In the Inn

WAYNE'S POV

Phyllis turned to me, giving me a dirty Look. I already had in mind that she was about to say something nasty with that look, probably to reprimand me for asking her so many questions in a roll.

 

               “I take orders from my Mother,” She spoke with tranquility and looked away, giving me the space to let out a sigh of relief. I decided to stop asking any more questions, even if I still wanted to know more about her Mother. Anyhow, I will still get to know once I arrive at the Pack; whatever they call it.

 

                  “I am hungry, I will go hunting,” the witch muttered and left. I observed the other camps to see if they still had their eyes on me and I was not wrong, they did. I was just hoping I do not end up as their prey tonight.

 

                Phyllis returned in less than two minutes with a bloody, headless Rabbit in her hand. I took a squint at it, “I am not going to eat that thing!” I stated; it was not even as if Rakia cared because she rolled her eyes.

 

                 “I did not say you were,” She snapped, squatting to arrange the fire to begin her roasting. I imagined how she was going to eat that with all the blood and all that, she was literally eating dirt in disguise. Besides, we saw these things as pets in Coral shore, there was no way I would eat it!

 

                “My Kind does not eat meat. I should at least respect that by eating it this way,” She muttered as she roasted the Rabbit in the fire.

 

                I had never read where it said in a book that witches do not eat meat; they literally act like humans. The only thing I had known witches to be cautious about were plants. However, I was propelled to ask, “So your Kind is not the witch?”

 

                  Phyllis turned to me and nodded, “Being bred by a witch does not mean I am a witch.”

 

                 “You are a wolf then?” I queried, but she thrust me a piece of the undone meat, which she tore from the Rabbit. I cringed, shaking my head; even if I was hungry and a foodie at times; it was not enough for me to eat a filthy, undone meat.

                       

               Phyllis shrugged and shoved the piece into her mouth, totally ignoring my question. I watched her for a while, a question popping into my head and my curiosity getting the better of me, this time my Instinct did not work as I pushed myself to ask, “If we arrive at the Fire-pall Pack, what am I to do there?”

 

            I felt the splash of cold water on my face and I jolted awake. My eyes fluttered open, trying to take in the blurred view before me. “It is morning, wake up,” I heard Phyllis say and I realized she was the one who lingered before my face.

 

            I sat up, scratching the back of my head as I recalled falling asleep last night after Phyllis totally ignored my question and retired to sleep herself.

 

            I swiped down the water from my face and got up on my frail feet. Phyllis huffed and walked ahead of me, leaving me behind. I ignored her and rather dusted my clothes just as a groan left my lips, every part of my body hurt; my neck, my limbs, even my eyes.

 

Damn, I did not get a good sleep last night, as I was very scared that the Wolves might pounce on me at any time. Speaking of which, as I looked around, I did not find any of them. I turned to Phyllis and caught up with her pace.

 

            “They all went hunting deep inside the forest. Why are you looking for them?” she retorted when I asked. I shook my head at her question.

 

            My stomach’s grumbling reminded me that I had nothing to eat for a day now, I even smelt so bad. I swore my bad smell had outshined the scent of Phyllis on the cloak, as it now smelled so terrible. However, it was not long before we came out of the forest and I thanked my stars to have finally brought me out of the enemy’s lair.

 

            We fortunately came out to behold a lake and I could feel the joy that bubbled in my stomach, at least I could finally get to wash some dirt off my body. Phyllis was by herself, she squatted beside the stream and tugged off her gloves, placing them on her laps and leaning down to rinse her hands in the clear water.

 

            I sighed loudly, squatting also. I leaned down and cupped a handful of stream water, splashing it on my face and relishing the fresh feeling of it on my skin. When I was done, I looked up to find Phyllis standing tall and glaring down at me; a look which made me wonder if I had broken any regulation in her tons of conduct rules. Nonetheless, she silently walked away and I had no choice than to quickly follow behind her.

 

            The rest of the Journey went on across the stream and up a smooth hill. I looked down from the hill when we arrived at its peak to see the many jumbled buildings in the valley. I did not know why, but I felt a sort of connection with this place. The feeling of an incredible satiation that I had not felt in ages coursed through me and it was beautiful.

 

             Looking down at the town from the top of the hill was the most wonderful feeling, as the verdant fields contrasted with the clear view of the sky and sunrise horizon, making the whole scenery look like some colorful drawing on a canvas.

 

            “Welcome to Fire-pall Pack,” Phyllis uttered and my lips parted. Was the Pack as big to develop into a broad habitat? “I know what you are thinking and yes, the Pack is as big as this. However, the Alpha’s residence is over there.” she pointed to a Tower that seemed way far from our current location. I locked my eyes on it, noticing that there was something odd about the Tower. A gloomy sky hovered above it, far different from the sky we had here. Nonetheless, Phyllis once again, adjusted my thought.

 

            “It is going to pour soon, we only have to find shelter before the rain gets to us,” she said, hurrying down the hill. I increased my pace.

 

            “How long will it take to get there?” I decided to ask.

 

            “Maybe the whole day,” Phyllis replied and my eyes bulged. However, I only began to understand the meaning of her words when thunder clapped and raindrops speckled my forehead. It was indeed going to be a heavy rain, enough to cover a few hours.

 

            We soon reached the bustling town. The dwellers ― tons of busy people who regarded me with cold and savage stares, had nothing special to them than just the normal living of lives like the way we did at Coral shore. I noticed that unlike the way I saw it from atop the hill, the houses were more of shops than homes, and Phyllis made me know that the community was miles away from here.

 

            The witch tugged me into a cloth trader’s shop and the trader trooped out of his counter to attend to us. He also did not spare me the looks that the town’s people gave me. However, he seemed to deem Phyllis with so much esteem, and only seemed to have later ignored me because of her presence.

 

I watched as Phyllis selected a black Cape from a wooden hanger and handed him some coin. The trader then assisted her to pin it on her suit before she pulled me out of the shop.

 

            More raindrops fell on us and we needed no oracle to tell us to find a shelter. I was the first to run into a close-by Inn. I sighed when we got in, moving over to the counter where the attendant stood. The man behind the counter eyed me and I gawked at myself to see if I could find a shit or some sort on me. I found nothing nonetheless.

 

            The attendant’s gaze wandered across me and a short smile played on his face as he shifted from my front to the side where Phyllis now leaned on. “What can I do for you, Ace?” He asked fondly as another smile crossed his lips. It seemed like the attendant was literally planning to ignore me. I sighed and looked around the Inn to find a few more pairs of eyes that glared at me with a scorn.

 

             However, just as I did not know why I received all these stares, I was not also concerned about them now. All I needed so much was to have a plate of food, even if it was just a morsel, as my stomach grumbled for the umpteenth time. I turned back to the attendant who spoke in a low tone to Phyllis all the while.

 

            “We will take a room first before the meal. Thanks,” I heard her say and I turned my head to her, about to lay a complaint, but she beat me to it. “You smell so awful,” she remarked and walked out after taking the room key from the attendant. I gave the latter one more look and he sneered, a gesture I interpreted as a threat.