Wolf Heart

Chapter 13

JAMES

Moths fluttered underneath the yellow light which hung over the door as he stood outside and the breeze licked against his ears. Leaves rustled in the wind, and he took his camera into his hands to point it at the fleeting shadows. His camera took too long to switch optics. It whirred and clicked, and he aimed down the shutter. He switched panels and settings, but scowled when it stuck against his finger. A moth escaped out of his angle perfect view, and he shoved it back into his bag and waited for Rayan, arms folded to block out the cold from his fingertips.

He glanced at the door when it slid open with a hiss, and Rayan grimaced at the wind when he stepped over the threshold. "Are you not cold?" he asked as he tucked himself into his light coat. "I'm ready. Where's this spot?"

"It's upriver," James said with a point into the darkness. "Come on." He took the lead onto the lit up gravel path, where the lights pulsed from the dirt to guide them on their way. He stopped when the path overgrown with weeds and roots. "I have one condition before we continue." He stepped over the roots, keeping his flashlight high in the air.

"What—" Rayan gasped and the leaves shuffled. James turned to check on him as Rayan groaned and lifted himself out of the dirt. He tore his foot from underneath the root with a grunt. Once he was back on his feet, he turned around to stare at the path he took, motioning at the root with a strange grin. "Let's... not mention that." He brushed the dirt off his pants. "So, what's this condition?"

"I don't want you telling anybody about this spot." James continued on the path without waiting for Rayan, but listened for the tell-tale sign of tripping and complaining. "No one. This is the only place I ever get some peace and quiet when we have this camp out." He hooked his flashlight onto his pocket and departed from the gravel path.

"Why are you showing me then?" Rayan questioned as they came to a stop at a pile of rocky outcrops. Nearby, the river poured out into the delta, while the willow trees whispered their faint songs through their leafy tendrils.

"You'll see." James pointed up the outlook before getting on his hands and taking careful steps on the familiar stones. "Try not to trip this time."

Rayan made a noise of affirmation, and his own boots joined in the scrape against rock as they crawled to the top of the outcrop. James smiled and continued along the crags with his back to the path and his face to the endless future. Rayan crept closer to him as they got past the final hurdle, over little streams which slipped through the nature-built dam, and James grabbed onto Rayan's arm to tug him forward back to safety, and they overlooked the delta which pierced through the camp.

A protective wall shielded them from the Eteran wilderness which tickled the electric edges. His flashlight pierced his favourite willow, which twisted through the rocks and its fellow trees. He smiled at Rayan, who frowned.

"Is this the place?" he asked.

James nodded, but raised an eyebrow when Rayan raised a hand to grab one of the willow leaves. "Well?"

"I mean..." Rayan folded his arms. "I can't really see anything. How do you take pictures out here in the dead of the night?"

I thought he'd never ask. James stepped closer to Rayan, and put his hands on his shoulders to make him sit down on the grass with his face to the unseen river of possibility. Rayan twisted his flashlight, which sent the sparks of light through the world of willows. James sat back against the trunk, then turned his flashlight off.

"I can see even less," Rayan mumbled, his sketchbook now in his lap as he tapped the pen against the page, lost within the void.

"Try turning your light off."