The next day I still couldn't get the image of a black wolf, double my size out of my head.

I had been warned not to talk about it any more, or ask questions. But still I could do a little research of my own.

I got up early, and told Jaida I was going to see Mr. Larkin. Although I would be treading the same way to go to his tree house, I would be looking for clues on what I saw two nights ago.

The weather had an extra bite to it today. The cold managed to get through my thick furs and reach my bones. I was shaking by the time I made it over the bridge and in front of the bush I had last seen the wolf.

Nothing indicated it was there from first glance. I looked on the ground but a fresh coating of snow covered the forest bed, erasing any footprints or signs of a creature ever being there. I pushed back the leaves looking for snagged fur of broken twigs for forced entry. I ended up with nothing.

Defeated I am about to turn away until something catches my eyes. I was looking for snagged fur, just the wrong kind.

I recognize the orange tinge to the fur I was wearing the other night of a fox's pelt. A scrap of it was tangled in the branches of the bush.

The creature must have followed me then. Possibly thought my discarded fur was me.

I shiver at the thought.

The question was, where was the rest of it?

.-.-.-.-.-..-.--.-..--..--.-.

Midday I was alone again in the tent. I made sure even Jaida was gone when I opened up my sketchbook.

I was going to finish the sketch for my own sake, as I didn't like to leave things half done. The day progressed and my pencil was wearing down to the point I could not get an accurate stroke. Getting up from the table I left my book and headed back to the bedroom for a newer pencil. Under the bed I got my little leather sack from home and found another.

"I said not to keep drawing that."

I leaped up at the unfamiliar voice. It scared me to the point I gasped out loud.

Zachan stands in the doorway, my husband, looking very unimpressed. The hard line of his jaw pulled tight like a bowstring.

I looked at him wide eyed. I knew why it was such a shock, why I had not recognized his voice. Because he had never said anything to me. English or native tongue.

My lack of response has him repeating himself. "I said not to keep drawing."

I bolt of anger pierces me unexpectedly. I spent over month with him living in silence and in slight fear. For all I assumed he didn't speak my language. But I knew now he was capable of understanding me and I hoped he understood just how mad I was.

"You didn't say anything. Actually you haven't said anything to me since the moment you first saw me." I inform him

I didn't think his jaw could get any tighter, but some how it did.

"I implied that you did not continue your drawing-" he speaks again, words strained.

I huff out a miserable laugh as he finishes." I see you as having no right to say or imply to anything I do." I say back, my hard gaze hopefully matching his." When my husband's first words to me are a demand I feel very reluctant to comply with them."

I was hoping he was understanding the words I was using, as I couldn't read his face to see if the message was getting through.

Zachan stood there watching me not making any move to leave of say anything else.

With a sigh I walk to go back to my sketch, but before I exit I stop beside him." When you start to acknowledge my presence as a human being, will I have the idea of listening to you."

He doesn't say anything, as expected, and I walk away.

.-.-.-.-.-.-...-.-.--.-.-----

"Your looking a little paranoid, Mi Lady." Mr. Larkin eyes me behind his desk, his fingers skimming through paper work and old parchments.

I had come to the one place I felt the most safe. Mr. Larkin might not be the first person I would want to befriend if I had a choice, but the fact he knew what it was like to be in my place helped.I had probably been paranoid the moment I stepped onto the Southern lands, but I wasn't about to say that to him. Mr. Larkin would see me as complaining.

"It's been an eventful few days." I admit, swirling my pointer finger on the scratched wood of his desk.

"You mean the wolf you saw?" he asks.

I peer my eyes up to see him looking at me. He seemed interested in my answer." Yes... do you believe me?"

Mr. Larking mulls over his answer." Wolves in the past have come down from the mountains. It is not unheard of... however the one you described is bigger then a bear, and has black fur..."

He was at least skeptical, not shutting me down like the rest of the tribe. Or lying like Kern. But I fear Mr. Larkin was just playing with me, like he always does when wanting to get something from me instead.

"Mr. Larkin..." I say slowly, hopeful the tone of my voice is sounding calm and collected." The people here, they are refusing to believe me... but it's not only that..."

I pause in thought, hoping to gain Mr. Larkin's attention. He seems intrigued now, resting his forearms to lean closer to where I sit, as if we are going to share a secret.

"What else, Mi Lady?"

" They are acting if they know something I don't... they're hiding something from me..." I hope I was putting on a good show to him, seeming lost in thought and slightly frightened. I keep my eyes low on the table, taking a peek at Mr. Larkin.

"Well, if you had taken my advice a month ago to gain their trust, they might let you in on their secrets." He smiles cheekily.

My innocent act is gone, and I scowl deeply at the old man. I should have known he wasn't going to give me answers. I thought I could out smart him for a change but it was a losing game. He had all the information, and I had nothing to give him.

"I know they believe wolves to be sacred." I say, hoping to prompt him into elaborating on the little I know so far.

"Why are you so interested, Mi Lady?" Mr. Larkin quirks an eyebrow." Only now you seem interested in the culture, when not so many days ago you seem contempt on knowing nothing about them?"

