Kei Valancia
I stood there bored, waiting for the man to unknot his panties.
“How do we know we can trust you? You’re just a filthy rogue,” the man before me said with a snarl, and I simply sighed. Looking closer, the colors swirling around the man were red and blue, meaning anger and uncertainty. To be honest, I was sick of seeing those two colors. Of course, I couldn’t see the man himself, but I imagined him to be a straight-laced kind of guy.
“First off, I’m not a rogue. There’s a complicated process for that, and I really don’t want to get into it. So, can you just please take me to your alpha? I kinda really want to talk to him.” I sounded bored even to my own ears. He only growled in response, and I sighed. “For the love of Goddess, just take me to your freaking alpha. What can a girl like me do anyway with a pack full of wolves? Probably, annihilate all of you without breaking a sweat, but that’s just evil and totally not me.
The man was silent before I heard him let out one more low growl.
“Fine, but if I see you do anything suspicious, then I will—”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ll kill me without a second thought. Been there, done that. Now, let’s go.” I waved my hand in a dismissive manner just to annoy him a little more, and it worked. I was suddenly lifted up into the air by my neck, his grip tightening with his anger.
“I would watch your attitude if I were you, rogue.” He spat at me. I rolled my eyes and gripped his wrist.
“Sorry but no thanks. That’s just not my style.” Lifting my leg and folding my body in a lawn chair sort of way, I planted one foot on his chest and kicked off. He let out a grunt in surprise while I flipped back and landed neatly on my feet. Dusting my pants, I looked in his direction, making sure it looked as if I could actually see him.
“Come on, the night is still young, and I actually have a schedule to stay on. Now, let’s go.”
“Cocky little—” I growled loudly, and he shut up real quick.
“I dare you to finish that sentence,” I smirked smugly when he was silent and began walking away. His loud stomps with my own silent ones were the only sounds in the woods.
I was currently in the Red Moon territory, and I’d been hearing stories about how rogues have attacked this place five times in the last three weeks. To be honest, I was surprised they weren’t all dead yet.
As we continued to walk in silence, I began to observe my surroundings a little more. I smiled a little in content as the familiar presence of colors swirled around me like a colorful blizzard.
What I actually “see” was something sort of like energy or, in a simpler term, auras. Every living thing emanates an aura. Whether it’s dim or bright, it still has energy. Of course, energy may be transferred to an object if the owner of that object has strong enough feelings towards it. It’s like giving a piece of oneself to an object.
But I love plants the most; every single one seemed to have a unique color all on its own. Same goes for humans, vampires, and so on. Usually, though, each species have their own mark. Let’s say if I touch a rose or look in the general direction of it, I would know it was a rose because I would see a light pink glow coming from the object.
Of course, a plant’s energy is dimmer than a person’s, but it’s still there, nonetheless. It’s almost as if walking through pitch darkness with the occasional flashes of colors but maybe ten times more intense.
Kind of the same concept goes for someone’s aura. A person emits very bright colors, and each color tells a type of feeling someone has at the moment. And as for a person’s soul, let’s just say they are the most beautiful things I have ever seen, but I usually have to look a little harder if I want a little peek into someone’s innermost person. So, I usually don’t for privacy reasons.
It’s true that I love what I can see, the energy of the things around me, but I also miss how I can’t see what the auras actually look like in the real world. But I don’t usually like to dwell on such things when I know I can’t fix it.
Sounds weird, but I’m the epitome of weird, so it only makes sense.
I stiffened when I began to hear other sounds, like children’s laughter in the distance becoming louder along with the chatter of stressed conversations. Listening closer, I could even hear parts of the conversations going on.
“How will we keep the rogues back? We can’t take another attack without being destroyed.” The voice was strained, and I felt a pang of pity for this pack.
“I don’t know. However, I heard that another rogue was sighted on the west border and was being brought in.” I smirked slightly when I heard this. It’s about show time.
I knew we were spotted, as everything went silent, and I tilted my head up with confidence. I knew they were tense; I could see it in their auras; plus, I could even smell the tension in the air. It was like a salty sea breeze filling my nostrils, and I really couldn’t blame them.
I wore a long cloak with a thick hood over my head covering most of my features with the help of dark sunglasses covering my eyes. I pulled the cloak closer, the fabric soft against my skin. I darted my eyes around, catching glimpses of all kinds of colors. Dark brown mostly as it represents tension, and I even caught a glimpse of yellow for curiosity.
Judging by all the auras, I could tell that there were twenty adults along with ten kids in what seemed like a large yard.
