Origin of Werewolves

11. Cora

Cora sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the oak table, her fingers tracing the patterns on the books cover. She waited for Laurence to return from the plaith, thoughts drifting to Avni and her wellbeing. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the cracks in the old building with beams of dust dancing across the room in its light. Mazella lay on the mantle as if he were in a trance, his eyes fixed on nothingness.

"Do you know anything about the book? Are there other books like this?" Cora inquired, attempting to make conversation with the nimbat.

Mazella snapped out of his trance and stared with a puzzled expression on his face. He mimicked Cora's posture, his wings fluttering slightly as he spoke. "No, not know anything about book. Sorry."

"But you seemed to know what you were doing there. Surely you knew something about the books," Cora asked, pressing gently for answers.

"No, Mazella only go there for sap. Need money," he explained. He reached into his bag and retrieved a vial of sap.

It was evident he was either playing dumb or he didn't know. "So, the dwarves and elves you were with, were they your friends?" she asked attempting to get information another way.

Mazella's demeaner shifted, his ears and tail drooping. "Maz not have any friends. I say before, they mean to me."

Concern flickered in Cora's eyes as she empathised with Mazella's loneliness. "But you were with them, and Megan seemed to thank you. It seemed pretty clear to us that you had something to do with them."

"Oh, no, Maz only follow them," he clarified as he hopped across the room to perch on the table opposite Cora.

"Why do you follow them then if they are so mean to you?" She placed the book down on the table and rested against its cover.

"Is safe. They not like Mazella, though. I good at get sap only. I just follow group, means Maz protect."

"Like from the birds?" Cora suggested with a light tone in her voice, attempting to lighten Mazzella's mood.

He nodded, his cat like tail now swaying gently. "Yes, bird, bat, anything big. Just like you do with man wolf Laurence and Avni."

Cora couldn't help but smile at Mazella's innocence, realising he had a simple understanding of the world. "I'm still getting used to what that's like."

"You not like be small? It not really bad."

"It's hard to adjust to," Cora admitted, supressing a laugh.

Mazella's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "What funny?"

"A joke," Cora replied with a grin.

"What joke? I say it hard to adjust to. How that joke?" The nimbat tilted his head in confusion. "What funny about that? I not understand."

"It's a sex joke. You say something that sounds innocent, and it's taken out of context to make it sound lewd or sexual," Cora explained.

"Rude? Oh, and Maz not do the sex," he blurted out, his ears dropping in shame as he turned away.

Concerned, Cora approached Mazella. "Are you okay? I didn't mean rude, I said lewd."

"Oh, I sorry. Mazella not do the sex. Nobody like Mazella light that," he replied, sounding slightly embarrassed.

Cora stood before the nimbat, offering a comforting smile. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

Mazella shrugged. "It okay. You do the sex with Laurence?"

She nodded. "Sometimes. We're on and off depending on what we are doing."

"You so small, that mean you off. It good?" Mazella asked, sounding curious.

Cora felt the heat of embarrassment run through her body, as she looked away. "I guess with my current size, you could say I am off at the moment. I don't really like the idea of being split in half. I'm not really one to kiss and tell though."

"Split half, and kiss tell?" Mazella's ears perked up with interest.

"Forget I said that, and what I mean is, talk about what I do in my private time," Cora clarified.

Mazella smiled. "Oh, well, Maz find someone for Maz one day."

It was clear that Mazella had never had a conversation about intimacy before. Cora stepped forward off the book and enveloped him in a warm hug.

"Is this the sex?" he asked innocently.

"No, this is what friends do when another is hurting. It's called a hug," she said, feeling a stab of sadness for the nimbat's innocence.

"Maz like the hug," he chirped happily, his tail flicking from side to side.

Cora released him and settled back onto the book, brushing off stray fur from her dress. "Hey, I do have a question."

Mazella resumed his seat on the table, crossing his legs. "What question?"

"You don't have fleas, do you?" Cora asked with a hint of humour.

For the first time, a smile graced Mazella's face. "No, not have fleas. Wolf Laurence have fleas?"

"I hope not," Cora replied with a smirk.

"Mazella have question. Why in library? You like be small?"

Cora thought about their quest thus far. "We heard of a book of unimaginable power. Laurence had a hunch on how to find a way to get it. He always has a hunch. We were going to take it and sell it ourselves. I haven't decided yet if I like being small, however. Being with Laurence all these years, I have been a lot of things. Small isn't one of them, and the idea of it being permanently isn't exactly flattering."

Mazella stood up and floated off the table, hovering in front of Cora. "So, you want to be big again?"

