Travelers Book 1: Finding Spirits

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ghilislane

"And where were you exactly, young lady?" Ghilislane's mother asked glaring down at her once more human self.

"I was just running around... as a bear, you know I can't help it!"

"Yes you can!" she exclaimed furious, "You know by this age you were supposed to be able to control your transformations!"

"Maybe I just want to be a black bear!" Ghilislane yelled back at her mom, "It's better than being an outcast at that stupid human school! You know I should be running free like dad not locked up in this prison you call a house!"

"Well your father isn't here!" she screamed leaving Ghilislane in silence.

After a moment of agonizing silence Ghilislane replied, "Goodbye mother." She walked upstairs and grabbed a necklace from her once human father. She remembered the last words he said to her, "When the time comes you have a choice between bear or human, I've chosen correctly, bear." Ghilislane decided to choose early, and take the path of her father. She put the necklace around her neck and slowly shrunk down to a cute, little black bear. She ran down the stairs and burst through the door before her mother could close it on her. As she ran she heard her mom shout she couldn't understand, but Ghilislane didn't care, she was a bear now.

Ghilislane loved the feeling of the wind through her fur. It was refreshing knowing that she was free, finally. Her belly was fully after stopping by a rock and eating up some grubs. It was getting dark so Ghilislane picked the tallest tree she could find and climbed up to the top of it to sleep. In the morning she would stop by a stream she could smell not too far away for a drink. She slept soundly knowing that for once in her life, all was right.

Ghilislane woke up to the sound of birds. The sun was just rising and it felt too early to get up, but she shook it off knowing that she would have to get used to it if she was going to live in the wild.

She climbed down the tree as if she'd been doing it her whole life and raced to the stream. Ghilislane stopped suddenly behind a tree, smelling another bear. She peeked around the tree to find a frail little black bear, a little smaller than herself, but as thin as a toothpick. Feeling sorry for the cub, Ghilislane decided to catch her a plump fish. She walked with heavy paw steps, so the cub could hear her coming. She looked up in alarm but realized that Ghilislane was a cub herself, also alone. She put her head back down to the river to drink. Ghilislane walked up to the edge of the river then waded into it. She stood completely still, just like her dad, Stolck, taught her when they went hunting together. She was waiting for a fish to come and realized the cub was watching her with curious eyes. Ghilislane didn't care; she hoped she could teach the little cub something. Suddenly Ghilislane saw a gray blur right next to her, she pounced. Ghilislane was worried she didn't get it because the cub distracted her, but then she felt her claws sink into the scaly flesh of the fish. She was successful! Stolck would've been proud.

Ghilislane walked over to the cub with the fish in her mouth. She dropped in front of her and the cub stared at her in awe.

"Why are you giving this to me?" she whimpered, "You caught it."

"I want you to have it," Ghilislane replied, "You're obviously much hungrier than me."

"Thanks miss!" she exclaimed with overwhelming joy in her voice.

"Please, call me Ghilislane."

"That's a really pretty name," she said with a mouth full of fish, "I'm Deris."

"Where's your mother Deris?" Ghilislane asked with concern.

"Well," she started, swallowing, "She left a couple days ago to hunt. I was told to wait right here but... I don't think she's coming back." She said sniffling.

Quickly changing the subject from her to Ghilislane she asked, "Where's your mother?"

"I ran away from her. She was mean and I can survive by myself."

"Oh... well thanks again for the fish." There was an awkward silence for a moment. Ghilislane felt so bad for the cub, it was obvious her mother had died and was never coming back, she couldn't just let Doris die, but she couldn't handle a cub by herself... she had to try.

"Why don't you come with me?"

"Where?"

"I don't know yet. But you need someone with you, please?" Ghilislane pleaded.

"Alright," Doris replied, unsure.

"First thing we need to do is fill you belly!" Ghilislane said happily.

"Sounds good to me!"