Echoes Of War

CHAPTER V | THE TETA'S WISDOM

Sunhigh blazes above them, casting long shadows across the open plain as Lunis and Blaze make their way back toward the forest's protective edge. The tall grass sways in the breeze, golden blades whispering secrets she cannot decipher. Each step pulls her farther from the vision, but the weight of it still clings like burrs to her pelt.

The memory of the silver wolf haunts her periphery-a figure born of mist and omen, its clouded gaze a chilling prophecy of what may lie ahead. Her mind swirls with questions, threads of fear and uncertainty tangling tighter with every heartbeat. But even in the stillness of her thoughts, something shifts.

A sudden bump against her side.

She stumbles a step, blinking, only to catch Blaze's lopsided grin as he skips a little ahead, tail high, his trot buoyant with mischief.

"Careful," he calls back with a cheeky flick of his ear, "you're dragging your paws like an old badger."

Despite herself, Lunis exhales through her nose, the faintest edge of a smile tugging at her lips. He always knows when the shadows stretch too long-always finds a way to lighten the load without asking too many questions.

The forest looms ahead now, dark and cool beneath its canopy. Soon they'll vanish into its shelter, the trees swallowing their presence like a secret kept between kindred souls.

But for now, for just a few heartbeats longer, she lets the sun kiss her fur... and lets his presence remind her she is not walking alone.

A grin tugs at Lunis' lips, spreading into a teasing smirk as she narrows her eyes at Blaze, challenge sparking like wildfire beneath her lashes. "Says the wolf who still hasn't beaten me in a race."

Blaze flicks his ears, glancing over his shoulder with his tongue lolling crookedly to one side. "Is that a challenge I hear?"

Her voice purrs with feigned indifference, a silken thread laced with mischief. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Unless you want it to be."

"Oh, I see-" In a heartbeat, the youngster pivots, springing ahead of her and skidding to a halt, his stance shifting into a playful crouch, tail waving in the air like a banner. "Come on then, Loony," he grins, eyes dancing. "I'll race you back to the den!"

Her mouth parts, the words right there on the tip of her tongue. The laughter, the chase, the thrill-they're all so close.

But a thought snags her midstep like a thorn beneath the pad of her paw-

She'd snuck out.

Racing back through the main trail would be reckless. Eyes would follow. Questions would rise. And all it would take was one sharp-tongued elder to blow her cover wide open.

Her tail dips. She casts a sidelong glance toward the trees, then exhales.

"I can't."

Her voice is soft, barely more than a breeze slipping through the underbrush. Her paws don't stop, but the bounce in her step dulls, her shoulders weighed by caution, the weight of what still lingers behind her eyes. "Not today."

Blaze slows behind her, the wind knocked from his playful sprint. Confusion flits across his face, mingled with a flash of disappointment. But it passes like a fleeting cloud as he trots back to her side, puffing out his chest with exaggerated pride.

"Oh, come on," he huffs, bumping his shoulder into hers with lighthearted defiance. "One little race? Or are you too scared to finally be beaten by Blaze the Grand?"

Lunis lets out a snort, amused despite herself. That name. Stars help her. She shakes her head but doesn't look at him-if she does, she might give in. And she can't risk it.