This scene was far too sappy for Dakota at the moment. He looked around quickly to see if he could locate the monster.She couldn't have just left but he found her across the cold river. Shrouded in a mysterious mist, the deer had come back to flock around her and they all stared at Dakota. The monster didn't look violent, but he knew even monsters could be deceiving. To his own surprise, the monster gave a nod and a small nudge towards the other end of the open field. Where the deer looked content and well, but she must mean the forest the wolves dare not go. He swallowed his fear and trotted across the cold river towards her. He expected the deer to run but they treated him like he was one of their own. He smelt no fear between them. He took a seat in front of the large monster, he felt like an ant compared to her size and it hurt his neck to stare up at her. "I need to speak with you" He said calmly as the deer began to walk in a small group into the woods. The monster began to walk with them and Dakota froze, that was the forest of demons.
Gaia Rae was ready to discuss with this wolf. He deserved answers to his questions, all things in nature deserved to know their purpose. She began to lead the deer into the forest, no wolf dared to go into the woods alone. But Dakota wasn't alone was he? The deer trusted Gaia's judgement, if she decided that Dakota was a deer, he was now a deer in wolf form. She stopped and turned her neck to see him, wide eyed with fear staring up at the big trees "I give you my word, you will not be harmed by these forests. You are with a monster now. You have saved your alpha from getting killed. That compassion is enough, I will answer your questions. Come" Gaia watched the small wolf pad to her side and keep a relatively close distance to her. He had guts, she had to give him that. The forest was dark, the moon rarely shined in a place so feared. But little fireflies flew in a line on both sides. As if they were making a path to the answers. Gaia walked slowly, her eyes never leaving the deer as they flowed between the trees "You are troubled wolf. This has nothing to do with me does it?" Her voice was soft, full of wisdom and curiosity.
"I almost killed my mate. I feel angry, like a demon that refuses to leave, then I feel alone. Like I'm not where I belong, some part of me is missing. I need to know why. My pack believes you are the reason I am slowly going insane. That you have caused this" Dakota cranned his neck to look at her, then to the deer, the fireflies that seemed to lead them to a secret place only they knew of. This forest scared the alpha, it was different to be in a place alone.
"You run by a different set of rules and responsibilities. I should be to blame. But I stand for the balance of nature. The first time I layed eyes on you little wolf. I knew you had unresolved problems in your life, things your own mate doesn't understand. Your pack is strong, they hunt and thrive for themselves everyday. They live for a purpose and the alpha's keep that purpose alive. It's what you are alive for, whether you realize the purpose or not. My purpose is different and it gets mistaken for something else." It wasn't far into the forest but with her walking slow so the wolf could keep up with her was taking too much time. But they were almost to safety and almost to the right answers. Only in time. "My purpose is to keep the balance of nature alive. The trees and animals that reside in them are my pack, I gaurd them with my life everyday and I will keep doing so until the day there is nothing left to protect. I protect the chaos, the peace, and the hope of animals. Even wolves. This is what I do and this is why I am a monster, your kind doesn't understand what I live for. I cannot change what you all know, I am different in every way, a hybrid, a chimera, a monster. I am a protector as you are to your pack. Your insanity is what you make of it. I told you mentally what to do and you took it the way you wanted. You took it as insanity, so it must be"
"What about my dreams, you have been giving them to me. They aren't nightmares but they aren't what I want" Dakota sucked everything she said into his mind. But he heard her chuckle softly and his head went to examine her once more. He was no longer angry he couldn't be. Her voice and presence was so calming. He felt completely at ease with the world, so free.
"Dakota, they are your desires. I simply brought what you have been hiding out. You want to be free once again, to be yourself without responsibilities. It's what you want, to be free means to be with your sister and her daughter once more. That is what you want, you want her home and you know that she is the missing part that you are feeling. If you tell yourself that you want her there then it must be true"
Dakota froze "Are you saying I need to leave my pack to be at peace with myself??"
"No, I am saying do what you feel is right. Find your sister, regain that missing part of you and them come home"
Dakota understood now. He felt renewed and he knew it would be hard but he had to get what he was missing. He turned and without a second thought gave a goodbye to the monster and ran as fast as he could out of the forest. He had new meaning. He felt bright and ready for any obstacle. He needed to tell Sang his news.