I grit my teeth." Because I saw something that everyone here is trying to make me forgot... and your the one who says I should try to get to know these people, gain their trust. Knowing about there culture could be a start."

Mr. Larkin smiles again, showing the crows feet next to his pale blue eyes." Good answer." He gets up from his desk, discarding the paper in front of him." Come on Mi Lady, I want to show you something."

" Where are we going?" I watch him as he gathers his brown fur coat around his shoulders and heads towards the doorframe to leave the tree house.

"To use a visual aid to help you learn about their world." He says with a wink and disappears. I reluctantly follow him.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--.----.--

From my time here, I realized Mr. Larkin was leading me to the Valdoor Mountains. He had found himself a lone stick on the ground and was using it as an aid to walk up the slight slopes to the rock base. I was hoping we weren't actually going on a hike, as I had limited knowledge of such a thing. I mainly feared slipping before tumbling down the rocky face of the mountains.

" The people here on the Southern Lands have a different belief to your God." Mr Larkin seems out of breath, and I am not surprised from the long walk and his age." They have many Gods... and they believe these Gods are embodied in wolves."

"So their gods-" I clarify." Are wolves..."

Mr. Larkin barks out a laugh." It's a little more complicated then that." He sobers." But yes, to put it simply, yes."

From where we were heading, pieces of information were collecting in my head. My steps started to slow." Jaida told me wolves live in the mountains, we're not..."

" Here I thought you didn't have an imagination." Mr. Larkin laughs again, this time coming out more strained from the slope were heading up on this cold day." But no, Mi Lady. To seek them out would be a mistake for any one... and it has been in the past."

I caught the last part of his sentence but by his tone, I didn't press him.

By now we were coming to a clearing, less trees scattering the land. Ahead I see shadowed grey rocks forming out of the soil. Getting closer I realize we are at the base of the mountains.

"We're here." Mr Larkin smiles, hands on hips catching his breath. Mine to were coming out labored, and the icing air was stinging my lungs.

" Where exactly are we?" I ask, looking around for a sign of something significant.

" Helir Nara" Mr. Larking says." Translated to 'Sacred Caves'."

Caves. I could now see the dark opening in the rock. In my mind I was starting to panic, not knowing what we where going to find in there. It was winter after all; I didn't want to find a bear angry with us for disturbing their hibernation.

"Mr. Larkin..." I whisper approaching the cave, already scared to make to much noise.

"Don't worry Mi Lady, I'm sure there is a torch around here..." He drifts off as he steps into the cave. I wait outside and a minute later a spark of flames appear. Mr. Larkin lights a torch, the power of it echoing. I see the fuzzy outline of him and he signals with a nod of his head to follow.

Again today, I reluctantly do so.

I was met by the sound of dripping water echoing off the cave walls. The air became grubby and moist, it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I was expecting the cave to become narrower, but after a few minutes of walking behind the shadow of Mr. Larkin did the space grow. It was hollowed out and the rocks were smooth as they curled into a dome shape. Above, little cracks let through slithers of sunlight, making the place less dark and barren.

However the sunlight wasn't enough, as Mr. Larkin uses the torch to set a flame to other torches mounted on the walls. When the room became clear, so did the reason of why we are here.

Paintings dotted the walls in mainly white with speckles of black or red. From where I stood near the entrance I couldn't depict what any of it was.

Mr. Larkin finds a slot to put his torch and walks in front of me until he stands to my left. He eyes me to come join him.

" Here is where it begins." He points to above." Their Creator is named Valdoor. Valdoor was lonely on this earth so he made the ground and soil, the rivers and oceans, the sun and moon. But he remained lonely so he created the trees and the grass, the coral and the reefs, the flowers and the rocks. Yet he was still lonely."

Slowly we moved along the wall, paintings of the things Mr. Larkin descripted illustrated simply but beautifully in front of us. It began with one single man standing on a barren land until he was accompanied by the seas and earth around.

" He made animals roam on land, fish swim in the sea and birds fly the sky. Yet..." Mr. Larkin eyes me, his face beaming. He was waiting for me to answer. He reminded me of one of my tutors from when I was a child.

"Yet he was still lonely..." I begrudgingly got out.

"Correct!" He smiles and I can't help but grit my teeth to not snarl back at him. It was annoying to know he had all the playing cards. One wrong move and he didn't have to give me anything.

"Valdoor made a woman, He named her Himmala. Together they had many children, populating the earth with humans."

The point in the paintings show a couple holding hands, they are surrounded by smaller people. Their children.

"Eventually their children left, roaming the earth until Valdoor and Himmala were alone. Together they grew old, until Himmala died from her age."

Mr. Larkin pauses as we move along.

"Valdoor was heart broken, knowing his love had left the earth. At night he could hear her say his name from the sky."

The next painting showed a man, looking up to the sky. It saddened me in that moment. However it hit me differently then I expected. I was sad because I was probably never going to love someone as much as him. Or never get the chance...

"Valdoor wanting to be reunited with his love used his power to create a huge mountain that could reach the sky, and once he climbed it he was reunited with his love.

