I spared one last look at Annia and Fenris, then bounded forward, heading up into the tree-dotted hillside. Dirt and rocks shifted beneath my paws as I ran, and I opened up my senses to the wilderness. Birds twittered overhead, branches rustled as a squirrel hopped from one tree to another, and the scent of deer droppings mixed with the fresher scents of evergreens and shrubs urged me onward.
I tracked the deer droppings further north to a clearing, where a herd of deer grazed. I crouched in the tall grass for a little while, scoping out the options, and my eyes settled on an older female with a limp in her rear right leg. Settled on my choice, I sprang from my hiding place and bounded straight for her. The herd immediately took off, galloping to safety, and the female tried to follow, but her leg slowed her down as I’d expected. Within seconds I was on her, taking her down, my claws digging into her hide as she struggled vainly. Clamping my jaws around her long neck, I shook her neck to break the spine, the killing blow. A crack rent the air, and as the deer went limp, I pierced her jugular with my fangs. As her sweet blood coated my tongue, I was briefly overwhelmed by the urge to feast right then and there, but I held back. This kill wasn’t just for myself, after all – it was for Annia and Fenris as well.
“Wow,” Annia remarked as I dragged the deer back to camp. “You really know how to impress a girl, don’t you?” She was sitting on a log in front of a campfire, stirring something in a pot.
“I told Annia to wait for you, but she insisted on using some of the rations,” Fenris responded as I tossed my head, annoyed that Annia was cooking something else. He was sitting next to her on the log, though at a respectable distance. To the left, I noticed that the tents had been set up, and the balloon was properly secured.
“Oh well. More for you and me, I guess. Come on then, let’s eat.”
Something very much like reluctance crossed Fenris’s face, but then he nodded and stood. I dragged the deer carcass aside out of respect for Annia, and waited until Fenris had changed into wolf form before ripping into it. Shifters need a lot of food to begin with, and on top of that I’d been using my magic all day, so I was ravenous. Between the two of us, we managed to pick the bones clean in short order.
“Enjoy your meal?” Annia asked after we’d trotted back over to the campfire.
I bumped my head against her leg and made a purring sound in answer, then curled up by her feet and stared into the fire. With a full belly and nothing pressingly urgent to do, sleeping in front of the campfire sounded like a really nice idea right about now.
“I’m going to explore for a bit,” Fenris told me. I cracked open an eye to see him standing under the trees, swishing his tail. “You’ll be staying here with Annia?”
“Yeah. I’ve had my share of exercise, thanks.”
Fenris inclined his head once, then bounded off into the forest. I didn’t know where he got his energy from, but then again I’d done most of the steering today, so it stood to reason he wasn’t as pooped as I was.
“So,” Annia said just as I was about to drift off, “what’s the deal with Fenris?”
Huffing, I lifted my head to glare at her. Couldn’t a girl take a catnap? It wasn’t like we could actually communicate while I was in beast form.
Annia only lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, give me a break and change back already. I’m not sitting out here by myself and talking to the air when I’ve got you for company.”
I made a disgruntled noise in the back of my throat, but did as she asked and changed back into human form. Once I was on two legs again, I sat down on the log beside her and stared up at the sky. The sun had fully set, leaving only a tinge of purple at the edges of the dark sky. Out here in the wilderness, I could see more stars than sky, many of them more luminous than even the waxing moon hanging above our heads.
“Not sure what you want me to tell you about Fenris,” I finally said. “I don’t really know much about him.”
“You have to know something,” Annia said, looking at me curiously. “From what I understand, you two are the only shifters who spend any substantial length of time in the Palace. What’s up with that?”
“Well, I know why I ended up in the Palace,” I said, playing with the ends of my ponytail. I’d scooped my hair back and tied it with a leather band hours ago – the winds had kept blowing it in my face and making visibility difficult while I was steering the balloon. “The Chief Mage took an interest in my abilities, and he hasn’t gotten tired of me yet. But I have no idea why he and Fenris are friends. It’s not like Fenris is half-mage like me.”
“If he’s not a mage, then how is it that he was able to help you steer the balloon?” Annia asked, puzzled. “I thought you had to have magic in order to do that. Isn’t that what Noria said?”
“I…” I opened my mouth, and then closed it again. I didn’t have an answer for that. “He must have picked up some kind of trick from Iannis.”
“How do you know he isn’t a hybrid like you?”
“He’s not.” I shook my head emphatically – of this I was certain. “He smells like a full-blooded shifter to me.” I slanted my eyes toward her. “Why are you so curious, anyway?”
“I like to know who I’m working with.” Annia’s lips curved into a small smile. “And besides, I’m curious as to why he’s so stiff and fidgety around me. If it weren’t for you, I’d think he’d never been around a woman before.”