Free Silvermoon. A Tale of a Young Werewolf. A YA Novel. 12-18 by T.J. Edison. Page B

racing greyhound, or a horse and rider even, and that he’d even passed his dad as he pedalled furiously along the road on his racing bike against a headwind. He wanted to show everyone how fast he was, but he kept in mind what his dad had told him, and kept his running to a reasonable speed.
     
    “Yes, she is quite fast for her age; she’s as old as me. One late afternoon, we saw a male fox, prowling on the edge of the woods. We watched as it eyed the chickens and geese, and when it ran off, we gave chase.
     
    We cornered it at the base of Crow Hill which is about a mile from the farm. It stared at us, its chest heaving and I approached it. I’m not afraid of wild animals, but I sensed the fox was afraid, so I spoke to it. I told him he had nothing to fear and knelt down before him with my hand extended.”
     
    “Did it bite you?” asked John, half-smiling.
     
    “No, the poor animal just looked at me; and that look of fear distorting its features gradually vanished. Then it crawled on all fours towards me with its ears flattened. I still held out my hand as it came nearer. Then it rose up and licked my fingers. I scratched the back of its neck and the fox actually smiled.”
     
    “The fox smiled?”
     
    Jason shrugged. “Well, it looked like a smile. Anyway I rose up and it came nearer. I stroked its fur for a while and it rubbed its body along my calf.”
     
    “What happened then?”
    Jason paused, then told him, smiling, “I remember now, my stomach rumbled and I felt the pangs of hunger. I looked at Jessie, who had been watching patiently and we ran off the way we came, and left the fox to its own devices.”
     
    “Did you ever s ee it again, around the farm?”
     
    Jason nodded and continued. “As we came closer to the farm, I slowed down, after seeing Jessie wasn’t running next to me. I glanced behind and saw the fox running alongside Jessie, both of them with their tongues lolling out, apparently enjoying one another’s company. So I ceased running and spoke out loud as they too came to a halt and sat down before me. I said to the fox “I’m sorry, Mister Fox, but you may not come any farther, for you’ll only upset the sheep an d frighten the chickens; maybe some other time, when we get to know one another better.” The fox appeared to understand because he turned around and walked away with flattened ears and drooping tail. Jessie watched its retreating form for a short while, and then looked up at me with her ears laid back and her front paws tramping the ground gently. So I told her, “ No, Jessie, you can’t go with him, he’s wild and you aren’t, he may be friendly to you, but he might have a mate who will think you wish to take him from her, so you stay here on the farm and protect the property.’
     
    She was disappointed at my decision, but there was no telling what could have happened if the fox had a mate.”
     
    “You talk to animals! Do they really understand what you say?”
     
    “I don’t think so, but they can tell by the tone of my voice that I’m serious, and Jessie is an obedient dog.”
     
    “I don’t think I would have liked to live on a farm, I much prefer the city, the crowds, the lights and the sound of traffic.”
     
    “Each to his own, John,” he said and turned back to his notes. He glanced around at him as he continued reading. He wondered why John’s skin appeared much thinner these days ; he could see the veins on his hands quite clearly . Perhaps h e was sickening for something for his pace had slowed as well. Jason never had a problem beating him “with difficulty” at squash, but nowadays he had to make even more “mistakes” in his returns, “probably anaemia,” he decided, and made a mental note to remind John to make an appointment to see the doctor who paid the college a visit every Friday.
     
     
     
    Jennifer gazed out the carriage window and watched the sun go down. She wondered how much he had changed. She remembered his