The Enchanted Realm: A Dragon's Eye

4: The Human Wolf

"We made it." Orion sighed. The others either collapsed or sat on the ground. Izzylyn looked around, only tall, yellow yields staring back.

"So, where are we, anyways?" Cory asked. Orion scrambled to his feet and looked over the yields.

"I think we're in the Long Plains." He explained. "Remember how the map had the Long Plains colored yellow?"

"That explains it then." Izzylyn said. The rest of the group got to their feet.

"We should find a way back home right now." Cory demanded.

"How about we explore this realm first, then we find a way back?" Orion asked. Izzylyn agreed, and so did Amilie. Cory hesitated at first, but then he agreed. Orion started making his way through the yellow yeilds, with the others following close behind. Rustling took up most of the silence. Strange noises filled the rest of the silence.

"How much longer do we have to walk? My legs are starting to hurt." Amilie complained. Orion shrugged, then he heard a low growling noise. He stopped, and listened closer. Rustling filled the silence again.

"Guys, can you stop moving the yeilds?" Orion asked.

"We're not doing that." Izzylyn explained.

"Then who is?" Orion asked himself. The rustling slowly got louder and louder. Eventually, the rustling stopped.

"Alright. Keep your eyes open, people." Orion said. The group nodded and kept back-to-back. The rustling continued, and it headed straight for Orion. Something quickly launched itself at Orion, and pinned him to the ground.

"Who are you?!" The creature growled. Orion slowly opened his eyes to see who was interrogating him. "Answer me!" The creature yelled. Pointed at Orion's forehead, was a sharp spear end professionally tied to a long, sturdy stick. Holding the spear, was a female humanoid figure. Wolf ears were folded back, and a tail was puffed. A buttoned leather jacket that looked similar to Orion's father's jacket covered her. Ripped jeans covered the bottom part. The creature growled again, inching the spear closer to Orion's eyes. The creature's emerald green eyes pierced into Orion's soul.

"If I tell you my name, will you let me go?" Orion asked.

"I might." The creature replied.

"Fine with me. I'm Orion. Orion Darkheart." He explained. The creature was hesitant to get off of Orion, but she soon stepped off of him. Orion stumbled to his feet, and wiped the dust off of his vest.

"Who are you?" Izzylyn asked the humanoid creature.

"I am Moonlight." The humanoid responded. "I am the defender of these plains, as they are home to many endangered species of this realm."

"Listen, Moonlight. We're... not from around here, and we kind of need help getting back." Cory explained.

"I thought I smelled something different about you four." Moonlight replied.

"You're able to smell us? Well, I understand how you can smell Amilie. She needs to cut down on the makeup." Orion joked. Moonlight and Izzylyn both chuckled, and Cory burst out in laughter. Amilie stomped her foot.

"My friend might be able to help with your 'not from around here' problem. Follow me." Moonlight explained. She walked through the fields where she originally jumped at Orion from. The others followed her through the field.

"When are we meeting this friend of yours? My feet hurt" Amilie complained.

"Quit complaining. We're almost there." Moonlight responded. Orion soon heard wood being chipped, then cut off. In a small clearing, a giant, tilted rock sat in the middle. On top of the rock, was a jet-black, anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, using a knife to whittle a tree branch into a small spear. The creature's hind legs were dangling over the rock's ledge, and his spiky tail swished slightly. The creature wore a white T-shirt, with blue jeans, and no shoes. The creature's snow white eyes were staring at the tree branch, and his ears were perked up.

"Shadow Foxy, I found some people with a 'not from around here problem'." Moonlight called. The creature looked down at Moonlight, then the four behind her. He stopped cutting the branch and jumped down. His feet shook the ground slightly, considering his long jump.

"I'm guessing they aren't native to this realm." Shadow Foxy inferred. Orion and Izzylyn nodded.

"Well, where did you wake up when you got here?" Shadow Foxy asked.

"A cave two fifths of a mile away from here." Orion responded.

"Disappearing Cave? I've been there before." Shadow Foxy explained. "Hopefully you didn't get bitten by a Bug while you were down there. The little buggers are infectious." He continued.

"I see what you did there." Orion chuckled. "You said bugs, and in the next sentence, you said buggers. They both have 'bug' in the name." The others looked at him, either confused or just embarrassed.

"I'll shut up now." Orion said under his breath. Shadow Foxy grabbed some sticks and some makeshift rope, and set it in a way so it looked like the foundation of a cooking station.

"If you woke up in Disappearing Cave, you'll be here for a while." Shadow Foxy explained. "From a few days to probably three months." Before Orion knew it, the sun had already started to set.

"We should probably seek shelter. Who knows what could attack us during the night?" Izzylyn explained.

"You've got some survival skills, don't you, Izzylyn?" Orion asked. She nodded, and pointed to the makeshift cooking station.

"If we can light that, we'll be warm for the night." Izzylyn said.

"Or we can huddle together. I'll huddle with Orion." Amilie remarked.

"No way I'm going with Amilie. I prefer Izzylyn's idea." Orion stated. Izzylyn looked at Orion's vest.

"Darkheart, may I use your vest as fuel for the fire?" Izzylyn asked. Orion sighed and took off his vest. He gave it to Izzylyn, and she put the vest under the foundation.

"How are we going to make the fire?" Cory asked.

"Leave that to me." Shadow Foxy responded. He opened a brown bag and pulled out a bottle with orange liquid inside. A label on the bottle read "Fire Starter".

"Light it up, SF." Moonlight said.

"Don't call me that." Shadow Foxy replied. He opened the bottle and walked towards the cooking station foundation. He slowly tipped the bottle, and the orange liquid slowly poured out onto the vest. Once the bottle was empty, a small fire erupted.

"Well, that's a fire for ya." Shadow Foxy explained. He closed the bottle and put it back in the bag. "Now, I'm going back to sharpening this spear." Shadow Foxy then jumped back onto the rock and continued whittling the tree branch into the small spear. Night had already engulfed the sky, and everybody was asleep. All except for Orion. Something from earlier had kept him up for the past 2 hours. From a few days to three months? It'll take that long to get back? He thought. Orion sat on the slanted end on the rock, staring up at the blue colored stars.

"Can't sleep?" Moonlight said from the top of the rock. Orion turned around to face Moonlight, a bit startled. She walked down the rock and sat with Orion, who turned back to the stars.

"You got me, Moonlight." Orion responded. "Something Shadow Foxy said earlier. About that few days to three months? I can't believe it'll take that long to get me back."

"Well, that's Shadow Foxy for you. Always running calculations, messing with your head." Moonlight explained.

"Huh. Sounds like my older brother." Orion stated. "He always used to mess with my head when I was younger." He continued.

"While you're here, maybe I can show you around the Realm?" Moonlight suggested. Orion turned to her and nodded.

"That'd be nice. I've always been one for exploration." Orion replied. Moonlight chuckled.

"I'm sure you are." She said, "I'm sure you are."