by Eileen Wilks
In the woods behind the Delacroix home, a man sat on the snowy ground, leaning against a tree trunk. He was lean, with a compact body, neither especially tall nor short. He had a blade of a nose, a small dimple in his chin, and the high, harsh cheekbones of one of the People. His hair was like his height, neither short nor long, but it was definitely shaggy.
On this bright winter morning three days past solstice, he wore only jeans, boots, and a western-style snap shirt. He looked utterly relaxed sitting there in the snow, though his eyes were unfocused.
At the moment, he wasn’t using them. He’d borrowed some from a friend.
After another moment of stillness, merriment jumped into those dark eyes. He shook his head and laughed. Oh, such plans he’d had. He’d intended to walk up to the door, knock, and present himself in this body—a perfectly good body, and he’d missed it when that silly cub bungled his calling spell. He’d been looking forward to seeing their faces. Especially Benedict’s.
Once inside, he would have informed them he was there to complete the task he’d been called for. That was nonsense, of course, but they would have believed him. He was always believable—what kind of trickster would he be if he couldn’t manage that?—and he’d had the best of motives. Benedict was one of his people even if he was a part-time wolf, and Benedict had wanted so much to be accepted.
The plan had been to tell them he was acting as judge of Benedict’s relationship with Arjenie, then steer his witnesses—all of them, really, but especially those twins!—into explaining to him why Benedict was right for Arjenie. Then he’d have them explain why she was right for him. It was all quite obvious, but people were amazingly able to overlook the obvious if you didn’t give them a nudge.
Even him. He chuckled again and got to his feet. He wouldn’t be needed here, after all. That family pulled together just fine. But it was a nice day for a walk, a lovely, sunny day, and as he headed for the road he enjoyed the play of muscles and the sunshine, glad to be back in his favorite body. Maybe he’d find someone else who needed a little help.
Whistling softly, Coyote set off on the road, ready—happy—to lend a little of his special brand of help.
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