Under The Full Moon

The Visit

When Broin was finished packing, Gale walked with him toward the direction he usually took to get to her. He looked up to Gale, giving her a soft smile. "I'll see what they say and then we can go from there. Once it gets closer to the end of the month, I can take you to see your father," Broin spoke softly, setting his pack down to lift a hand to rest it on her muzzle. "Take care of yourself until I see you again, alright?" Broin's voice was tender, but it was concerned as well. Gale nodded a little, rubbing her snout against his shoulder before she stepped back, watching him as he moved to pick up his pack. Gale sat down, waiting until she could no longer hear or see Broin before she moved to start back toward the lake. 

Without her friend there, it was almost too quiet. Lonely. Gale seated herself beside the lake, her head low as she watched the water for some time before her stomach rumbled. The last thing she had had to eat was the chunk of meat that Broin had tossed to her the night before. Getting up from where she was sitting, she started off to look for a deer or any other large prey that she might find. Lifting her head, she sniffed about the area, focusing on the scents before she caught the one she was looking for. Lowering her head again, the dragon hunched herself down and started toward the source. It didn't take her long to find the deer, the herd making her mouth water. Drawing her tongue back over her lips, Gale tried to control herself. Slowly, she inched her way from the underbrush, trying to be as careful as she could not to spook the deer. 

When she was close enough, she jumped up and rushed forward, snapping her jaws closed around one of the deer as they tried to scramble away. Using her tail, she tripped up another, using a paw to drop down on the deer's neck, ending it quickly. Setting the deer down that she had grabbed in her maw, she looked up to see the last of the white tails vanishing into the trees. She snorted, taking a moment to catch her breath before she began to eat. Taking a few minutes to clean her face and paws, she made sure the majority of it was gone before starting back to the lake, easing into the water to relax. Resting her head on her paws, Gale allowed her eyes to close. 

Something woke her a little while later, making her lift her head quickly. Something or someone had touched her nose. Her ears going back she growled, though she relaxed when she saw who it was. Wysteria had returned. Gale sighed, lowering herself back down to the grass. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, you looked too peaceful," Wysteria hummed. Gale flicked an ear. 

"It's alright, I'm just trying to relax. I just ate..." She mumbled, her head settling between her paws. Wysteria nodded, sitting in front of Gale's face, watching as the dragon closed her eyes.

"I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing," Wysteria brushed her dress flat, fixing it up a little before she looked up to Gale again. "Where is your friend?" Gale opened an eye, watching Wysteria for a moment or two before she responded.

"He had to go home. He has a village to care for," Were the words that left her lips. Wysteria nodded once.

"I see. And he still comes out here to spend time with you and to take care that you are well," Wysteria's voice had longing to it, showing she wished to have the same. Gale opened both eyes this time, lifting her head some to watch Wysteria. "It is nice to see that you have a friend out here. My father may not be thrilled about it, but as far as he knows, your friend has no power to help you. They have no reason to suspect that I can do anything to help you, I have not let on to any indication that I want to help you. I try to feign disinterest when they speak, much like my mother when my father begins to talk about you," Gale was silent as Wysteria spoke, her ears drooping a little. Wysteria noticed, reaching to set a hand on her nose. "That will not change the fact that I want to help you," She said softly, rubbing her thumb against the soft, fine hair of Gale's nose. 

"Wysteria..." Gale started, watching her lightly as she stopped her thumb. "I want you to know... you have a friend and the two of us. What you did to make it possible for me to see my father..." Gale closed her eyes. "That means a lot to me," She whispered, resting her nose a little closer to Wysteria's hand, making the young woman smile. 

"I know that in my shoes, you would have done the same. I do not agree with what my mother and father are doing. What it is my father is doing," Wysteria spoke softly, looking over her shoulder toward the forest, watching for a moment as though she had been expecting someone to come through them. It was something Gale herself found that she and Broin did a lot of. Looking back to Gale, who had been watching the forest as well, she shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you worry. Your collar will alert you if he is near. It won't light up at all, but it will tingle," Gale nodded, taking in the information. Her expression was grateful, though in her mind there was still some worry. It came with the possibility that Wysteria's mother and father could find out what she was doing to help Gale. 

"Wysteria, what are you going to do if your mother and father find out that you are helping?" Gale wasn't able to stop herself from blurting it out, her ears going back against her head as soon as the words had left her lips. Wysteria gave a slight smile. 

"I'll return here and get you at once. Maybe with the two of us, we would be able to take at least my mother. She isn't quite aware of what I'm capable of," She spoke with a sense of pride, her eyes shimmering a little in a nearly playful manner. "However, because my father made my mother what she is, I cannot take on any forms besides what you see here," She seemed to think for a minute after she stopped. "And that brings me to the reason I am here. There may not be a way to reverse what was done to you. It will be possible to make it so you aren't stuck in this form, but... I cannot reverse the spell. The only one that can do that is the Crone who helped my father... and she is not willing to do such a thing. My mother wanted to be reversed in the beginning, and she refused. My mother finally settled into what it was that was done to her shortly after I was born," 

Gale felt her heart sink, her ears dropping a bit to the sides of her head. So it wasn't possible to undo what was done... but Gale would take what she could get if they could at the very least make it so she wasn't stuck in this form. Looking to the sky, her mind began to race, thoughts of what the coming days would bring.