"Yeah, get back to Allencore and have the wizard make me my normal size again. That's the hope at least. What about you, would you like to be bigger?"

Mazella landed back on the table, excitement lighting up his face. "Yes, Mazella want to be so much bigger."

Cora smirked in response, then nodded. "Mazella want to grow gigantic."

Supressing laughter, Cora struggled to keep a straight face as tears welled in her eyes.

"Maz dream of what feel like to be huge-mungous," the nimbat continued.

Cora couldn't contain her laugher any longer. She sprawled out across the book cover, rolling around with tears of joy streaming down her face, and resisting the urge to say, 'that's what she said'. She looked up as Mazella flew overhead, and looked down at her with a mix of confusion and curiosity in his eyes.

"What you do to book?"

As Cora regained her composure, she sat up and glanced at the cover. The image in its centre now swirled around like it was a whirlpool. She stepped off the book, then placed her hand down on the leather and leached her essence into the book. The swirling image on the cover began to settle back into its original form of a paw print. The door swung open, and Laurence entered the room. Mazzella's attention shifted from the cover, to Laurence, and the nimbat enthusiastically darted across the room the greet him. Laurence absentmindedly swatted the nimbat away from his face as if he were a bug, then turned to his attention to Cora.

"Are you alright? You look like you've been crying."

Cora smiled and wiped her eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay. Maz is good entertainment. How's Avni?"

"She's been better, but okay. Should be back on her feet before evening. And that's probably a good thing," Laurence replied as he sat on a chair, then leaned it back balancing it on two legs.

Cora raised an eyebrow. "Remember how last time you said we need to stay off the roads turned out?"

"Hey, don't blame me. You're the one who can talk to plants. I can't be helped if they lead us around in circles. We have a little advantage this time, however, and it's that we have a map."

Cora crossed her arms. "We always have a map. Speaking of maps, though, where are we?"

"Croydon Bridge," Laurence muttered.

"I'm sorry, Croydon Bridge?" Cora's tone was unimpressed. "You mean to tell me we are almost on the west coast."

"Pretty much. You can walk it, can't you?"

Cora stood up and shot a glare at Laurence. "I hope that nimat gives you heartburn!"

"That what she say?" Mazella muttered, confused.

Laurence and Cora exchanged puzzled looks. "Did you teach him that?"

Cora looked to Mazella, then back to Laurence blankly, "Yeah... I think he needs a bit of work."

"I sorry. Mazella not get right?" the nimbat asked. His little ears folded back as he retreated to the tabletop, shyly playing with his tail.

"We can work on it, okay Maz," Cora assured him. She was secretly grateful of the momentary break in tension, even if the joke was somewhat off. An argument wasn't what she wanted to have at this moment.

"We leave after sundown, so if you need to get some rest, then do so now. It's going to be at least three weeks until we make it to Allencore," Laurence said.

Cora watched him walk to the window and peek through the curtain. "How much do you trust the plaiths?" he asked.

Cora shrugged. "I can't recall a time when we ever didn't."

"Exactly, that's my point. Regardless, the plaith in this town thinks the Rajani Alliance are after us."

Cora nodded. "That bird that attacked us; it wasn't a coincidence or just something that happened randomly."

Mazella perked up, flapping his wings as he hovered between them. "What do you mean? It meant to try eat us?"

"I'm unsure, but it wasn't acting on its own," Cora clarified.

Laurence closed the curtain and turned back to face them. "Explain."

"I looked into its eyes; there was someone there. A dark elf covered in tattoos. She held a black feather over an orb."

Silence filled the room, interrupted only by the gentle flapping of Mazzella's wings. Cora watched as Laurence appeared to sink into deep thought. She could feel his essence permeating the room, encasing them in a fine mist that leached into the walls and roof.

"What, what you do?" Mazella asked in awe.

"A ward, to keep prying eyes out. We need to get some rest now and get Avni at sundown. Then leave as soon as possible," Laurence said.

Cora glanced around the room, sensing the ward's protective energy envelope them. "Are we being watched?" she asked, leaching her essence out, searching for others.

"I'm uncertain, but I don't want to take any chances. I'm laying down now for a bit." Laurence kicked off his boots and climbed on the bed.

Cora yawned and hopped off the table onto the mattress, snuggling up under Laurence's arm. She glanced up at Mazella, who also landed on the bed, and curled up like a cat next to Laurence. However, Laurence picked him up by the scruff and placed him back on the table.

Mazella grunted in displeasure and returned to the bed. Laurence repeated the action, prompting Mazella to stay put. Cora couldn't understand Laurence's issue with Mazella, but it was clear the nimbat had gotten the point.