“I know,” I said.
“How can you know that?” Animus countered. He sounded confused and flustered, not angry.
I shrugged. “I felt it.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What if I change my mind? What if Ididwant to harm you? Could you feel that, too?”
“I’m not sure. You can try.”
Animus flared his shadowy wings. “I’m currently channelling heinous, evil vibes at you, Leveret. Can you feel them?”
I tried my best to sense the heinous, evil vibes.
I felt nothing.
“No.” Taking a guess, I added, “But I don’t think you were actually doing it. I think you were joking.”
The corner of Animus’s mouth curled into a grin. “You’re right. I was lying. Or joking, in your words.”
When I was younger, it took me a long time to parse the difference.
“You were including me, and being playful instead of cruel. You also weren’t trying to hide anything important,” I said slowly. “Therefore, joking.”
His mouth was bunched up like he’d tried not to smile, but he failed. “Fine. I was joking with you. Happy?”
Animus had asked me if I was happy, and in doing so, made the feeling even stronger. A soft, fuzzy feeling tickled my chest. It was unusual, but pleasant. It wasn’t the same warmth I experienced when I babysat my nieces and nephews, or when I spent time with my family.
This sensation was charged, new, mesmerizing...
Despite technically being kidnapped by the mysterious spirit that terrified half my family, I was very happy.
“Yes,” I said.
Six
Animus
The mortal in my possession was peculiar in more ways than one. It was odd enough that Leveret didn't seem to mind being kidnapped, but mindbogglingly, he actually seemed toenjoyit.
That was fine by me. It wasn't my intention to scare him, so I was glad not to. Still, I expected more of a reaction. Weren't hares supposed to be timid and flighty? So far all Leveret had done was chatted with me and looked around, like I was a tour guide instead of a spirit in the middle of kidnapping him.
Despite his oddness—or perhaps because of it—he intrigued me. Out of all the pack members I'd met, he was certainly the least irritating so far.
We finally reached our destination. The jagged outcrop stood out like a scar, so dark it looked black even against the night sky. Moody clouds of mist formed at this altitude, floating around the cliff and shrouding it from the rest of the world.
I touched down and placed Leveret on the rocky floor. As my shadowy wings dissipated in the mist, Leveret stretched and immediately explored.
A cold wind blew across the flat surface of the cliff. He shivered.
"Where are we?" he asked, rubbing his arms as he looked around.
Even in a foreign place, he didn't sound uneasy. He had far more confidence than I expected. I thought a quiet hare shifter would be an anxious wreck. Instead, Leveret walked around, regarding pebbles and tiny wildflowers poking out from between the rocks.
"We are on a cliff," I said.
"I knowthat."
He said it like I was being silly. Which I was. But given his precarious situation, I didn't think he'd be so playful.