A Lot To Do

Luna's Pov

The only thing I knew about this territory was the outline which I had seen from atop a hill. This was probably enough reason for me to let Jamil ride ahead so he could guide me but that was so not happening. Not if Lea was to be the judge at least. Her feet were moving in perfect sync as she leaped large areas in bounds. Soon, we were in the heart of the pack and given that we were already closing in on noon, most of them were outside, going about their daily businesses. Before they could wave and say hi though, Lea had taken another huge leap turning them into tiny blurs in the distance. Jamil was trying to catch up on his stallion but Lea wasn't giving them any chance. My hair had been scattered in the billowing breeze, spreading into my eyes, nose and mouth so that I constantly had to brush them away. Rather than feel terrified though, I was elated. With the world zipping past, I felt like I was at the top of the world. Like...I was free again. Riding always did that to me, even before I lost my place. Soon, we left the habited places behind and moved on to the places where nature reigned supreme. Huge trees with dense foliage which seemed to not have been touched by winter. Animals, small ones like grass cutters and the bigger ones like deer all of which scampered as fast as they could. The birds, their songs seemed to be more melodious in here. And the smell. Oh! The heavenly smell of the forest. Nothing could ever beat that. I shut my eyes, my head falling slightly backward as I enjoyed the camaraderie of the forest which reminded me of home.

"Hey, Luna, Wait up!" Jamil called for the umpteenth time and like before, his call was lost in the wind. Finally, Lea slowed to a trot in an cleaeing. She made her way to a stream where she gulped the water greedily.

"Nice work, Lea!" I grinned, rubbing her lush mane before sliding off her. It was at this time that Jamil finally caught up, bursting into the clearing with his horse, both looking like they had had all the air beaten out of their lungs.

Jamil stumbled off his horse, his face a picture of admiration. His horse made his way to the stream for a drink beside Lea. "That was..." Jamil started, then paused as he keeled over, apparently not having completely regained his breath. "Amazing!" He completed without raising his head. He finally got enough energy to raise his head again, "where did you learn to do that?"

I chuckled as I brushed my hand through my hair, trying to get all the strays back into place. "Somewhere far away." I replied, my voice turning slightly wistful. "Horses though?" My eyes brightened. "Wolves riding horses? Sounds....strange?" I stared at Jamil who returned it for a moment looking stunned. Then finally, he burst into laughter.

"What? You think because we are wolves, we ought to run everywhere?" He continued to laugh like I had just cracked the funniest joke in the world. "Okay...Alright.." He sniggered, raising his arms in surrender when he saw that I wasn't laughing along with him. It took a while longer but he finally stopped. Thankfully. "Sure, we are wolves, Luna but we can't be wolves every time of the day. When we are not wolves, we need a means of transportation and voila!"

I nodded as I headed toward Lea who seemed to have burned off all the excessive energy in her body. She could still run but not with that breathtaking speed from earlier which soothed me just fine. She was not the only one who could use a break from the high. I patted her on the rump and she snorted. Jamil walked up to his horse as well. I took a look at the clearing we had walked into. The huge trees stood around in a semicircle, almost like a bow and through the middle of this bow, ran the stream like an arrow being fired. I sighed as I climbed atop my horse.

"It is not too late for the tour, is it?"

"Not at all. I just need to freshen up a little bit." He replied as he hurried to the stream and scooping some water in his hands, splashed them on his face.

Soon enough, we were riding on a trot back toward civilization but obviously, the tour included more then the civilized areas.

"This," Jamil started, gesturing at the huge trees, "is the limit of our lands. That stream marks the end of our territory and the beginning of Light Crest Claws Pack's. We are not on talking terms so trespassing could earn you a whole lot more than a bath in the stream which means, stay on the right side."

"Surely, their relationship can not be that bad if they share boundaries."

Jamil looked me in the eyes quizzically as if to judge how much to tell me. "Not that bad? Well, let's hope you never find out just how bad." With that, he spurred his horse on, pointing at random plants. "That is the root plant, it cures different ailments depending on how it is cooked. That is the glowing orn." He pointed at something that looked more like a weed than a helpful plant. It is very rare in our kingdom and is forbidden for anyone to touch apart from the Pack's main doctor.

"How do you know all of these?" I finally asked when I could no longer control my curiosity.

He shrugged without looking back. "As a warrior, you have to know more than just how to fight. You have to know how to care for yourself and your comrades should things go wrong and things do go wrong a lot, trust me. Now, come on, we still have a lot to do."