Truthfully, all Faye wanted to do was hop to the top of a tall tree and take a nap. However, she had to look for this stupid, selfish god that had left because he did not want to marry her sister. Faye had liked Vota well enough before. He was fun-loving much like her, but when he had up-and-left and forced Fay and the others to go looking for him, Faye had decided that she no longer liked the god of life.
Faye sighed angrily and stopped her walk through the woods. She turned her head to the nearest tree and a mischievous grin slowly formed on Faye’s features as she wriggled her bare feet in the dirt below her. Today was a gorgeous day, and Faye did not want to spend it looking for the childish god. With a small running start, Faye leaped up and grabbed a hold of the lowest branch of the tree. She swung herself up onto the branch with ease and let her head rest against the trunk of the tree with one leg dangling off the side of the branch.
Faye had just shut her eyes when she heard a loud bark from below her. Her eyes flew open and she nearly fell off her branch in surprise. She caught and balanced herself before looking down to see what the noise had been. Directly beneath her, a grey-furred wolf was standing, looking up at Faye with a worried expression. Faye stood slowly on the branch and hopped down, landing softly near the wolf. She looked over and at the creature and before she could say anything, the wolf began to speak in its native tongue. “I apologize, Miss Faye, but my brother needs your help.”
Faye took a moment to search her memory for the wolf’s old language. Luckily, the wolves were one of the few species that had the same language around the world. Remembering bits and pieces of their language, Faye nodded toward the wolf and replied, ”Show me to him.” The wolf bowed its head courteously and then turned and dashed off into the woods. Faye hurried after the wolf, expertly dodging the trees and keeping the wolf in sight.
Suddenly, the crack of a gun echoed through the woods and both Faye and the wolf began to run faster. The wolf ahead of Faye let out a growl as it bound through a group of bushes and Faye nearly growled as well as she stepped up next to the wolf. They stood in a small clearing where a hunter was pointing his rifle at a second wolf who was laying in pain with a bear trap around its hind leg and a bullet in its lower abdomen. The hunter stepped away from the beast who whimpered in pain as it saw its sister alongside Faye.
The hunter turned its gun on the standing wolf and was about to pull the trigger when he saw Faye. He did not lower his gun, but spoke directly to Faye. “You should get out of here, girlie.”
Faye’s brow furrowed in anger and she took a shaky breath. “Leave. Now,” she said with as much menace as she could muster as she stepped protectively in front of the she-wolf.
The hunter gave a small chuckle and lowered his gun only slightly. “You know I can’t do that, lil’ missy. Now step aside.”
The statement made Faye snarl along with the wolf behind her who didn’t know what the man was saying. Before Faye could stop her, the wolf leapt gracefully over Faye and landed on top of the man, knocking the rifle out of his hands. The man quivered in fear underneath the beast as Faye picked up the rifle, unloaded it, and threw the gun in one direction and the bullets in another. The wolf snapped at the hunter, but Faye shook her head and spoke to the wolf in its own language. ”Killing him will only bring more humans to the forest.” The wolf looked up at Faye and their eyes met before she saw the truth in the goddess's words. The beast reluctantly stepped off of the man, and with one last growl, sent the hunter running.
Once the man was out of sight, Faye kneeled next to the dying wolf, tears welling in her eyes, and stroked the fluffed fur of its neck. The wolf’s sister sat opposite Faye and kneaded her brother’s neck with a look of despair. She whimpered down at her brother and gave Faye pleading look, but there was nothing that Faye could do to save the beast’s life.
”I’m sorry,” Faye said and let a tear slide down her cheek. The she-wolf let its head fall back down as it realized what Faye was saying. Faye let out a mournful sigh and leaned down to the dying wolf’s ear. She spoke the ancient passing words, ”Deorui taku mi” which was the animals’ universal saying meaning, “Let the heavens receive you.” The wolf let out a last breath before its eye closed and Faye felt a tugging sensation in her core. The wolf's sister let out a mournful howl and Faye stood to let the her lie down next to her brother's body. The goddess let out a small sob before turning away and padding softly back into the forest.
Silence greeted Faye as she staggered ungracefully through the woods with a hollow feeling in her chest. Childishly, Faye wished that she had never come to look for the stupid god. It wasn’t worth it to watch a young beast pass before her eyes. Exhausted, Faye found a large rock between two trees and sat down heavily. She pulled her knees up to her chest and let her head fall to her knees. Unless she was met by one of her sisters, she would not go looking for the god. He was not worth it.