CHAPTER EIGHT (NEW MOON)
ARC TWO: Re-journey
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Chapter Eight: Traveling with Strangers
The unit had traveled a distance away from the scene in silence.
Everyone had one way, or another agreed to travel without a single noise except for the sharp stomps of the horses and the crisp sounds of the dried leaves under their hooves. They would stop occasionally to see if they were still on the right track and to take a break.
Oddny and Mallory huddled together whenever that happened, and aside from giving them a few rations, the others ignored them. The two were relieved from the lack of attention and ate the small dinner they had in silence.
Someone approached them and sat a polite distance away. Mallory looked up and realized that it was the person who shared his horse with her.
Sensing her gaze, he smiled at her. Mallory froze dumbly, unsure what to do. Meanwhile, Oddny retreated at her back, not even bothering to greet the man. She didn’t look at him and kept her head down.
Seeing Oddny’s attitude to him, the man didn’t take it negatively, instead; he looked at them warmly. “Had you had your fill? Sorry to give you such a small portion of the food. The travel will take three weeks. And we haven’t expected that there would be additional in our crew.”
Mallory took a second to respond. “No, it’s enough. Thank you.”
The man nodded his head. “I’m glad.” He looked at the dark forest and sincerely advised them. “I know what happened to you was shocking, but you have to immediately adjust your mood to survive. I assume you already know about hunting? If not, please familiarize yourself with that, and, oh, don’t forget about foraging. During this trip, it’s better to get more food to get by.”
The two listened attentively, but only Mallory nodded her head.
Mallory knew how limited the resources of a traveling unit were. Even their rations that supposedly would last all throughout their journey are sometimes not enough. They did not have enough food to feed themselves. What’s more, if they add another two mouths to feed?
Mallory understood that, but she also knew that Oddny couldn’t.
She felt her grip on her clothes tighten.
Mallory can’t help but smile sadly in her mind.
It has already been a couple of hours since they traveled with this unit.
It was ‘already’ for them, but to Oddny and Mallory, it was still ‘only’ a couple of hours since they left their home. Especially with Oddny.
Mallory can’t begin to imagine how overwhelmed Oddny is from the situation earlier and for the next few days. Out from the comfort of her own home, Mallory was sure that Oddny felt so small and insignificant. She was still young, at the age of fifteen years old. The sudden separation of her and her family shocked her to the core that she doesn’t want to do anything let alone speak. Whenever someone tries to communicate with them, she would shrink back to hide on Mallory’s back.
Mallory is filled with empathy.
She, too, was just like that.
She was six when she was first deprived of her first home. She remembered being so confused and terrified, but she had someone by her side, holding her hand and giving her warm smiles all throughout the journey to find a new home.
Her mother.
Mallory felt a pang of pain in her heart.
Lyall, that’s her mother’s name.
She was a wonderful and sweet lady. She helped everyone whenever she could, and Mallory felt that she really loved her with all her heart. But she still wonders why sometimes her mother looks at her differently, especially when it’s a full moon and when Mallory’s curling up in her bed in pain.
Mallory remembers that she asked her once in passing, and she still remembers her mother’s response.
“Soon, I will tell you everything soon.”
But of course, she couldn’t.
Her mother died before she could.
But one of her mother’s secrets was eventually revealed, not in an ideal way.
When she learned about it, she erupted with questions and doubts.
What was the reason why she hid the fact from her? Why would she not tell her about it?
Melita… Melita tried, but just like Lyall, she ran out of time…
Mallory shook her head and pushed the negativity away from her heart and mind. Instead, she focused on the present.
They had to remain in this wilderness for three weeks at most…
While transferring from one pack to another, Mallory noticed one thing.
Every pack is away from each other with a wide gap and distance. The shortest Mallory had traveled for is a month, other than that, everything exceeds thirty days. She always wondered why and then soon understood it from her mother’s explanations.
The distance was a hindrance, as well as a form of protection. The ridiculously long distances prevented other packs from sending help when necessary, but it was also a precaution to prevent the vampires from picking them off like berries.
Fortunately, the travel will only take them three weeks. When they arrived at the village, there are still six days away from the Full Moon of this month.
Mallory thought carefully.
On every full moon, her head throbs without fail. With was mild when she was younger, but as she got older, she felt it getting stronger. Is this… A consequence of being the Goddess’ Blessed? Will this disappear next month after I get Blessed?
