Fractured Red

Chapter XXVI

"Grrr!" Little Ev bares his teeth like he's seen others do. The effect is less than threatening, but nonetheless his grandfather raises an eyebrow and lets out a small growl as well—light-heartedly, while his grandmother gives a dramatic gasp.

Everett and Exenna's hands touch briefly before they split and start to chase Ev'ring. He catches on quickly, pushing his short legs to work hard in order to keep ahead. His grandparents don't have much trouble, their long strides easily keeping pace, not to mention their wolves always ready to help out. The sight of the pup running prompts a game of track'n'chase to commence.

Everett dodged his mate as Ev'ring ducks under a fallen log to slow her down. Still heading towards the house, the three take a bit longer in getting their due to the ongoing game.

"Is she getting slower," Little Ev laughs playfully as he scrambles around and between obstacles that are more difficult for anyone of a larger size.

Everett chuckles, dancing away from her touch again. "Maybe she is Ev'ring, by the time she catches us it's going to be moonrise."

"You'd better run you two!"

Exenna shakes her head before—what it looked like to Ev'ring—melted down into her fur; with so much practice it only took a moment for her to go from skin to fur. Paws hitting the forest floor she flies after Everett—who in turn also fell to four feet. Nudging his grandpup along, Little Ev does his best to keep up, Everett keeping his pace slow enough to allow him to stay side by side.

Exenna barrels after them, letting loose a short howl as they all head towards the house. The door opens and the three race inside.

***

The world is there, but it's not the same. The past, the present, the future flash like lightning before my eyes. It doesn't slow, the lifetime for a shifter is nothing compared to the age of the universe. The information is an overload, I can't process it all, so the flashing colours and the beat of the years going by are all I catch.

"Balance throughout time." The voice is clear, yet it seems to resonate from the depths of the earth and the farthest corners of the forest. It rides the winds and swirls around playing with the leaves. "You are close."

Pressing my fingertips into my palms I shiver at the cool touch. An awareness of my body makes me realize I am freezing. The air is that of a normal warm night, but as it blows over me the difference is startling. As if I've been sleeping out in the snow, I am all stiff, stead of wrapped in a cloak during the warm season.

Eye still shut, my mind isn't my own either, or rather I am not completely back in my own body.

"Do not run, my child. The price must be paid and the consequence given. Balance will be restored. You have..." Neither friendly nor harsh, but I can hear the ring of truth. I should be afraid, but I am not, not yet at least.

The disconnect from my body feels like a vision, but I'm not hurting. The colours fade from my eyes and I can sense them in the background going off. They never stop, but now I don't see them. My eyelids seem to have become see-through and I look around. With my form frozen, I have no control over my muscles. Probably a good thing or else I probably would have fallen over when the flashes first appeared.

"Through life and death, the scales of balance must reign." An eeriness leaks in and the forest is colourless, only the outlines showing.

So cold.

I gain some movement back. Sore, stiff, even balancing is difficult. Peeling my eyes open, the light—even though filtered through the trees—is blinding. The colours in my mind keep going off creating this strange mix of what I'm taking in and what is actually around me. The descent is slow, just one foot after the other as my heart works hard on bringing my temperature back up to normal.