I immediately scaled down the ladder, at Peri's dismay, to go and check on Matri.

"Craig please don't." He begged, as I jumped down into the snow and shuffled towards him, Ryan was behind me.

I ignored Peri. Matri was waking his way towards us, I noticed he was limping.

"He's hurt." I warned Ryan. "Be careful. He's been pretty tame so far but I know wolves."

Matri looked up at us as we approached. I held out my hand. Peri was on my shoulder, muttering under his breath, and retreating back into my hood. The wold didn't seem hostile, he seemed calm and...kind of sad actually.

"Is he saying anything?" I asked Peri.

"Of course not. He hasn't said a word besides his name the entire time." Peri replied, bitter and defensive.

He limped towards us a couple more steps before laying down. I sat down slowly net to him and layer my hand down on his shoulder, gently. He didn't move or fight me, so I figured I was in the clear.

"Is he okay?" Ryan asked, keeping her distance.

"I don't know. I'm gonna try and see what's wrong with you, okay?" I assured.

Matri's sky blue eyes were focused off in the distance. That worried me. I rubbed up and down his fore leg and looking for a reaction so I could see where it hurt, but he didn't do anything. I didn't see any sign of blood or bruise. There were a few scratches on his back but they looked old. He had no broken bones either. I didn't know what to do.

"Is that a...wolf?" Aurora called down from Sky's tree house.

"Yeah, it's someone's familiar but we don't know who's." Ryan explained as Aurora started climbing down the ladder.

    "Is he hurt?" She inquired, starting towards me, but Chubby growled again and she stopped.

    "Why do all of the familiars get so defensive around him?" Ryan noticed.

    "Well is he hurt or something?" Aurora looked like she really wanted to go see if Matri was okay, but whatever Chubby was saying to made her hesitant.

    "I don't know. He was limping but I can't see anything. He doesn't talk either." I bit my lip and petted him gently, he wasn't getting up either.

    "Doesn't talk?" Aurora frowned. "There's not a single familiar in Zoo that doesn't talk."

    "What should we do then?" Ryan asked her.

    Aurora thought for a moment. "Let's bring him back to my house, I can convince Cubby to carry him. Even if he is being stubborn."

    She shot a look at the polar bear, who, like all the other familiars, was being prickly. Thirty minutes later Matri was lying still on top of Chubby, Aurora was holding him so he didn't fall off. He was small for a wolf so it wasn't that hard. We had to break up Eryan and Jason's argument to leave, though Sky insisted she didn't want to come with us.

"So who exactly is this wolf again?" He asked, as we trudged back through the snow, the sun at our backs.

"Some familiar." Eryan shrugged. "We don't know, but we're taking care up him now I guess."

"Cool." Jason make a helpful thumbs up, it was cute. "I like wolves, they're pretty sick."

"We can't let this get in the way of our mission though." I insisted. "We'll make sure Matri is okay then first thing tomorrow morning we're going back to Sky's to find out where Katestra is."

"Of course." Eryan agreed.

It was nightfall when we finally made out way back to Aurora's little house. We stomped off the snow and Aurora carried Matri inside. When she set him down however, he limped off to a pile of blankets  and curled up, laying down again and not moving.

"I've got some sardines, he should at least eat something." Aurora suggested. "Craig you wanna try feeding him? He seems to like you."

I nodded. Aurora rummaged through a chest full of ice in her kitchen and brought out a tin of fish. They stunk, but I took one and kneeled down next to Matri and held it out on a glanced hand. Everyone gathered around me, watching.

"Why don't you try using your freaky powers on him?" Jason spoke up suddenly.

All eyes turned on him. Jason put his hands in the air in defense.

"What?" Aurora raised an eyebrow.

"Actually he has a point." Eryan realized, turning back towards me.

"I don't know how though." I sighed, "but I'll...try I guess."

I put the fish down and took off one glove. I patted Matri's head gently and tempered what Peri told me last time I tried to invoke whatever-it-is I did last time. Nothing happened for a bit, so I took a deep breath, and tried to concentrate on something nice. The first that came to mind was a joke Jason had made a while back that made me laugh. I smiled to myself in spite, because I still thought it was great.

A warm tingly feeling came back to my hands and I felt the tug in my gut. I opened my eyes to see my hands were glowing faintly again, and Matri's eyes were open, he was staring at me with a clear focused expression. I stoked his head gently. The fur where my hand was glowed blue gently before fading. I spent about three seconds amused by the fact I could make little glowy cerulean trails on this wolf and watch them fade before Matri lunged at the fish in my other hand.

He threw back his head and swallowed it in one bite.

"Whoa." Aurora marbled, blinking at me.

Matri looked around, nostrils flaring. He was hungry, I recognized that look from whenever I snuck bits of veal under the table to my mom's wolf, Maude.

