When Lex took my hand and we walked to the end of the landing strip, just at the opening to the jungle, there was a small stone path that wound through. The tiny pebbles looked like river rocks, only more on the light grey and beige side. I felt like Dorothy about to step on some sort of yellow brick road. I could definitely compare this place to Oz; only, I didn’t want to wake up and find it a dream.
As if to welcome me just as my feet hit the stones, two birds landed on a branch over my head. I stopped Lex to gaze with absolute awe at their coloring. Their vivid blue, a true, deep aquamarine, covered their faces and bellies, while their red beaks, a ruby red, matched the speckled color of red and maize on their chests. As if wearing a coat of emeralds, from the tips of their heads to the bottoms of their tails were brilliant green feathers.
With bodies pressed together side by side, one tilted its head to the others. They looked like love birds. Now, you know you’ve read too many paranormal books when, faced with this breathtaking sight, you wonder if the birds are not really some sort of spies meant to check out the new arrivals. I laughed, a short, high chuckle at myself, that, when Lex looked at me like I’d lost my mind, erupted into a fit giggles at my overactive mind.
“You good?” he asked, his smile crooked, cute.
“More than. Just overwhelmed by all of this beauty in one place. We’ve just stepped off the landing strip and I get that sort of welcoming committee.”
“Get used to it,” one of the werewolves who had brought us here said. He walked in front of us, leading the way, our bags attached to some sort of dolly.
“Not sure that’s possible, but please, lead the way. I can’t imagine what lies ahead,” I responded to the man. In more ways than one.
Lex gave my hand a little squeeze as we continued on, him practically dragging me along as I looked everywhere but at where I was going. As the path wound through the trees, I kept getting whiffs of flowers. Every time we came upon a patch at the bases of the trees, or lining the path, the petals were of the most vibrant hues. Reds to scarlet, yellows to gold, along with various deep shades of pinks and purples which were sprinkled at times with a few true whites. I didn’t need to stop and sniff them, as they fragranced the air like a light perfume being sprayed my way.
The path also must have wound around the coast, as we’d landed in the plane on a strip of land on a beach, and now the trees opened up to another side of the island overlooking the water. This time, though, the cliff that overlooked it was dotted with tiny straw-like shacks.
“You have to see this,” the other werewolf leading the way said, nodding us over closer to the edge between two of the shacks. “This is where wolves, like Lex, stay when visiting the island. But, you two will be guests at the castle this trip. Anyway, look at that view. Careful, though.”
I knew he’d been talking to me as my head scanned all around. When we got to this cliff made of jagged rocks, we stood now about five feet above the water. When we’d landed, you could have walked right into the waves. Yet, each of these two cabins we stood between seemed to have their own waterfalls, water flowing out from under the residents on stilts. Lush foliage hung over the dry rocks, some leading all the way to the clear blue water below. The fish were again colorful, and even from this height you could see, like tiny streaks of color, their movement through the ocean. There was going to be so much to explore here in our free time.
“I have the urge to jump right in that water. It looks so inviting,” I mused out loud.
“Is she a daredevil?” One of the pilots inquired of Lex.
“I don’t think she was before meeting me,” he said with a light laugh, shaking his head as if I were a wayward individual bent on trouble.
“I would never have called myself even so much as an adventurer, but finding you are magical, have a werewolf guardian, fighting in battles, coming here... it can change a girl. Something is flowing through me, like excitement, and I do in fact want to try new things.”
“Look out,” one of the pilots said to Lex, nudging him, giving me the impression they’d met before and had some sort of comradery.
“You guys know each other?” I inquired.
“Sure,” Lex said. “Kirk here trained with Riker and I. The training, it definitely bonds you. Not that it’s bad, like the military or anything, but it is different, and in the adjustment, as your body changes and you learn to use it, even if for only a year, it is like growing up together as brothers. In fact, Kirk and I stayed two cabins down from here while we were training.”