I gazed at my hunters with pride. We had been through much together and had formed a bond stronger than blood. The forest might be a dangerous place, but I did not doubt we’d make it out alive.
Brexl was the fiercest of us all. His shifter form could only be described as beastly. He was covered in scars from the many times he had fought in defense of our dekes against the many predators that stalked our territory.
Drovo was tall and sturdy like the tree shifter he was. He could shoot wooden spikes from his hands as well as create the most amazing wooden tools from his imagination.
Axon always had a joke on his tongue and a smile on his face. His milky eyes, short white hair, and his short stature may have made him seem less threatening, but he was one of the few of my hunters allowed out at night. Nothing could approach him without his noticing while he was in his spider form. His senses could pick up on any sound or movement in his vicinity. However, he did get overwhelmed at times with all the things he could sense around him, but we each had a price to pay for our abilities, and some were higher than others.
Rhaz was stubborn, hot tempered, and defiant. He wasn’t the most lethal hunter but he was unkillable in his badger form. Rhaz carried many emotional burdens on his shoulders as well as more rage than the rest of the dekes combined.
Sweet Jax was the youngest among us. He was brought here by his sire one season ago. He could shift into a bird and take flight, but his real ability was his screech. He could incapacitate almost any predator with the sound that came from his throat. He served as our scout, warning us of any danger on the horizon.
Lumod was a male who always knew the right thing to say. Words flowed as smoothly as his body when he was in the water in his finned form. He gained scales, claws, fangs, fins and gillswhen he entered the water, which was useful for fishing or for the times we had to cross rivers filled with predators.
Sozu is the second youngest among us. His mother and sire had brought him to the mountain two seasons ago. He was small for someone his age but he was a cherished and valuable member of our dekes. He could shift the color of his skin to match his surroundings as well as heal anyone who touched him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t heal himself but he was young yet; he may still learn that ability.
Each hunter was carrying a large pack which should be filled with dried food, medicinal herbs, and furs in case the females needed coverings. Both Sozu and Jax were carrying packs as well. It warmed my heart to see their eagerness to help in the search, but their skills in fighting the predators of the forest were not yet good enough for them to travel on their own. If anything happened to them or if they got separated from the group, their blood would be on my hands. Our attention would already be divided protecting the females. We could not afford to watch over the youngest two hunters as well.
“Sozu and Jax,” I began, and Sozu immediately frowned.
“Why can’t we come too? We are not younglings anymore, we can handle ourselves out in the forest,” Sozu pouted.
“You both are strong young hunters, which is why you are needed here.” I found it was best to give the adolescents a different task instead of arguing over why they couldn’t do the task they wanted to do.
“I need you both to guard the entrance. Jax can alert everyone of our return and you can roll away the boulder.”
“Fine.” Sozu crossed his arms over his chest. Jax patted his friend on the shoulder and offered him a half-hearted smile.
I turned to address the rest of my hunters. “I see you all have prepared well for our journey. Let us head to Orsu’s den where Gab-bae last saw the females of her dekes.”
Chapter 10
Gabby
“The den is less than half a rotation away from the mountain,” Tarak assured me.
He had offered to carry me on his back twice since we’d left and I’d assured him both times that I was perfectly fine with walking. These guys all seemed nice enough, but so did a lot of guys on Earth and I wasn’t willing to look weak in front of them just yet.
“Hey Axon!” Drovo called out. “Catch!” Drovo threw a round wooden ball in Axon’s direction.
The shorter Sirret with the cropped white hair, broad chest and milky eyes caught the fast-moving ball with ease. He had to have incredible reflexes to catch a ball going that fast without much warning.
Axon palmed the ball with a mischievous smile on his face. “Brexl, you wanna fetch?”
Brexl looked back at me then shook his head. “Not this time.”
Was there something about my presence that made the scarred hunter uneasy? Certainly I wasn’t any kind of threat.
A thoughtful expression crossed Axon’s face and he nodded his head. “I understand.” He tossed the ball back to Drovo, who caught it and I watched as the ball disappeared. Where did he put it and how did he put it away so fast?
I didn’t like the tension in the group. I wanted to break the ice and just blurted out the first topic of conversation that came to mind.
“I didn’t get to ask you earlier, but your shifting ability is quite impressive. Have you always been able to do that?”
Tarak’s shoulders stiffened and I had a feeling that out of all the things to bring up, that was not the subject I should have picked.
An ashamed expression crossed Tarak’s face as he looked at the ground instead of at me. “No, my first shift happened when I was an adolescent.”
“I see.” I knew I should probably let the subject go, but my curiosity about these shifting abilities got the best of me.