"You got anymore fish?" I asked Aurora.

"Oh! Oh yeah." She scrambled for the tin, handing it over.

I took another fish and nearly lost a finger as Matri chomped down on that one too. Head and all. He ate five more before suddenly decided he wasn't hungry and laid back down.

"Is he saying anything?" I asked Peri.

The little green bird had his head tilted to the side, deep in thought. I scratched his chin with my no longer glowing, fish free hand and he snapped out of it.

"Uh, no. No he's still quiet. I didn't...I didn't know you could do that." Peri blinked.

"I didn't know I could either. I still don't know exactly what it is." I admitted.

"Have you alway been able to do that?" Aurora asked, putting away her fin tin with the few that were left.

"I don't know." I shrugged.

"It's pretty cool isn't it." Jason boasted, stretching out on one of Aurora's benches.

I blushed, was he bragging about me? To Aurora? What did that mean?

"Yeah, I've only seen something like that once before, and get off the table." She scolded. "I'll get you guys some blankets and I have a few fold out cots."

    We thanked her for the bed and blankets and settled down for the night. I was exhausted, my eyes were heavy, whatever my powers did they were really draining. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

    "Craig? Honey bear what are you up too?" She had asked.

    The dream was blurry but I was looking up at a woman's face. She had big red lips and dull green-grey eyes. She was smiling at me in the midst of all this hazy golden light.

    I couldn't talk but that didn't bother me. She was pretty and I liked her this lady for some reason.

    "Look what mommy can do." She smiled again, and held up her hands in front of her face.

    I laughed, where did she go?

    She opened them up to reveal her face, and her hands were glowing faintly. "Surprise! I'm right here! Did you you miss me?"

    All I did was laugh. Where was Ryan? She needed to see how funny this lady was.

    "Love you two."

    There was a snake in the corner that suddenly lunged at her. It changed the dream abruptly. The white flash of the fangs turned into three sharp scars that appeared on Felix's face.

    "Craig!" He yelled, starting to cry. "Where are you?"

    My breath hitched up in my throat. "I'm right here! Where are you? Tell me so I can find you."

    He glanced around blindly. "Where are you Craig?"

    He was right there. I tried yelling but all of a sudden my voice wasn't working. Felix disapeared and all of a sudden I was just...sinking. The standing the lights were back. I was in a field full of knee length daisies and I couldn't see where the horizon ended. There was just light and flower and...Jason. He turned to face me and stared at me for a full three seconds. I still couldn't talk. I couldn't move. He started walking away and I couldn't do anything about it.

I woke up in a cold sweat. My heart pounding. I didn't dare move, lest something jump out and attack me from the darkness. Eventually achieved the courage to sit up and let the sweat on my back have some air. I was half damp, wonderful. At least I hadn't peed myself I guess.

I glanced around, it was dark, everyone else was asleep on the floor or on cots. I was alone again, except for...wait Matri was gone.

I looked around frantically, wondering where he might have gone off too. I saw the door was cracked open and pulled on a shirt and some boots real quick before I crept as quietly as I could out the door. It was freezing, but I wanted to know where Matri went.

"Where are you going?" Peri asked, landing on my shoulder.

"Matri's gone again." I explained, rubbing my arms, it was ridiculously cold out, I couldn't see very well either but there was at least little moonlight and a few lamps flickering in the darkness.

"Craig, why can't you just let him go?" He sighed.

"I don't know." I snapped, sounding a little too bitter and desperate than I intended. "Do you ever think Matri might have some connection to Felix?"

Peri made a clicking noise next to my ear, and didn't answer me.

"Peri?" I demanded. "What do you know?"

"I can't tell you for certain, but whatever's happening to Matri, might maybe be the same thing that's happening to Felix." He admitted.

I stopped in my tracks, my breath coming out in quickened cloud puffs. "So they are connected! Kosmos, what if Matri is Felix's familiar? Is this because he did his ceremony too early?"

I felt my emotions tumble like rocks in a raging river as it all started to make sense. "What if Matri's been trying to lead me too Felix this whole time?"

"Craig, calm down." Peri warned.

I could feel the hot tears forming in the corner of my eyes, a sharp comparison to the cold biting into me from all around. "I'm so stupid."

"You're not, you're doing everything you can." Peri comforted.

I stood there shivering, looking around for a wolf that wasn't there, while realizing the mistake I had made. Kosmos, it had been in front of my face this whole time. The whole time and it had never even occurred to me. The air was dangerously cold but I was hot with shame and my own sweat from my stupid nightmares and anxieties about my best friend who might be dead and a boy who might never notice me and-

"Craig?" The voice was human so I turned around to see Ryan, properly dressed and holding out a jacket for me.

She was staring at me curiously, eyes full of concern. I breathed out shakily, and took the jacket she had for me. It helped a little.

