Charmed

Nye sat on the top of a hill and gazed out at the landscape in front of her. The sun reflected on the ice below her and the whole forest were covered in glimmers of light. As she watched, a snowy owl fluttered its wings and landed lightly on a branch. She thought of Oka. She thought of that night when she left her behind, the same as the night mother left them. She remembered mother’s figure fading into the darkness. It was a very snowing night too. Tree branches were blowing in every direction, she and Oka huddled together as they watched mother leave them. She never found the reason, not even now. Maybe that’s what Oka’s thinking right now.
She shook her head.
Oka was too stubborn for her own good, she thought. But she couldn’t quite get things around her head. Why did Oka care so much about that human boy? Pondering that thought, she got up and brushed snow off her skirt. She would search for Oka. Determined not to lose the only family she had, Nye started down the hill, her footsteps making soft crunching noises in the snow.
********
Oka straightened up.
After spending about two hours looking for food, she headed back to the cave with little success. The sun was setting and the sky was slowly turning purple, then blue. In her hand were two or three lotus roots and a couple of water chestnuts. That would be dinner for tonight. As she got closer, she could see the insides of the cave glowing orange. Thinking Eryke must be awake, she made her way into the cave.
The boy was leaning again the wall of the cave, gazing at the fire. Oka put the food down and looked him. The shadows of the slowly crackling fire were shone on his face.
“I have food, if you want it,” she murmured. He didn’t look up. She held up some chestnuts. His eyes met hers. Oka could see confusion and distrust in his light blue eyes.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked her.
“Doing what?”
“Helping me when you don’t even have to.”
Oka raised an eyebrow. “I believe there’s a difference between ‘have to’ and ‘want to’. Have some food.”She held up the chestnuts.
The night carried on like that. Eryke just sat and gazed the fire while Oka started gathering the bedding. The food remained untouched throughout the whole night. Oka felt exhausted. The day’s work was overwhelming her senses and she drifted off to sleep.
Eryke sat against the wall of the cave and watched.
********
Morning came as quickly as night and Eryke had left the cave for a slight walk. The ice had melted completely and winter was slowly fading into spring. Soft chirps were heard from the birds that had migrated back from the south, and small animals were beginning to poke their heads out of burrows and tree roots.
His leg was making a brilliant recovery. He was now able to walk, but he wasn’t completely ready to go long distances. He wondered why the wylla cared for him that much. He had asked her last night and she had given little or no answer. He felt that she was different from the stories that his father and Jay had told him about wylli.
He thought of what Jay had told him. His father was never the one that told him the stories, it was always Jay that had taught him the obligations of a hunter,
Never trust a wylla. Jay had taught him that before he could even spell his own name.
He remembered the stories he used to tell him about wylli every night at bedtime. About men that had trusted wylli, and what had happened to them.
He stumbled, realizing that he had tripped on a dislodged piece of dirt. When he looked carefully he realized that the paths were covered in horseshoe prints.
Hunters, he thought.