~(Edited and Rewritten January 20th 2021)~
Scott listened as Spot told them about a whole new world they had no idea about. He told them there were tribes deep in the forest that were protected by magic. The people who lived there were half human and half animal. Each member had a magic jewel that granted them the magical power to be half animal. If they took it off they were no longer half animal and their extra abilities were gone. Spot was from the Paw tribe and his jewel was on his necklace. The twins listened to all this in silence until Spot was done. He took a breath,
"Any questions?" Scott raised his hand,
"Yes me!" He said, Spot rolled his bicolored eyes.
"Too bad we have to get moving." Scott lowered his hand. Spot stood up and motioned for the twins to follow him as he started off into the forest. They followed close behind looking at the trees as they went. Birds chirped in the trees, the forest was so much bigger than Scott had thought. They seemed to be walking for hours before Scott noticed a change in the landscape. The trees got closer together and the birds weren't so loud and proud. He was about to voice this to Spot when he stopped. Spot turned around to face them,
"This is the border to the Paw tribe. We will wait here." He said sitting down on a rock.
"Why? I thought you were one of them?" Annette asked. Spot sighed,
"I've been with you guys for years. They probably don't recognize my scent anymore or they think I'm dead." He said calmly. The last answer shocked Scott,
"Dead?! Why would they think you're dead?" Spot looked up at the sky and began to explain,
"Years ago, a few months before you guys got me, I lived here. I changed into my animal form to go out exploring beyond the borders. I was young and adventurous then and didn't know the dangers. The Elder said to do anything to keep our identities secret from the world. I was soon captured by animal patrol and brought to an animal shelter. And you guys know the rest." His eyes never left the sky as he fiddled with his necklace. Scott and Annette stopped asking questions and waited for the Paw tribe to find them. Around sundown Spot stiffened,
"I smell them." Was all he said as he got off the rock. The bushes rustled and two people ran out of them. One was a gray wolf girl with spiky gray hair pulled back into a ponytail, she had a fluffy wolf tail. The other was a younger boy who was half dog. He had shaggy brown hair with laid down dog ears and a long brown tail. His face was covered in freckles. They surrounded us the best they could,
"What are you doing here?" The girl growled. The boy just nodded and seemed uncomfortable. Spot motioned to the twins to be quiet.
"I'm Spot and I've come back from the humans." He showed them his necklace. They sniffed and relaxed their attack positions.
"Spot eh?" The boy said,
"I'm Denice." He showed us his jewel, a black paw print pinned onto his red t-shirt. They all looked at the wolf girl. She sighed,
"I'm Alpha." Her bronze jewel was on a choke necklace. She didn't seem to trust Spot as quickly as Denice.
"So what are the two humans with you doing?" Alpha sniffed glaring at the twins. Spot stood behind the twins,
"They're here to join us!" He said excitedly, wagging his floofy tail. Denice started to wag his tail,
"Really?!" He walked over to Scott,
"You're going to love it! We can play games, run around, and…." Alpha cut him off,
"Let's get them to camp, I bet Elder Paw would want to know about this." She said. Alpha and Denice flanked Spot and the twins. They walked through Paw tribe territory and saw only two other Paw members, who were hunting. After about 15 miles they made it to the camp. Camp was in a big grassy clearing and there was a cave in the side of a hill. On the other side was a giant tree, and a den was under the tree in its roots. All around camp Paw members were in their human form or full animal. They were laughing and playing around like one big happy family. When the newcomers walked in the members could sense or smell them. Heads turned their way in curiosity. Alpha led the way towards the big tree where someone sat. As they drew closer they saw the person better, he was old probably in his 80's and his eyes were pale blue. He had white hair and ears that looked a bit like Alpha's. His white fluffy tail was folded over his lap as he watched them approach. When they were at the base of the tree Alpha and Denice bowed their heads and so did Spot. The twins looked at each other and decided to do the same. The tree guy watched them in interest. Alpha looked back up at him,
"Elder Paw these newcomers were at our borders this evening. This one," She pointed to Spot,
"Said he had returned." She went silent and Spot took this as a cue to start speaking.
"Hello again Elder Paw." He bowed his head again and showed Elder Paw his necklace. He squinted at it for a second,
"Spot? You've finally come back eh." He said in a gravelly voice. Spot started to wag his tail and ran his hand through his messy hair.
"Yes!" Elder Paw smiled,
"Welcome back Spot. Good to see you again. And Alpha you know you're not to bring Denice on border missions." He addressed her. Her ears went down and Denice whimpered.
"I'm sorry Elder…" She started.
"I'll let it go this once but next time don't do it, okay?" He said,
"Yes Elder Paw." Alpha whispered. Then he turned his head toward the twins.
"And what of these two?" He asked.