I sighed, continuing on. There would be a city soon, so I would have to disguise myself as usual. My tail curled up slightly, so it wouldn't drag on the forest floor. My eyes scanned the area as I walked onward, my ears pricked for a noise. A tree branch snapped, and I whipped my head in the direction. There was a clearing next to me, on the other side of the trees. I bunched my haunches, leaping into the tree next to me. I peeked my head through the branches, looking down and brushing my hair to one side so it wouldn't get in my face.
In the clearing, a mother Doe nipped at the grass, her thin legs bending gracefully as the short strands of green disappeared into her tiny mouth. A speckled fawn bounded around her, I could tell it was getting older, beginning to find the grace of its mother. I could see velvety stumps sprouting from it's brown head, exposing the fact that it was a male. Occasionally, it took a nip at the grass, but it wasn't interested.
I shifted into a sitting position, but in the process I accidentally made a rustling noise. Both heads snapped towards my tree, and the mother locked eyes with me. They showed fear, but also mild curiosity. We kept our eyes locked as I slipped out of the tree -as slow as possible- and into the clearing. The deer had never seen anything like me, no doubt. I sat down in front of the tree. I was surprised that the pair hadn't run away yet. The little buck was more curious than his mother, slowly picking his way through the grass towards me. His eyes took in the details of my morphed face with innocent wondering.
His face was inches away from mine, when we heard a rustling in the area right outside the meadow clearing. The mother doe stiffened, as did the little buck. At that moment, a large black wolf sprinted in, closing in towards the mother. I cried out, hoping to distract the wolf from his prey. Unfair to the wolf, yes, but I didn't want to see him murder such an innocent, beautiful creature.
My plan had worked, the wolf turned towards me, and the mother and son fled in the split second his attention wavered. When the wolf realized they'd escaped, his focus turned towards me, growling menacingly.
His fur was in the process of summer shedding, falling out in uneven patches. I didn't like seeing wolves in the summer like that, it made it look like they were unhealthy and weak, and I couldn't afford to have pity on a creature that could hurt me. The wolves eyes were brown, the same dark shade as Auranes. I whimpered slightly at that realization, and the wolf began to slowly prowl towards me, crouching low to the ground.
I stood up and backed up against the trunk of the tree behind me, planning to climb up at the last moment. But when the wolf realized how much bigger I was than him, he stopped, then slowly retreated, his eyes never leaving me. I'd maintained an unwavering glare the whole time, and now I relaxed, climbing into the tree I was pressed against, stretching out on a thick branch. My breath was heavy from the encounter, coming out in deep pants. I laid there for a while, trying to lower my heartbeat and make my breathing pattern normal again. It took a while, but finally I was ready to move on. I really needed to keep moving, I'd barely made any progress today, and it was past mid afternoon. If I was going to find a good place to rest for the night, I would have to start walking, and fast. I sighed and heaved myself up. Time to get going.
