Once upon a time there was a forest that was filled all sorts of creatures. There were bears, there were rabbits, there were bugs, there were coons and there were small birds. This wood was avoided by many travelers, as it always seemed devoid of any other ‘life’. By that, they were referring to human life. There used to be though, once upon a time.

How these humans disappeared, no one knows the real truth. The travelers, when they used to wander through the trees and bushes, only found a hut with no one inside, save for the dead body of its owner. Other than that, the bed was ruined and the food missing. The fireplace was a mess of stick and ash. Even the pot that used to hang there was near the bed. Despite this, there was no sign of a break-in.

After a few attempts to try and find out what happened there, people eventually gave up. It wasn’t because it was baffling, but because the investigators reported sights of moving shadows and growling. There were disappearances too. Skeptics said it was the animals. Others said it might be a witch or some other demon out for souls of those who tried to find out what happened.

Despite that the place was widely known for the now ominous presence and beauty, very few speak of it. The paranoia reached a peak where others weary when of speaking of it. So, they remained quiet and never spoke of the hut deep in the wood.

This didn’t stop a girl to keep thinking of it. The thought that something was out in the wood was terrifying. She constantly worried and stayed close to the house in the village near that evil place. She also had a small teddy present with her all the time.

Luckily, the village was quite a ways away from that forest. In order to get there in a day, they would most certainly need a horse. If that person does not have a horse and want to go through the forest to the next town, it would be a long journey for them.

The girl, of course, always looked out northwardly to the forest to see if any monster would come out. As always, there nothing but the wind, the mountains in the distance, and the setting sun being ushered out by the stars. There was nothing to serious or too scary to point out for the little girl to run to her father’s arms for comfort.

On one particular night, the girl looked out the window. There was the sun, yes. There were the mountains, of course. There were the stars, check. She then noticed something. It was a light, something that was just flitting about outside the garden.
It was a beautiful thing, this flitting light. It illuminated like a candle, but seemed calmer than one. It was not a constant light though. It flickered. This light was mesmerizing to the small child, who had unknowingly opened the window and leaned further out, unwittingly sealing her fate.
Before the hypnotized girl could climb out, she heard her mother call her for dinner. The young girl blinked and looked towards the door, then back at the light, which now had a figure underneath it.

This figure was a curious thing. It had a dog-like muzzle and bright blue eyes. The ears were facing forward, attentive and twitching. The nose was sniffing for anything that might be hiding in the dark. A soft smile was on the muzzle, like it was a friend smiling to another friend. There was no sign of any clothing on it.

The little girl waved bye to the figure, puzzled by its presence. Was it her imagination? Did it exist? She did see it, so it must exist. However, no one else saw it, so it must be her imagination.

The little girl decided she better eat. It was no use letting the food get cold and a scolding from a mother who loved her.
After dinner, everyone went to bed. The girl went to bed, yes, but she didn’t sleep. Her pretty green eyes were open, looking out the window, wanting to look out again to see that creature. It seemed so friendly, so nice. Also, if it meant harm, it would have attacked her. If it had meant harm, then why didn’t it have any weapons?

She sat up and looked at the bedroom door. There was no light flowing into her room through the crack at the bottom of the door. It seemed like there was no one out there. There was no noise, except for snoring. ‘Yes, everyone must be asleep,’ she thought as she looked at the sky again.

Suddenly, that light shown again. It was a bit stronger, more urgent-looking. The girl slowly got out of bed, her attention focused on the light. It was so beautiful, like the sun that was setting, or a soft candle wavering in a dark winter’s night, excluding the calm feel that accompanied both events.
Finally reaching the window, she opened it and leaned like she did earlier. The creature was there and waving its paw, letting the light move with it. The girl smiled and waved back and proceeded to climb out of the warmth of her house and into the slightly cold night.

“What are you?” whispered the tiny child as she came closer to the creature, looking at the human-dog-like animal that might or might not exist. It smiled and put a finger on its lips while extending its other paw (or is it a hand?). She took the hint and grabbed the paw/hand.

The duo then walked out of the garden, with the little girl keeping up with the pace of the magnificent creature walking next to her. The creature looked down at her, noticing the child was looking at the ears that sat upon its head. She seemed to have no fear of this man beast.

