Forever Luna

repeat

noun ~ something that occurs or is done again

CHARLIE

Something's wrong.

I feel it before I understand it.

It hits me like a jolt under the skin; sharp, sudden, and impossible to ignore. My head snaps up, ears pricking forward as the forest around us falls into an uneasy quiet. Calida freezes ahead of me, her body rigid, her muscles tightening beneath her fur as she lowers her head. Her ears twitched, a low rumble escaping her as they flattened to her head.

Yeah.

She feels it too.

I shift my weight, claws digging into the damp earth beneath me, my senses stretching outward. The snowy season was quickly disappearing, and in its wake the dirt was soggy and sunken. Every weight of my paws sank into the damp soil, curling my lips up with annoyance. But the forest smells the same: wet bark, old leaves, the faint trace of something rotting far off to the east.

Nothing new.

Nothing immediate.

And yet, something is off.

A pressure builds at the back of my mind, faint but persistent. Like something is trying to push through a wall that's been standing too long. I still, focusing on it, trying to understand it. It feels familiar, and I ponder what it could be.

It felt oddly like a bond, but who? Who was trying to reach me from this great distance? Was... was it Calida's bond?

I focused on her as she patrolled our sleeping area, her teeth bared as she warned off invisible enemies. My ears swung forward, noticing every huff of breath that left her, but...no, it wasn't her.

Was it back home? I haven't felt it properly in months, almost to the point I forgot what it feels like. Not since I left, not since everything went to shit. It's always been there, sure. Like a faint thread barely tethering me to the earth I was standing on. Or this case this winter, sank upon.

It was distant and quiet, like a voice underwater. I haven't severed my ties with Blood Moon, but the betrayal of leaving them behind made it difficult to notice.

But this... this is different.

It tightens suddenly, sharp enough to make my breath hitch. It felt an awful lot like a warning.

My breath hitches, and I rise from where I lingered to point my nose east. It's been a while since I truly sought out scents at such a great distance; Calida covered most of the wild things, and it's going to take me a moment to sort through what I was feeling.

I hoped it wasn't anything too dangerous. The thought hits harder than I wanted it too, it always did, and a soft whine escapes me when I smell nothing. Calida eyes me curiously, but I shake my head, pacing once, twice, trying to shake the feeling off.

It doesn't go, it only simmers.

Thankfully, we don't linger here long, subconsciously following the trail left by a certain ginger-haired lycan. She leads the way as usual, trekking through various mountains and hillsides until we reach the more southern part of the central territory. Spring must be approaching, and I notice how eagerly the grass springs back beneath the melted snow.

Despite the distraction of running from sunrise to dinner, I can't shake the feeling of uncertainty. Calida notices, growling when I don't finish my food. But with a sharp snarl in her direction, I tell her to back off. She huffs, nostrils flaring as she paces in a circle before plopping down onto her rear.