Silver Jungle

Chapter 24

Dani woke up like last time, just much colder. Behind him, the waters of what he assumed was the Hudson Bay, lapped at the shore. "It's smaller than I expected." He commented.

"That's not Hudson Bay, Dani. It's a river that leads from it. I don't know which one, but not the Baker Lake one."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Dani said. "You've been here before, I imagine."

"A few times. The Werewolf of the North are known for their spiritual connection and their healing prowess. Many times, they've been praised for their wonderful healing. But they're also vicious fighters. They live in great buildings, half hidden with illusions and natural disguise." Amber said. She was sitting on a log, this time wearing the clothes that she'd left in. Dani rubbed his arms.

"How are you not cold?" He asked her. The chill invaded his skin, making him feel sluggish and sleepy. Amber shrugged.

"Selkies don't get cold easily. We're seals. For us, being cold is as natural as fighting, and fighting is as natural as swimming."

"I was wondering why someone who was a seal in their time off was so agile." Dani teased, shivering.

"Snakes have horrible vision, yet yours seems fine." Amber teased back.

"No, but seriously, I'm cold." Dani said. Amber shrugged, and handed him a jacket that Dani didn't remember. He took it anyway, and didn't ask questions.

Later, when Dani had made a fire with a few sticks, Amber had put her head on his shoulder. "You know, if we weren't running for our lives, then this would be romantic."

"If you were the romantic type, yeah." Dani added. Amber stiffened slightly, and Dani added more wood to the fire.

"What do you mean?"

"You obviously don't like me. I'm just another coatl. You have some handsome Mages back in the Selkie lands, so you don't care for me."

"One rule of talking with women, Dani Coatl, is that you never tell them what they think." Amber chided coldly, lifter her head from his shoulder. They didn't speak after that.

When Dani was trying to sleep, having built a small shelter as Amber casted illusions. He would have asked her to teach him, if she hadn't been so stiff after their brief conversation. Dani had never been the best at explaining his thoughts, and Marble had always explained that it was part of the trauma from being abandoned.

Even when the girls had approached him, he'd never found any attractive.

Now that he thought about it, Amber was the only one that he'd ever found beautiful. Even if she was a little messed up on the inside, she was the most real girl he'd ever met.

"Hey." Amber said and Dani looked up. "Move over." She said, and he did, making room for her. "I put up the illusions around us. No one should be able to find us."

"Okay. Thanks." Dani said.

"Tomorrow, we'll go and find the wolf packs." She said. "Go to sleep. It's gonna be an early morning."

***

Dani was jolted awake, a howl piercing his world. Amber, who was next to him, woke up instantly. The first words out of her mouth was; "Those aren't normal wolves."

"How do you know?" Dani demanded, scrambling to get up, summoning wind blades. He crouched in a fighting position, keeping his center of balance level.