Moon Falls

Chapter 4

Cole doesn't take long to return, he glances at me quickly, but then heads into the house. He comes back out of the house dressed in a pair of loose shorts and a tight white top and a pair of old boots. He sits next to me, moving slowly, and leans on the tree. "Sorry about earlier, i didn't want to hurt you, but i wasn't sure how you would feel about it, we had to make sure you didn't attack Livvy, so yeah, sorry" he explains, looking sincere. I huff, my neck is still tight, but i guess i accept his apology. "So, Andrew told me about you shifting later, he said i could come, didn't know if you'd want me to though, so, do you want me to come?" he asks, watching me. I nod my head. It'll probably be better if they were all present. We sit in silence, a comfortable one, through the morning. The children continue to play, ignoring us completely. 

"Hey, so, what happened earlier?" a young man asks, i watch him, taking in his looks. He's wearing jeans, trainers and a shirt, his blonde hair falling into his eyes. He sits on the floor with Cole, leaning back on his arms muscled arms. 

"Nothing, just a run in with some rogues, just stay on the territory for a while and let us know if you see anything unusual" he tells him, keeping it blunt. 

"I heard she got in a fight with one of them, did she get hurt?" he looks me over, looking for scars, but he won't see anything through my fur. 

"A little, but we took care of it, so she'll be fine"

"Good good, has she changed yet? Has she told you anything? I heard she freaked with the kids, must be a loony" he whispers the last bit and chuckles. I look away from him, not wanting to listen. 

"No, she hasn't, and i won't push her either, and it doesn't matter what happened with the kids, it's been sorted" he tells him, obviously this guy isn't Cole's favourite person in the world. 

"Well, how do we know she isn't a threat? She could be planning to attack at any moment, wanting you to think that she's innocent and needs help, then when you have your back turned, she'll pounce!" he shouts the end, making me and Cole jump. 

"Damn you Jack! Go and find someone else to annoy!" he orders, he walks away, a grin spread across his face. A small growl escapes my lips, but i quickly shut up when Cole looks at me. He rests his hand on my back, ruffling through my dry, knotted fur. "Ignore him, he's always been the one to stir up trouble" he mumbles, watching the guy walking away. I rest my head on my paws, watching as the children run around, tumbling over each other. They start a new game, both about 3 years old, maybe it's tag? Who knows. Another boy runs out of the forest, his pale skin looking soft, like a feather, and his dark curls fall into his bright, beautiful blue eyes. He looks at me, smiling, then gets back to playing. He trips and bashes his elbow, tears start to fall, streaming down his cheeks. I whine, jumping to my feet, but he's gone, the image fading like the distant memory it is. The other kids keep playing, unaware of whats going on. I sit back down, tears dripping into my fur and disappearing. Warmth runs down my back. Turning, i see Cole and his friend, Chris, watching, Cole's hand on my back. He sighs and stands, heading towards the house. I follow, keeping close. We end up in his room and walking strait to the wardrobe, he pulls out a pair of black shorts and white top, laying them on the bed. "Would you like to shower? I'll lock the door on my way out to give you some privacy, I'll bring some food back too" he tells me, then leaves the room and locks the door from the outside. I shift slowly, gritting my teeth and my body re-shapes. I walk into the bathroom, turning on the shower. The hot water soothes my skin, feeling good after all the cold baths. I rub the dirt away, happy to see my skin clean again. Borrowing some shampoo and conditioner, i clean my hair, running my hands through my thick black curls. It reaches to my lower back now, i should probably cut it while I have a chance. Turning the shower off, i dry my skin with a towel hanging from the radiator and wrap it around myself. I move the bathroom door out of the way and step back into the bedroom, then freeze. Cole is sitting on the bed, a bacon sandwich on the plate next to him. He stares at me, not saying anything for a moment, then jumps up, handing me the clothes he's gotten earlier. I take them, retreat back into the bathroom and push the door back into place. I pull the shorts on and tie the string, tightening them on my small waist. Then pull the shirt on. It's baggy, but it'll do. I towel dry my hair as best as i can, stopping the drips. After hanging the towel back on the radiator, i head back into the bedroom. "Sorry about the clothes, I'll see if one of the pack women have some better clothes you can borrow until we can get you some. Here, you must be hungry" he offers the sandwich. Smiling gratefully, i take it and sit on his sofa. "How are you feeling?"