Natasha Luepke - The Adventures of Luna

As Luna ran through the wood, the faint yellow and reds of dawn gradually overtook the blues and purples of night, replacing a thousand stars with just one. Luna spent the night going in circles, changing from one form to another as she grew tired. Dawn broke and Luna found herself back at the edge of town.

Luna made sure her tail was hidden, then covered her head with her long purple scarf. She looked longingly at the stable yard of the inn, but decided her Nine Kingdoms attire would make her more conspicuous than necessary.

She stopped at the first hut she found and, squaring her shoulders, rapped on the door. The woman who answered was red. Red dress, red pants, red slippers, red scarf, red-rimmed eyes, red irises.

"Can I help you?" she asked wearily. "I must be leaving soon."

"Holle!" Luna whispered urgently.

"Tell me you brought a wolf. Else I will not be seen with a fugitive at my door," Holle snapped.

"Let me in; I'll explain."

"Not unless you're trailing a wolf behind you, Wolfsdaughter."

"Holle, is that smoke I smell?" Luna finally managed to push past Holle.

Holle folded her arms. "Unfortunately, you are not the only guest I am entertaining."

A figure stood in the center of the room. He had a greenish tinge to his pointed face. His clothes - tunic and pointed shoes - were in forest colors of green, brown, and black. The true anachronism of the character, however, was the cigarette held between his slender fingers.

Holle rolled her eyes. "This is Puck."

Puck took a drag from his cigarette. "Oberon wanted Sanum back into his services. So here I am, stuck in the Eastern Empires, and I find that you two have gotten him thrown into prison!"

"Yeah, Holle, here's the thing: I found the wolf -"

"Then where is he?"

"Well, see, it's not that simple. He's an enchanted wolf looking for his lost wife -"

"Are you sure you can trust a wolf?" Holle sneered.

"So, I told him that I was actually a wolf -"

"You are."

Luna coughed. "Who was cursed by a gypsy to turn into a human. Then we got into a fight. No fear, though; I have a plan."

Puck blew a smoke ring. "Let's hear it." His voice was like a sharp steel blade scraping across smooth stone.

Luna flicked her ear. "Okay, all we have to do is break Sanum out of prison, find Indra - that's the wolf - find Archana - Indra's wife - and then find the real wolf, and we're all set."

"Look," Puck said, examining his nails, "I'm here to break Sanum outta the slammer and take him back to Oberon. I wasn't told nothin' about wolves."

"Well, I owe Indra, to help him. Holle, would you be able to turn him back into a human?"

She shook her head and sighed. "If Sanum's a fugitive, that makes me a fugitive. Into the woods, I guess."

The caper was brief. Holle and Luna hid in the woods behind the prison. Puck became invisible, enchanted the guards so that they might sleep, unlocked Sanum's door with pilfered keys, and left a straw-stuffed dummy in his place. Luna turned away as Holle and Sanum embraced. She took a deep breath, then turned back.

"Sanum, I missed you!"

"How have you been? Did you find the wolf?"

Luna flicked her ear. "Sorta. Hey...you're looking well."

Sanum placed an arm around Holle"s shoulder; Luna cursed her inane comments.

"Thanks to Holle." Luna merely nodded.

The quartet took to the forest once Puck pointed out the very real possibility of their capture. Luna thought it strange that Sanum wasn't the least bit surprised by Puck's reappearance.

They had been walking for an hour, Luna in the lead. Puck had excused himself and Sanum to discuss Oberon's offer. Luna trailed off the path, sure she heard whimpering. It was Indra, his left hind leg caught in a steel trap.

"Indra - omigod - Indra! Cripes, Holle!" Indra howled as Luna ran a hand over his brow.

"What in the name of the Nine Kingdoms is wrong, Wolfsdaughter?" Holle snapped as she appeared, slightly out of breath. She immediately dropped to her knees when she saw Indra. "Oh, you poor creature," she murmured. Turning to Luna, she said, "Hold his leg, carefully as you can; I'll pull this as far as I can. You," she said to Indra, "Remove your leg when I say Go."

