The night glimmered with stars as the bright full moon slowly climbed up the sky. The nightlife of the woods started to wake up. Crickets started their nightly melodies, fireflies started rising from the grass, owls hooted, and the undergrowth rustled with the scurrying of small critters.

The tranquil serenity was disrupted by the loud running and panting of a giant wolf. Tonight was the night of his coming of age ceremony. Tasela could not contain his excitement. The whole day, he’d been running laps around the clearing of his tribe, barking and howling in excitement. By the time the moon reached the highest point in the sky, the ceremony would start and the elders would announce him an adult. He woke up at the crack of dawn, disturbing everyone’s sleep, and had been unable to contain his excitement. He’d been thrown out of the tribe by noon though because everyone protested against him, so now he was to roam around the forest till midnight.

He’d been so busy the last moon that he’d almost forgotten about his coming of age ceremony. That human woman living at the house on the fields had somehow taken up all of his attention. He’d told himself that he was keeping an eye on her and investigating her, but in reality, he’d learned close to nothing the past moon. 

Something was definitely up with her. She definitely did something to him, there’s no other way to explain the strange things happening to him. He lost understanding of his emotions whenever it came to her; even now, he still couldn’t tell what he felt towards her. His heart would beat faster when he watched her, especially so if her eyes met his. Her smell as well, for some reason it started growing sweeter, to a point that it started developing a strangely alluring effect. 

This strangeness increased that day she offered him that turkey leg. Why did he lick her? It was as if he’d been bewitched back then, before he could realize what he was doing, he was already pacing forwards. At that moment, he just felt a strong emotion. He didn’t know what it was, but when he came to, he’d already licked her on the face. He ran away in surprise.

Tasela ran his paw through his forehead. Back then, when she ran her hand through his fur, it was not the first time someone licked him or petted him on the forehead. His tribemates used to do it all the time when he was younger, but why did it feel so special when that woman did it? It was almost kind of….tingling? He didn’t want to admit it, but deep down, he started wishing that she’d pet him again.

He gave her a bunny to thank her for the food. It was to keep things even, Tasela reasoned. So then, why did he go out of his way to spend all morning hunting the plumpest rabbit he could find, and why did he kill it without spilling blood, when biting through its neck could’ve saved him so much more time and trouble? 

Tasela was becoming strange. He couldn’t understand himself anymore. He kept his distance from her when he watched her to protect himself from whatever magic she was casting on him. But why was he still watching her? He could very well just leave her be, since she didn’t seem to be of any threat. And yet, he just couldn’t. Even the night before, if it weren’t for Nokomis reminding him that today was his coming of age ceremony, he might’ve just forgotten about it altogether and gone to watch that human again.

Everything was too confusing. Tasela shook his head. He needed to clear his mind; he had to be clear minded for the ceremony tonight, the very ceremony he’d been dreaming of his whole life. Nothing was allowed to ruin tonight for him, especially not that confusing human woman.

Tasela headed for the pond. The pond was his favorite place. It would always bring him solace whenever his mind was a mess. He’d just sit there and watch the ripples of the water for hours, without a single thought in his head. It was just, soothing. 

As he approached the pond, an unexpected scent wafted to his nose: a soft, warm, and comforting sweet scent. It was the scent of that human woman. That can’t be, why would she be here so late in the night? It’s almost midnight, it’s dangerous for a helpless human like her to be wandering around near the forest.

An influx of worries suddenly raided Tasela’s mind. He quickened his pace to a sprint, worried. But why was he worried? What did it matter to him whether she was alright or not? 

He emerged from the forest, panting. The woman was sitting serenely at the shore of the pond, on the half that was encircled by the grassfield. The moon’s reflection on the pond shone brightly, coloring everything in a beautiful, ethereal silver. She was looking into the distance, her curly golden hair slightly ruffled and gently waving in the breeze. She seemed so tranquil; the glow of the pond and the light from the night sky accentuated her features. She was….beautiful.

Beautiful? No, why would he be thinking that? This is the strange human that had been tormenting him the past moon. And yet, he was entranced. Somehow, her scent seemed especially sweet tonight. He wanted to get closer to her.

The woman turned around upon sensing his presence. When she saw that it was him, she smiled brightly. It was such a beautiful smile; it was a moonlit smile that seemed to be blessed by the divine spirits. Tasela felt his heart skip a beat. His mind went blank, and for a moment, he felt lost in her smile and her enchanting sweet scent.

“You really came!” She exclaimed, standing up and brushing the grass off her dress. She started walking forward, her smile never leaving her face. Tasela took a step back. He didn’t know what was going on, but it was starting to scare him.

“I didn’t see you all day, so I thought ‘hey! Since the wolf really likes going to the pond, why don’t I try waiting for it there tonight!’. And so, here I am, haha.” She stopped a small distance away from him. She tilted her head and raised a hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, looking into the distance.

“I bet you didn’t expect that I was observing you as well, huh?” She turned back to him, a tint of meekness coloring her bright smile. 

Tasela’s heart was beating out of control. Why? Why was he suddenly feeling such strong emotions for this human? What was going on with him? Why was he suddenly feeling so allured to her? The angelic melody of her voice threatened to deafen him, the beauty of her smile threatened to blind him, and the sweetness of her scent threatened to drown him. Tasela was scared. He felt something start to surge from his throat. It was as if some words were trying to escape him, but he did not know what.

“I know you might be confused why I’m here.” She looked down shyly.

“I just….felt really lonely today. It gets lonely out here, alone on this ranch. I guess I got too used to your presence the past month. It felt a little empty, you know?.” She fidgeted a little in awkwardness, maybe because she felt awkward talking to herself, or maybe because the things she was saying were a little corny. She would never know, she would never imagine what the beast in front of her was feeling.

Every word, every movement, every expression pulled at Tasela’s heartstrings. He was entranced, bewitched; he felt himself sinking, with no way up. He felt queasy, his body was heating up. He started losing his breath. The feeling in his throat grew stronger. Something was trying to escape him.

“Um….So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that,” The woman fidgeted shyly, her hand playing with the strand of hair she’d tucked behind her ear earlier.

“I missed you.” She raised her head, showing him a loving smile.

Time stood still for Tasela. It felt like an explosion. Everything he’d been feeling up till this moment increased by tenfold. It overwhelmed him. This smile, no, this woman, she would be the death of him. He lost his breath. At last, the feeling that had been building up in his throat finally escaped him in a small whimper.

“Luna.”

At last, on the night of a bright full moon, Uncle Sunny fell in love with mommy.