“I am Ishtar. I see you like my ears, if I am not mistaken?” he said (she decided it was a ‘he’ because of his deep voice) with that warm smile he used earlier.

The child nodded and asked, “What are you?”

The creature just laughed. “You have no need to know what I am dear.” He led her to the end of the town, where she paused and looked back.

“What about my family?” she asked, letting go of the warm and big paw of the Creature.

“You have no need to worry about them dear. They wouldn’t miss you.”

The girl gasped at the horrid thing the friendly Creature said, deciding it was a mistake to trust the fuzzy and cuddly looking Creature. She wasn’t sure why she even went with It. Was it because of her love for animals? She may never know.

“By that, I mean they won’t miss you because they would be asleep while you are gone. When you get back, they would be awake. Your family would never know you went out.” His smile returned, his tail wagged and he extended his paw/hand again.

The girl stayed put, wondering if she should go with him. His light was still on, but it was now a yellow one. It was still hypnotizing, but lost its warmth. His appearance now seemed scruffier now. After going through some reasoning, which didn’t take long, the girl decided that trusting this stranger and going on a walk was better than regretting about not trusting and having a ‘normal’ life was bad.

“Now, would you want me to piggy-back you?”

The thought of doing so seemed like a great idea. It wasn’t everyday she got a piggy-back from a tall and friendly dog/wolf-human. She got onto his back and off they went in a slight jog, the light floating beside the now-magical strange Creature.

“Where are we going Mister Wolfman?” asked the small girl.

There was no reply to this, so the girl just rested her head on the fluffy fur of the Dogman. It seemed like she was on a cloud.

“We’re going to a hiding place.”

The thought of a hiding place, which was a sacred thing to children, was an intriguing concept.

“Is there toys?”

“Yes.”

The Creature continued jogging, which seemed to amaze the girl, as her own father couldn’t possibly run this far at the same pace and not get tired.
She decided to be quiet, for some reason. It seemed to her that if she made a peep, the morph would let her walk. His fur was too comfy for her to leave. Whatever the reason for her sudden need to be quiet, she decided to go with it.

So, the girl decided to think of it. Mister Wolfman might explain why he wanted her quiet. Yes, they wanted to leave quietly; no need to be loud.
After thinking this, she finally realized they went into the dark and creepy wood. She would have, or should have, told the morph to go back, that it was dark and scary, but the girl didn’t. The light was now a more relaxing color and seemed to brighten.

“Do you want to see where the stars hide when day comes?” the dog said, his voice growly, but seemed playful.
The girl pondered for a bit. The stars DID disappear, but she didn’t stop and think of it. The child could only think of playing or cleaning. Still, where DID they go? Behind the mountains? Into the wood? Her curiosity got the best of her.

“Yes, I would love to,” she said, looking above them now. The sky was blocked by the branches and some leaves that appeared for spring. It stopped and bended down, saying, “Ok little one, time for you to get off.”

She obeyed, but still held his fur, slightly scared of the fact that she was in the wood without knowing where they entered and which way lead towards the exit. The wolf stood up and let out another light from his paw, only, this one resembled a lantern.

The girl clutched his fur, looking at the lantern made of light. It looked like one, but it might not be one, as no lantern should not, should not, be made of light; still, the wonders that the beast shown her was all so wonderful and amazing enough to wash away any doubts and fears.

“Do you want to hold it?” the wolf asked, smiling that nice smile. It seemed so cute to the girl, like when her dog smiles at her, only this smile felt more human than dog. Of course the girl wanted to hold the lantern thing.

He held it in front of her, letting it float. The child took what seemed like the handle and was amazed it felt like one. Happiness and joy immediately flooded her, letting her see that despite all the terror of the woods, there was no need to fear anything that would confront her.

Her smile was wide and innocent as ever, if not, a bit brighter than the other times he had seen her smile. So, he smiled along, patting her head.
“Come now little child. Follow me.”

The girl obeyed, practically skipping alongside the Creatures long strides. He made sure not to go to fast for the girl. He looked around, making sure that nothing was there. There was always something in the dark.

“Child, tell me,” the wolf started, his attention directed at her now. “What is your name?”
The girl, still keeping hold of the fake-but-real lantern, looked up at him with adoration a child would give to a nice adult.

“I am Aura,” she said. He looked forward, his smile fading. Dark shadows contrasted with the light from his lantern and his sprite of light, which was dull, but still floating by him. 

