I stayed in my human form for a while, as I found a road that I followed into town. Judging by the sun, it was around three in the afternoon. I stopped a few feet away from the 'Welcome to town' sign. Based on my knowledge of geography, I would have to keep travelling further north-west to be safe. I could probably stop once I got 800 to 1000 km away from where I started.
'Better to keep going, than to stop here.' I thought to myself.
I was headed to the north-western border of the province. Up there, finishing high school wasn't mandatory and no one would think anything of my living on my own without parents around. It was a poorer part of the province.
I went back into the forest, without getting any closer to the town. I walked until half an hour before sun-down. That night I spent up in a tree; with my bags hanging off a branch and my knees tucked into my chest, wrapped my arms around them and wings wrapped around myself to keep warm.
I spent the next three days and nights travelling and sleeping, until I got to a good-sized town near the border.
I quickly found out it was called Sprucevale.
'Interesting name' I thought.
I decided to scope out the borders of the town and try and find some place to live that was near the outskirts of it. Far enough away not to be bothered by anyone, but close enough to go into the town if I needed something.
I thought I had found the perfect place when I came across an old cabin in the middle of the woods. From the outside, it looked abandoned. I tried the door, and it was unlocked. When I looked inside, it looked occupied, it was clean and cozy- looking. Not wanting to wait and find out who lived there, I closed the door and quickly moved on.
It wasn't until sometime later, as I was climbing a small cliff, that I spotted a nice valley. On one side of the valley was a bunch of wild blackberry and wild raspberry bushes. I was lucky to spot those, even though they were out of season. They could be a future source of food.
Just then, the wind gusted, and the willows behind the berry bushes shifted and danced. To my surprise, there was a smaller clearing behind. I pushed my way through to it. The little clearing was about three meters by three meters, and it was in front of a stone grotto or cave.
It only took me a minute to explore the cave. It was only slightly bigger than the clearing was.
'It's about the size of a small bedroom.' I thought. I smiled. 'It's perfect!'
I spent the entire next day improving my living space. I build a half- shelter around the entrance of sticks, bark, and dirt. It would let less cold air in at night.
I figured, as night began to roll in, that I would bathe in the nearby river and get as clean as possible before I went into town and tried to gather information. I didn't need to get a job, yet I was okay for money.
But I wanted to call and talk to Mike. I wanted to ask him about this rebel force of shifters who were causing so much trouble. Surely, if he knew about the royal family, then he would know something of them too?
I needed to know where to start looking for this rebel force. I had to locate them, infiltrate them, and find and steal the poison. I needed it so that an antidote could be created. I told myself that I couldn't fail.
I wasn't just doing this for Kyle, but for all the other werewolves that this rebel force would harm with the poison.
I had no idea on what scale they were formulating the poison, but I was in a good position to try and stop them.
The next morning was a beautiful clear, sunny morning. I wandered down to the river not far away, to try and wash off some of the dust layer that had formed on my skin from shelter building the day before.
After I took off my clothes and hurried into the cold water, I splashed around a little, enjoying the feeling of floating. I swam around for some time, just feeling happy. Then, I heard a sudden sound.
It was the sound of a wolf howling. Instantly, I was on alert.
'Were werewolves sent this far north to find me?' I wondered. 'Surely it was just a regular wolf, or a werewolf of some local pack?'
I swam up to a boulder, near the middle of the river, and ducked down behind it. A few minutes later, a white wolf ran into view.
I tried to hide myself as much as possible, while still keeping my eyes on the wolf. I saw the wolf find my discarded clothing and sniff it.
'Oh, no' I thought. 'What am I going to do?'
The wolf lifted its head up from my clothes pile and sniffed the air in a thoughtful manner. I felt very sure it was a werewolf now, not just a common wolf.
I felt the current of the water around me and wondered if my scent would carry across the water or not.
'Don't you cross water to throw people off your scent?' I thought, panicking slightly.
As I saw the wolf sniff the air again, I ducked so low behind the boulder that my chin was in the water.
I heard, rather than saw, the four paws on the earth, as the wolf started to run along the riverbank in my direction.
I took a deep breath and pushed off from the rock, as hard as I could. Kicking my feet, I went in the direction of the current. I heard the wolf splash into the water. I swam as fast as I could; I thought the current would help me. As we both splashed down the river, the current got quicker and stronger.
'No.' I thought. 'It's either rapids or a waterfall!'
In less than a minute, the wolf caught up to me. Both of us were splashing, spinning and trying to stay near the surface of the water, as the water became a force to be reckoned with. Up ahead, it looked like the water in the river just disappeared.
'This is bad!' I thought in panic.
Judging by the distance, we were about three minutes from free-fall from an unknown height. I glanced at the wolf who struggled and swallowed river water. I had no ideas for a way out coming to mind.
"Calm down and focus!" I yelled out loud.