[I am about to turn 18... Mother has put quite a lot of emphasis on the day. In fact, usually I celebrate the month of my birth by visiting the human world... but today she disapproved of any visit, saying I should stay here. I want to listen to her... she's my mother... and I love her... but she also does not allow me to have a life. She refuses to tell me stories about father, just his name is all I carry. Maybe today is the day... maybe I can ask.]
Sage closed his book and set it beside him, tying it on his pants. The afternoon sun filtered through the canopy above, casting shifting patterns across the pages. He stretched his arms and looked around the clearing where he had spent most of his morning reading.
'Now... I can't come home empty-handed.'
Something warm and wet touched his leg. He turned to see Hati, a large wolf with silver-grey fur and intelligent amber eyes. She was his best friend, well, his only real friend.
Sure, he had friends in the human lands, but he could only see them during the month of his birth. This year was even worse his mother had forbidden any visits at all.
"You hungry, girl?" He scratched behind her ears, and she leaned into his touch.
Hati had found him as a pup three years ago, injured and alone. Mother had been reluctant to let him keep her, but Sage had a way with animals that even she couldn't deny. He could sense their needs, their moods, almost like he could understand their thoughts.
Hati suddenly lifted her head and barked twice, sharp and alert.
"You smell someone?" Sage stood up, brushing dirt from his pants. His body moved with easy coordination. He was tall for his age, lean but strong in a way that came from years of his mother's training rather than any formal exercise. His muscles were practical, built for speed and endurance, and they sure as hell packed a punch
"Okay, take the land. I'll take the trees."
He grabbed the nearest trunk and pulled himself up with ease. The setting sun caught his light brown skin, giving it an almost grey tint in the dappled light.
Moving through the treetops felt natural. He jumped from branch to branch, his balance perfect even at dangerous heights. Below him, he could hear Hati running through the underbrush.
After several minutes, he reached the tree line that marked the border of their land. What he saw made him stop cold. A group of humans stood next to three large trucks, chainsaws and other equipment scattered around them.
"Hey boss, you sure we should deforest this side? I thought it was the other one," one of the workers called out.
A heavyset man in a hard hat laughed. "Of course I'm sure. Don't worry, it's off the books. The big guy said he'll deal with the repercussions, just do your job."
Sage dropped silently from the tree and landed next to Hati, who had been watching from the bushes. His jaw was tight with anger.
"What are they doing? I thought mother said this forest was protected and the humans respected that." He took a step toward the workers. "I should—"
Hati caught his pant leg gently between her teeth and tugged backward.
"Ow." He looked down at her, seeing the warning in her amber eyes. "You're right. I should tell mother first."
He turned away from the scene, but his hands were clenched into fists. The workers had no idea what they were planning to destroy. This forest was home to countless animals, some of them species that existed nowhere else.
"Humans really do love destroying things," he muttered as they walked back. "I read in one of the books that thousands of animals die every year because of their machines."
Hati made a low whining sound.
"Don't worry, Hati. If they try to hurt our forest, I'll send them running." The confidence in his voice surprised even him, but he meant every word.
As they reached a wider path, Sage suddenly grinned. "Race you back home! Last one there hunts tomorrow's dinner!"
He took off running, and Hati bounded after him with a playful bark.
Sage moved faster than any human should be able to. His feet barely seemed to touch the ground as he weaved between trees, jumped over fallen logs, and navigated the forest floor with supernatural grace. The world blurred around him, but every obstacle was clear in his vision. Hati kept pace beside him, her four legs working hard to match his speed.
They burst out of the forest together, and Sage skidded to a stop at the edge of their property. Before them stretched acres of cleared land with vegetable gardens, a small orchard, and a pasture where a few cattle grazed. At the center sat their house, a large, sturdy building made of dark wood and stone.
"You lose," he said, grinning as Hati emerged from the trees a second behind him.
She barked repeatedly, her tail wagging but her expression indignant.