Luna had no idea that Holle was so strong; the trap was pulled back far enough in just a minute or two. Holle immediately began to tend to Indra's wound, surprising Luna because, 1) it seemed rather out of character for Holle and 2) this was Indra, a wanted wolf!

"How is he?" Luna asked nervously. The blood scared her, leaving her in a fit of ear-flicking and cripes - muttering.

"Ah...I need to run and get something...Take your scarf and staunch the blood on the leg; those metal teeth are pretty rusty." Holle rose from her crouch and jogged farther into the forest.

Luna sat down, unwinding her scarf from her neck. She wrapped it around Indra's leg, wincing as he did.

"I'm sorry, Indra, for deceiving you," she said softly. "But I came back - we'll help you, help you find Archana and the real wolf. And no one's going to prison. We're a roving band now, like Robin Hood."

"Who?"

"Never mind," Luna muttered, scratching his ears.

Holle returned, pushing Luna aside and applying a few herbs to the wound. "Good as new," she announced. "This poor bit of purple cloth on the other hand..."

Indra thanked Luna, then cocked his head toward Luna. "Shouldn"t you be a wolf right now?"

"Ah..."

"Oh," Holle broke in, "I"m the gypsy that cursed her. I thought it'd be easier to get you out of the trap if she had two hands."

"You don't look like a gypsy."

"What, you want I should curse you, too?"

At that point, Puck and Sanum returned. Puck went up a few yards to light up a new cigarette; Sanum sat and put his arm around Holle.

"Oberon wants me to work for him again. He said the records are all out of order."

"Records?" Luna repeated.

"Oh, yeah: Who's been enchanted, with what, how many arguments he's had with Titania..."

"Yeah," Puck put in, "I'm more a doer than a paper-pusher."

"So..." Sanum said softly to Holle, "How do you feel about returning to the Nine Kingdoms?"

Holle picked at her hem. "I hate it here, you know..."

"I know."

She looked into his eyes. "It's agreed then." When they began to kiss, Luna slipped back into wolf form.

"Indra, provided we turn you back into a human and make it out of here, what would you like to do?"

"I can't return to the village. You know what I've always liked to do? Paint. Draw. Sketch. Think I could get work doing that?"

"Sure. Know what you should do? Go to Kissing Town. In the Fourth Kingdom. Paint pictures of happy couples."

Indra raised his brow.

"Or whatever," Luna shrugged.

Puck insisted that he, Holle, and Sanum leave right away. Luna begged them to stay; she was certain she would need Holle's help; besides, she was afraid she'd never see Sanum again. It was no use. Puck angrily tapped ash from his cigarette and insisted time was of the essence.

A little away from the group, Luna made her good-byes. She thanked Holle, and then asked if the witch might remove the piece of Gleipnor from around her neck.

"Oh," Holle rolled her eyes, untying it, "it wasn't really a piece of Gleipnor or anything like that-it was only a piece of black ribbon."

Luna only sighed in response.

Luna had never been a fan of high drama, of teary heart-felt good-byes or last-minute entreaties of love. All the same, a thousand such melodramatic scenarios rushed through her mind. Instead, what passed was merely this: Luna apologized for getting Sanum thrown in prison and he told her "not to worry about it" and "to take care." Before he disappeared into the trees with Holle, Puck, and Luna's heart, he offered one last piece of advice.

"Luna, you pride yourself on your wolfishness. But you're more human than you think. You'll fall in love many times."

"But Dad-"

"Your father is a completely different person."

"And he kissed and her, and walked away, but it was Luna who didn't look back.

"So," Indra said sympathetically, once the two were back on the road, "not only did you fall in love, but it was with the love of the gypsy who cursed you?"

Luna realized she had yet to reveal her true identity to Indra, but she wasn't in the mood for proper introductions. She sighed; here she was, stuck in the Eastern Empires, hunting for a wolf that may not exist, helping another wolf find his errant wife so that he might become human again...It was enough to make one hoooooowl! Her howl was met by another anguished cry.

