Horseshoe's Tall Tale

"Journey Down Memory Lane"

Chapter eight: Journey Down Memory Lane.

  Ursula could not quite believe this day had come, the day that she would leave the only home she had ever known, the small mountain village of Ironwill. To say the least, there were mixed feelings inside of her about this mission. She had only a vague passage from an old antique book to go on. It was a long shot legend, from an old fighting instructor hundreds of miles away in First Dawn. She couldn’t even be sure this fighting instructor, who she only knew as “Grit”, would still be alive and living there in the grand human capital. An uncertain road lay ahead of her, but somehow Ursula knew she had to take the chance. Somehow she knew this was the right thing to do. She would have to leave the defense of her home village in the arms of Ace Talon, and his Blue Blade militia, a thought that did not inspire a great amount of enthusiasm on Ursula’s part. She hoped that the unsteady alliance between the humans of the village, and the wolvren of the mountains would prosper and allow for a formidable defense against whatever new danger was looming on the horizon. But without her there, all would rest on the two parties ability to trust each other and their desire to end war between them. There was a great big world out there for Ursula to discover, new challenges and hardships to overcome, and new friendships to be made and strengthened. For her it felt as though she was crossing over into the next big phase of her life, the phase that would see her realize all the great ambitions she had been dreaming up while playing her warrior games against make-believe pumpkin armies. The girl, only seventeen years of age, now readied herself to embark on the greatest adventure of her young life. In the back of her mind, she knew that the monstrous Nightmane was still out there somewhere waiting for the right moment to strike. She would have to travel with caution and be ever alert for the alpha-male beast turned demon collaborator. Ursula sat atop her horse looking out through the gates of Ironwill into the frozen forests of the Scared Mountains. Ace Talon stood beside her on this gloomy winter morning. A hint of falling snow descended around Ursula as she pondered this most monumental moment in her life.
“First dawn wont get any closer if all you do is stare out into the wilderness.” Ace spoke up to her. “You do still wish to attempt this long journey all by yourself don’t you, Horseshoe of Ironwill. My offer to send one of my defenders along with you for assistance still stands if you would like to change your mind.” Ursula just stared forward into the distance as she replied.
“No, I will do this alone.” Ace nodded his head in acceptance of the young girl’s decision.
“Very well, I will then bid you farewell Horseshoe. May the gods be with you, to guide you along your long and difficult path.” Ace then turned and began walking away, before he got too far away he turned and yelled back at Ursula.
“And take good care of my sword, remember it’s all you have to prove yourself to my old teacher.” Ursula nodded, she knew what she had to do. She tugged at her horse’s reigns and slowly began to ride out of the village. Once she had cleared the gate, the gate defender swung it shut behind her. It was now time to leave, but before she rode away from her home completely she had one more thing to do. A short distance away from Ironwill, Ursula came to a stop and looked towards the small hilltop graveyard where the villagers loved ones were put to rest. There were now many more graves here, including the most prominent one for Marshall Hallows, the former village elder. Ursula’s eyes passed over this large grave, to the small wooden cross in the very back. The grave marker she had made for her father. Ursula dismounted off her horse, and walked up to the small cross. She removed her helmet and knelt down before the grave in respect. A chilly cold gust of wind blew across the grave, brushing at Ursula’s hair almost as if her father was there running his fingers through it.
“Father, I know you are here with me as I take this most difficult of steps. I don’t know what is waiting for me along the road ahead, but I am confident that with your strength and guidance, I will overcome any challenge that I come across. I feel fear over the great unknown that I’m riding into, but I know that fear alone does not make me weak. It is how I react and overcome this fear that shows my strength and courage. I do not know if I will ever return to my home here in the mountains, but I will always remember where I came from and I will always remember you, my beloved father.” Ursula raised her head to the heavens and blew a kiss into the wind. The young girl rose back to her feet, having said her peace. She took a deep breath, inhaling the wintry mountain atmosphere into her tiny lungs. Ursula saluted her fathers grave and swiveled around to march away. She jumped back onto her horse to ride away into the frozen forest. Ursula had done all she had to do in Ironwill, but there was one last thing to do before she could begin her trek down the mountain. Ursula brought her horse to full gallop and rode towards the wolvren camp. Without her there, she would have to hand the leadership role over to Amber. But before she could do that, Razorjaw would have one last say in the matter. As she grew closer towards the camp, Ursula felt something was wrong but she could never guess what was about to happen. As she turned a corner and saw the camp just ahead in the distance, she was suddenly ambushed. Ursula did not see it coming, before she knew what had happened she had been knocked clear off of her horse to the ground. With the weighted armor, she landed with a mighty thump against the snowy earth. Her horse rose up onto it’s back legs and let out a loud cry, this sound carried off where it was heard by the wolvren in the village ahead. Ursula lifted herself off the ground and shook her head to shake off her dazed state. She looked up to see the towering figure marching up to her, it was Razorjaw wearing a full set of bone armor over it’s thick black fur. It roared at her, as if to claim first blow in a battle. Ursula couldn’t believe what was happening, her chief lieutenant was challenging her to a fight.