There was no way she could answer that question right now, so Mallory set the thought aside.
Mallory thoughtfully nodded her head and thanked him with sincerity. “Thank you, Uhm–”
She paused, just now remembering that she didn’t know his name.
The man looked at them seriously. “Leofric. That’s my name. You can call me Leo.”
“Thank you. I’m Mallory,” she simply said and didn’t take the initiative to introduce Oddny. Oddny didn’t say anything, expressing her unwillingness to communicate with the other. She hasn’t even raised her head to look at the other, not even once.
Mallory saw pity in his eyes. He paused for a bit before opening his mouth again. “Sorry for not providing any help to your pack. We were only there to scout. We’re an Exploration Unit. We didn’t prepare anything for a fight.”
Mallory pursed her lips. Both she and Oddny went oddly silent. It was the older one who broke the silence. “… We know. You’ve done enough. Thank your commander for taking us in.”
She said it so sincerely, but she still can’t hide the pain in her voice.
Mallory and Oddny understood it, and if they were in their shoes, they would do the same. Heading to a pack that is under attack by a vampire unit is like bumping into a thick wall head straight. So instead of signing their names for the afterlife, they’ll choose to watch in silence and wait for survivors.
Although they understood it so well, they still can’t help but feel that the world is so unfair to them.
‘But,’ Mallory mocked herself. ‘You should be ashamed more of yourself. The Goddess’ Blessed? What a joke.’
Seeing them unwilling to talk any further, Leofric stood up to bid his farewell. “The moon is already hung up so high–although we can’t see it will all the thick clouds. You two should be ready to sleep. They have decided to stop here to rest and get ready for tomorrow’s arduous journey.”
Mallory simply nodded her head and watched him go. But before he totally left their earshot, Mallory remembered something.
“Leofric?” She stood up and said seriously. “The vampires had developed a drug to temporarily paralyze the werewolves and sever the connections of the wolves and the humans.”
Upon that, she saw his smiley face turned 180 degrees. He thought over the serious matter she just revealed and nodded at her in thanks before speeding up away.
Mallory stood there as she watched his back disappear from the crowd.
The heavy clouds in the sky finally cleared up, and the moon shared its light with them. Mallory tilted her head upwards and saw the silver halo oozing out from the perfectly round celestial body hanging up in the sky. Looking at it, Mallory just realized that it was the very first time she saw the moon out that night.
CHAPTER NINE (NEW MOON)Chapter Nine: A Fun Person“Mallory…”Mallory raised her head only to see Oddny looking at her with teary eyes.Frowning, Mallory set her fishing rod aside and held her hands. She asked, her voice full of concern. “Oddny? What’s wrong?”Oddny bit her lips, hesitation was clear from her subtle actions. Mallory caught her throwing anxious glances toward the others who were with them by the river.It’s their first week traveling with the Exploration Unit which saved them from the pursuit of their mortal enemy; the vampires. During this week, Mallory had already adjusted to the atmosphere within the group. She thought Oddny did too, but she didn’t. Not even the slightest.As the oldest of them, she did everything to make Oddny comfortable. She hunted, foraged, and fished for
CHAPTER TEN (NEW MOON) Chapter 10: Facing the Truth and Awakening itContrary to her expectations, she couldn’t find the right opportunity to talk with the man. As usual, he was surrounded by others, making it hard for outsiders to enter the circle. She didn’t push it, afraid that she’ll annoy the only person who was kind to them.Although she was a bit dejected with the situation, she was still happy that he kept his word.There was truly no one who bothered them during the trip. The nasty glances they received were already close to none when they entered the last week of their trip back home. This lifted their heavy nerves, and even Oddny started to smile a bit more again.Because of their slowly opening atmosphere, a certain someone started bringing herself inside their comfort zone.“Mallory, Oddny!”The two darted their eyes toward an incoming figure. She was shorter than Mallory by two inches, her hair is colored like the soil, and her skin was tan. She had an amicable smile on
CHAPTER ELEVEN (NEW MOON)Chapter Eleven: ActivationFirst thing’s first—how?Mallory went closer to the clear river, the moon lighting the place up for her to see her face clearly. She looked at her own reflection closely, but no matter how much staring she did, she couldn’t see any changes. She can’t see the patterns she saw in her memories.Mallory sat by the edge of the river; her mind spun to figure out how.Should I… A minute later, an idea surfaced in her head. She looked up, at the glowing moon. Should I try and talk to the Goddess?Mallory had done prayers of thanks to the Goddess. She had done things that others had too to communicate with the Goddess. Rituals, prayers, and meditating somewhere nice and quiet. However, none of these acts warranted a response from their Goddess.Mallory thought hard
