Born Wild

Woman of the forest pt 2

Koda and Tala quickly walked back to the house with a lot on their minds. They walked through the door, firmly closed it, took off their coats, sat on the couch, and for a moment silently enjoyed the warmth. They looked at each other but could not think of what to say. 

"There's another werewolf. We aren't alone." Koda scratched his head. "We need to talk to her, but how?" Koda got up off the couch, paced back and forth in the living room a few times, and ran his fingers through his hair. He walked to the window and looked outside. "Maybe we need to show her we're werewolves.... The only problem is that we can't change at will. If she stays around till the full moon she may see us like wolves."

 Tala thought about what he said for a moment. "Maybe we should go into the forest every night until the full moon as well. We need all of the help with this we can get and if she's alone maybe she needs a pack." 

They agreed to go outside every night after it was dark and try to find her again. The next night they went outside quietly but heard no howling and saw no footprints. They walked for an hour but there was no sign of her presence anywhere in the forest surrounding their house. 

"We'll try again." Tala said as they walked back to their house.

For the next couple of nights, they went back outside to see if she had reappeared but they found no evidence that she was there. The night before the full moon, Tala and Koda grew increasingly worried. They wanted to find the woman but understood that is was not likely now and that they would have to figure it out on their own. As they stood quietly in the house close to each other. Koda avoided looking at her and didn't say much. Tala could tell Koda was nervous about transforming for the first time. She reassured him by gently moving her hand to the back of his neck, pulling him into an embrace. 

"It's gonna be okay Koda." she said to him, her every gentle word lifting his spirits and easing his heavy heart. His stiff body became limp and relaxed in her arms. 

At that moment they knew they were meant for each other, through the celebrations and victories in their lives to the worst of times in fear, pain, and unknowing. They were content right where they were in the little shack they called home, just slowly dancing together in circles. They were content in their own little world surrounded by tall evergreen trees. As they held each other they knew it was going to be okay. They weren't alone.

The next morning they rose to face the day with strength and power. They felt invincible and on top of the world. It was the day of the full moon. They walked with their heads held high, ready to get their work done. They worked hard at the Howe's farm, lifting hay bales and nailing new boards onto the barn. 

As the day went on, however, they grew increasingly nervous about their transformation that would happen that night. Tala knew how painful it would be, but didn't tell Koda. She didn't want to make him more nervous about it. Later that day they decided to go to town to clear their minds. It was only around noon and they had several hours till the sun would set. They decided that it would better for them to do something to keep their minds off of the situation, rather than just twiddle their thumbs at home.

They walked into the coffee shop to grab lunch. They ordered, paid, and sat next to each other at a booth near the plants at the front. It started to lightly drizzle outside. "I hope it doesn't drizzle for long since we want to go to the farmer's market." Tala said. They finished their lunch and headed outside.

The rain had temporarily stopped, so they walked across the street to the last farmer's market of the year. The farmer's market was a grassy area covered in a large canopy. Under the canopy was several tables. Most tables had fruit or vegetables but some tables were selling honey or soap. 

They walked over to a table with corn to pick out a few cobs for dinner. Tala looked across the grassy lot at a group of three people at a table with soap and art for sale. One was a tall dark haired male, one was a black woman with large curly hair, and the last was a thin woman with straight black hair. She stared, hoping the woman would turn, and pulled Koda's sleeve. 

Koda looked up past the table and saw her as well. "Do you think it's?"

"I don't know." Tala replied. 

They stood for a moment and the woman turned her head. Sure enough, it was the woman from the forest. She looked back and saw them staring at her. She quietly whispered something to her friends.

Her friends walked away from her to the other part of town and she slowly drifted toward the edge of the market, away from most of the people. She was ready to talk. They walked to her, stepping through the damp grass. She silently waited for them near a park bench. They reached her, their hands cold and quaking, their hearts pounding with nervousness.

She stood still in her dark jeans and nice tall boots, with her thin hands shoved in her pea coat.

"We've seen you before in the forest" Koda muttered. She looked around to see if anyone was watching.

"Yes, that was me..." She looked at them cautiously with her piercing eyes and winged eyeliner.

"I didn't know before if you were like me or not, but today you smell especially strong and I am sure of it. I would like to talk to you soon, but we need to speak somewhere safe."

Koda and Tala looked at each other and back at the woman. "What about our house?" 

The woman looked around at the people in town once again and back at them. "In an hour."

They agreed and she motioned that it was alright to walk back with her to the market. She walked to the table with many herbs. Tala and Koda bought a couple of corn cobs and headed back to their house to wait for the mysterious woman.