“Razorjaw!” She yelled. “What are you doing?” The beast grunted it’s reply back in it’s own language.
“I am taking my rightful place as the alpha-male of this pack. You are not one of us, I do not trust humans such as yourself. And besides I believe you are not as strong as you used to be.” Ursula sneered back at the over confident wolvren, it was time to put her newly customized armor to the test. Around her in a complete circle, Ursula saw numerous wolvren appear out from the forest. They were watching to see which one of these two powerful fighters would come out on top. Ursula pulled her sword out from behind her back and held it out in front of her. The shimmering Blue Blade reflected the morning sun beautifully.
“If you have to use your pitiful weapon to defend yourself, you may. But I will kill you with my bare hands.” Razorjaw shouted to her. Ursula gazed back at him, this was a dare and an interesting one at that. She knew the beast stood no chance against her with her sword and shield, but to truly prove herself to the rest of the wolvren, she would need to fight without them. Ursula took her sword, and plunged it into the ground, beside it she tossed her horseshoe shield. She motioned towards Razorjaw, to give him the first attack.
“Come, let me show you how weak I’ve become.” Ursula said sarcastically. Razorjaw, pounded it’s fists into the snowy ground and let loose with a bellowing shout. This display of strength might intimidate some creatures, but Ursula just smiled back almost amused by this sight. The beast leapt high into the air, soaring towards Ursula with it’s claws outstretched. Ursula jumped backwards so that Razorjaw landed just short of her. The ground shook violently under Razorjaw’s heavy mass. It then swept a dagger lined claw towards Ursula with a sudden jab attack. Ursula jumped up out of the way and landed a punch underneath Razorjaw’s chin. The punch sent Razorjaw tumbling backwards, reeling from the crushing blow. Ursula landed, then launched herself forward to attack while Razorjaw was dazed. The wolvren threw it’s arms up over it’s face to block her flying punch. The weight of her new armor did take it’s toll on her speed. All of her moves took a great deal of effort to perform and were slower to execute. But this handicap just meant that her mind had to be sharper and more focused so that she could think a few seconds ahead to compensate. On the other hand, the weight of her armor meant that her punches landed that much harder. Ursula unleashed a fury of punches towards Razorjaw, causing the beast to keep defending itself. Each punch felt like a hammer being swung with terrific strength. Razorjaw thrust his arms forward with all it’s might, knocking Ursula away from it and ceasing her attack. Ursula quickly got back on her feet as Razorjaw lunged forward towards her with a vicious punch. She reacted fast enough to respond with a punch of her own. Their fists met in the middle with such incredible force that a shock wave blew the snow on the ground around the two fighters up into the air, causing a temporary blinding white curtain blocking the onlookers view of the battle. The sound of the fists hitting, echoed through the trees like a gunshot sending birds flying for cover. By this time, Amber from the wolvren camp nearby, had been alerted to the fight and came running up to investigate. As the cloud of snow dissipated, the two fighters once again came back into view. Razorjaw rested on one knee, holding onto his hand which obviously was in great pain. The collision with Ursula’s fist had broken numerous bones in it’s hand and arm, making it virtually unusable. Ursula stood ready to deliver a final blow to the agonizing wolvren. The pain held it at bay for a brief moment, leaving the perfect moment to end the fight. She looked over and saw Amber standing not far away watching in disbelief. Ursula halted her attack and paused for a moment, as if lost in thought. She looked back towards Razorjaw just in time to see it swing it’s good arm in a winding backhand. Ursula didn’t dodge the attack, instead took the full force of it sending her sailing through the air and into a nearby tree, knocking it down with the massive impact. She landed and rolled along the ground, coming to rest on her stomach. All the wolvren watching howled out as they witnessed this impressive blow. Amber growled.
