The Wolf Girl

Chapter Thirteen

  Molly's POV
  "There. That's good."

  I glance over at Zack, then back to the target. "You know I've used a bow before, right?" I ask, letting go of the arrow after he moves his hands out of their positions around mine. Teaching me how to shoot with a bow is pretty pointless at this point.

  The arrow spins through the air before hitting the center of the circle.
  "I can see that now," he replies. "Where did you get practice?"
  "My brother," I answer in a flat tone. I was also taught by my father before he left, but he doesn't need to know that.

  "Well, I see you have the hang of it, then." He wipes the sweat from his brow as I walk forward and pull my arrow from the wooden target. "You can have a break. I'm sure Gavin will be finished with Alex in a moment," he continues. I nod, my emotionless expression set in stone.

  He walks off, and I plop down in the middle of the training center, looking around at the flowers growing around me. I take my current flower crown off and sigh at the edges of the petals, which have already begun to turn yellow. I place it on the grass next to me and start plucking the flowers from the ground, tying them together carefully. The indigo petals are a splash of dark color against their yellow centers.

  Soon, I have a flower crown, and Alex walks into the clearing as I put it on my head. He sits next to me.
  "I find you here, of all places," he chuckles. "I didn't expect that."
"I'm tired, and I didn't really want to go anywhere else." I shrug.

I had also been thinking as I made the crown. Memories sifted through my mind, a few sticking in particular.

"So, why do you make flower crowns?" Alex asks. I shrug, tying the flower stems together.
  "It was something I'd do with Dad." I shrug again, and he glances over at me before holding up his lopsided crown. I giggle.

  "You're good for a beginner," I say. He smiles, putting the crown on my head. I grin at him.

  "So, what do you want to do?" Alex asks now, pulling me out of my thoughts.
  "Well, let's summon Starlight and Thunder, and maybe they'll want to do something," I suggest, gesturing to the pendant around my neck. He nods, and within moments, the sleeping wolf pups are lying in front of us, snoring peacefully and quietly. I give a small smile and gently pull Starlight into my lap. "Can I just cuddle with her?" I ask in a small voice, and Alex chuckles. I bury my nose into her soft, white fur, breathing in deeply. She doesn't smell of pine trees and sunshine, like the forest does. She smells of cinnamon and crisp winter days. I move my face away from her.
Dad always smelled like cinnamon, winter days, and mint. I shake the thought out if my head. Now isn't the time to cry over him. Especially when I know he isn't dead.

"You okay?" Alex asks softly. I look up at him and realize that there are tears in my eyes.
"Y-yeah," I sigh. "Just... I guess I'm just thinking of Dad again."
"Hey, we'll find him," he murmurs, looking into my eyes. "He's alive, and we'll find him. Okay?" I nod, wiping my eyes before the tears fall. I've cried too much in the past two days. I realize with a start that I was only taken away yesterday. It feels like months ago.

  "Alex?" I manage to whisper.
  "Hm?" he replies.
  "Do you think we can get out of this camp in less than eight years?" I choke out. I try not to emphasize "eight," but my voice wavers on its own.
  "I think we can work something out with Penny," he answers after a moment, not even a trace of doubt in his voice. I nod.

I inhale Starlight's scent again, clinging to the memories of my lost father. Tears come to my eyes once again, but I keep breathing in. Sometimes it feels nice to get an old piece of Dad.

  After a few breaths, the scent of her fur changes. Fresh soil and cherry blossoms.
  My brother.
Cole.

I move one of my hands to wipe my teary eyes and inhale again. This time, she smells of vanilla, old paper and ink, and strawberry perfume. My first thought is wondering how her scents hangs so abruptly. Then, a thought strikes through my mind and causes a broken cry to escape my lips.
Mom.
Starlight smells like my mom.

I keep breathing her scent in, and this time, it's stays the same. The scent that I have briefly inhaled around her at home.

Home. Where Mom and Cole are, with Cole working in the wheat fields every day, coming home smelling like fresh dirt and soil. Mom, locked up in her office. Sometimes I would bring Alex's sister into the meadow with me while Cole worked and Alex was off doing something. We would laugh, talk, and tie crowns from the endless fields of flowers. Once, we had a conversation that still makes me smile.

Callie and I sit in the meadow, giggling as usual.
  "Can I talk to you?" she asks as we calm down.
  "We kind of already are talking," I laugh. She smiles and rolls her eyes.
  "You know what I mean," she says, and I nod. "Well," she starts, "you know Mason?"
  "Isn't he one of the schoolchildren?" I ask.
  "Yeah," she says with a grin. "So, you know him?" I nod again. "I've been thinking... um... he's really cute."

  I smile like an idiot. "You should have told me sooner!"
  "I would have if I was aware of my thoughts at first," she retorts with a childish grin.
  "Do you associate with him?" I demand, wanting to know all of the details.
  "Sometimes," she replies.

  Starlight yawns, pulling me from my thoughts. Her eyes slowly open and she stretches.
  "Hey," I whisper, scratching her behind the ears.
  "Hi," she squeaks, smiling at my actions.
  "You keep changing scents," I say. "Why? Do you know?"
  "Oh," she says. "That. When I'm completely relaxed, I can change my scent depending on the thoughts of the person closest to me. I don't even realize it, but I know I can do it."
  "That explains a lot," I sigh. "Okay, our break is almost over." I look at Alex. "You ready?"
  He sighs. "I guess I'm ready as I'll ever be. I just wish we didn't have to do all of this."
  "Maybe we can get out of here earlier if we train more," I suggest hopefully. He smiles.
  "Maybe."
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A/N: Still pretty bad. Sorry. But at least this time you got a few of Molly's memories and discovered one of Starlight's powers. Not too bad, I guess.
  Guys, guys, guys, guys!!! I'm FOUR reads away from 100 reads.
  FOUR.
  GUYS.
  WHAT.
  I'm going to be honest. I didn't really expect to get fifty reads on this book. But... This is... Guys, thank you so much. If I do get 100 views, I'm probably doing something like pandalovingamer did when she got 70 followers (congrats again!). I may make a roleplay-type scenario with Molly, Nikki, Alex, ZJ (rainbowfangirl97 's account), and a few others. Thank you so, so, so, so, SO MUCH!!
  Thanks for reading, and stay heavenly!
  ~Mabel