"Matri's gone." I choked out.

She nodded. "Yeah I noticed. But you helped him right? I think he's gonna be okay."

"I think he was-is Felix's familiar."

Her eyes went wide. "Oh. That's not good."

I nodded slowly, my teeth started to chatter and bug me with the noise. Kosmos, it was freezing. The was worse then the Pack nights. Ryan took in this new information obviously better than I did. She wrapped her arms around and gave me a quick hug.

"If Matri is Felix's familiar, then Felix is still alive, remember that." She consoled, giving me a pat on the back.

I nodded again, not trusting myself to speak.

"Hey, you're Aurora's friends aren't you?"

I looked up to see that old lady from the circle of elders who gave us cookies, Mrs. Pewter. She tilted her head at us with a smile and I saw a little penguin waddle out from behind her.

"Harold and I were just on a walk, what are you two kids doing up at this hour?" She asked kindly.

"I couldn't sleep." Ryan shrugged, lying effortlessly. "Craig was keeping me company."

I wiped my face. "Yeah."

She smiled. "Well you're welcome to come have a few late night cookies if you wish. I'll be up for a little longer, Kosmos knows Connie never sleeps. Forty-five years I've been with her and that woman still has the sleep cycle of...well someone younger." She mused.

Harold the penguin honked in agreement. Ryan glanced at me curiously and I shrugged. Why not? I felt like a cookie right now anyway.

"Yeah okay." I complied.

Mrs. Pewter grinned. "Wonderful, we love company. You can call me Petunia by the way, there's already one too many Mrs. Pewters."

That made me laugh and I felt a little better. Especially after we were offered a plate of cookies in from of a roaring hearth, Connie stumbled into the main room when Petunia and the two of us arrived.

"Oh Kosmos rain down on me those kids are back." She grumbled upon sight of us.

Petunia snorted. "Dear, be nice. They're having a rough night."

"I bet, living with that demon." Connie muttered, grabbing a cookie chomping down on as she circled the fire, pacing.

Petunia frowned, shaking her head. "You and your superstitions."

Connie turned to me. "Surely you can agree with me."

I panicked mid-cookie. "Uh what?"

"The boy, the daímonas-"

    "Connie!" Petunia scolded her. "We don't use that language anymore."

    "That's what he is!" Connie shot back. "I won't rest while he sleeps in my city."

    "Are they talking about...Jason?" Ryan realized, shooting me a look.

    "Whatever his name is." Connie hmphed, sitting down and rocking her chair passive aggressively.

    "What are you calling Jason?" I asked, very curious and wondering if this was the reason Connie had kicked him out last time.

    "It's nothing." Petunia insisted. "She's just up to her old tales again."

    "They're not tales Tuni, they're real. That might be what Queen Persephone wants you all to think, but I know the truth." Connie insisted.

    Petunia shrugged. "One story, then these two have to go back to bed."

    Connie rolled her eyes. "One true story, then I'll let them go."

    "Whatever dear."

    "Are you gonna tell us a story?" Ryan asked, perking up.

    I still wasn't sure what this had to do with Jason, but I was interested.

    "See when you mess up the familiar ceremony and do it at the wrong time, you get daimonas in you-"

    "Connie, please refrain from using that word." Petunia sighed.

    Connie rolled her eye, but with less rebellion this time. "Okay, you get bad spirits in you. Nasty ones that will try to eat you from the inside out."

    I met Ryan's gaze. We were both thinking about Felix.

    "Will they...kill you?" I questioned.

    "Oh definitely. If given enough time. When my grandfather was a kid they were everywhere. He told me a story of how his first girlfriend performed her familiar ceremony too late on accident and they had to saw her entire arm off. They got to that one quick though." Connie explained. "That's what you do with. Bad spirits, you have to cut them off."

    "What?" I blinked, choking up again.

    "It's an old wives tale, which is fitting." Petunia sighed. "Even if that did used to happen, it doesn't anymore. Queen Persephone does a good job of making sure everyone's ceremonies are on time."

Connie made another ruffled noise under her breath. "Wait till I tell you about-"

"Darling, I think they've probably had enough." Petunia laughed.

Connie raised and eyebrow, before softening and chuckling slightly. "Maybe they have. Take a cookie for the road kids."

We obliged and they saw us off. The two of us were mostly silent on the walk back to Aurora's house. I was mostly paranoid we might get lost.

"You don't think that is what's happening to Felix, do you?" Ryan finally asked.

I bit my lip and glanced at her. "I really hoping it isn't."

____________

Notes:

School's started back and Wednesday is no longer the best day for me to update. I've finished writing the Scaly Boy chapters (i just have to publish them but they'll still be out every Friday) so I'm probably gonna switch Stolen Wolf to update Friday as well because it'll be way easier for me. Just a heads up.

~<3