"I did not cheat. I was giving myself a fair advantage. You have four legs, Hati—that's the real cheating here."
Hati continued her complaints, and Sage could sense her mock outrage.
As they approached the house, his mood sobered. "Looks like we're coming back empty-handed. I wonder what she'll say about the humans."
He walked towards the wodden door. As soon as he opened it, his mother's voice carried from the dining room.
"Sage, food is ready."
Hati trotted off toward the back of the house where her food bowl waited. Sage walked through the main hallway, past walls lined with books and strange artifacts he had never been allowed to touch.
His mother stood beside their dining table, and as always, her presence filled the room. She was tall, nearly eight feet, with broad shoulders and arms that showed years of hard training. Her skin was a rich, dark brown, several shades deeper than his own. Her black hair was pulled back severely, and her face rarely showed softness.
She wasn't ugly, but everything about her commanded respect and distance. Even her silence felt heavy.
"Sit."
Sage took his usual chair across from her. The table was set with his typical meal, several pounds of cooked meat, roasted vegetables, and a pitcher of water. His diet had always been simple but substantial.
He began eating, keeping his eyes on his plate. The silence stretched between them.
"Do you have something to say, Sage? You're grown now, are you not? Speak."
He cleared his throat. "I saw humans at the eastern border. They have trucks and chainsaws. It looks like they're planning to cut down trees."
Her expression didn't change, but he caught a flicker of something—surprise, maybe anger. "I'll handle it. Continue eating."
He nodded and took another bite, but his mind was elsewhere. The fork felt strange in his hand, heavier than usual.
"Did you have something else to say?"
This was it. His chance. "You always tell stories during dinner. I thought... maybe since it's my birth month... I could learn something about father—"
"No."
The word came out flat and final, cutting him off mid-sentence.
"You didn't even let me finish—"
"I said no."
Sage stared at his plate, but this time the familiar disappointment was mixed with something. Frustration burned in his chest.
'Always no. Every time I ask, it's no. I deserve to know who my father is. I deserve to know why I'm different, why I can do things other people can't. Secrets and more secrets. Sometimes I wish...'
"Go do your breathing practice."
"But I—"
He looked up and saw her face. The conversation was over. He stood up, only then noticing that the metal fork in his hand was bent completely in half.
His mother's eyes flicked to the twisted utensil, but she said nothing.
Sage set it down and walked toward the door. His footsteps were heavier than usual, and he didn't try to hide his frustration.
After he left, Syra remained at the table. She picked up the bent fork and straightened it between her fingers like it was made of clay. A single tear rolled down her cheek before she wiped it away.
'He's getting stronger. And angrier.' She stood up, her expression hardening again. 'I need to deal with those humans before this gets worse.'
In the back of the house, Sage sat cross-legged, breathing slowly and softly... or well, he was trying.
'This is not working. Of course it's not working. If I got the answer I wanted, it wouldn't even need to work. But all I get is "Oh, do breathing exercises Sage, control your anger Sage, act like your name Sage."'
He went silent and looked around.
'Imagine if she heard me...'
Bark!
"Ahh!" He jumped and spun around to see Hati sitting behind him. While he couldn't see a smile on her wolf face, he was sure she was smiling.
"Not funny."
She barked again, her tail wagging.
"Oh well, Hati. I asked again today... and well, I guess you know how that went."
Bark.
"Yeah, I gue—"
BOOM.
A loud thundering sound erupted from above. Sage's head snapped up, and his breath caught in his throat.
The sky was tearing open. It looked like someone had taken a blade to reality itself, ripping through the clouds and the air. Jagged lines of crackling energy spread across the darkening sky, glowing with an unnatural purple-white light.
"What is that..." Sage stood up quickly, his breathing exercises completely forgotten. "I should get to mother."
Hati was already on her feet, ears pinned back and hackles raised. She let out a low, uneasy growl.