Moon of the North

Prologue

   As I flew, I could see the beginnings of the village appearing below me. Finally, it shows itself. I had been flying since sunset, and the full moon was already a quarter way through the sky. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the way the air pulled at my tail, blew across my face, and billowed under my wings. The strain on my wings was tiring, but I ignored it. Glancing down once more, my pupils shrank as a majority of the village's lanterns were lit. They're preparing for the night. I always came here on the full moon, and they must have memorized the pattern.

   Tilting my wings and body, I turned my body eastward and planned the route I would take to remain, for the most part, invisible to the humans below. My nose was met with the stifling scent of vikings and sheep. Ugh. Yuck. I pulled my wings close to my body and dove down, heading towards a clearing in the woods that surrounded the place. I pulled up just before I hit the ground and landed as soft as I could on my hind, then front legs. The trees blocked most of my view of the village, but I knew it well. I have done this many times.

   From the point that my egg cracked open, I have been alone. When I could see, I was in front of my eggshell with the corpses of my dam and sire curled around the nest. My siblings were nowhere to be found. I eventually got the whole flying thing figured out, and learned how to hunt from the eagles and hawks that accompanied me. My childhood had been filled with grief and suffering, until I met Niana. She wasn't my species, she called herself a 'Woolly Howl', but she raised me from 3 winters old. When she was murdered, I crumpled. I didn't eat, and rarely left our mountainside home. When I eventually found this village, I began pouring out my rage and grief over it. Night after night of raiding it for food and terrorizing the humans that prowled there.

   I crept up to the side of the clearing, coming up to the side of the sea stack it was placed on. The village lights burned brightly, and I could see the people milling about. They looked so... peaceful. I unfolded my large wings, let out a piercing shriek, and fell down the cliffside, riding the wind as I flew to my fate. For this night was different. Tonight, I would be changed.