“Razorjaw! Stop this now!” It yelled out. Razorjaw swung it’s head around and sneered at Amber.
“If I were you, I would start running now. Once I’m done with this child, you are next.” Ursula lifted herself off the ground slightly, just enough to look up towards Amber.
“Amber, it’s up to you now. I’m too injured to fight, you have to defeat Razorjaw.” She pleaded in a weakened voice. Amber heard the call for help from it’s queen, and charged into battle. Razorjaw stood up on it’s two feet ready to meet the furious warrior’s charge. Although it’s damaged arm was useless and caused the wolvren great pain, Razorjaw unflinchingly  prepared to fight off it’s next challenger. Amber barreled forward and leapt into the air as it got close to it‘s target. Razorjaw raised it’s good arm up to protect itself from this lunging attack which hit it like a cannonball. The knocked Razorjaw backwards and caused the two wolvren to roll along the ground in a vicious barrel roll. Razorjaw ended up on top of Amber and attempted to pin it’s superior officer down. It opened it’s massive jaws revealing the razor sharp rows of teeth lining the inside of it’s mouth. It roared out with bestial rage towards the trapped Amber. Ursula watched from her stomach a few yards away.
“C’mon Amber.” She said to herself. “I know you can do this, now prove it to all of the rest.” Razorjaw lunged it’s jaws forward attempting to take a bite out of it’s fellow wolvren prey. Amber unleashed a surge of strength just in time to throw it’s challenger off of it and prevent a bloody end. Razorjaw landed down on the ground, it’s damaged arm hitting painfully against the cold hard snow. It bellowed out in agony which allowed Amber to gain the upper hand. This brief moment of weakness was all Amber needed to wrap it’s arms around Razorjaw’s neck and squeeze. Razorjaw clawed with it’s good hand at Ambers massive arms to try and release it’s death grip. It balled up it’s fist and shot it’s elbow back into Amber’s vulnerable stomach multiple times, but even this did not stop the beast from continuing with it’s chokehold. All of the wolvren around just watched in suspense, they knew better than to interfere in this challenge of leadership. They all howled in the distance, reacting to the two combatants as they fought to the death. Amber struggled to hold the thrashing Razorjaw down as it continued to constrict it’s arms around the desperate wolvren’s throat. Razorjaw’s strength began to fade from it’s body, It scrambled to it’s feet and ran for the nearest tree. It turned around and slammed against the tree attempting to knock Amber off it’s back. The blow bruised the noble wolvren warrior but did not loosen it’s grip.
“Let go of me!” Razorjaw shouted with gasped breaths. It continued to slam back into the tree, desperately trying to remove the obstruction around it’s neck. After a few backbreaking collisions, Amber’s grip loosened enough for Razorjaw to break free. The last slam knocked Amber to the ground, along with the tree which fell down with a tremendous crash. Razorjaw stumbled forward, attempting to regain it’s breath. Howls could be heard all around at the mighty show of resilience on the part of the challenging wolvren. Amber rose back to it’s feet slowly, pain raced through it’s back like streaks of fire. The wounded wolvren warrior felt lightheaded, the body crunching blows it endured left Amber dazed. Razorjaw turned and faced it’s adversary, it’s face sneered in a wicked grin. It walked up to Amber and unleashed a brutal punch, tossing the weakened beast across the snowy ground in a broken heap. Razorjaw howled into the air, soon joined by all of the wolvren around it. It seemed for the moment the beast wished to gloat a bit over it’s expected victory. Ursula grimaced at the sight of this blow, it’s impact could be felt all around.
“No. Don’t give up.” She said. “You can’t give up Amber.” Ursula raised herself to a knee and shouted out to her second in command. “Amber, I believe in you! Get up!”
“Yes, get up.” Razorjaw mocked as it lumbered over to where Amber lay motionless. “I want to enjoy breaking your bones a little while longer.” It reached down and picked Amber’s limp body off the ground. In a show of dominance, Razorjaw slung the body into the air, sending it crashing to the ground a few yards away. Once again Razorjaw bellowed out, it thumped it’s fist against it’s large powerful chest. Amber raised it’s head up slightly and gazed over towards Ursula. Slowly, the beast rose to one knee, suddenly Ursula saw what Amber was trying to hide from Razorjaw.