She turned to Indra, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you know what was said in that howl?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"It said, "Help me! Here I am!" I think we've finally made contact with the other wolf!" Luna howled again, asking the new wolf for his location. Luna and Indra followed the wolfs voice for the rest of the afternoon.

It was dusk when they found him. By now, they were in the deepest part of the forest, near the Borderlands. Little light, be it sun-, moon-, or star- made it through the trees. Luna and Indra came upon a small cottage, as well as a caged wolf.

"It's but a cub!" Luna whispered. It was just a child in the wooden cage, a dark-furred puppy with a white underbelly. Indra approached the door of the cottage while Luna spoke with the cub.

"What happened, Little One?"

His eyes darted to and fro nervously. "I was tired and couldn't run fast enough."

"Where are your parents?"

The cub whimpered. "Humans. Wolves are not well-liked."

Luna sat on her haunches, remembering stories her father had told her. Wolf did not like to speak of his past, but on a few full-moon nights, when both sported fangs and wild eyes (though, truly, Wolf's changes had became less drastic after meeting Virginia and Luna's were never as severe as her father's to begin with), he had haltingly told his daughter of the family he'd lost, of parents put to the fire, of scattered brothers and sisters.

"So, you are alone, Little One?" Luna asked, returning to the present.

The cub nodded. "You and your mate should stay away from the town."

Luna was about to pry some more, but was interrupted by Indra's startled cry of "Archana!"

Luna stood and turned. In the doorway of the cottage, backlit from a fire or candles within, was a woman, dark of hair and eye, strong of chin and nose. She was dressed in a silver-accented black sari and held a broom in her hands.

"Wait a minute - Archana -" Indra's words became syncopated as Archana hit him with the broom. Luna chuckled.

"Indra?" Archana asked, finally letting up on her assault. "When Raj said he'd turned you into a wolf, I'd thought he was kidding."

"Raj, eh? Where is he?"

Archana placed her broom by the door and crossed her arms. "In town."

"Where did you catch the cub?" Luna broke in. While she hated to meddle in the love affairs of others, she felt a strange surge of protectiveness towards the cub. She wanted to free him and get him to the Fourth Kingdom, where he'd be safe. And in the darkness of the deep woods on a cloudless, starless night, trapped in a wolf's body in the Borderlands, Luna realized she had been struck by love. Maybe not the romantic love of her parents, but unconditional love nonetheless, the protectiveness and pity towards another creature, and that as long as she lived, no harm would come to him.

"Ack! Two talking wolves?" Archana asked.

"She was cursed by a gypsy."

"Riiiiighttt..."

"Where did you get the cub?" Luna repeated, a bit of a snarl in her voice. Indra stared at her, surprised.

Archana ran a hand through her hair. "Well, Gypsy-Wolf, we'd had reports of wolf-attacks, you know? Every wolf found has been killed or driven away. Raj and I are pretty sure Lomadi is an orphan. I thought, you know, I could raise him and keep him..."

Luna sat on her haunches. "I'm taking him with me." (Out of the corner of her mouth, she whispered to Indra, "'Lomadi'?"

"Wolf," " he whispered back.)

"But-" Archana interjected. "A trained wolf could be useful..."

"Lomadi, do you wish to stay?" Luna called to the cub in the cage.

"Nooooo!" he responded, ending in a howl.

"There ya' go," Luna said. She returned to the cub's cage, leaving Indra and Archana alone.

"How did you find me?" Archana asked. "Why?"

"I remained in the woods by the inn, hoping you"d return. That other wolf helped me find you. I just wanted to...end it right."

Archana smiled. "I'm sorry, Indra. Good bye."

"I'm sorry, Archana. Good bye."

Once Indra finally had permission to move on-something her been longing to do-the spell was broken. Luna raised her head in surprise as, in a shower of sparks, a man replaced a wolf. Lomadi merely shook his head, muttering something about not understanding humans. Luna giggled, then whispered that'd she be back.

