[Dylan]
For the first time since that awful night when the entire pack tried to kill her, Avira actually cried. A throaty, heart wrecking silent sob that instantly shredded my heart into uncountable pieces. Again I felt a force, one that was beyond my control, drawing me to her, and wished I had answers to the questions that crowded my head.
I watched her as the skin on her throat quivered pitifully against the Lunar Lock as she sobbed silently. But I said nothing. I did not tell her to stop crying. Crying would help her get the pain she was feeling off her chest, and would also give me enough time to perfect my plans.
Yes, I had a plan, and no, Avira wouldn't like it but at this point, neither of us had a choice. I did not notice when she stopped sobbing or whipped the tears off her face until I heard her speak, in whispers of course.
"Let's get it done then." She said, and I wondered what she meant. I looked up at her, and saw that her eyes were fixed on the bottle which I placed beside her. There were lines of tears on her cheeks even though I was sure she had wiped them off, and her face was metal-like and rigid. Maybe it's high time I told her what to expect.
I lifted the bottle from the ground, and after uncorking it, I brought it close to the wound on her left leg
"It's going to hurt you," I said, looking at her. She nodded, prodding me on.
I poured a little quantity of the rotgut liquid into her open skin, and squeezed quickly at her knee, when she suddenly flinched in pain. For a moment, I feared she would scream, and risk our safety but she didn't. Instead she sucked in air, making a muffled hissing sound, and looked away.
Damn! She's so strong. Maybe too strong.
At that moment I remembered the first time the liquid was applied on my cut. I had nearly brought down the entire structure of the pack with my screams, and as usual, Declan had found my screams of pain funny, and relished in it. Although that was a long time ago, the stabbing pain I had felt that day had remained fresh in my memory.
There were more incidents after that but that day held a special memory for me because…
"I might survive the pain, but definitely not the smell. Something capable of causing this much pain should at least have a pleasant smell," Avira said, cutting my thoughts off. I couldn't tell if she was serious or not. There were wet patches of tears underneath the corner of her eyes which glistened with the dull light cast by the half full moon. Then I noticed that her lips were now curled in a sad smile, and continued to spread until she covered her mouth to stop the giggles from sounding louder than it was safe to.
"Badmouthing my healing potion right?" I joked back, relieved for the switch in her mood. She shook her head rigidly, in the negative before bursting into another feat of muffled laughs.
"That's no healing potion, but some liquid whose smell alone can send even the strongest werewolf to his death." Avira replied in whispers, and amidst muffled giggles. She was out of her gloomy mood, and if listening to her badmouth the healing remedy was the price to pay for it, then there was no need to consider it. Maybe now was the perfect time to ask her about the Beta, and confirm her innocence.
"Will you tie the wound?" She asked. Her voice and tone was serious this time, and some traces of sadness had found their way back on her expression.
"Eventually," I said simply. I had wanted to ask about the Beta, and now that I could not, I felt empty, like a deflated ball.
"We need a safer place to bed for the night. This isn't safe." I said in whispers. We had grown quiet, and I needed to fill the silence. Avira shot me a confused stare.
"I thought…" She started to say but broke off. "I thought we only made a stop to treat my leg." She said, and I nodded.
"Yes, but you need some rest, we will continue tomorrow." I said in an assuring voice, but I saw the doubt in her eyes and the way she looked at me.
"What is the plan to steal past the guards on the borderline?" She asked. There was an unusual brightness to her eyes, one brought about by fear.
"Trust me, and get some rest." I said to her, and rose up. She shot up after me, looking closely at me, as if in search of something.
"What are you doing?" I asked, surprised at the briskness of her movement.
"Where are you going?" She asked instead, ignoring my own question.
"To look for a safer place," I replied. She nodded in understanding and looked around towards the direction where the sound of chirping was the loudest.
"Let's go," She said i in whispers, looking back at me.
"I will come and get you once I see a safe spot, you stay." I said, but she was already shaking her head before I finished speaking. "It's too dangerous to go together," I added, hoping she would understand even though I was sure she wouldn't.
"It's too dangerous to remain here. I could be bitten again by a snake, or worse, I could be seen." She defended, and I knew there was no winning against her on this one. I took the backpack after keeping the healing remedy back inside it.
I led the way from behind the shrub, after ensuring that none of the other pack members who were guarding the borderline was looking in this direction. I got into position on all fours, and crawled farther down the left side of the forest while Avira followed me from behind.
We crawled for long minutes, stopping at the slightest sound from the other pack members, and only continued crawling when we were sure that the sound they made had nothing to do with us.
I was crawling, and at the same time I was searching for a hideous place where we can bed down for the night. I lost balance at some point as my hand was caught in some hole but I was quick to get hold of myself, and regained my balance.
I soon realized that it was not just a hole but a tree's hollow which was situated at the base, and wide enough to accommodate both Avira and me. I motioned for Avira who had stopped crawling to continue, and she did. Soon she was beside me, on all fours, and staring at me with confusion, and probably wondering why I was grinning.
"The safe spot," I said happily but in whispers. "Is this tree hollow." I finished.
"No," Avira said, shaking her head. "It is not safe," she added as if to convince me but I had a different thought. "One of them could walk up to this place and find us out," she added, but she was wrong.
"They upturned the entire forest four nights ago, and they wouldn't do that tonight." I said to her.
"You don't know that," she whispered.
"I do, trust me." I replied, searching her eyes. She was right to be scared, to want to be overprotective of herself, but bedding down in the hollow of the tree wasn't a bad idea.
I watched her as she turned the thoughts over in her head, before she shrugged in resignation.
"You win," She said finally, and I motioned for her to crawl in.
"After you," she said, peering into the dark hollow of the tree. I crawled into it when it became clear that she would not go in first. I made enough space for her, and then invited her over. It was obvious she was afraid, not only of the other members of the pack finding her but also of snakes. She had been bitten once, and obviously didn't want to be bitten again.