Howling at the Moon - [A Werewolf Adventure]

Happiness is Nothing More Than A Facade of Misery (Auron)

Laughing with Tamara and Darion felt good. We were childhood friends having yet another silly conversation. Jaxon passed out in Tam's lap made the memories that much sweeter.

Tamara fell back laughing hysterically while Darion hung his fury big head, shoulders bobbing up and down from him 'chuckling'.

Then, a familiar noise brought us back to reality. That horrible, eye-widening noise that has haunted us since we were little. Tamara immediately snapped back from the grass into her previous sitting position and Darionwhirled around on to all fours and they stared at the source of the menacing noise... My stomach.

Jax lifted his head, eyes still closed with lines imprinted on the left side of his face from Tamara's jeans.

"Aurry," he said, his voice almost sounding of someone else's. "You really should eat something." With that, he lay his little head back down. The sound of his tiny snores seemed like they were trying to defuse the situation of hunger.

Once again, my stomach roared. Not growled, nor snarled, but roared. An exaggeration of course, but I was seriously hungry. It felt like I hadn't eaten anything in days.

I stole a peek at Tamara who was covering her mouth, clearly holding back another hard laughing session. She looked happy, despite the dire situation we've been fleeing from. Her happiness and safety was the result of my happiness.

There was a triangle effect between the three of us. Darion was a shield who always looked out for us. He keeps Tam calm and kept me confident. Tam was the mother, always looking after our well-being. She keeps Darion in check and makes sure I'm always safe. I make Tamara happy which in the end makes me happy while I keep Darion headstrong and confident. The result of that is trust between all three of us. Jaxon has his own spot as well, but not the kind of connection ATD does.

Darion's head was tilted, staring directly at me. I pointed to to the right and behind him. "Go secure the area. Step in the bushes and and sniff anything down. I doubt it, but make sure we weren't followed." He grunted and lightly bounced in the vicinity in which I had pointed.

"Tamara, see if you can find some sort of fruit. Gather some for the road, we'll store them in Jax's bag, if possible. No meat." Of course she knew this. She was beyond smart. She knew the smell of cooking flesh would almost instantaneously signal the enemies. Besides, any sort of smoke or fire would set off our position. 

Before she stood, she peeled out of her jacket and folded it nice and neat as a makeshift pillow. Tamara gently lifted Jaxon's head with one hand, slid the jacket under his head with the other and slowly place him on the soft grass.

"And you?" She asked walking backwards to start her task, picking up Jaxon's bag as she did.

"Darion can search that end, it'll be best if I help him. Split the work and get done quicker, we need as much time as possible." I said. When I went to say something about Jaxon, I stopped with my mouth open. He had shifted. In his sleep! I didn't know that was possible. He didn't even cry in pain.

I wanted to find out more. But I couldn't, I physically couldn't. My family depended on me. I turned back to Tamara who's mouth was gaping as well.

"He'll be fine, we'll be done and rounded up before he's awake," I waved Jaxon's situation off and shooed Tam off to do her job. I turned and trotted to my respected side of the clearing and started to shift. I could hear Tamara grunting and gasping as her bones rearranged themselves as well as mine. 

I dropped to my knees and pounded at the ground while my spine sprouted a tail and the entire surface of my covered in grey and black fur. 

Clearing my vision, I lowered my head to the ground, hovering inches above it as I sniffed just about anything you could imagine in the woods. Stale blood, urine from some other animal, feces as well, the faint scent of human and smoke. My ears perked about, listening closely for anything out of the ordinary. Since it was morning, birds sang a tune, and I could hear tiny animals rustling about in the foliage. Everything seemed to check out. It wasn't enough. I had to completely make sure our surroundings were clear. Nothing would escape my senses.