She walked to Indra's side. "Congrats."

He scratched her ears. "Thank you." He was paler than Sanum, his hair longer; he was taller and more broad-shouldered. And his eyes were cinnamon. Archana smiled one last time and closed the door.

"Shall we?" he asked Luna.

"Sure you want to come with us?" Luna asked as they walked back to Lomadi.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I need a change of scenery."

Luna smiled. Indra lifted the wooden cage, freeing Lomadi, and they were off.

"And he showed me things, many beautiful things, that I hadn't known before..." - I Know Things Now from Into the Woods

The trio's return to the village was surprisingly uneventful. Luna and Lomadi remained dozing in the woods while Indra collected the few possessions he'd need for his new life (and convinced a brother to take over the inn).

Luna yawned and whispered to Lomadi, "Would you like to know a secret? You can't tell Indra though!"

Lomadi crawled closer. "Sure!"

Luna shifted her eyes from side to side, as if searching for eavesdroppers. "I"m part human."

Lomadi recoiled. "What?"

"Well, my father is a half-wolf-"

"You mean all two legs and hairless?"

Luna laughed. "Yeah, although I hadn't thought of him that way. He's the most wolfish looking human you"ll ever meet. Plus, he has a tail. And so do I, in human form."

Lomadi crept closer again. "A tail?"

"A fluffy one, just like yours," she said nuzzling him. He giggled. "Would you like to see?"

Lomadi stopped laughing. "No. It's nice to see a wolf face." He looked away.

"Luna nudged him with her snout again. "Okay, I'll stay a wolfie - but just for you. And you can call me 'Luna,' my human name."

Lomadi shook his head. "What is it with you humans and names?"

"Hmm," Luna mused. "It's so we can keep track of one another. Why, do you not like being called 'Lomadi'?"

"Well, it sounds better from you than that girl in the woods."

Luna smiled and shook her head.

Indra returned that evening with a gift for Luna.

"This," he said, laying the purple cloth at her feet, "is to replace the one that was...ruined."

"Thank you," Luna replied. "That's very sweet."

The trio set out for the Nine Kingdoms under cover of night. Luna took the lead, Lomadi at her side.

In the days that passed, Indra grew a little jealous of his companions, that they could converse without his understanding a single word. Lomadi taught Luna about being a wolf, best as a child can. Luna, at least, had gotten better at distinguishing basic scents and sounds (mainly due to an overdue lesson from her father, who hadn't realized he'd been so lax in her education). It was Luna who first sensed another presence in the forest.

"Lomadi, she whispered, "three...humans, a little ahead of us. Above us, in the trees. Right?" Lomadi nodded.

Luna was about to call back to Indra when the thieves attacked. They boasted swords and daggers; Indra produced a knife for defense. Lomadi and Luna bared their teeth and growled.

Luna rarely had to defend herself physically, and was only comfortable doing that in human form. Still, she lashed out and bit the first appendage she could find. She got herself into a scuffle with a bearded rogue, until she received a hard crack! on her right front leg. She released her hold on his shirt and reflexively slipped into human form to assess the damage. The scuffle stopped when a woman appeared on the forest floor.

"What do we have here?" her former attacker sneered.

"Nothing," she snapped, jumping to her feet, right arm cradled against her body. In a vision filled with dust and leaves and tousled hair, Luna saw Lomadi chewing on a trouser leg and Indra involved in a dagger-duel. She slipped her own dagger from her boot, holding it level to her opponent's chest, left hand shaking just a little.

"Is this your first time?" she asked patronizingly, congratulating herself on such an action-hero comment.

Her opponent kicked the dagger away and forced her onto her back.

"Is this yours?" he said sweetly.

He was knocked away by a flying wolf. Luna sat up, noticing that the other two men were gone and that there was a lot of blood on the ground. Indra bore a few cuts and bruises, but no worse for the wear.

"Are you okay?" Indra asked her.

Luna took a few ragged breaths. Her arm, wrist, and back hurt. "No," she stammered and began to cry. Indra held her as gently as he could; Lomadi returned and licked her cheek.

