Satiness

Chapter 7: A Waxing Moon

Chapter 7: Waxing moon.

The hidden valley was a beautiful sight. By the time Ally and I made our way down the hill the sun had set and the moon and stars were starting to come out. The night sky made the landscape look even more beautiful. The valley was smaller in size than the dragon town but in its own way it was just as majestic. There were gleaming silver buildings with white roofs which seemed even brighter in the moonlight. There were people everywhere. They seemed ordinary enough, compared to the dragon town. No marks upon their hands or anywhere that I could see. I wondered whether they were really werewolves. Could it be that Ally and I had come across an ordinary town?

"Yes, they are werewolves. Just watch," whispered Ally. She had settled herself in a patch of long grass behind a tree. Deciding to join her, I creeped towards Ally and sat down.

"What," I asked in a whisper, "are we looking at?"

"The moon."

"The moon?"

"Just watch."

So, I did. As we watched, the moon began making its ascent into the sky. Higher and higher it went, until it was high enough above the valley to shine directly down upon it. I kept watching it, waiting to see what happened.

Suddenly, I realised that the street had gone quiet. It wasn't entirely silent, but there was a disruption in the general hustle and bustle of the town. Then I noticed a few people making their way towards the ground on all fours. They rapidly started growing in size, and fur began to appear on their bodies, followed by tails. The people were turning!

As suddenly as it had begun, it all stopped. Where a few minutes ago there had been humans now stood werewolves in all their furry glory. Each werewolf looked magnificent in its own way. Some were brown, some white, some grey, and some were even silver. But no black. Hmm, I wonder why?

"That's because black is considered an ominous colour," said Ally. "And it is a rare occurence among werewolves. If your wolf form is black it is believed that you were born evil, and you are kicked out of the pack."

"But," I asked, "why?"

"Because," Ally explained, "it was written in the Book of Rules, many generations ago. It was written even before I was born."

"But of course," I said, bewildered. "You are not very old. So, have you ever seen this Book of Rules?"

Ally laughed. "Honey," she began, "I'm four hundred and seventeen. And no, I haven't seen the Book. That would be against the rules."

I gaped at her. To say that I was shocked would be one hell of an understatement.

"But," I squeaked, "but, you look my age."

"I know. But time runs differently in this world," she said wisely.

"How different?" I asked, still trying to wrap my head around the idea that I was sitting next to a person four centuries older than me.

"All in good time," she said with a smile.

"Really," I said, indignant. "Not with that again!" Ally just laughed again. Then she stood up.

"Come on. We must find Minah now," she told me. She took off down the hill, towards the valley, leaving me to follow in her wake.

Ally kept walking. She walked until we were nearly out of the valley and were heading towards a clearing in the trees where I could see a small river. The river came down from a waterfall just up east. The trees were spread across the bank, but there was a good sized clearing.