Sunshine
Chapter 3

Eris

The female was young, with no trace of the sickness in her scent. He had felt her power flare to life yesterday down the mountain path and immediately turned around. His pack had been hunting farther south due to the sickness running rampant through the land. Fae were fleeing to the mountains to escape whatever it was. Scouts came across more and more families asking for sanctuary. With the extra mouths to feed they were putting a strain on the forest’s game. They had been heading back home when he felt her power erupt behind him. This female had an odd scent, sweet and smoky, like burnt pine and fresh snow. He tracked the scent of her power to the cottage and had answered his brother’s call when he had at last found her, the source of that powerful flare that had rippled through the mountains like a giant stomping in a puddle.

Hearing the feline screech his presence into the night had sent chills down his canines’ body. He let out a low snarl as he felt the cat’s presence still lingering nearby. What would he do with the girl? She was alone as far as he could tell from scouting the valley around her cabin. Maybe the feline had been just as curious as he had been and had come to investigate as well. He had watched him last night as he scared the birds and goats out of their beds and had been beyond surprised when the girl had come running to their rescue brandishing an iron stick. He had tasted her anger and determination when she screamed at the lion-like a wild creature. His interest in her had tripled in that moment.

Eris stayed as far back as he dared and stalked the female back to her home. He watched silently as she strung the deer up between two posts near the stream and began skinning the poor creature. He could smell the blood as it dripped on the ground and slowly pooled toward the stream. She was strong for her size he noticed and kept his vigil as she went about cleaning and separating the meat. The sun had risen to its full height directly overhead and he could smell the sweat dripping from her, hear the steady sound of her heartbeat. He wondered how it was she did not sense his presence or that of the feline who watched as well, hidden on the other side of the stream to the south.

She stopped her task and untied her cloak from around her shoulders. She threw it behind her on the browning grass and wiped her brow on the sleeve of her simple dress made from animal hides sewn together. A young mountain goat bounded from around the corner of the small house halting just a few feet from her, bleating its curiosity. She laughed at it, waving a hand unceremoniously at the carved flesh hanging before her.

“Supper.” She said simply. “I must tell my new friend thank you when I see him next.”

Eris felt his surprise at her mention of him, thinking he had been covert enough in herding the doe to where she waited, hidden in the tree. The girl’s senses were honed enough to know when she was not alone but had not recognized the predators lurking nearby. She referred to him as a friend. Utter delight filled him, and his tail thumped the ground at the feeling. His eyes returned to where she was now bent over the stream, washing the blood from the meat. Her heavy dress was loose around her waist and he watched as the wind snatched it back pulling it against her skin. She straightened, putting a hand to her lower back and rubbing the muscles there for a moment before tying a string around the end of the leg. Then grabbed the other pieces of meat that were already finished, laying in the grass. The girl turned and strode purposefully towards the cottage where she disappeared inside for several minutes.

Tensing, Eris sniffed the air and watched the great cat saunter across the field. The southern wind wafted his scent towards him, and he let out a low growl as the cat inspected the carcass she had left dangling from the poles. The feline did not seem to care if he was caught or not. Once upon a time, Eris might have taken orders from this male. Before the dragons had disappeared, the lions and the wolves had worked together as guards and soldiers to serve the mighty beasts. Two hundred years had passed since Errewyn had murdered the last dragons and what had been left of the army had disbanded and slunk into the safety of the mountains. He had not been alive then and was glad that he was so young for once. Taking orders from a cat did not sit well with his inner beast. Eris’s ears perked up as he heard the hinges on the door squeak. She was coming back out empty-handed, defenseless against the fae warrior who waited for her.

Her bow was gone, and her cloak was still laying on the ground near the stream. The sharp knife she had used on the deer was stuck in the post that the cat was now using to sharpen his claws on. She halted mid-stride when she noticed the feline but did not look surprised to see him at all. Eris watched to see what would unfold.

The feline sat down, watching her as he cleaned his paw, dainty as a barn cat. The female’s eyes narrowed, and she began walking slowly towards him at a steady pace that told him she was wary but would not let her fear stop her. She stopped ten yards away from the cat and put her hands on her hips.

“Why are you stalking me?” She asked. Eris was impressed at her confidence. The cat stopped cleaning itself and looked at her. A predator, toying with his prey. She did not seem to notice the gleam in his eye and began walking towards him again. This girl had some serious balls. He watched them from the trees, whining in anticipation of the confrontation.

“At least have some manners and go watch from over there so I can clean up this mess.” She demanded, pointing to the other side of the riverbank. The feline cocked his head as if laughing at her high handedness. He slowly stood and stretched, his powerful body tense and then relaxed as he eased out of it and turned around a pole rubbing his right side against it. He paused and watched her again.

