Blood Brothers

Nestled deep inside the mysterious Atchafalaya swamplands, a boy climbed a lonely path that twisted through the pine scented forest. He welcomed the southerly breeze against his skin as he studied the shape of her thatch covered lodge that rested on the top of the small hill. The rays of the afternoon sun soothed his grief as he moved toward her resting site, carrying a blazing torch with him. He missed the time that he spent with her, learning her secrets that would make him a gifted healer. Perhaps, he thought, if I worked a little harder, then I might have been able to save her.

When he saw Moki and Fala running towards him, he wished that this was just a bad dream as he studied the lines of her lonely poles that lifted her bed towards the gods, and gazed at the soft curvature of her body that was covered with a thick layer of blankets. How would she fight this beast? he wondered as he listened to the soft footsteps of his friends. When he saw their wide eyes and clenched jaws, he knew that they were afraid. Then he smelled the fear that hung in the air, like a thick fog on a chilly spring morning, and heard the horrifying growls of the Ol' Wolf, echoing through the distant pines; he knew that this mad man's transformation was just about complete.