“Use all your strength Amber, everything you have. Use your weakness to your advantage!” She cried out to it. Razorjaw strode confidently over to where Amber rested on the ground.
“The mighty commander Amber, please. You are truly pathetic.” The beast growled. Amber sat motionless on the ground, waiting for Razorjaw to come close enough. “As much fun as it’s been to throw you around, I guess I should be merciful and put you out of your misery.” Once it was ready, Amber got to it’s feet. Using all of it’s remaining strength it yanked Ursula’s sword out from the ground where she had thrust it into the earth. Amber spun around and swung the massively heavy Blue Blade in a winding arc. The blade sliced violently across Razorjaw’s chest, cutting a gaping wound that immediately began gushing blood. The mighty beast cried out as it held it’s hand over the wound. It fell down to it’s knees before Amber, it looked up with eyes that slowly rolled back into it’s head. Razorjaw fell forward landing face first into the snow, after a brief moment of twitching the beast lay dead. The weight of the Blue Blade took the rest of Amber’s strength away, and it tumbled to the ground in exhaustion. All howling stopped and the air grew eerily silent in the forest. Ursula got to her feet and quickly made her way towards her broken commanding officer. She rolled Amber over onto it’s back, the beast’s eye’s were clinched shut.
“Amber?” Ursula said. “Are you okay? Can you hear me?” Amber’s eye’s slowly opened, it’s beautiful brown irises looked over at Ursula.
“I am fine.” It said. “But you my queen, I thought you were unable to get up.” Ursula smiled back.
“It wasn’t that I couldn’t get up. It was that I wasn’t supposed to.” Amber’s eyes squinted in a show of confusion to what Ursula had just said.
“I don’t understand.”
“Well you see, I have to leave you and the rest of the wolvren, I came here to say goodbye. This pack, it’s yours now Amber. You, and you alone had to defeat Razorjaw, to prove yourself to the rest of the pack and show your strength to them.” Ursula explained. She grabbed hold of Amber’s hand and helped the wolvren to it’s feet. “I’m sorry for not being able to help you, but I couldn’t.” All of the wolvren that had kept their distance throughout the fight, now began to converge towards Amber. Ursula looked up at the towering giant, which understandably was rather confused.
“I hereby proclaim you Amber to be the new king of the wolvren.” She announced. “May you rule be long and prosperous.” All of the wolvren let out a loud howl towards their new leader.
“My queen, why must you leave us?” Amber asked. Ursula retrieved her Blue Blade from the ground along with her shield nearby. She whistled to her horse that had been hiding a distance away. The horse quickly galloped back and was soon waiting by it’s master’s side. Ursula rubbed the horse’s snout as she looked back up towards Amber.
“My destiny is not here as the queen of the wolvren. It’s far, far away with my own kind. This pack needs a wolvren leader, and you are the best one for the job.” Ursula grabbed hold of the horse’s reign’s and leapt up onto the saddle. “Everything now rests on your shoulders, the safety of the village and the peace treaty with the humans of Ironwill. I have great confidence in you Amber, you have the strength and determination to bring a lasting peace to the mountains.” Amber bowed it’s head down before Ursula.
“Thank you, for everything you’ve done for us my Queen.” Ursula saluted back before snapping at the reigns of her horse. A cloud of snow kicked up around her, as her horse galloped away leaving her wolvren friends behind, possibly for good.
