Fallen Moon

Chapter 22: Jay's Tale

The first light of the sun began to rise over the Nightshade campsite. Along with it, Jay began to rub his eyes and stretch out his muscles. He let out a yawn, climbed out of his sleeping bag and just before he left his bed. Jay just like he did every morning checked underneath his pillow. Underneath it, he kept a photo.

This photo was a picture of a woman with crimson red hair, she had her hair tied up in ponytail. She was wearing a red tank top, black sweatpants. Her dark greens were looking down at him as a child, her lips pressed on top of his head. Alejandro was sitting right next to her on the couch, his red eyes still half asleep. His twin brother was standing beside Alejandro with his fists up trying to play fight with Alejandro like he always did. Everyone in the picture was happy, Jay's life was so full then but now it felt empty.

"I miss you mom, we all miss you," Jay wiped a tear from his eye. He set the picture down gently and once again hid it beneath his pillow. If his brother or Alejandro found out he still had a picture of her. They'd make him get rid of it. They were all trying to forget she ever existed thinking that forgetting would make the pain go away. Jay didn't want to forget, he wanted to remember her, even if it tore his heart to shreds. He never wanted to forget the Princess who became his teacher, his best friend, and his mother.

"First rule of being a tracker," The crimson haired woman began walking Jay through a forest. "Always, Always, Always, be the first to wake up in the morning. Unlike the others, trackers have to check their traps, survey the area to make sure it's safe. We gather the herbs, we start off with a ton of tasks and most of them have to be done before everyone wakes up." She shrugged. "So, you've got to wake up early if you want me to teach you."

"Okay, I will be up super early from now on." Jay promised. "No more oversleeping for this guy." He pointed at himself.

Jay began taking a stroll through the forest. He started his morning by checking on his traps. This task was made easier by his special ability. He shut his eyes and opened them once he did. His sense of sight was increased allowing to see much farther distances. He simply searched the areas he set traps and fixed them if they needed to be fixed. While he was fixing them, he began to think back on his first day of training.

"You said," Jay raised his brow. "Trackers set traps, how come I've never seen you set traps." He gasped. "You do it so early in the morning nobody can see you doing it."

"Exactly, come here," She took Jay's hand. She led him to an open area, the ground looked stable. There was nothing out of the ordinary. "Okay Jay, work your magic, find the trap." He nodded, he closed his eyes and activated his special ability. His sense of sight was increased allowing him to see farther and pick up more details in the area around him.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary," Jay's eyes wandered the forest. He could see a caterpillar crawling on a tree. Various bugs crawling on a branch. He closed his eyes and deactivated his ability. Odds are it wouldn't be a smell trap. He wouldn't find it by amplifying his sense of hearing or taste either. So this left him one other option. He shut his eyes and increased his sense of touch, he bent to one knee and touched the dirt. Once he did he could feel various weak points in the ground. But only one caught his attention.

"It's right there," He pointed at a spot in the ground. He walked up and grabbed a rock, he casually threw it. The ground underneath the rock broke and it fell into a mud pit. The woman clapped after he revealed her well placed trap. "Also when I boosted my eyesight, I saw a trap over there," He pointed off in the distance. "There," He pointed again. "And there, but that one over there is a new one."

"What do you mean?" She asked. "All of my traps are seen in the werewolf handbook." She handed him the werewolf handbook. "We're only focusing on the basics." Jay began walking over to the trap. Once he found it, he beckoned her over to him.