While it might take a car two days to drive from our pack house to the gathering location, it was much more of a straight shot to run. I had opted to run all night, and now a few hours passed dawn, home wasn't far off. Maybe an hour at most. Meanwhile, the caravan wouldn't arrive at the pack house for another two days at least. Maybe more, if people ask for rest stops.
Feeling the wind in my fur felt as close to flying as I'd ever feel. Stretching my paws far, gaining momentum with each bounding leap. Small animals scattered the moment they caught my scent. Lucky them—if I'd been hungry, it would've been too late. This is what I really needed, not at some stuffy ball playing politics with werewolves who won't actually give me the time of day because I wasn't actually a Luna anymore.
Running is easier than thinking and hurts far less than remembering human problems, I thought, bounding through the underbrush.
Starfall's territory wasn't the biggest but it was in a densely wooded area that gave way to giant, majestic redwoods. As a little girl, I would lay back and stare up into their canopies, imagining they were silent sentinels for our pack. Tall and strong, waiting for a moment to move and strike our enemies that dare threaten us. I gave a mental chuckle at the memory, pushing my four paws to leap over a fallen tree. You served well, my fallen warrior.
The memory warmed me for all of ten seconds before the real reason I was running slammed back into place.
I knew I was almost home when I hit the river. The water was always icy due to being fed from snow run off, but it felt amazing to plunge into. Instantly I felt the heat of exercise and running sap away to the cool sensation. The only downside of the river was the hidden rocks that lie in wait just under the surface.
I felt my flank hit one hard, earning a yelp of pain. That's what I get for feeling invincible after my long run with zero issues.
As if by magic, four sentries materialized on the bank, armed and ready to fight.
"It's just me," I said over mindlink. As if their bravado was an ice cube hitting a hot pan, it melted away to jovial smiles.
"What are you doing here?" called the eldest, Michael. "I thought you weren't due for another day or so?"
"Change of plans," I replied dryly, hauling my wet butt up the bank and shaking the water out of my fur. I couldn't tell if my legs shivering after was from the cold water or from sheer exhaustion. All four cried out and shielded their faces. I took a moment to look at my reflection in the rippling water below and sighed mentally. There really wasn't anything extraordinary about me, not as a wolf nor as a human. My coat was a tawny, off-white dusted with shades of cream, gold, and ash gray over my spine and hips as well as a small blaze on my forehead, right between my ears. The mark of a natural born Luna, or so my mom told me.
"Only you?" asked another, a lean female named Sara, looking mildly worried. I nodded.
"Something came up that I needed to come home for. Besides it was getting stuffy with all the politics," I replied in mindlink, earning a chuckle by giving a small snort of contempt along with it.
"Care for an escort home?" Asked Michael with a smile and I shook my furry head no. While Michael held himself with an always-too-serious posture that made him look carved from the same redwoods we ran under, he had a soft streak to him for those he cared about.
"Nah, I've got this. You four have better things to do than babysit a willful Luna," I chuckled back.
The four gave a small bow and melted back into the forest, leaving me alone with the sound of nature.
I turned back to my reflection and heaved a sigh. If only they knew I wasn't really their Luna anymore, I thought bitterly, kicking a rock to disrupt the surface. Would they still greet me with smiles and respect—or whisper behind my back, pity staining their voices like rot?
And there it was, the question sitting like a stone in my throat. What happens when the truth comes out?