Cocking my head to the side, I stared at my guide when he stopped and turned to me.
“You will wait here while I get the alpha,” he ordered, not giving me time to reply before he was gone. I shrugged and simply continued to “look” around.
I manipulated my powers outward, the blackness of my sight taking shape as I could now see distinct outlines of objects. I couldn’t see the details but, more or less, the shape. As I did this, I noticed a large structure emanating a feeling of grief and anger. The feelings of the people living here were influencing the energy of the house, which can happen. The atmosphere says it all, and I knew that inside it would hold a certain heaviness in the air that would sit on your shoulders until it felt like you would be crushed.
I could hear all the whispers, but I decided to ignore them. I was so used to this treatment; it didn’t have an effect on me anymore. Instead, I tapped my foot with impatience and kept my face an emotionless mask. Finally, after what seemed like ages, I saw a swirl of power finally enter my vision.
I made a noise of approval as the alpha stepped in front of me, his power quite impressive as I watched it surround him and his pack in a protective cocoon. Each alpha I have met seems to always have a unique color in their power. This alpha had beautiful swirls of dark red and glittering purples.
“Alpha,” I said respectfully.
“Rogue,” he replied in a dark tone. I rolled my eyes knowing he couldn’t see.
“Sorry, Alpha, but I’m not a rogue, just an innocent passerby,” I said.
“You look like a rogue to me,” he replied in an even tone, and I shrugged in return.
“I may look like one, but do I smell it?” This made him pause before answering.
“No,” he said shortly. I smirked and nodded.
“I know it’s not going to fully convince you, but I don’t necessarily care at the moment.”
“Then what is your purpose here?” he demanded. I noticed at the corner of my eye sparks of browns and other colors identifying their owners with their uniqueness.
“Well, first off, I’m not going to attack you or cause any of you harm. Secondly, I actually want to help you.” I imagined him raising an eyebrow at this.
“And how would you help?” He sounded skeptical as he asked this. I smiled, and it may have come off as frightening, but it was supposed to come off as more friendly.
“I want to train your warriors into some of the best fighters in the world.” I made my voice sound self-assured, which I was. I couldn’t help it. I was just a very confident person in general. This caught everybody’s attention, as I knew it would. I smirked and waited for his response.
“Who are you?” My smile widened, and I spread my hands out, palms facing forward.
“I’m just here to help,” I replied, shrugging and trying to look as innocent as I could, which may not have been much. He was silent. The only noises were the distinct sounds of nightlife, and a faraway hoot of an owl pierced the tense air around us. Two minutes of silence passed, and he finally came to a decision.
“Fine. To prove your skills, why don’t you fight one of my best warriors?” I stood there for a moment. He must have mistaken this as hesitance, as when he spoke, I could hear the smugness in his tone. “Unless you’re all talk. Instead, I can have you escorted off of my land with your tail between your legs.” I laughed.
“I wasn’t hesitating but more like debating whether how much I wanted your poor warrior to be hurt.” I would admit. I did sound rather cocky, and when I saw his power flared with annoyance, I knew I had pushed his buttons. I couldn’t help but grin a little. Pushing buttons was one of my specialties, and it was one of my favorite pastimes.
“Fine.” He growled. “Mark.”
Almost instantly, a man appeared by his side. Electric green surrounded him completely, and I found it surprising. He was just full of excitement.
“Mark, I’ll let you have full rein with this one,”
“Yes, Alpha.” I could hear the grin in the man’s voice or Mark, I then knew, and I couldn’t help but let my own smile grow also.
“All right, pup, better get ready ’cause you’re going to get your butt whooped,” I taunted him, and in return, he didn’t say anything but scoff. I stood still and watched as his colors swirled around him, a mixture of steely gray of concentration and the same bright green of his excitement. I cocked my head to the side and waited for him to make the first move.
I could hear the quiet crunch of grass beneath his feet, smell the salty sweat coming from the other nervous wolves around us, and taste the bitter-sweetness of the alpha’s confidence. It was intoxicating.
I inhaled deeply and felt myself relax even further, a knowing smile on my lips as the wolf charged at me. I kept still, waiting it out until the last second had almost passed too late. When I did move, it was when I could feel his warm breath on my cheek as he snarled, the heat of his body searing onto mine.
With reflexes that never ceases to surprise even me, I sidestepped while subtly sticking my foot out as he whizzed past me. A second later, I heard his body thump against the ground. I chuckled as I heard gasps surround us. Their reactions were pretty predictable at this point. I’d visited many packs, and I could practically play out all of their reactions by now. The wolf before me snarled loudly, probably flashing his canines at me. I rolled my eyes. Too bad it wouldn’t intimidate me.
