"Avery... oh darling, you have no idea of the things you will accomplish."
I heard noises coming from within the woods. Behind the trees a shadow lurked. It felt familiar. I could sense its energy. It was strong, powerful, majestic even. I kept looking, not being able to remove my eyes, until the shadow showed itself, in the form of a wolf, it was grand and white as snow, she was large, larger than any of the other wolves I had seen, except for James of course.
Her paws were silver and her tail had silver stripes that glistened in the moonlight. Her eyes had the color of the moon, with flecks of black in them. Wait a minute, I had seen her eyes before. In my last dream I was here, I was looking at the moon and it had flecks of black on it.
"Yes, the moon behind me is a reflection of the wolf. Whatever you feel when looking at the moon is what this wolf holds within herself. However, the moon is also a symbol of what is to come."
I looked back at the wolf. Why did she feel so familiar? I gently reached out with my hand and held it close to her snout. She pushed her face onto my hand as I began to stroke her.
"She's beautiful."
"She is, and powerful, just like you." I smiled at her kind words without averting my eyes from the wolf. I gave her another few strokes before she pulled away and looked at me with sad eyes. Dropping her head, she turned around and walked back into the woods.
"Wait, where is she going?" I asked the moon goddess.
"She's leaving. She asked me for a favor and I granted it to her, for both your sakes."
"What favor?"
"To comfort you, to show herself and be there for you at least once. But it's not time yet, soon, however."
"What do you mean?"
"Avery, what did you sense when you touched her?"
"I felt a sense of familiarity. It's hard to explain, but she exuded power and grace."
"Like a Luna should, wouldn't you say?" She was right, that wolf was the embodiment of a Luna. Everything about her is what I believe a Luna to be.
"Yes."
"Well, when her human is ready, she will be Luna and Xena will get to show her true self."
"She doesn't have a human?"
"Not yet, her human still has some way to go." She looked at me expectantly. Was I missing something? She doesn't have a human and is going to be L-
"Wait are you saying...Is that my wolf?" I asked her, tears once again escaping without permission.
"Yes my dear, Xena is your wolf, and she will be waiting for you."
A loud howl was heard from within the woods and through my tears, I started laughing, because I understood her. She was just as excited as I was.
I looked back at the moon goddess but my eyes were diverted to what was happening behind her. The moon, the black flecks were growing, almost half of the moon was now covered.
"What is that?" I asked and she turned around looking at the moon.
"That is like an hourglass," She turned back to me before she continued.
"Of your soul. Avery, this is not only about defeating a wizard and reaching your full potential, it is about doing these things while still keeping your soul intact. There will be many situations where a decision could blemish your soul. The price of this war isn't land or money, it is you. The wizard wants you, he needs you to accomplish what it is that he is planning. If he gets what he wants, you will lose yourself completely and all you know will be lost."
"But why is it already darker than before? What has changed?" Once again she looked into my eyes as if she was scanning them for answers.
"You will know when you wake up."
Had I done something?
The moon goddess turned her heels and started walking away when a thought hit me.
"Wait! Moon goddess, the voice in my head, the women who help me, is that you?"
She stood with her back towards me and slowly turned only her head so that her profile was showing. She smiled.
"That would be cheating, Avery, having the moon goddess guide you, don't you think?" She turned her head more and winked at me.
"No, it would be common sense." I replied while smiling at her.
"War is coming, Avery, and ultimately the outcome lies in your hands." With those words, she walked towards the moon, and slowly light covered her and she disappeared. Her words repeated themselves in my head.
'War is coming, and ultimately the outcome lies in your hands.' Fuck me...
***
I woke up to a smell of sewer filling my nostrils, making me hurl. I opened my eyes and dizziness hit me, making the world spin around. I quickly closed my eyes again and tried to regain the stability.
My hands were touching something soft. It was a mattress but I wasn't in my room. I opened my eyes once again and the dizziness had eased. I made sure not to move my head too quickly and used my hands to steady myself. Where the hell was I? It was chilly and drafty. I looked around and realized that the walls were made of concrete and there was no source of light except for a lightbulb hanging on the other side of the-
Bars? What the hell? I quickly got up, noticing it was a mattress on the floor that I had slept on. I ran to the bars and started pulling them.
"Hello!? Hello is anybody there?" What's going on? Had I been kidnapped? Where was James?
James... Oh no...No!