Eris’s glance shifted to where she stood, barely five yards from the feline now. Close enough to be dead before he could reach her to offer his assistance. He tensed to spring. His jaw fell open and he began to pant as the girl lifted her chin and walked the short distance to the pole. Smirking, she actually smirked at the giant cat! Then she slowly, and very deliberately turned her back on him to pull the knife from the post.

Eris almost charged in when the feline let out a vicious hiss, but before he could react, she spun around and a wall of flame erupted from the girl’s fingertips, separating her from the feline. The cat jumped back with a loud shriek and another hiss, the tufts of fur standing on end around his neck. Eris laid back down, feeling her power flare out in a shockwave. He could smell the fear and the determination attached to it and watched keenly as the wall abruptly disappeared.

“Stay away. This is my valley.” She demanded. The feline cleared the stream in one leap before he settled on the other side of the water. Stretching out on the soft grass, he lounged there and watched her lazily as she watched him in return.

The girl’s long hair flowed freely down her back, as red as the bloodstone of the mountains they lived in. It fell to her waist in waves and he lifted his snout to the breeze rolling towards him. She smelled of smoky pine and freshwater. He sneezed as it tickled his nose.

The feline’s head snapped towards his direction. Shit.

The cat shifted his weight and stood.

Rather than be caught unawares, Eris jumped up before the cat could disappear and circle behind him. He loped out into clear view and sat. The Fae warrior he sensed beneath the cat’s inquisitive stare made his fur bristle and a warning growl escaped his throat.

Lianna froze in her attempt to lower the carcass from the post. The wolf had appeared again finally, and she wondered how they would react to each other’s presence. Her body screamed at her to run but she refused to be the victim here. She was almost certain these were no ordinary forest animals like the panicked goat running for cover. Why had they come here? What was drawing them out of hiding?

She was sure she did not want to know and so once again she deliberately steeled her self-control to turn around and walk away.

“You can fight over what is left.” She managed to say as she started toward the rear of the cottage. She picked up her ax where it waited by the bird pen and then hurried around the corner. Trying desperately not to think about the two magical beasts that were sizing each other up by the stream, she began swinging the ax. She was not sure what exactly they were, but their eyes shown with higher intelligence instead of the strict predatory gleam that was honed from instincts alone.

She swung the ax and listened. Thunk.

A low-pitched snarl reached her ears, coming from the wolf no doubt. The answering hiss had her hair standing on end and a tremor tore through her.

She swung the ax once more, sending splinters of wood shooting in every direction. Thunk.

She would not turn around.

Another growl, this one more guttural than any she had heard before. The prelude to an attack. She dropped the ax and ran around the corner of the house just in time to see them leap at each other. The feline roaring in rage as he nimbly leaped onto the canines back, his jaws clamping around the wolf’s neck. His claws dug into the wolf’s shoulders, and he let out a howl of pain that echoed through the mountains.

“Stop!” She screamed, but neither of them headed her demands. The wolf rolled onto his back dislodging the cat from his shoulders and snapping at a paw as the cat tried to leap away. The cat’s furious screech ripped into the valley and she could feel the vibrations in the air and under her feet. Her beast seemed to leap from her in demand as she flung her hands out towards them.

“Enough!” The word ripped from her body, her very soul demanding that they cease the pointless fight, and then everything simply stopped moving. The cat had halted mid-strike and now hung suspended in the air as if from strings before he fell back to the ground, while the wolf was crouched low to the ground, his tail tucked between his legs, his snarling expression frozen in place, the sound coming out was more like a whimper than a growl.

Lianna’s mouth dropped open. Even the birds had stopped chirping, the water in the stream was the only noise in the entire valley. She looked at her hands in awe and confusion. She looked to the fight, frozen in mid-strike. Both of their eyes were wide and focused on her. She did not know what to do or say. Looking at them both, then back at her hands, she dropped them to her sides. The scene before her unfroze with the simple gesture and utter shock that silenced her brain for a moment. The cat hissed; this time a frightened defensive hiss as he backed away.

“This. Is. My. Valley.” She managed to say through her trembling body. “I do not know who you are, or why you are here, or what the hell is going on with me, so just leave me alone! Get out of my valley! “ Then she turned and stalked towards the rear entrance where she quietly began picking up firewood and stacking it by the door, willing herself to appear unafraid or hurried. When all the splintered pieces had been collected and added some height to the stack already there, she went inside shutting the door solidly behind her. She leaned back against it and finally let her knees collapse beneath her.

