Star Keeper

Chapter Three: Star Flirtation

I forced my legs to work as I followed her. Her beauty mesmerized me even more than when she glowed as bright as the sun in that crater. Her crimson hair swirled down her back and moved with the curvature of her body as she walked. The strange markings on her body went all the way down her arms and covered her back. They stopped at her shapely bottom. I tried not to look, but I couldn't help it. She was... stunning, to say the least, and I have never seen anyone quite like her before.

She glanced behind her while she walked with a sly grin. I hoped that she didn't see me staring at her body, but the way she smiled dissolved all hope. Her hips swayed as bounced on her heels, confidence exuded from her perfect posture. I chuckled to myself as she took the lead while she glanced around seeing nothing but trees rather than our path. She continued walking straight while I barked once to our left, the right direction. She then stopped on a dime. My head hit the back of her lower thigh. I looked up at her—cocking my head and lowering my ears in an apology—and then noticed something about her skin that I hadn’t noticed before. It was shimmering slightly under the starlight, like the setting sun shimmers on the river before the day is done. She startled me from my thoughts by scratching the fur behind my ear as an acceptance.

The woodland brush to crunch loudly with every step she took. She glared at the ground on more than one occasion as she continuously marched on. She glanced at me a few times before she suddenly stopped, again, causing me to run into her leg. She stared down at me as I returned her gaze.

“Aren’t you supposed to be part human or something?” she asked menacingly. I growled a little and gave a slight nod to answer her.

“Why are you still a wolf then?” She questioned angrily as she placed her hands on her hips.

'What a moody star' I thought to myself rolling my eyes. She was nothing like I would have thought she would be. She was moody and annoying. I watched her for a moment; she still had her hands on her hips waiting for a reply. I glanced at my dirty paws to break her stare. I couldn’t very well speak as a dog so instead I simply nudged her leg so that she would keep walking before I took the lead. When she wouldn't move I gently snapped at her leg. She gave me a menacing glare before she began walking again. 'She is going to be the death of me'.

I took the star a little farther until we reached the giant Oak Tree where I had set up camp. I walked into the base of the tree and came back out with my bag holding it by the handle with my teeth. Clothes were more than a necessity when we were humans. Somehow they made the wolf in us calmer; it bound us to our skin it seemed. She watched with her glittering silver lined eyes as I slowly went back into my human form. Bones cracked and popped in and out of place as I slowly stood upright in front of her. Granted I was naked, but I was human at that moment.

She blushed a little as she turned her head while I dressed myself. Her eyes came back on me as I was sliding on my jeans. “Oh, that’s why you didn’t change?” She amused herself with the question. I simply nodded as a slight smile spread across her face.

I smiled back at her and that is when she turned away from me again, blushing. I smiled with amusement. 'She is pretty cute when she smiles' I thought to myself. For some reason I liked seeing her smile, and turn away shyly when she blushed. I have never had feelings for a girl before like this. She was a totally different creature that made my heart almost come out of my chest.

"Maybe you won't try to bite me now that you are human again," she teased.

“Maybe... or maybe not,” I winked.

I found my shirt on the tree branch and I could feel my heart thumping again. I couldn't figure out why she affected me so much. I was never one to believe in love or affection. It just wasn't me. Now, I smiled just thinking about this star, and I just found her. Maybe this is what the Protector was talking about when he told us that it took a toll on him when he had to give the star back to the Keeper. I sighed and smiled as I turned back towards her. I was about to put the shirt on when I saw she was shivering slightly. The wind was getting cooler, and the leaves were swirling around the trees. I didn't like to see her shiver, so I went to where she was sitting with my shirt in hand when I noticed she wasn't looking at me. She was looking the woods; her silver lined eyes seemed amazed by everything that she saw. Her arms were around herself trying to stay warm. I chuckled and bent down in front of her blocking her eyesight. My hair fell into my eyes when I bent down and the star moved it back into place with her fingers. I handed the shirt to her, and this time she took it from my hands. I was amazed at how confident she was when she stood up and put it on. I smiled. 'She is not like every other star, I assume' I thought.

“I didn’t change before because even though I like being nude, I assumed you would be a bit uncomfortable.” I answered after a matter of moments. She turned to stare at me once again. I took a seat on a nearby uprooted tree.

She bent her head slightly toward the ground, hiding a blushed grin, while turning away from me. “So this is Earth? I have heard so much about it,” she sighed as she took a deep breath and began spinning. Her shimmering eyes landed on me with each turn. I simply stared at her in awe.

“So the legend is real,” I countered. She didn’t speak she just kept spinning around and around underneath the glow of the other stars in the sky.

She didn’t look at me for a moment. “So, what are your people like? When do I meet them?” She laughed as she began slowing down. She fell on her knees before I could answer her question.

“They are nice, I guess. You’ll meet them in the morning,” I answered as I reached into the tree once again. I pulled out a thick blanket and spread it out. “That was for you to sleep on; after all, I thought you’d be out for a while.”

She smiled as she said, “I’m not like the other stars.” I couldn’t help but to think that was the understatement of the century.

She sat there staring at everything once again. I was shocked that I found a star, and I would be the one to take her to the pack tomorrow. Maybe I would finally be accepted among the others. My father would have been proud of me. I, on the other hand, was confused and a little awestruck.

I took one last glance at her as I went back around the tree. I undressed myself, and put my clothes into the bag. I could feel the silver eyes on me as I turned around and she was standing right behind me. I didn't notice before, due to my heart thumping and complete shock that the legend was real, that my shirt was almost a dress on her. She wrapped her hands at the end of the shirt, as if she wanted to ask a question.

"What do you want me to call you? Wolfy? I don't feel comfortable with not knowing your name," she whispered.

"Braith," I answered. "You can call me Braith"

She smiled at my name and bit her bottom lip. I noticed the ring in it again. She looked like nothing could phase her, yet she was shy with me. Maybe she was able to feel an attraction too? As I switched back into my wolf form I noticed she was making her way to the blanket and laid down to watch the stars in the sky. I watched her as long as I could before my eyelids became heavy. 'I need to protect her' . I shook my head to shake away the fatigue as I walked towards her. I could tell she wasn't far from sleep either. I sighed and laid beside her for a moment and when I heard her breathing becoming slow and steady I moved back to my tree hole. I glanced back at my star. She was interesting, exciting, and a little shy at times. She was not like the female wolves in my pack falling over me in my tribe. Who knew what the morning would bring? I didn’t… and that excited me. I tried to dose off, but kept looking over at her making sure that she was far from harm. I could already tell that this was going to be a long night.