I could see Ariel's face faintly in the wolf's menacing features.
Still couldn't believe what was happening. The guy I grew up with just turned into a giant wolf?
The faces of the villagers showed no fear.
"Surprise! That's amazing! So that's what this village has hidden!"
All the trained knights stirred and turned their weapons on my Wolf friend.
Ariel dug his paws in the snow and scanned the enemies around him as if he had been born as a bushhunter.
His eyes were red, his fangs were the mold of a tiger's teeth, and his hair was grayish-brown like his original hair.
There are all kinds of legends on this frozen continent, but it was incredible to see how easily it could break my quiet life.
"Ariel, your parents wouldn't want you to be so impulsive. Take Oscar go before anyone gets hold of him!"
It was as if my father had given an order, and the words that came out of that strong breast could not be questioned.
My werewolf buddy turned towards me.
"Hey, man, guess what, I'm just gonna have to carry you one more time."
With a sly wink, he suddenly swept up a wall of snow with his bushy tail, barely above the head of the giant knight, picked me up on his back in one gulp, and dashed off into the forest.
'Get them!'
The soldiers shouted in unison, and the mighty horses trampled the earth.
The snow from the pine branches kept pounding on my head, and face, and Ariel's body was so warm that I wasn't sure if my hand was gripping too tightly and hurting him.
"Relax, man, I'm not going to eat you! I won't ask you for a tip too!"
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Ariel, this isn't funny! It's not a school play. What's wrong with your body?"
Ariel did not answer and could not wait. He was busy leading the pursuers deeper, and he knew every corner of the woods.
His light body sped through the forest, skimming over countless branches, gradually, until the movement behind us subsided.
The two of us came to a dark place like a hole in a tree. I bent down and climbed in, and Ariel climbed in too.
He was a man again.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Be quiet and bring the clothes behind you."
This appears to be one of Ariel's secret locations, and his transformation seems to be a pretty clothing-wasted affair.
"Man, you never told me that."
"That was dangerous. The Queen's soldiers were really monsters."
"Ariel, you never told me...you were a monster, too. I mean, it's kind of cool, actually."
"Everything your father told you, Oscar, growing up, all those continental stories of legends, probably most of them were true."
"That would be fun. I used to think that could be the world."
"Ok. Then it will be much easier for us to continue to get along."
It seems the two best friends are on the same page again.
"It's dark now, so get some sleep. Don't worry too much. I'll go back to the village in the dark and see how things are."
At this point, I have to listen to them.
I don't know why the Queen would bother us. Is it because my father is a blacksmith of some fame? A remote town like Crawford doesn't count for much on the mainland.
After Ariel left, I drifted off to sleep. All I could think about was my father, sister, Bobby, Uncle Parker, and everyone in town.
I'm not worried about bears and other wild animals finding their way here, because if Ariel is a man like that, no creature would dare come near his territory.
During the night I heard more pieces of snowfall. This is not surprising anywhere, the Skadi Land is located at the northernmost point and has never had anything but endless winters.
Ariel pushed me awake, and I could see from his face that things were bad.
"Oscar, your father has been taken away."
I asked, "Why?"
"They say he stole..."
"What?"
"The Haller Lake."