You will understand with time, you are of age. Have your parents not explained this to you just yet?
I felt myself flinch at the question and pulled back, so I could look into her amber eyes. They started to slowly turn yellow.
"No." I cleared my throat; my voice still held an edge of fear in it. "My biological parents haven't been with me since I was a baby. My adopted parents try to explain what they can. I've never heard of being transported to some world, especially to an underground forest to meet a wolf. Or a rougarou. " I closed my eyes against the sudden burn of tears that threatened to fall. I felt her smell my hair, and she nuzzled my chin until I opened my eyes again.
You were not given away; you do not have the smell of an abandoned pup. I heard the growl at the end of her sentence and felt it rumble through my entire body. Every pup that has been abandoned has a certain smell. Normally, the abandoned will be claimed by nature and killed. But you do not have that smell. You do have the smell of The Lost, of a pup that was taken from her or his pack before it was able to know any better. To learn our ways, our Code. How long have you been with this ...? "Family" of yours?
I nibbled on my bottom lip for a moment before I could answer.
"Since I was a baby, from what the records say. Are you telling me I was kidnapped? Why are you calling me a pup? I'm a human."
My darling girl, what is your name?
I glanced up at her amber eyes and debated not answering, but knew nothing would come from the silence. She was staring right at my eyes, and I felt her push against my walls. I knew she would know if I lied.
"Merissa Anne Seriphia." My own voice sounded quiet, I couldn't speak above a whisper with all the doubt that was flooding my mind. She leaned back on her back legs and laid down in front of me, putting her head on top of those huge paws. She huffed out a breath of air that moved my hair to behind me.
Your name, my dear, is Merissa Joan Anders. You must find your birth parents. I cannot tell you anymore. Even if I wanted to, just know, when you are home. I will be there with you. You may not see me, but I will be there. You'll be able to hear me. I'm going to protect you until you're home. This is going to be complicated as it is, but please trust me. I am not to harm you. There is more that is going to happen, I'm going to try my hardest to make the process wait until you are in a more... suited place.
You may also call me Alexia.
"What's going to happen?"
I reached up to finally touch her ears.
The next thing I knew, I was back in my apartment. The sudden change from the moonlit forest to my darkened apartment almost had me falling. I quickly grabbed the handrail in front of me for my stairs and looked around. Nobody else was here. I reached to the left and turned on the light. My coffee pot showed me red numbers that said it was only midnight. Which wasn't possible. I came down here at midnight. It felt like I was there for a few hours. I padded into my little kitchen and turned the coffee pot on. There wasn't any coffee, but I always used it to make hot water for my tea. I stared at the numbers until I could hear the rumble of the machine, which told me it was working. I ran my fingers over the top of it, loving the warm steam coming off.
My apartment wasn't the fanciest; my kitchen was almost a part of my living room. There was a wall built between them, but there was a bar cut into it. So, I could watch TV while I cooked. The sink underneath the opening was finally clean of all the dishes I had neglected to do for a few days. It was deep enough to wash a small dog, but I always ended up leaving the dishes to do for later. The granite countertops would need to be wiped down again. They made a sort of U shape that went to the stove, next to the stove was another small area of countertop that held my coffee pot, and next to that was my fridge. The floor had some fake wood paneling that looked like it was always waxed. My favorite part of my kitchen would have to be my stove. It was Gas, and no matter what, I could count on it.
The entire top part of the kitchen had lovely white oak cabinets that held my dishes and most of my groceries, the super wanted me to paint over them, but I always came up with some excuse why I haven't done it yet. Each door had a white knob, with a little gold piece in the middle of it. Or, it was made to look like gold. If I peered into the living room, I could see the hunter green plush carpet that covered the area, my mocha colored couch that could seat maybe three people. My parents brought me a white reclining chair that sat by the window. It had a little remote under the left arm piece that would lift the chair if you needed help. Or just felt like being lazy. I loved being by the window; if you looked out of it, you would see nothing but trees. The best part of the private school was the forest that surrounded it, the trees went on for miles, and me living on the third floor made sure I could see it. There were a few hills past the trees, but I loved watching the sun rise and the pastel colors first thing in the morning. My favorite time was when the moon would come out, the clouds always seemed to coax the moon out, and when it hung high in the sky...
I loved to sketch it.