  Ursula rode south through the frozen forest, towards her next destination. The southern rim of the Scared Mountains lay ahead of her and beyond that, the Forgotten Woods. Ursula galloped quickly through the dense forest, trying to make up for lost time as the day had already grown old. She came to a clearing in the forest which looked down into a giant chasm, the southwestern channel. This deep rift stretched out for miles away from her, all the way down the mountain side. This channel would lead her to the southern passage waiting for her at the bottom. With haste, Ursula turned and brought her horse back to full gallop as she rode alongside the chasm. She followed this channel as it zigzagged down the mountain until it became nothing more than a gentle slope empting out at the base of the immense rock giant. Ursula gazed down into the massive moat surrounding the Scared Mountains. Once filled with a lake of lava, it was now home to the Forgotten Woods, an incredibly dense and dark patch of wilderness that stretched on as far as Ursula could see. The drop off down into the woods was quite severe, only where the southwestern channel ended was the slope safe enough to descend. Though her horse was quite fearful of the dizzying heights, Ursula was able to prod her onward down into the looming darkness that was the Forgotten Woods. As Ace had said, there was a path cut through the woods, though now it was overgrown so much that it was hard to tell where path ended and the woods began. Slowly and carefully, Ursula rode her horse into the mouth of the woods. Inside this canopy of leaves and branches, she felt as though she had entered another world. Gone was the bright sunshine of the afternoon sky, within the woods there was perpetual night with only a few strands of sunlight managing to cut through the darkness. The trees created a barrier to the winter outside, trapping a hot and humid atmosphere the likes of which Ursula had never felt before. As she rode through this strange and alien place, Ace’s warnings echoed through her head. He had told her not to stray from the path lest she not find her way out of the woods. Although she didn’t quite believe him, she was not anxious to test out her assumption. The deeper she went into this eerie forest, the more unsettling it became. The path she rode on was very narrow, with the seemingly endless darkness of the woods confining Ursula on both sides. When she looked into the darkness , it felt as though something was looking back, something just beyond her vision. In the distance, there were the sounds of animals echoing through the trees, sudden thumps and tree limb snaps accompanied to create an orchestra of unnerving forebode. Ursula knew she was not alone, but she refused to give in to her fear. She continued on along the path, avoiding fallen trees and outgrown roots that occasionally hampered her progress. Unsure of what might come out to meet her, Ursula tried to keep herself aware and prepared for anything. However, the more time she spent in these woods, the more she felt herself grow dizzy and lightheaded. It made it harder and harder to remain focused, almost as if something was trying to make her go to sleep. Ursula fought against this odd sensation, but it slowly began to overtake her mind. Suddenly something caught her eye in the darkness, for a brief moment there was a glimpse of white that streaked across the gloomy woods backdrop. It was so fast and vague that Ursula believed it to be an illusion, just her mind fogging up and playing tricks on her. She shrugged it off and pressed forward, but the odd feeling lingered. Despite her attempts to repress her fear, it began to show. The weakening state of her mind slowly broke down her courage leaving her vulnerable. Ursula tugged at the reigns of her horse, quickening it’s pace to a light gallop. She felt her heart beating faster in her chest, her breath quickened and her mind began to race with images of what might be out there just beyond the dark gloom. In this state, a terrible feeling came over her, the feeling that she was being hunted. Once again, the streaking white shape off in the woods reappeared, this time it was much faster. It shot forward in the darkness vanishing about twenty feet ahead of her. Whatever it was, it was easily keeping up with her speed. Ursula yanked on her horse’s reigns bringing it to a full gallop. She raced along the path, attempting to stay ahead of the unknown presence that was seemingly chasing her through the woods. Ursula’s horse continued to gain speed, easily hurdling a downed tree in the path ahead of her. For a moment, it seemed as though she had outran her predator. Ursula glanced around nervously for any sign of the strange white light emanating out from the woods as she sped by. Just then, something launched itself out from the darkness and across the path just ten feet in front of her. It moved so fast it was a blur, disappearing back into the woods before Ursula could get a good look at it. Her horse came to a sudden stop, raising up to it’s hind legs to avoid running into whatever it was that ran in front of it. Ursula, caught off guard, was thrown backwards off of her horse, as it stood up shrieking in fear. She landed roughly against the hard dirt and rocks of the forest path. Ursula looked up to see her horse fall back to all fours, and race off into the woods in the opposite direction of the speeding shape. She shook off the pain of hitting the ground, and gave chase to try and catch her horse.
“Come back girl!” She yelled, but the horse paid no mind and just continued running. Ursula ran as fast as she could, but she had no chance of keeping up with her horse’s galloping. Soon the horse disappeared into the darkness ahead, the sounds of it’s whinnying echoed in the distance. Ursula kept running as she darted side to side avoided trees and rocks, trying desperately to find her horse. She whistled loudly into the woods, hoping that she could snap her horse out of the panicked state it was in. After some time of running, Ursula finally gave up, falling to the ground in exhaustion. The heat and humidity caused her to sweat excessively under her heavy armor. As she caught her breath, Ursula realized something, she was now miles into the near pitch black woods. She strained to remember which way she had come in order to return to the path, but her mind had grown so foggy and tired that she could not focus. Her eyes darted around in the darkness, the trees around her took such odd and unsettling shapes, almost like twisted monsters looming in the night. As the strange force in the woods continued to deteriorate her mind, Ursula began to hallucinate. Shadows seemed to dance about the tree limbs, hopping from one tree to the next in an eerie choreographed display of disconnected half images.