"Himmala wept with joy, her tears twinkling to create stars in the sky." Mr. Larkin explains, pointing to the many small dots surrounding a couple holding hands on a cloud. Below them lies a large mountain. It clicked into place that the mountain we are currently in was the one in the paintings. But I waited impatiently as to where wolves come along into the stories.

"However." Mr.Larkin drags out as we end the circuit of paintings." Many would come and try and disturb the lovers, or seek the paradise in which they live in the sky. Any man or woman who would do so would be struck with Valdoor's power, and turned into a beast... a wolf."

I perk up at the mention, my full attention again on what he is saying.

"These humans turned to beasts, lost their will as well as their bodies. They become the guardians, to protect Valdoor and Himmala."

The picture becomes a series of wolves, big and small painted standing on the mountain.

"Guardians?" I ask, confused.

"Still Guardians, but Gods now to the people here." Mr. Larkin clarifies." The story changes through the tribes, but here it is believed that Valdoor could change their bodies, but not their minds. All who climbed the mountain had their own reasons: power, wealth, curiosity, love or even not knowing what was waiting for them."

My doubts of the story were high, but after what I saw I agreed to keep an open mind.

"All their stories-" Mr. Larkin gestures to the pack of wolves mounting Valdoor Mountains." Are painted on the tunnels leading out."

"Which is this one." I point to a wolf, smaller then the others and more defined in the face with a thinner snout.

"Dio, God of Wisdom... he is said to have grey fur." He adds, seeming overly pleased by the knowledge.

I point to another wolf, dismissing his cockiness." And this?" The wolf was large, like the one I had seen. To me the wolf-god- looked female. Someone had painted her eyes green. I find myself liking her, as our green eyes matched.

"Evena, Goddess of Protection."

" By any chance do you know the color of her fur?" I quirk an eyebrow.

Mr. Larkin chuckles." Many have debated, but it is agreed by most it is a rich dark brown."

I keep looking at the wolves, searching them for anything familiar. Particularly a giant black one. And I find it, a large wolf with painted yellow eyes, the creature identical to the one I have seen. The wolf stands in the middle, at the bottom of the mountain. He stands alone.

" Which is this God?"

Mr. Larkin remains silent for a moment." Luinen, God of Wrath"

There was no denying the similarities. Even in a very simple painted outline the wolf, God of Wrath, Luinen looked like the massive black wolf I witnessed the other day. If only I had my sketchbook to compare the two drawings.

Part of me felt detached from my thoughts. Was I really going to admit to myself that the story surrounding me was truth? That the wolf I witnessed last night was a Wolf God. Was that why the tribe people were so reluctant to talk? Especially if out of all the Gods, the one of Wrath was the closest? The whole thing felt like a book of fairy tales I would have read to my sisters when they were little.

" I know what is going through your head, Mi Lady." Mr Larkin's voice breaks my thoughts like a crack on a frozen lake, the pieces dissolving away.

I look to him, and his carefree face is gone. It was replaced by one of seriousness.

" You not wrong to assume that what you witnessed was a God of these people" Mr. Larkin explains" but I think we both agree that this story is a little far fetched for us."

I couldn't deny him there. But at the end of the day I was open to all possibilities. Even the ones that seemed most out there to me.

"There is however another explanation, something as far fetched as this... but believe it or not, is the truth."

I searched his face for a flicker of humor to show he was joking, but looking at him dead in the eye was enough to know that this man was a skeptic. This belief he has was something that had been proven to him, whatever it was.

" What is?" I say, my voice small. Was I ready to hear this?

"There is something else, another part of the story that isn't written on these walls-"

Footsteps echoed in the caves, the once silence filled with the heavy noise.

"Shit." Mr. Larkin swore, seeming like he didn't know what to do.

I grew concerned to, realizing if these caves were sacred... I probably was not supposed to be in them. Especially when everyone was hiding as much as they could from me, especially about wolves, their Gods.

The footsteps got louder, making it sound like a platoon of men bounding to the entrance. However only one man appeared.

Kern.

He was not happy. He was furious.

However all that happens is Kern walking up to me. I couldn't help but step back from his hard stare entirely focused on me. One of his hands wrap around my forearm, it hurt instantly.I begin to protest but Kern cuts me off, speaking to Mr.Larkin.

"The chief will hear about this." Was all he said to him. His eyes drift to me, eyes blazing." You're coming with me."

Kern all but dragged me out of the caves, and wouldn't let go of his death grip on me. I hobbled along and nearly tripped on several occasions as we headed the way to the haven. But I knew something wasn't right as we approached the Tala River. I pulled away from him now but I was no match to Kern.

"What's happening?" I ask, my voice strained as we approach the river. No bridge in sight.

Kern says nothing as he approachs the edge, the shallow waters already splashing out cold water.

He still doesn't say anything as he pushes me in.

Dun Dun Dun... cliff hanger. What do you think is going to happen?

Also tell me what you guys think of their creation story and their beliefs? Is it clear or do you need a little bit more? But if you're still a little confused things will hopefully make sense in the next upcoming chapters.

So please Comment and Vote, it makes my day!

Love U