Indra patched the three of them up, binding Luna's arm with the purple scarf he'd brought her from the village. Luna noticed the word "Sachi" embroidered on the cloth.

"Why are you in human form?" Indra asked.

Luna scratched Lomadi's ears; he was sitting at her feet. "I have a final secret, Indra. I'm not a were-human, or a were-wolf, or cursed by a gypsy. I'm just Luna Lewis..."

"Then how are you a wolf at all?" he asked, cocking his brow.

Luna smiled. "I am part-wolf. I was taught to shape shift, and how to talk to animals." She yawned and prepared to sleep.

"Are you going to remain a human?" Lomadi whispered, lying beside her.

"Most likely. But I'll still talk to you."

He yawned; he was growing fast and looked less like a cub every day. "That's all I want. That and lamb chops."

After the attack, Indra, Luna, and Lomadi stayed on the main roads. Their lives on the road became dull, revolving around eating, sleeping, and walking. Their path took them to Kissing Town. (By this time, Luna was sure they were taking the most roundabout way back to the castle.) Indra stayed on, to paint portraits. He had grown fond of Luna, and asked her to stay, but she remained steadfast in getting Lomadi to safety. Indra pointed out that anywhere in the Fourth Kingdom was safe, but Luna had to be absolutely sure that Lomadi would be okay and would have a home.

"I thought he was your mate for life," Lomadi commented on their way out of town. Luna was seemingly impervious to the hearts, and cupids, and love magic.

"Mmm," was Luna's only reply.

Luna's parents had been off on their own adventure; Luna arrived at Wendell's castle a few hours after their return. Luna left Lomadi hidden in her room while she conversed with her family in Tony's apartments.

When the conversation turned to Luna, she was about to tell her parents how she had joined the family's long tradition of being imprisoned once per adventure. However, Wolf cut her off.

"Luna-who have you been hiding from us?"

Luna smiled. She should have counted on her father's nose guessing her secret. "Lomadi, an Eastern Empires wolf. He's a little shy about meeting my pack, so I believe he's hiding under my bed."

Luna went to fetch Lomadi.

"They want to meet you," she whispered to him. He had burrowed into the sheets. "Dad will know what to do."

"Do?"

"Cripes-you know, where you should live."

"Right."

Virginia and Wolf were a little wary of Lomadi, as all parents are when meeting their daughter's wolfie friends. But he was young, and charming, and had a sad story, and had saved Luna"s life, so he was quickly accepted into the pack. That night, after dinner, and baths, Luna and her father had a moonlight talk. The full moon was a day away; the two sequestered themselves on a balcony.

"What do you think of Lomadi?" Luna asked. "What should we...do..." She flicked her temple.

"Ah, little sausage," Wolf said, drawing his daughter near. "You should be careful. You've won the heart of a furry little chap of your own."

Luna stared at her father.

"Oh, yes. I saw how he wouldn't leave your side. That kind never does." He smiled.

Leonida bowed, her tale complete. Wendell's court clapped politely. My parents' tales are still the most popular, but mine are gaining. After she'd had a drink, Leonida joined me in the small courtyard off of the main hall. I sat on the bench, stretching out my legs.

"Did I get it right?" she asked, leaning against a low stone wall.

"You didn't use your lute."

She laughed. "Then I'd have to sing it and make it rhyme. Know how hard that is? I'm not paid enough for that."

"Ah." I reached to my throat, touching the bit of cloth there. "You like my ascot? It's made from Indra's scarf."

Leonida inspected the purple cloth in the torch light. "Oh, hey, it has 'Sachi' on it. That word came up several times in your tale. What does it mean?"

"Oh--"

"Luna!" Lomadi called. ("My wolf bays for me," I explained as I stood.)

"Anyway, it's a girl's name. It means 'Wife of Indra.'"

"Wait a sec. Is there something you didn't tell me?" Leonida asked.

I smiled. "No." I stroked Lomadi"s head as we went back inside.