What had she done? What was she? Was she even human anymore? What in the world had just happened? She brought her hands up to her face and cried into them. Lianna wanted answers. Wanted to know what was happening to her now and how to control the things she did not even know she could do. The fear and shock overwhelmed her. She couldn’t stop the quaking that seized her entire body. The fire inside her had settled down low in her gut and seemed content to leave her to her chaotic thoughts now that it had shown her the true depths of what she was capable of.

What had she done?

There were still a few hours before sundown, but she could not make herself go back outside. She knew herself to be a coward and knew that she did not care. They had been just as shocked as she was when she had frozen the entire valley with a single word. She could still feel the thing inside her simmering just beneath the surface of her skin. It was calmer now that she had lashed out. But it was still there waiting.

She forced down the bile that threatened to choke her and swallowed. Pushing the beast down farther, until it was only a clenching in her gut once more. It seemed that it would rise uninhibited when those creatures were around. First on the path with the cat, then in the woods with the wolf. And now, just outside her home.

She glanced to where the fresh meat now hung in the back of the hearth. The constant smoke would dry and preserve the precious meat that she had rolled in salt before she had hung it. Even now she could smell the aroma of fat dripping into the flames, hear the flames answering hiss as it leaped closer, trying to devour the leg of meat.

She wondered why the cat seemed to taunt her with his presence. She started as she remembered her knife and cloak still sitting out by the carcass. The last thing she wanted to do was go back out there to retrieve them, but necessity demanded she not leave her only meager weapon out there with them. Although her brain reminded her she did not need that protection anymore, her body’s instinct cried out its denial and sent her surging to her feet.

She crept towards the front door, leaning against the window frame trying to see whether they still waited near the riverbank. The cat had disappeared, but the wolf was still there where she had left him. Lianna took a shaky breath and squared her shoulders. The front door squeaked open and she took a tentative step out into the sunlight. The air had turned heavy and she could smell the rain on the wind as it blew in from the south. She looked towards the rocky path that led to the village. The skyline above had begun to darken and storm clouds approached over the southern plains. For a heartbeat, she wondered if it would drop snow. Pushing it from her mind she peered around to see the wolf still laying by the stream bank, trying to lick his wounded shoulder.

Slowly, trying to look unafraid, she walked to where her cloak lay on the ground. She bent to pick it up and turned to replace her knife on the ground near the post, the giant wolf directly in her path, watching her nervously. Long gashes ran from his front shoulders to the crook in his legs. The back of his gray fur was sticky with bright red blood. He cocked his head at her as she approached.

“You know, I have to get my knife.” She broke the silence, trying to calm her nerves.

“I did not mean to.. um.. freeze everything. I did not know that I could even do that.” She held her hands up in apology and looked at them again, not trying to hide their trembling this time.

“I did not know I had anything at all until yesterday. This is all so new and a bit frightening. I do not know what I am.” She met his silver and blue eyes and hated the whining tone that laced her words.

“ I do not know what you are.” She emphasized her ignorance. A tear slid down her face and she felt numb as the truth of what she had done sank in. The impossibility of it all. She sat on the ground and the wolf let out a whimper.

“My mother” She started but had to swallow the lump in her throat that threatened to choke her and start again.

“My mother used to tell me stories. Of Fae creatures and dragons in these mountains. Of other magical beasts who roamed the land. She said they were all gone. That after the dragons were all slaughtered the magical creatures left. I thought they were just stories to frighten me into obedience as a child.” The words came pouring out of her and she couldn’t stop the shudder that wracked her body, more silent tears sliding down her cheeks.

“I could hear voices.” She watched him watching her, his head tilted to the side.

“ I hear the water sing, and the fire. The trees, the wind... They all speak to me. My mother was afraid I think and told me to never tell anyone. Did not even allow me to talk to her about them. But then she left.” Her voice broke and she curled into herself, bringing her knees into her chest and hugging them tight, not caring what the beast thought of her. She dropped her head into her knees and wept, the loss and loneliness and the sizzling power coming together to overwhelm her senses, breaking free of her body’s tension and releasing in waves of grief. The birdsong blending with that of the stream were the only other sounds in her small valley.

The grass crunched close to her and she looked up, startled. A large tan hand held her knife out to her hilt first. Her eyes followed the length of that hand up a well-muscled arm, to where broad shoulder met rippling chest muscles. Deep claw marks were embedded in his shoulders, dripping blood down his chest. She let out a gasp as her eyes flew to his face. A small twist of his full lips offered an apologetic sort of smile. The long straight nose beneath eyes the color of the stream, a blue so light, the silver shards blended to make them look like stars bursting around his pupils.

