My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

Fern, Sawyer and Sage were all waiting in a group near Sylvia's shop when August and Greta arrived.

"Are you feeling better, Miss August?" Fern asked. She had big, curious brown eyes, and August smiled.

"I am one hundred percent better. Thank you," she replied. "Are you guys excited to try out some photography today?"

"Is it okay that it's going to rain?" Sawyer asked, looking at the sky.

"I think it's only going to sprinkle," Greta replied, following his gaze.

"And these cameras are great, because a little rain water won't hurt them. A lot of rain water probably won't hurt them either," August laughed.

August and Greta passed a camera to each pup, keeping one for each of themselves as well. After August showed them all the controls, they walked further into the market.

"So these are actually real cameras?" Sawyer asked, turning it over in his hands. "It looks like a toy."

"Yep, they're real alright. Just wait until you see the pictures," August winked at him.

The market was busy as usual. "Why don't we split up?" August asked Greta who stared back at her blankly. "If we're all in one group, the pups will all be taking the same pictures. We can let them wander around and do their own thing."

"But stay in the market?" Greta asked, making sure August wasn't planning on wandering off.

"Of course," August giggled. "I'll take Sage around and you take the other two?" Greta nodded, and they wandered off in different directions.

August found that Sage was pleasant to spend time with, and he was a fast learner. He ran around taking pictures of different things in the market, and along the way August showed him how to plan double exposures and add light leaks. Before she knew it, he was out of the three rolls of film they had brought along.

"I tell you what," August said, grabbing the focus ring of her digital camera and bringing it around from her side to hang in the center around her neck. She took the camera strap off and put it on Sage.

"How about we move on to the trickier stuff? The digital camera gives you so many more options and control over your pictures. But I'll show you some basic things for now. This is where you focus. Look through the viewfinder and turn it," she pointed to the little window on top.

"See how you can focus in like you couldn't do with your Holga? There are different lenses that allow you to focus even more than this one, and each lens is suited for different kinds of photography. I have a prime lens on mine right now, and this one is good for portraits," August explained.

Sage listened to every little detail, and August was impressed to find that he had a stellar memory. He could repeat a process on the camera that she had shown him, and when he took some sample shots on the big camera around the market, it was clear he had an artist's eye.

"The way you compose these photos is wonderful, Sage," she told him for him to grin widely. "I'm serious. You are a natural. Let's go see Woody and Clara," August told him quietly. "I'd like to try getting a good photo of them that we can give them to keep. I think they would really like that, don't you?" Sage nodded.

The two walked down to where Woody and Clara's booth was set up, and after capturing a few candid shots of the couple amongst their handwoven creations, August greeted them and asked if Sage could take a posed portrait. Woody acted a little shy about it, but after some insistence from Clara about how nice it would be to have a photo of them in the home and for their grandkids, they both agreed.

"Oh, all right," Woody finally relented, and the couple came to stand next to each other in the center of their booth behind a table stacked with fabrics.

August gave Sage some pointers on ways he could frame the couple in the shot. "Let's try a few further away and then some close up, and later we can see which we like best," she winked at the young boy with emerald eyes. He nodded and did just as she said.

"Thank you so much, Woody and Clara. Sage and I will play around with these a little and bring you a few to look over. Then you can decide which you like," August smiled when they were done.

"Thank you, dear. And thank you, young man," Clara patted the boy on the head. "Please take a scarf with you as thanks. This one here matches your beautiful eyes." Clara handed Sage a scarf with different shades of green. He gave her half a smile, seemingly unsure if he should accept it.

"Thank you, Clara. That's so kind. And look at how handsome you are," August smiled warmly and wrapped the scarf around Sage. "I suppose we should look for the others, huh?" Sage nodded in agreement.

After returning to the main market area, the two looked around to see if the rest of their group was anywhere near. While August was searching, she spotted a young girl feeding a black bird, and she stopped to watch. The girl was throwing something that looked like bread crumbs, and the bird was pecking them diligently from the ground. August nudged Sage and pointed silently for him to try capturing the interaction between the two.

"Let's see if we can get some photos of the crow. What do you think?" she asked, excitement arriving in her eyes as she gazed down at her young companion. Sage smiled back.

The two slowly walked forward after the young girl ran out of crumbs and scampered away. The crow hopped around, apparently looking for more to eat, before flying lowly and arriving at a further spot away from the market.. August and Sage followed, Sage with his camera poised, clicking away when he could get close enough.