Beyond (in our souls. book 1)

#17

I woke to Sparrow as she nudged me awake with her snout. "What in the world do you two think you're doing'! We need to travel, not nap!" Iris blinked awake beside me, clearly embarrassed that she had fallen asleep.

"Sorry. "I apologized.

"You had better be, you've wasted my day and now it's almost dusk!" sparrow growled. Looking up at the sky I saw that she was speaking the truth, the sun was sinking towards the west horizon and the sky was starting to tint orange. I glanced back at the sparrow to see her gaze soften. "I can't really blame you youngin's though can i? It's been a tough couple of days, I'm not surprised you needed the extra sleep." spinning back around Sparrow trekked towards the far lake, beneath the mountains, leading us farther on our journey.

I woke to the sun rising and casting its brilliant burning glow across the snow covered moor. At my side iris gazed at me happily, and behind her Sparrow slept, curled in a ball and snoring loudly. We had been traveling for a few days now and the full moon was sinking below the horizon. After a long discussion we had set our sights on the mountain lake. I tried to warn that my siblings had made a home there but Sparrow argued persistently that she was born by that lake and wanted to die by that lake. I asked her why she left the lake in the first place, but she stated that it was a personal story, she would tell us when she felt ready.

I sighed, staring at the lake as it glistened at the bottom of the large hill, below where we had made our temporary den. "We will make our permanent den tomorrow." I dropped my gaze back to iris.

"I know," she answered cheerfully. "It feels amazing to finally have a home after all this time we've traveled."

I stood up slowly. "I'm going to go catch some prey, do you want to come?"

"Sure!" she hopped up and stretched before trotting into the woods that surrounded us, leading the way to find our meal. I lifted my nose into the air, opening my mouth to catch the scent of prey. Rabbit! I saw its long ears poking out from behind a fern. slowly I crept towards it, placing my paws down carefully to avoid stepping on any crumbling leaves or twigs. With a massive leap I attacked the prey, it saw me and bolted the opposite way. i was about to chase after it when i saw iris was ready when it passed a small thorn bush, capturing and killing it in a single swift movement.

"Nice catch!" I congratulated her, trotting over and flicking her nose with my bushy tail.

"Thanks. but it's not just my catch, it's our catch."

"Okay sure." I laughed, our eyes locked and I suddenly knew this was the moment. My heart beat sped up until it felt as if there was a hurricane in my chest and I stepped closer to her. "i-i've been wanting to tell you this for a long time, and now, now just felt like the right time." With a deep breath I finally said the words that I had dreaded ever since I met her. "Iris i, i love you."

Everything seemed to slow down as Iris looked towards me. My mind sped through every way this could go wrong and how I would humiliate myself. Only when Iris's gaze met mine, it wasn't disgusted or even surprised. No, joy filled her eyes "I love you too Maple, i thought it was obvious." she pushed me to the ground and we laid there together, nuzzling up to each other in the soft, cold snow below.

Once our pelts were soaking with melted snow we headed back to the temporary den with our prey to see Sparrow sitting atop a log and stretching. Just before we entered the clearing I stopped iris, seeing the bushes trembling on the other side of the clearing. Before I could call Sparrow and tell her she might be in danger, before I could even open my mouth, something pushed out of the bushes. As large as a deer and as fast as a squirrel it leaped into Sparrow, growling. "Get off my territory, or pay the price!"

hello everyone, thank you for reading my novel, A Journey Beyond, book one in the in our souls series.