The Moon Wolf

Chapter 2 (1st Draft)

Penn pushed herself harder and harder to get back up the forested hillside and back to the Griffin pups. To her great relief she found them still hiding in the gully waiting anxiously for her return. The two oldest had done their best to keep the littlest ones quiet, but they began to wail in earnest the moment they saw Penn bound towards their hiding place.

Of course, Penn couldn't be sure if they were crying because they were hurt or because they were relieved to see her. So, before she transformed into her skin she sniffed each and every one of them over very carefully just to make sure no one was hiding any injuries from her out of fear or a false sense of bravery.

When she was satisfied they were all physically well, despite that they were frightened, cold and hungry, she let out a sigh of relief and changed into her skin to speak with the oldest pups. They had remained in their fur while she had led the bear away. So, they only now transformed themselves and scrambled into their clothes with the embarrassment only teens could feel.

Penn ignored their flushed cheeks as she too climbed into her discarded clothes. The children were not accustomed to nakedness, but Penn did not show them any mercy. In the wilderness they would be required to shift and shift quickly to stay alive. Any thoughts or concerns about modesty would have to be set aside for survival.

No sooner had she turned back to them then Cassidy flung her arms around Penn and squeezed her tightly. Penn almost staggered back from the sheer force of the assault. She wasn't sure what to do. So, she did nothing. It had been a long time since she'd been on the receiving end of a warm embrace. Consequently, Cassidy's hug felt truly foreign to her.

Cassidy looked up at her with wide, wet eyes and cried saying, "Thank the goddess that you are alive!" She then buried her head in Penn's chest and cried all the harder until her brother pulled her away once he realized that Penn was not going to reciprocate the hug.

"Thank you for what you did for us today," he said in a voice that was tight with emotion.

Penn gave him a cool nod.

The whimpering behind them hadn't stopped though and Penn couldn't take the noise much longer. She let out a low growl at the children. She'd been trying to knock it into their heads for weeks that they had to be quiet in the woods at all times. Even in terrifying situations. And they still had trouble remembering. Their inability to be still and quiet for long really grated on her nerves.

The growl did it though. The children stopped their crying and sniffling within a few breaths and all the warm feelings in the camp were squashed. Penn could see the fear return to their eyes. But, she could live with that. It was okay if the pups were more afraid of her than not. She didn't need their affection, their worry, or their tears no matter how genuine. She needed them to be quiet and obedient. Or well, that's what they needed to do at any rate if they wanted to survive.

Penn sighed with relief when the little gully became quiet again. But, she could see that both Cassidy and Jackson weren't exactly happy with her. It looked like they wanted to 'talk' to her again about how she treated the children. Instead of getting another courageous and well-meaning lecture from two teens about the children's needs, Penn spoke up and said, "You guys stay here while I go collect the food I caught earlier."