Wolf-hunt

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 88807

Astra strained her memory, trying to remember how the game was played.

"Astra, you're 'it'! Get on the ground!"

Astra got into a crawling position, but still couldn't remember a thing. Then she saw Agra lean against the wall and start counting

"One Aquilaria, two Aquilaria, three Aquilaria..."

Then she remembered, she had until "twenty Aquilaria" to crawl to a hiding place, before Agra started chasing after her to tag her. She looked around, in the middle of the hallway there was a broom closet.

"...eight Aquilaria, nine... Astra! You better not be playing werewolf! That's cheating! ten Aquilaria, eleven..."

Astra again strained her memory. "Playing werewolf" was the name they gave when the person who was "it" got up and started walking, rather than crawling. It had come from a joke from their even littler sister Belinda, when they were arguing whether or not the "wolf" of the game was allowed to "walk on its hind legs", the very day after Anina had tried to scare her with a spooky story. Belinda had been four at the time; how old was she now? How old was Astra now?

"...sixteen Aquilaria, seventeen Aquilaria...."

The time was running out, and she hadn't moved. Agra was already getting suspicious. She had to play along. She crawled as fast as she could towards the door, but she hadn't even gotten half way there when Agra finished.

"nineteen Aquilaria, twenty! Ready or not, here I come!"

Astra tried to crawl faster. Did she usually lose at this game? How would Agra take it if she did? She looked back, Agra was walking calmly towards her. Why wasn't she running? Then she remembered; it was in the rules. The "hunters" weren't allowed to run so as to not put the "wolf" at too much of a disadvantage.

Then she noticed something, she was getting excited! She was actually having fun!

"I'm the fiercest wolf in Aquilaria!" cried out Astra, as she crawled through the hall. "Catch me if you can! Awooooo!"

Agra laughed. And it was a beautiful laugh. Astra hadn't heard her laugh for years, but it was so beautiful, that she forgot to worry about what year she was in.

"You can't catch me!" said Astra.

"Oh, yeah?" said Agra. "Well I'm the fastest hunter!"

Astra wasn't looking where she was going, she was bent over her shoulder listening to Agra's retorts.

"Well, I'm even faster!" called out Astra

"Well, I'm gaining on you!"

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Watch out!"

"Did she just say, 'watch out'?" thought Astra, but before she could turn to see what that meant, she ran straight into...