Chapter II

"Why do the best people die?" I mumbled.

We were still inside the Aurora Cavern, the lights still dancing though the sky, taking the message with it.

"When you go into a garden, which flowers do you pick?" Petra said, and I looked over at her.

"The best ones." I muttered, and realizing the meaning, I looked up at her, and She nodded.

"Exactly."

I was not quite ready to leave yet. We were both tired, and sore from the climb. We were still in our wolf skins which – were much warmer than our human bodies would be – my black and grey fur was dry once more by the time we were ready to leave. The orb had descended once more, and now rested unmoving, ready for collection.

Petra and I lay side by side, mentally debating which one of us would face the cold once fore to collect the orb before we left the cavern.

"We should go now. It is getting late." Petra said standing and shaking out her limbs. I took that as a statement that she thought that I should be the one to collect the orc, seeing as it was mine in the first place.

A sharp bark came from the tunnel – echoing in the cavern – and I whirled around, feet planted firmly, and I barred my teeth; Petra beside me – looking ready to attack if it was a Horde scout –. But what emerged from the tunnel was neither bot nor human.

"Noah, Faust?" I gasped as my brothers dashed into the room.

"Azzy." Faust, the oldest of us gasped, and trotted over to me. Faust was a large and lean wolf, black and coal grey gradients running over her thick fur that covered his entire body.

"The Aurora Borealis was out, and we couldn't find you anywhere." Noah said, angry, but clearly relieved. Noah was slightly shorter than Faust with black fur and grey markings under his eyes and across his back. The two of them peered at us with amber eyes that danced with hints of gold and umber flecks.

"You don't need to worry; I can handle myself... and I also had Petra." I said nodding towards the black, and brown wolf that nodded at my brothers happily.

Faust gave her a small wolf hug, by pressing his face to her cheek, and she greeted him warmly by nuzzling him.

"What's happened?" Noah asked looking at the pearly orb. It seemed as though he was deliberately avoiding eye contact with Petra, and I could feel the heat of embarrassment rolling off him in waves.

Petra looked down at her beige paws and flexed her coal grey claws. "Soles was Invaded by The Horde, not many of them made it. They talked about the place where its hidden." She said.

Faust looked down, recognition crossing his face. Noah allowed himself to growl as he looked at the sky tunnel. "They're getting closer every day, soon there will be no place to hide." He grumbled.

"Have peace Noah." Faust said, and looked at the skies. "We are in no danger now, but if the elders of Soles wished for us to go to the hidden place, then we must."

A wave of shock rocked my body, and I fidgeted on my paws. "Leave the Taiga? Leave... home?" I wondered, and Faust nodded.

"Petra?" He turned his great head to her, she nodded as she took a step closer to me, almost looking smug.

"My pack is already headed there; I'll be coming with you." I nuzzled her fur, and we exited the cavern.

The clouds had opened to give the earth a blanket of snow, and it made hardly any sound as our paws interrupted the smooth surface.

By the time we reached the den the hare that my brothers managed was froze stiff, I felt shivers rack my body as Noah peeled it off the ground with his pointed fangs.

I walked across the cold floor, and shook the snowy powder out of my fur, clothes replacing fur as I shifted and stood in the middle of the sleeping section of the den, looking very human now.

Petra was beside me in a moment – also human – along with my brothers.

My brothers, and I looked similar, dark tawny hair with the exclusion of their yellow eyes. Noah and Faust were slightly more tanned than I was, seeing as I had always had paler skin.

I crossed my legs as I sat on the floor, and took the firewood, and kindling that Noah gave me.

Soon a fire flickered in the hearth, and its warmth livened the cave. Pressing a few small, flat stones closer to the fire I watched as Faust skinned the frozen hare.

As its skin was separated from its flesh I looked back into the fire, trying to ignore the scrape of the knife passing through the icy flesh.

"There is Horde bot hanging around by the falls and its checking all the caves around there." Noah said, laying a map down on the floor for us to see.

The map was made of yellowed paper with the complete map of the taiga on it. I could see the dormant volcano we had been in not long ago; the west woods, the falls, the fields, the four main rivers, the mountain ranges bordering us, and the hidden path leading out were all painted on the map perfectly. The path was marked clearly with a deep black line, and some places were colored in with red.

"These are the parts of territory the Horde is on right now, this one here overlaps with the path, they'll be waiting for someone to use the path, but we need to leave soon." Noah said pointing to places of the map, and then unstopped a vile of silver liquid.

"We'll have to use the long route out, its mostly woods all through, it's dangerous, but close to the Aurora's stronghold." Faust informed us, and Noah nodded filling in a line of the shiny silver ink.

"We could use the mountain path again tomorrow and be out of the valley by tomorrow's sundown." Petra said, and Noah looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"We should pack up and get as much sleep as we can before dawn." I said, standing, and grabbing a few packs from the back wall.

We kept little these days in terms of personal items, even with us living here as long as we did. The bags were packed with emergency pelts, and jerky. I packed the two books that we owned and picked specific things to leave behind. I did not need the minerals that were on the stone shelves, or any type of furniture we fashioned. I packed what we needed.

Finally, I lay down after pulling out an extra sleeping pad for Petra, and folded my arms under my chin, and met Petra's eyes. It was nice to have some time with her – making up for the years the Horde had stolen from us – being able to see my friend again filled me with such insurmountable joy that I could not describe the feeling of pain that came along with it. Nothing could be obtained without loss, and the price of friendship in the world today was incredibly high.

"How long have you been living like this?" She whispered, not that she needed to, my brothers where deep in conversation.

"Since the fall of Lupin, six years. We came here after making sure you made it out." I whispered back, and she extended a hand, rubbing my arm. I smiled fondly at her, and let my eye lids droop...