The wind then shifted and brought new scents to his black nose. He sniffed and confirmed it was what he thought it was.
He turned back to Aura and smiled again.

“Well, if we hurry up now, we would reach the Resting Place for Stars.”

From the looks of it, the thought of seeing the sleeping stars seemed to interest the girl. It would be great to see what they really were (her father said they were fairies). The thought excited her.

“Okay,” was the only response the girl had, as she was also looking into the darkness.
Both then started to walk (Aura was skipping, her smile back on) again, paying no attention to anything else except the light and the feel of the wind going through black fur and brown hair.

The smaller of the two kept looking up at the Creature. It puzzled her. Where did it come from? Why did it bring her? Maybe he’d answer those questions too.
“Ishtar?” asked Aura, who started to slow down. “Where did you come from?”

The adult morph stopped and huffed.

“There is no need to know such trivial knowledge Aura.”
The girl nodded and continued to skip, getting a little weary from it after a couple of minutes. The darkness and the enclosed space and the skipping were proving to be too much for the girl.

Ishtar cast a glance at her; she appeared to be tired. Despite that, she seemed to be in perfect health. It would be soon. So long as nothing interferes...

"I guess we can rest now."
The wolf's eyes swept the area that the light lit up. The trees seemed to be closing in on them. They were close. Just past the bend.

"We're close little one. Where the stars sleep."
Aura smiled and sat on the dirt; her back against the tree. It was a relief to stop now. Skipping through woods is more demanding than you think.

"Great!" exclaimed the female. "Is it beautiful?" she then asked afterwards.
Ishtar nodded at her and smiled.

"It sure is."

"Can I call you Mister Woof?" the girl suddenly inquired.
Ishtar was taken aback, but the idea was ridiculous. Still, he smiled and snorted.

"Absolutely not. I am not keen on having nicknames, if you would like to know," was her answer. He hoped that would not upset her. She seems so tender.

"Okay then. I just don't seem to like Ishtar, if you don't mind me saying that."

The wolf wasn't phased at all. Of course she wouldn't. It was foreign on the human tounge and would forever be like that. It might not quite ring with their sentence structure and such.

"I don't mind."

Then, the girl then yawned, feeling tired. Was it warmer? Probably, the trees were close and it is a breezless night. And the fact that she had had a long walk, erm, skip. With her arm did she rub her eyes.

"Feeling tired?"

"Yes."
The place seemed more... calm now. Not mildly scary (she had Mister Woof with her after all). For some reason, she knew Mister Woof would protect her. From what, she can't tell, but she he would.

"I guess we need to get moving; don't need to have you miss the special lights."
Ishtar couldn't help but smile. So close, so close to getting what he wanted. And he needed this girl. Her dreams weren't corrupted by reality nor was it diminished or crumbling from aging.

Aura got up with out a peep and started to follow him. He knew he chosen the correct child. The perfect one. So close was he to finally doing it.

"Come now, step lively."
The girl started to hurry, not noticing the greedy hint in the wolf's voice.

They both stepped through some bushes and a fain light immediately filled the place. It was soft and bright, warm and relaxing. This light immediately woke the girl from her apathy.

It was an iridescent blue formed in a spherical shape. Little wisps of what appeared to be fog lazily spun around it like that of a dead octopus (a rare delicacy here).

Pretty soon, other balls of light came around. They filled the forest with lightl, like it was fire that was about to burn everything. There were pale yellow orbs, pink orbs, violet, red and orange lights.

Aura was astonished and amazed. They were beautiful and... and... bright. It filled her with hope, with dreams, with wishes. Most importantly, she was filled with faith. Faith that she was more important than what her mother said she was.

The wolf grinned at her. It was true. He chose the correct one. The true child. It was her. Aura. Aurora. The mage could tell that she was starting to recognize who she was.
But, now wasn't the time. It was too early. Time to put her to sleep. Better not attract anything devious.

Aura saw her memories starting to dissolve as she started to soak in the lights of the orbs. The tentacles were slowly breaking her memory and bringing her new ones. Then it all stopped.

Blackness immediately surrounded her vision and a sweet smell met her nose. It smelled like lilacs.
The last words she heard was, "Sorry dear, not yet. Now sleep, like a good girl."
Then a roar was heard and she collapsed to her knees.