Rogue Wolf

Chapter Eleven - The Voice of a Rabbit

That was my very first hint that something was wrong. Not with the world, but with me. It was the first clue that there was something happening that I just couldn't explain. Not at that time, at least.

You may have guessed this by now, but my running into Pavor and Ragged on the same day was no coincidence. And meeting Lyna was an event that marked the point of no return. I could never return to my simple life as a lone wolf. I couldn't hide away and pretend the rest of the world didn't exist. I could no longer avoid the inevitable. Lyna was the start of my headfirst plunge into the absurd, unfathomable world of magic and wonder that was the true Aurea.

I've heard that this world of mine wasn't always called Aurea. Its name has changed again and again through the ages. In the same way, the gods have also repeatedly taken new names. Don't ask me why, since I've no clue.

Funny thing is, Aurea is apparently derived from a word from a language known as Latin, spoken by humans of all creatures. It means "gold", if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps that particular name was chosen because Aurea is such a mystical place, rare and beautiful like gold. Though, personally, I think it's a little bit overrated. But that's not the point here.

Or perhaps it is because Aurea appears wondrous at first. It's like a dream, a fantastical world of mystical beauty. At first. But I'll get to that later. Whatever the reason, Aurea is Aurea, for however long that may be. I just hope it lives up to its namesake. For all our sakes.

Ah, but here I am once again getting off track. I'm going to apologize in advance because I am more than likely going to be doing so again. You may have noticed, but I have difficulty keeping on track, mostly when it comes to important things. Actually, this reminds me of a story I once heard about a lion and a badger.

Okay that time I was kidding. Though that is an actual story that will be very relevant later so I'll be sure to inform you at a later date. Just be sure not to forget about it.

Anyway, as you might have guessed, I don't remember what happened next. But I do remember how Ceraron described the ensuing events. According to him, everything just fell deathly silent. Everybody turned to look at me and Lyna. We were just standing there, staring at each other for what seemed like a very long time. Not saying a single word. It seemed to him as if the world itself had halted, watching with bated breath. Not even the wind moved. The leaves and branches were silent as the dead. Nobody seemed capable of moving or speaking until something, anything happened. Ceraron said he thought he was crazy, but swore he saw a bird stopped in the middle of its flight.

Then, the world resumed just as suddenly as it had stopped. The wolves all collectively blinked as if on instinct. When they opened their eyes, Lyna was gone and I was curled up on the ground next to Pavor, staring at nothing with my eyes wide open. While everybody was still in shock, Pavor picked me up by the scruff while I dangled like a totally lame ragdoll right in front of everybody. So embarrassing, getting carried like a pup when I'm a full grown wolf, mind you! It may seem like an overreaction, but that's just because you don't understand how humiliating that is.

As if that wasn't enough, Root was the first to recover and he was very quick about declaring both me and Ceraron banished from the territory. Forever. Ceraron told me he didn't hesitate, giving Root a quick snarl before turning to follow the behemoth of a grizzly. No wolf followed us or even growled back at Ceraron, but I'm pretty sure that was because they were intimidated by Pavor, not Ceraron himself.

Wing stayed with her pack. I don't blame her, and, in fact, I didn't even want her to tag along. It was obviously safer to stick with them than to travel with me. After all, I had just been carried off like a pup after falling down as a result of a staring contest with a horse. I'd avoid me too, honestly. In addition to this, I am fairly certain that there was not actually anything real between the two of us. I know, I know, I went on about it at length before. But the thing is, we had only just met. It was a little bit of puppy love and a little bit of Wing's rebellious nature. She wanted to disobey Root, and meeting me was the perfect opportunity. There was no way I could manage to be more valuable to her than her pack. I'm a stranger, and they are family. I understand her feelings about the situation. Anyway, enough of that. We will both move on. Speaking of moving on, there was one wolf who wasn't. One wolf who didn't get himself as far away from me as physically possible. That wolf was, of course, Ceraron. Though I'm fairly certain it was less because of friendship and loyalty and more because he wanted to personally rip my throat out and was just waiting for the opportune moment.