CHAPTER TWELVE (NEW MOON) Chapter Twelve: A Step Closer Mallory woke up with a start. As soon as her eyes opened, the first thing she saw was the leather-colored ceiling. It took her a while to realize it was a tent. Mallory's eyes wandered around, confused. After looking here and there, she realized that it was hers and Oddny’s tent. A question suddenly popped up in her head. ‘How did I get here? I don’t remember walking back to the camp…’ When that question passed through her brain, memories from yesterday night entered her brain without warning. Mallory froze after remembering what happened yesterday. Her eyes widened and she sat up, ‘She saw me! Oddny saw me—’ Her vision blurred with how sudden her movements were, but that didn’t stop her from standing up and walking out of the tent. She ignored the dizziness and the slight pain in her legs. She looked around anxiously, trying to find her shadow. She looked around like a spinning top when suddenly someone patted her on her
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (NEW MOON) Chapter Thirteen: The Gates As the sun dips below the horizon, a town next to a mountain range emerges from a fog. Oil lamps and candles lit up one by one, illuminating the small place. As the darkness truly enveloped the land, the town came to life. A door of a rather simple house creaked open, and a man with red eyes stepped out. One after another, more came out from their houses. Their faces were pale as snow, their eyes red as blood, and the most noticeable feature of them all; their fangs. Long, sharp fangs. Havenbrook town. A small town of vampires. As they can’t be under the light of the sun, vampires only come out at night. And as the moon shone, it was the beginning of their day. Vampires moved about, talking to one another or taking a walk near the fountain in the square. Little noise could be heard, and the town excluded a tranquil atmosphere. Half an hour later, one of the residents of the town looked outside, and with his hawk-like eyesig
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (WAXING CRESCENT) ARC THREE: Gale Pack—New Home Chapter Fourteen: Welcome to their New Home Mallory was surrounded by the darkness. The grasses and the hand on her back were her constant assurance that she hadn’t fallen into a pit of darkness with no way out. With one of her senses blocked, she became conscious of every noise that her ears picked up. She heard the dry leaves breaking under her feet, the murmurs of the crowd, and the whistling of the wind. She doesn’t know how much time has passed, she doesn’t know how much they stopped, turned, and walked again. Minutes later, she felt the hand on her back disappear. Alarmed, she almost voiced out his name, but seconds later, she felt her blindfold tugging. The next moment, Mallory almost went blind from the brightness of the sun. She covered her eyes with one hand, and after a while, opened them slowly. “Welcome to Gale Pack,” said the voice she recognized as the one who was leading the unit. She can hear him
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (WAXING CRESCENT) Chapter 15: New House Trevon brought them around the pack and introduced the important parts and on which building they should go or specific reasons. As they go around looking at things, the two can’t help but marvel. It was truly bigger than their pack. It was bigger than Mallory had ever seen. Everything looks and feels so organized, and Trevon did a good job explaining everything to them. Mallory can’t help but think that she’ll adjust better than she had ever done. ‘Though I really have no other choice but to get on my feet fast,’ she said to herself ruefully. Mallory thought of the future ahead and felt her shoulders droop for a bit. She immediately fixed her mood and realized that they were already crossing the bridge she had seen earlier. It was a short bridge, and they crossed it in a matter of seconds. What awaits them on the other side of the bridge is another row of houses, but Mallory noticed that they were a lot more clustered and
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (WAXING CRESCENT) Chapter Sixteen: First Day Mallory lay on the bed, looking at the blank ceiling. The oil lamp hanging next to the window burned silently, flickering when the wind blew. She can hear the distant noises outside, constantly reminding her that she is in a place where people can freely move. A place where they don’t need to be sleeping with half of their body awake. She felt her body relaxed. As soon as she relaxed, Mallory realized how tense she was. She had never released all the tension she accumulated from the travel and the lurking danger in the forest even after entering the huge walls of this pack. She felt like everything was moving so fast, and with this rest as a buffer for the next steps she needed to do, Mallory finally gained the time to think. Without any warning, a blue-haired Damian and Melita’s smiling faces entered her mind. Sadness immediately overwhelmed her. Mallory shifted to her side, facing the wall. Aside from that night, Ma