“What’s happening to me?” She muttered. “I have to get out of here.” Ursula leapt to her feet and began to run. No matter how fast she ran however, the shadows kept up with her. So great was her panic that she did not notice a cluster of fallen tree limbs in front of her, almost like a sea of hands reaching out to grab her. Her foot struck the pile of limbs, causing her to trip violently forward across the ground, smashing into a large rock. Ursula groaned as she tried to pick herself back up. It was then she heard a low growling noise. It started low and slowly increased in intensity. Ursula froze, the sound seemed to come from behind her but she was almost too afraid to look. She reached back to grasp for her sword, but found it was missing. It had been dropped somewhere, but Ursula could not see it anywhere nearby. The growling continued behind her, accompanying it was a hot breath beating against the back of her neck. Ursula swung around to see a large leopard staring her down just inches away. It looked like a ghost with searing red eyes and pale white fur. Before she could react, the leopard swung it’s powerful claw and knocked her out cold.
Ursula slowly awoke from her unconscious state, her vision was quite blurred and one side of her face felt completely numb. She rubbed her eyes with her fingers to try and clear her vision. When her vision did come back, she was surprised to find herself in some wooden cabin. It was mostly dark in the cabin, save for a few lanterns glowing about the room. In front of her she could see a window cut from the wooden panels of the wall, revealing the dark woods outside, now much darker then before. Along one wall, above furniture that appeared hand crafted out of tree bark, there was a row of animal heads mounted and displayed. As Ursula gazed upon these heads, a voice came from a dark corner of the room.
“So, your finally awake.” It said. The voice sounded young and feminine. Ursula stared into this dark spot and saw a figure walking towards her. When the figure came close to a nearby lantern, she was able to make it out. There standing before her was a young girl about five feet tall. Her body was covered in leaves that were attached to tattered scraps of clothing. She was slim, yet muscular with a thin narrow face and dark brown eyes that had strangely narrow pupils. Her hair was a dark shade of blue and quite long in length, coming down to the middle of her back. But by far the oddest thing about her were her ears, they were quite large and angled upwards, like those of a cat. Her skin also seemed strange, it shined in the light looking somewhat like scales. The odd girl stood by the lantern and stared back at Ursula.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen anyone else around here. So long, I can’t even remember.”
“What is all this? Where am I and who are you?” Ursula asked. The girl shook her head.
“I’ll be the one asking questions around here, not you.” She replied. Ursula staggered to her weakened feet, she then realized that all of her armor had been removed, leaving her just in her underclothes.
“My armor, what have you done with it?” The girl snapped her fingers and suddenly from another part of the room the huge white leopard appeared, walking slowly towards Ursula.
“I said I will be the one asking questions, so sit down and be quiet or my friend here will shut you up himself.” Ursula looked over at the massive cat, it’s fur was such a bright shade of white that it was no wonder it could be confused as a ghost. It’s eyes glowed red as it stared back at her.
“That’s what hit me. I saw that cat out in the woods.” She remarked.
“You are lucky all he did was knock you out, Spirit here could have killed you if he thought you were a big enough threat.” The girl said smugly. “Now I will ask you a series of questions to determine what I am to do with you.” She walked over to a creaky wooden chair and sat down, resting her head down into her hand. “First off, who are you?” Ursula sneered back at her, she had just met this girl and already she was starting to dislike her immensely.
“My name is…” Just as Ursula was about to say her name she froze. It had been there one moment before but now it was just gone. “My name is… uh…” She tried again, but she was at a loss. It was if the thoughts in her head had just been wiped clean.
“Is… what?” The girl asked. Ursula shook her head, trying to focus her mind to find the answer, but it was no use.
“I… don’t remember my name…” She replied reluctantly.
“I see.” The girl said in a convicting tone. “Well, what were you doing out in the woods, I don’t think you were just taking a joy ride.” Once again Ursula’s mind drew a blank, she could not remember why she had been here, and where she was going. Her head felt so dizzy, like something was blocking her from thinking clearly.
