26. Ylfa
Raven leads me to herhut along a stretch of beach where we can discuss in private, and the weather is smoldering.
Already I’m breaking out in sweat while Raven looks chill in her long grass skirt, and she’s not the same girl from the underground fortress anymore. She’s beautiful and happy, and it’s all because of me. If I hadn’t helped her escape, who knows where she would be right now. Possibly dead if the alpha had gotten his way.
It’s time to discuss our next plan. Do they have elders on the island? Perhaps their leaders could meet with ours and form a treaty of some kind. One where we can all benefit?
I know peace won’t happen in a day. But if we work hard enough, then surely we can get somewhere.
The seeds are already being planted. Soon those seeds will turn into a full-blown forest where our grandchildren can prosper.
I have to believe it’s possible.
Ethel will join us later to give us another reading. We hope that now that we’re finally together again, she’ll be able to give us a clearer prediction.
Goddess, it is hot on this island. How do the humans manage? I’m far too pale and will burn up in no time.
Not like Raven, who seems to blossom in the sunshine. The sun has given her a golden tan, and she’s never looked so radiant. For the first time since I met her, she’s starting to resemble all the women that I read about in fashion magazines. She has that dreamy, wistful look, and I give a melancholy sigh.
I feel so icky in her presence. I’m all sticky and sweaty while she gets to be all breezy. Also, my boots are not designed for this climate. The sand is far too hot; I can literally feel the soles of my shoes melting beneath my feet.
Raven hands me a strange, fuzzy brown fruit once we enter her hut, and I notice it’s been cut in half. It also has a white core. What the hell is it?
She catches my gaze, then smiles. “It’s a coconut. They’re a delicacy on this island.”
Coconut? I think I’ve read about them in a book at some point. I take a sip of the fruit and wince. A little rich, but refreshing.
I gaze out the window of her hut, spying the glistening, blue water at the shore. It washes over the white sand, and would you look at that? It looks just like my old human holiday brochure.
Raven grins when she sees me staring at the waves, and I never realized she had dimples before. I guess it was hard to tell back in the gloomy bowels of the fortress. I’ve never seen such a transformation, and I know helping her was the right thing to do.
“Would you like to go for a swim?”
I balk at the idea, shaking my head. “No. I’m not very good at it.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s fine. We don’t need to swim. You can just take your boots off and dip them into the water. You won’t regret it. Trust me.”
Raven takes my hand as if we’re old pals, then leads me to the water, and combined with the sun and the bright blue of the ocean, I’m dazzled.
How do the humans get anything done with this heat?
I need the shade. Or Sun cream. Do humans still wear sun cream? A melanoma spot does not sound fun, especially since there are no humans left now with the medical knowhow when it comes to removing one.
I glance at Raven. She tilts her head back and basks in the heat, and I do the same. It truly is peaceful here. A little hot, but peaceful. Out here, you can forget all about the trials and tribulations back at home.
You can almost forget that war is brewing.
I don’t know why the humans want their land back when they could just live on islands like this, but wolves stole so much from them. They were found all over the world at one point, but now all they have is this volcanic rock.
It can’t be safe living here. Who knows when that volcano could erupt?
That volcano serves as a perfect metaphor for war. There could be a hundred years of peace, and then one day, out of the blue, everything erupts. Lava will spill down from the mountainside, destroying everything in its path.
It’s merciless and unforgiving, just like war, and it’s not even worth thinking about. Instead, I will focus on now.
Finally, I slip my boots off and yelp when my bare feet touch the sand. “Hot! Hot!”
Raven howls in laughter, and I scowl at her. “It’s not funny, Raven!”
“But it is! You’re such a green little wolf. Trust me, it will be worth it the moment you dip your feet into the water. Try it.”
I grumble and tiptoe toward the water, bracing myself for the cold. When I dip my toes, it’s surprisingly cool. Not at all icy, and I smile.
Now I place both of my feet into the water, and it splashes around my ankles. Next, I hold my head back and sigh, letting the tropical sun caress my face.
Looks like I’ve found paradise.