HANNI POV
With my heart in my mouth, I ran through the gardens with Simone and I watched as she skimmed through the flowers and pines effortlessly, without a scratch. The flowers smelt divine and beautiful, each emitting an internal glow which was so unlike anything I had seen before.
"Simone, please what type of flowers are these?" I asked, standing beside a pale green rose, looking very confused. She turned and approached me with a glint in her eyes, looking very mischievous.
"That's a serpentine." She said, raising her eyebrows and I took a step back immediately because I didn't like the sound of that.
"What's a serpentine?" I asked, expecting an obvious answer and I wasn't disappointed.
"A deadly flower that can kill a ware wolf in seconds, if it comes in contact with the skin." She replied suddenly looking all serious and I panicked immediately for I had just touched a petal.
"Moon goddess!" I exclaimed and ran to her, "Simone I had touched a petal! Am I going to die?"
"Which one?" She asked, terrified and that confirmed my fear.
"The pale green flower" I said, pointing at it and then she laughed making me stare at her, looking lost.
"Oh Hanni" she said in between bouts of laughter, "you are so cuteeeeeee…that's a greensea rose, it's aroma rejuvenates the skin. It's used for skin therapy."
"Simone! You tricked me!" I said, laughing so hard that my chest hurts.
"Gotcha" she said as she tapped my arm playfully.
"Ok. What about the yellow one?" I asked.
"That's butterscotch. It can be used to produce honey, just in case the bees wants to be rebellious."
Simone. I looked at her and smiled...so much like Josh…..very cheerful and enthusiastic and I enjoyed every moment I've spent with her…like a sister, I never had.
Suddenly, I felt his gaze …
I turned immediately and looked around, searching for him, but was disappointed for I saw no one…well, only just a squirrel wrestling with a walnut.
Maybe I imagined it, I thought as I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
"What's the matter, Hanni?" She asked, as she looked around also.
"N..nothing, I thought I saw something." I replied.
"Don't worry, we are the only ones here…well, apart from the butterflies, the birds, the squirrels and the rabbits." She said as she puts a finger down after the order.
I smiled.
Suddenly she shifted to her wolf—- a beautiful brown she wolf with white patches on her fur and ran around the garden, with her paws leaping happily. Then she shifts back to her human form and stood beside me and she asked "are you ready?"
How do I get ready for this?
"Yes, I think so" I replied nervously, for I will soon turn into an animal.
"Alright, close your eyes and take a deep breath…search for her."
********************
"Hanni"
In my subconscious, my wolf, Betty called out to me and when I opened my eyes, I suddenly discovered I had paws.
"You did it!"
I heard Salome scream and soon after, she shifted also to her brown wolf and circled me, yipping like an excited dog.
I tried moving my paws and they moved at the first attempt, making me run towards the pond eagerly to see my reflection and upon getting there, I saw myself looking at a white wolf…no patches of color on my fur…just plain white and I turned back to see Shavi, sitting on her hind legs, staring at me intently.
I jogged over to meet her, wondering what next and how I will shift back to a human again, but as soon as I approached her, she suddenly turned and ran towards the open field, her wolf panting excitedly and I had no choice but to follow her, soon I was on her tail.
Running as a wolf is so faster and easier than running as a human, I let my thoughts wander as I ran on the field enjoying the gust of wind on my face and we chased rabbits and squirrels playfully for I felt like a child again, playing in the sand.
We took turns in chasing each other until suddenly Simone shifted back into her human form and flopped on the grass looking exhausted, but as I didn't know how to shift back, I stood close to her and tried doing what I did before to shift, but it wasn't working.
It's seems Betty doesn't want to turn just yet, so I ran some more, having fun with the squirrels, until I had to try it again for I was exhausted and this time, I shifted back to my human form and land almost immediately, I found myself slumped on the grass, my chest heaving from exhaustion.
But Simone wasn't done yet for she turned and looked at me with laughter in her eyes, taunting me.
"Your wolf has a bow leg" she said laughing.
"No she doesn't!" I replied sharply, "how can my legs be straight and my wolf paws will be bow?"
"It's normal princess, for I've seen a case where hers is also straight like yours but her wolf has a k-leg." She said, sounding serious, but I wasn't buying it this time…not after the flower prank.
I burst out laughing so hard that my eyes watered and stung so bad and I couldn't help noticing her resolve crashing around her, even when she tried to maintain a straight face and composure. But it was too late because soon she joined me, on all fours, being unable to support herself standing any longer and we laughed hard and long because we couldn't imagine….
"How do you think of things like that? A k-legged wolf?" I asked, admits laughter.
"I don't know" she replied, wiping a tear from her cheeks. "But I was just joking though, your wolf paws are straight."
"Ofcourse, I didn't believe you….."
But I couldn't finish because I felt it again…his gaze.
And this time, I was certain.