“No answer?” The girl asked after waiting a short time for a response.
“I can’t remember anything, something is terribly wrong here.” Ursula said as she rubbed her hands over her eyes. “This place… it has done something to me, to my mind.” The girl laughed.
“I guess my pet hit you harder than I thought. You are not making any sense.” She squinted her eyes at Ursula, trying to figure out what to think about her. Her ears twitched back and forth on the sides of her head as she pondered. “My final question is, what should I do with you. Honestly I don’t think you are that much of a threat. It might be kind of nice having company around here for once.” The large white leopard snorted in response to what she had just said.
“Human company, Spirit. I wasn’t trying to offend you.” She said with a giggle.
“Well, if your done asking questions, I have a few of my own.” Ursula said. “What is your name, and why do you live out in these woods?” The young girl glanced back towards Ursula.
“Very well, I will answer. My name is Journey, Journey Wildskin. And I live out here, well because I want to. The wilderness suits me just fine, it’s a simple and carefree lifestyle.” She pointed her finger towards her pet leopard. “That is my best friend, Spirit. He takes care of me and I take care of him.” The leopard walked up and nuzzled at Journey’s outstretched arm. “He’s quite a nice bodyguard. He defends these woods against anyone that would try and get to me. Which is why he hunted you down.” Journey gently stroked her hand along her pet’s chin, bringing a soothing purring from the big cat. Ursula’s eyes once again focused onto the girl’s strange ears.
“Why are your ears so different? And your eyes as well, they look like those of a cat.” The girl’s expression quickly turned angry. Spirit growled towards Ursula, clearly the question had upset both of them.
“I am not a freak, if that’s what you are getting at.” Journey’s voice raised to a hostile level. “Maybe it is you that’s the freak! Have you thought about it like that?”
“I did not say you were a freak, but you are clearly not human.” Ursula replied. Journey rose from her chair and shouted.
“I am just as much human as you are, just because I am different does not mean I am any less of a person.” Beside her, Spirit seemed to second Journey’s statement.
“Look, I did not mean to imply that. I was simply curious, I was not trying to be offensive.” Ursula said, trying to calm the furious young girl. After a brief moment, Journey lowered her head and sat back down. She covered her face in her hand as if suddenly reliving some tragic emotional scar.
“I’m sorry…” She said in a low voice. “Its just that… never mind, forget it.” Journey let out a deep sigh. Her pet, sensing her distress, rubbed his head up against hers in a show of affection. Journey smiled and wrapped her arm around her giant leopard. “I know Spirit, you love me no matter what I look like.” She glanced back towards Ursula. “Well my green haired friend, As far as I’m concerned you are welcome to stay here with me if you wish. Though I’d be careful around Spirit, he’s not quite so trusting as I am.” Ursula lowered her head, even though she could not remember where she was going, she knew that she couldn’t just stay here. There were so many distorted memories in her head, like voices trying to speak up and remind her who she was, only to be rendered silent.
“I can’t remain here, there is someplace I have to be. Something important I have to do, but I can’t remember what it is.” She said.
“Well even if you don’t intend on staying here, you should at least rest until morning. It’s far too dangerous out in the woods at night to go stumbling around. You don’t really look like the type that could handle herself against the animals out there.” Journey replied with a giggle. “There is a rather comfortable hammock in the corner there. Normally Spirit likes to sleep there but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind lending it too you for the night.” Spirit snorted in disapproval which brought another laugh from the strange forest girl. She got out of her seat, and walked towards a door leading into another room of the cabin. As she got to the door and opened it up, she turned back towards Ursula.
“Goodnight, don’t let the blood bugs bite.” Journey said as she walked into her bedroom, followed closely by Spirit who just sneered back at Ursula.
“Blood bugs?” Ursula said to herself. With Journey retired for the night, Ursula was left alone in the cabin. She peered out of the window, out into the pitch black Forgotten Woods. All kinds of odd and unnerving sounds echoed through the dense forest, sending a slight chill down Ursula’s spine. With her memory gone, she had little to quell her fears. No reassuring words from her father, no bold leadership from her Wellington ancestors. It was if she was slowly forgetting who she was, and maybe that thought was scarier than all the monsters lurking out in these deadly woods combined.

End of chapter eight.