181 The Girl
Axel was lost.
He had only been to the Blood Moon once before, and he had been by his mother’s side the entire time. But he was ten years old now, too old to be tucked behind his mother’s skirt.
He had left her side not long after they had arrived, she had gone off with the other Lunas, first asking him if he was alright on his own.
Of course, he was alright on his own! He was the future Alpha of Winter!
But that was at least three hours ago, now, he was just Axel, the ten-year-old wolf lost in the forest.
He sat down with a heavy sigh.
His parents would be busy during the events, they wouldn’t notice he was missing for a long time. There was no point wandering around and getting even more lost.
Axel lay back in the cool grass and stared up at the moon.
It was strange to see it in this red glow. Scary, yet also calming.
He closed his eyes, crossing his hands over his chest; he breathed in the sweet scent of the night air.
It was sweeter here than at home. Something other than the trees. It was warm and rich. With his eyes still closed, he sat up; following the scent. He breathed it in deeply and let it roll around his senses.
What was it?
He heard something, a gasp. Axel opened his eyes and was surprised to see someone staring back at him.
“It was you…” the small girl before him whispered. She giggled and moved closer.
Axel crawled back until he hit a tree and had nowhere else to go. The small girl with curly brown hair didn’t stop. She came closer, smiling brightly at him as she sniffed the air.
“You have that sweet smell!” she laughed. Sniffing the air around him and clapping her hands together.
Axel furrowed his brows, he sniffed the air, the sweetness he had been following had gotten stronger, but it wasn’t coming from him.
He leaned forward, moving just slightly closer to her. He sniffed just beside her ear. There it was.
“It’s you…” he whispered.
The girl giggled again.
“We smell sweet!” she laughed.
He liked her laugh. Axel found himself smiling at her.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“I’m eight,” she smiled. “How old are you?”
“Ten,” Axel replied proudly.
The girl leaned forward, getting close to his ear.
“Did you get your fur yet?” she whispered.
“You mean my wolf?” he asked.
She nodded with another giggle.
“Of course!” he replied. “You can’t attend the Blood Moon without having shifted yet.”
“I’m not supposed to tell anyone that I got my wolf yet,” she said sadly. “It’s a secret.”
“Why?” Axel asked.
“I don’t know,” she laughed. “I have lots of secrets that I don’t know why.”
“You’re very strange,” Axel said.
“Is that bad?” the small girl asked, looking away sadly.
“Not to me,” Axel said with a smile. “I like it.”
He felt a blush settle over his cheeks. He was thankful for the darkness of the evening.
“I like you!” she smiled.
Axel couldn’t help the laugh that fell from his lips.
The two children played together until the moon was high into the sky, and already leaving them.
“I should go,” the girl said sadly. “If he sees that I left, he’ll get mad at me.”
“Who?” Axel asked.
The girl got a look on her face that he didn’t understand. She looked confused and scared.
“I’m not supposed to say,” she finally answered.
“Can we play again tomorrow?” Axel asked, not wanting to let her go.
“I don’t know,” she said, “but I hope so!”
She laughed again before she ran away too quickly for Axel to follow. He sighed when she was gone, already feeling lonely without her.
It took him a long time, but he finally made his way back to the festivities, and soon after, his mother found him and gave him a long talk about running off.
Axel had a hard time sleeping that night. He kept thinking of the small girl with the curly brown hair. He realized only as he lay his head down on his pillow that he never asked her name. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
The next day he spent a good part of the morning looking for her.
He was beginning to feel like he would never see her again, when he was suddenly struck by that same sweet smell he had encountered in the forest. His heart quickened, and he followed the scent excitedly.
Axel ran between people and tables, hunting down the enticing aroma.
He finally found it in a room off the dining hall. He went in and looked around, but he didn’t see her.
He was about to give up when he turned around, and she popped up shouting, “Boo!”
Axel jumped back, and the girl laughed.
He wanted to be mad, but the sparkle in her eyes as she laughed just made him smile. He couldn’t see them clearly in the moonlight, but now he saw they were a deep brown. Warm and light, with flecks of gold.
He smiled at her.
“Is it that funny to scare me?” he asked.
“It is!” she laughed.
“As long as it makes you smile,” he said softly.
“What’s going on here?” a voice called from behind him.
Axel saw the look on the girl’s face before he turned around. She was scared. He wanted to protect her; this was his chance to show her he could.
He turned to face the man behind him.
“We are playing together,” Axel stated firmly. “We weren’t doing anything wrong.”
The man that stood before him was short compared to most of the grown men. His hair was brown and curly. He had a mean look in his eye that quickly disappeared as a grin grew wide across his lips.
“Oh?” the man said. “Well, I had no idea that you had made a new friend.”
His comment was pointed at the girl.
“We just met, not friends, he doesn’t even know my name!” she said quickly. “I promise!”
‘Not friends?’ Axel wondered to himself sadly. Was he the only one having fun? Did she not feel happy when she was near him like he did her?
“It seems this young man feels quite differently,” the man said with a dark smile that made Axel nervous.
Axel looked back at his small friend, she was looking away, she was nervous or scared, he couldn’t tell which.
“Well, young man,” the Old Man said, “we were about to have some tea, won’t you join us?”
“He doesn’t like tea!” the girl shouted, jumping in front of Axel. “We can have our tea alone! I promise I won’t run off anymore, I won’t follow the smell!”
Axel didn’t understand why she didn’t want to be his friend anymore, why she suddenly didn’t like him.
“The smell?” the Old Man asked. “What smell?”
Axel and the girl looked at each other. Both of them knew without a word that they didn’t want to tell the man the truth.
“Ah… I see,” the Old Man said. “You have a secret together.”
“No…!” the girl gasped.
“So, you followed each other’s scent among all these other wolves?” he said. His voice and expression made it seem like he was happy or impressed. But the dark look in his eyes made it clear he wasn’t. “How precious.”
Axel wanted to leave, but he wanted her to come with him. He thought about reaching for her hand. Pulling her along whether she wanted to go or not.
“Finding a precious friend is something to celebrate,” the Old Man said. “Now, I must insist we have that tea together. To celebrate.”
The Old Man took the girl’s hand, and Axel knew he wouldn’t be able to pull her away. All he could do was stay with her and try to keep her safe.
He led them to a room not far from where they were playing, he took the girl with him to prepare the tea. Axel thought about running, finding his mother, and bringing her back here. But he didn’t want to leave the girl.
When they came back, she smiled at him once, but Axel could see that she was forcing it.
“Please, young man,” the Old Man said. “Take a bite, I made it myself.”
The girl held up a plate with two small cakes. Axel took one, and she took the other. They ate them, Axel thought his tasted bitter, he only ate a bite.
As the man poured the tea, the girl leaned beside Axel’s ear. She held out her hand and whispered to him.
“My name is Alice,” she said quietly. “Eat this. To remind you of me.”
Axel opened his hand, and she placed a small chocolate in it. He looked up at her, and she smiled. He felt a warmth spreading in his chest.
“Thank you, Alice,” he said.
He noticed it then, her eyes reminded him of chocolate. And the smell that hung in the air between them, it too was like chocolate.
Axel smiled as he placed the treat in his mouth happily. Enjoying the sweet richness as Alice smiled back at him.
“Let’s all drink up now!” the Old Man interrupted. “To new friends.”
Alice let out a sigh and picked up her cup.
Axel did the same.
“To new friends,” he said, lifting the cup to his mouth.