Chapter 4 - chapter 1 part 3

The night breeze lay icy-cool on my cheeks. I must have fallen asleep in the past hour or two (the moon hadn't moved a lot since the last time I looked) but now I was wide-awake. At first I did not know what had woken me up. Once my eyes focused and my heart actually skipped a beat, I realized I was looking into the light grey eyes of a trusted friend. A young wolf lay before me patiently waiting for a sign of movement. His name? Faso. Faso was the one who saved me from the last Leti. He had tracked him down by means of his clever little brain and his good sniffing skills.

When he was a young pup I showed him how to recognise a Leti. And since then we've been best of friends. Now I have to tell you that I am not weak or anything just because I keep hiding from Letie, it's just that my powers will only fully develop in a year's time. Until then I have to use my powers sparingly.

Even though it was about three am I decided to get up because I couldn't sleep anyway. I was too concerned to notice Faso walking down beside me and tipping me with the cold tip of his nose. Both of us ran down to the waters edge and sat there staring at the placid lake and the light reflection of the moon on the docile water. A gradual mist had begun to flow over the lake while I was sleeping; creeping into the land just like the foreboding fog that was building in my mind. Having felt a Leti so close to me, especially one my age, was alarming. It meant that Adélie and I had missed a birth of a Leti because there should only be one Teenage Leti on this earth and she is still in Russia. We always keep tabs on all beings born and now that we missed one, I fear we might have missed others.



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The morning dawned, a pale sheen on the horizon. Faso still lay next to me, breathing deeply. His fur felt smooth and velvety under my touch.

I stood up and had to first stretch my legs, which were aching from the long run yesterday.

I went down to the waters edge and splashed my face with the arctic droplets of water.

For a long time I sat there watching the pale, morning sun rise. The cool air felt a bit thick though. At the moment it felt like the calm before a storm, little did I know that a storm would soon be brewing.

Faso took his time waking up, until then the sun had risen warm and annoying. I had to change my sitting position, next to the lake, a couple of times, because the shadows were growing shorter by the hour. Finally I gave up waiting and wandered off into the underbrush. If Faso wanted to sleep long then he could get his breakfast on his own.

I learnt as a child which herbs and berries are edible with the help of my mother. Coming across some violent and potent looking plants brought back some painful memories of her. I now remembered the time when she taught me the effects of these poisonous berries when I was 9 years old. Those memories are still painful today, 338 years later. My parents were wonderful. I lived with them for16 years until they were brutally murdered by a powerful Leti. I swore then that I would avenge their death, and so I will!

It took me a while to find something edible, but finally I stumbled across some young ferns; a sweet, crispy bite with a slightly sour aftertaste. They're always fresh and never a bad start to the day. Little did I know what lay ahead of me that day.



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