“Come on, I don’t have all day.” I huffed with impatience. That seemed to spur him on as he jumped and changed in midair. I watched as the air rippled around the colorful mass, and I mean ripple. I could see how it seemed to shimmer before the mass in front of me became larger. Judging by the way the air rippling around him, I could see he was a decent-sized wolf but nothing I couldn’t handle.
Letting out one loud growl, he charged once more. I quickly went into a defensive position and prepared for the impact. He was a lot heavier than I had predicted as he slammed into me with full force. Letting out a grunt, I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly while I was pushed back several feet. I heard the snap of his teeth as he tried to bite my face off while his body trembled violently with his growls.
“Dear Goddess, you need to lose weight.” I gritted out before falling down onto my back, using this momentum to kick the wolf over my head. He whined from the impact, but I didn’t give him a chance to recover as I stood and kicked him in the stomach. He yelped, and I knew just from the sound of a crack, I had broken a couple of his ribs. I jumped back to let him recover for a few seconds, his heavy pants filling the silent air around us.
He snarled viciously, and I yawned in return before shooting him a wide grin. He circled me all the while snapping towards me every few seconds; testing the waters, I presumed.
I almost ended it, as I was starting to get incredibly bored, but he decided to kick the excitement up a notch. As he jumped towards me a second time, he surprised me by changing back into his human form and tackled me to the ground. He elbowed me in the gut, knocking the air out of my lungs.
He straddled my waist as he threw a punch to my right cheek. My head whipped sharply to the side, and I felt my sunglasses fly off somewhere. Pain flared on my face but instantly dimmed and went away. I laughed once I was hit again. I felt his body freeze above me, and the sharp intake of his breath told me he caught sight of my eyes. I stared straight up at him, a grin once again on my face.
“Good job, pup. Not only did you land one but two punches. You even managed to surprise me. I gotta say I’m impressed.” I grinned wickedly. “But sadly, I must end the fun.”
“What are you—” He was cut off by his own grunt as I threw my own punch, a solid right hook might I add. His weight was lifted off me, and I jumped to my feet without a moment to spare, crouching low. He let out a groan before I noticed his outline showing him stumbling to his feet.
I attacked him one last time, running at him and jumping, my feet landing on his chest with a solid thump. His body flew back several feet, hitting what sounded like a tree. I noticed his colors dim, meaning he was unconscious. If he were dead, there would be a lifeless, dull gray, and the smell of death would reek throughout the air. Nodding in satisfaction, I brushed my hands together as if dusting them off and turned to look at the silent crowd. Gasps and soft curses surrounded me, and the color orange of surprise zinging around me. The bright color held my attention until a booming voice brought me out of my reverie.
“Take him to the pack doctor.”
“Yes, Alpha,” a couple men responded instantly. I saw their colorful figures picking him up and hurrying him away. I turned to face the alpha and noticed the color orange mix in with his power. I smirked once I saw it. I guess even the big, bad alpha could be surprised.
“What are you?” he demanded. I lifted my hand to run through my hair but was surprised to see my hood was still up. Wow, that was magic all on its own.
“I’m a werewolf,” was my short reply.
“But what else?” I shrugged and made the show of darting my eyes around before landing back onto him.
“I think it’s best told in private.” He was quietly debating my answer, and I was waiting once again.
“How about you pull off that hood to show your face more clearly?” He rumbled, and I shrugged.
“Fine, not like I’m hiding my identity, anyway.” Reaching up, I pushed my hood back to reveal my face. I felt my hair roll over my shoulders and down my back. More orange colored my vision, my appearance surprising everyone around me, unsurprisingly. I felt my hair spill over my shoulders and down my back. I’ve asked many people about my appearance; as I became blind when I was young, my memories too faded for me to remember what I looked like. From what they described, I had shifting eyes that would change between the colors bright emerald and ruby red, with a head of silver hair that looked as if the moon poured its silvery light onto the strands itself. Of course, I also joked that they were implying that I was the Moon Goddess, which is sort of a religious figure in werewolf standards. However, she is not an all-powerful being like the one the humans have with their God. The Moon Goddess is simply the first female werewolf to ever be created, along with her mate. But that’s a story for another day.
“You are not only werewolf.” His voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I gave him a wolfish smile.
“Like I said, let’s talk in private.” And with confident strides, I walked passed him and everybody else. Displaying a sure step and a cocky smirk, I knew he would follow. And he did.