The Problem With Keeping Her

Orion had lived alone for three hundred and forty-seven years.

Three hundred and forty-seven years of peace.

Three hundred and forty-seven years of silence.

Three hundred and forty-seven years without anyone asking annoying questions every five minutes.

It had been wonderful.

Then Lyra happened.

And suddenly his life resembled a natural disaster.

The first morning began with screaming.

Not unusual.

The Beast Forest was full of creatures that screamed.

Some screamed because they were hunting.

Some screamed because they were being hunted.

One species screamed simply because it enjoyed alarming everyone else.

The forest was strange.

This scream sounded different.

"FENRIR! STOP RUNNING!"

Orion froze halfway through making tea.

"..."

A second scream followed.

"I JUST WANT TO HUG YOU!"

Silence.

Then came the unmistakable sound of a giant wolf crashing through trees at high speed.

Orion slowly put down his teacup.

No.

Absolutely not.

He refused to get involved.

Three seconds later another scream echoed through the forest.

"COME BACK HERE!"

Orion sighed.

He was involved.

Somehow he was always involved.

The Great Wolf Chase

When Orion found them, Fenrir looked traumatized.

Which was impressive.

Fenrir had fought dragons.

Destroyed armies.

Survived wars.

Yet somehow an eight-year-old girl had become his greatest challenge.

The giant silver wolf stood atop a boulder.

Lyra stood below it.

Hands on her hips.

"You are being dramatic."

Fenrir growled.

"I am not."

The wolf growled louder.

"You are."

The growl became offended.

Orion rubbed his forehead.

"Lyra."

The girl immediately brightened.

"Good morning!"

"It is not a good morning."

"It can be."

"No."

"You're being dramatic too."

Orion suddenly understood Fenrir's pain.

The First Rule

By the end of the first week Orion created rules.

Rule One:

Do not follow dangerous creatures.

Rule Two:

Do not touch mysterious glowing objects.

Rule Three:

If Fenrir is running away from something, run too.

Rule Four:

Stop collecting animals.

Unfortunately Lyra treated rules as suggestions.

On the second day she befriended a giant spider.

On the fourth day she brought home three rabbits.

On the fifth day she attempted to ride a boar.

The boar disagreed.

Violently.

The Rabbit Incident

Orion returned from gathering herbs one afternoon.

Everything seemed peaceful.

That should have been his first warning.

The cabin was quiet.

That should have been his second warning.

Lyra was sitting calmly at the table.

That should have been his third warning.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Lyra never sat quietly.

"Why are you smiling?"

Orion asked suspiciously.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm innocent."

Orion immediately knew she wasn't.

Nobody announced their innocence unless they were guilty.

Especially Lyra.

Then he heard it.

A tiny sound.

Scratch.

Scratch.

Scratch.

From upstairs.

Orion slowly looked toward the ceiling.

Lyra looked toward the ceiling too.

Very suspiciously.

The scratching grew louder.

Then a rabbit fell through the ceiling.

Silence.

The rabbit stared at Orion.

Orion stared at the rabbit.

A second rabbit appeared.

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

Then twenty-seven more.

"..."

Orion closed his eyes.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Like a man trying not to lose his sanity.

"Lyra."

"Yes?"

"Why are there rabbits in my roof?"

"They were cold."

"That's not an answer."

"It kind of is."

A Growing Problem

The days became weeks.

The weeks became months.

Somehow Lyra became part of the forest.

Animals followed her.

Birds landed on her shoulders.

Foxes slept beside her.

Rabbits appeared whenever she sat down.

Even creatures that normally avoided humans seemed drawn to her.

Nobody understood why.

Not Orion.

Not Fenrir.

Not even the magical beasts themselves.

Yet it happened.

Again.

And again.

And again.

One afternoon Orion found Lyra asleep beneath a tree.

Nothing unusual.

The unusual part was everything sleeping around her.

Two foxes.

Four rabbits.

A baby bear.

Three deer.

One owl.

And a wolf cub.

The entire scene looked ridiculous.

"She's collecting them."

Orion muttered.

Fenrir sat beside him.

The wolf seemed amused.

"Don't encourage her."

Fenrir looked away.

Which was basically a confession.

Training Begins

At the end of the second month Orion made a decision.

Enough was enough.

The child needed training.

Real training.

Not because she was weak.

Because she was fearless.

And fearless people were dangerous.

Especially to themselves.

"Training starts tomorrow."

Lyra looked up from feeding berries to a squirrel.

"Why?"

"Because someday you'll leave this forest."

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Lyra froze.

The squirrel froze.

Even the wind seemed to pause.

Leave?

The thought suddenly felt strange.

Unpleasant.

She had only been here two months.

Yet somehow the idea hurt.

Orion noticed.

Immediately regretted saying it.

Then did what he always did when uncomfortable.

Pretended nothing happened.

"You need to learn how to fight."

Lyra narrowed her eyes.

"That sounds suspicious."

Day One

The next morning Orion handed her a wooden sword.

Lyra examined it.

Turned it upside down.

Poked it.

Then pointed it at him.

"Question."

"No."

"You don't know the question."

"I don't need to."

"That's unfair."

"Life is unfair."

Lyra nodded.

"That's what people say when they're winning."

Fenrir made a strange choking noise.

The wolf was laughing.

Orion refused to acknowledge it.

"Attack me."

Lyra charged.

For exactly four seconds.

Then tripped.

Then rolled downhill.

Then crashed into a bush.

Silence.

A bird flew away.

Concerned.

"Did I win?" Lyra shouted.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

"Feels close."

Family

The months passed.

Training continued.

Lyra became faster.

Stronger.

Smarter.

Slightly less likely to fall off trees.

Only slightly.

The cabin grew louder.

Messier.

Happier.

One rainy evening Orion sat by the fire reading.

A peaceful activity.

At least it started peacefully.

Then Lyra burst through the door covered in mud.

Leaves stuck in her hair.

A frog sat on her shoulder.

Orion lowered his book.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

"..."

Lyra smiled.

The frog smiled too.

Which somehow felt threatening.

"Explain."

"I can."

"Good."

"I won't."

Orion closed the book.

"Lyra."

"Yes?"

"Why is there a frog on your shoulder?"

"His name is Sir Croaksworth."

"Of course it is."

"He's royalty."

"Naturally."

The frog croaked.

Orion looked at the ceiling.

Three hundred and forty-seven years.

Three hundred and forty-seven years of peace.

Gone.

Destroyed.

Reduced to rubble by one tiny girl.

And yet...

As Lyra laughed.

As Fenrir pretended not to care.

As Ember stole food from the table.

As rain tapped gently against the windows...

The cabin felt warm.

Alive.

Like a home.

For the first time in centuries, Orion wasn't alone.

And for the first time in her life...

Lyra wasn't unwanted.

Neither of them said it.

Neither of them realized it.

But somewhere between the training.

The arguments.

The disasters.

And the laughter...

A lonely immortal had started becoming a father.

And an abandoned little girl had started finding a family.

End of Chapter 5 🌙🐺🔥📖

"Sometimes family isn't the people who raise you. Sometimes it's the people who choose to stay."

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