looked down embarrassed as he could no longer avert his eyes without being obvious. But before the girl could mock him for being so chivalrous, he started laughing out loud. One of those boisterous, uncontrolled laughs that caused Avem to smile widely.

"What?" She chuckled heartily.

"Your name—Avem—did you know it translates to bird in Latin?" He let out another snicker.

"Cute and he knows his latin." She regarded with a wider smile. He tried to hide his blush this time. "Come on Sylvanus. I'm going to show you my favourite hunting spot. But if you tell Lukas, and I find all the dear gone the next day, I will beat your ass." She warned him.

Her right fist unclenched, but the bird had long stopped its writhing. It sat in her palm and gave her a look as if to say, 'wow the least you could do after all that is eat me', and if birds could roll their eyes, Avem swore it would've, before it flew away.

"Noted." He followed her to the side of the cliff to climb the small hill. His eyes didn't know where to look as he tried to remain respectful. "But just call me Silas. My grandfather is the only person who bothered with my full name."

"Whatever you say Sylvanus." She sent him a cheeky grin. "And you better get used to the whole naked in the woods thing. Some she-wolves might find it cute but most want a partner that knows how to fight for them, not get embarrassed every time they catch a glimpse of their junk."

And then his warm breath sent shivers down her spine when he spoke so quietly and so close to her ear. "And what kind of she-wolf are you?" Without her knowledge, the boy picked at the daisies stuck in her hair.

She responded without turning back. "Both." She shrugged. Had she been facing him, he would've noticed her inflamed cheeks; the warmth travelling down her chest and below the grass to where one could only assume.

Sylvanus smiled. He could work with that.

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