She took the knife hesitantly, her golden skin was pale in comparison to his darker, redder tone.

“Who are you?” Lianna whispered.

“Eris, son of Erin, leader of the Ash Forest Wolf Tribe.” His voice was deep and soothing as its sound rolled over her ears. He held his hand out to her. Her eyes held his for a long moment before she placed her hand in his. He pulled her to her feet wincing at the pain lancing through his arms. Standing beside him, she had never felt so small and feminine in her life. He was at least a foot taller than her and his shoulders thrice as broad. His chest was bare and silver-blonde tufts covered a goodly portion of it, tapering down to his waist before it disappeared beneath his tan buckskin leggings. Her eyes traveled back up to his face and a blush stole down her skin as he had caught her slow perusal of him.

“Like what you see?” Was his drawling reply.

’” I’ve never seen…” she trailed off, lowering her eyes and blushing furiously.

“Never seen what? A Fae Warrior? Or a half-naked male?” He grinned knowingly and she ignored the question, turning on her heel to march back towards her cabin as a rumble of thunder rolled across the valley. Distractedly glancing at the sky, she noticed the clouds had blotted out the sun and the dark heavy masses blew in from the south with a warm breeze that would clash into the cold mountain air creating a storm that would undoubtedly last all night.

“The storm will not wait on our introductions,” She said aloud. “You can take shelter here if you like. I can tend your wounds.” She offered, turning back to him. He was extremely good looking she decided even with his face pinched tight like he was in pain. When he did not reply she shrugged a careless shoulder and stalked inside, leaving the door open behind her in silent invitation. She heard it close, its squeaky hinges filled the silence. Not daring to turn and look at him again, she went straight to the rear door and held it open with her foot as she began moving firewood from the outside stack to the inside stack between the door and the hearth. She piled it as high as she could reach, not knowing what this storm might bring.

She snorted indelicately, thinking of what the last two days had brought to her doorstep, and wondered if she could handle any more surprises. She let the door close behind her, turning to see him still standing in front of the other door. His presence was huge and made the cabin feel uncomfortably small. She raised her hands in a gesture that encompassed the whole of the cabin. The small table and set of chairs in the center, the hearth along the rear northern wall behind her, the firewood stacked neatly to one side, the small desk on the other. Her bed lay against the Eastern wall rumpled from where she had hastily left it early this morning. The southern wall with its small window was almost bare besides the wooden broom and large washtub; odd things hanging on wooden pegs hammered into the logs. Finally, the Western wall with its counter built into the whole length piled neatly with cloths and a hairbrush, a few plates, dried herbs; the last bit of cured rabbit hanging beneath it. The oval looking glass hung in the center above it.

“Welcome to my home,” She said, the words barely a whisper in the silence. Another crack of thunder echoed her statement-making her jump into action again as he was still taking in everything.

“Sit down” she ordered him with a flick of her wrist in the direction of the table and chairs. Lianna grabbed two cups and a small bundle of herbs off the counter. She dipped the cups into the barrel of fresh water and set them on the table, after taking a long swig from one. Then a jar of sweet yellow paste she had made from the sap of pine and mint, and the longest strips of linen she could replace.

Eris was still standing by the door, watching her.

“I won’t bite.” She gestured to the chair, although the sharp tone of her voice suggested otherwise.

“I have been through a lot these past two days, fire spouted from my fingers, I froze my valley. And, I just invited a fae wolf into my home to tend his wounds.” Her voice had gone soft as if all the fight had gone out of her. Looking at him she felt less afraid and more resigned.

“Your wounds are leaking all over my floor. Once I clean you up, you can be on your way if you like, or you can wait out the storm. It makes no difference to me.” The honesty in her words must have shown on her face because he let out a breath and moved forward finally.

She let out a chuckle at the absurdity of it. He was thrice her size. And a fae wolf, yet it was as if he was afraid of her. The chuckle turned to an outright laugh and she threw her head back and laughed fully, unable to contain the release of emotion that echoed into the silent room. She sank into the chair nearest to her, unsure how much longer her shaky knees would support her. The laughter turned to sobs in her throat as she dropped her head onto the table. She did not hear him as he approached and silently sat in the chair a few feet away.

When her body finally had released all its emotion, she felt exhausted. Propping an elbow on the table, she lifted her head and rested it on her hand, daring to meet his confused gaze. In here, in the glow of the firelight, his eyes seemed to mirror the storm clouds gathering overhead. His mouth was thin, pursed in contemplation as he studied her.

“Well, then I guess you had best get this mess cleaned up.”