Wrath Unleashed

[sweety]

She fell.

Pain seared through her back as she landed upon the hallow bend between her shoulder bones... her fragile wings collapsed at her sides as she rolled a few paces before an outcropping of rock and brush stopped her increasing decent.

Releasing a grunt of discomfort and pain, she pulled herself up with vigorous strength and turned a snarling spitting expression upon the beast which pursued her. His eyes found her from above, and she quickly departed, launching herself over the outcropping to evade his own sudden plunge.
She heard him slam down behind her, his entire feline mass coming to grace the area she'd previously fallen. The cougar itself was unintelligable, but nonetheless it was formidable in its strength and could easily match her in brawn, agility, and experience. Normally, it would not take on such difficult prey as the young dragoness, but winter times had left the cliffsides and caves barren and empty... and almost any meal seemed easy to a hungry predetor. His hungry eyes pursued her over the edge, and she scrambled across the stone... trying to clear her mind, but finding no opportune moment to do it through the choas of the chase, and the wrath that was building within her. Instinctually she sent a pulse of energy through her feet and into the stone beneath her as she leap up into the air... stretching out her wings, she worked to hold them outstretched as she glided unceremoniously to a small ledge on the other side of a short ravine. The earth behind her, crumbled and shook... sending a cascade of pebbles and stones down to add another layer to the growing ravine.

Talon's scraped against granite as she landed--whirling about to catch sight of the cougar, but he had scrambled uphill to avoid the slide.

Unwilling to wait, she launched herself with nimble ease up the rocky slope and into the shallow crevace of a sunken hole. There she waited, clearing her mind as she remained out of sight...

It became blank within seconds... her breathing slowed, and her body became deathly still. AS stone.... stone... stone... stone... stone...

The couger resurfaced on her side of the ravine, without a prey in sight. Warily and hungrily it scoured the winds for her scent, and found nothing but a feint trace that lingered up towards the cave. Mad with rabid hunger... it pursued... passing by her niche in it's vain stupidity. She used the moment of his unawareness and broke from her silence, pushing out with her hindlegs and launching her waight into his side as her talons grabbed a foothold upon his back--wings, outstrethced to provide balance, as jowls attached the back of his neck. Her eyes filled with a venemous hunger, as her jaws broke skin and she began to salivate. It was all that was needed, releasing the wound at the back of the neck she threw her skull along with her weight backwards... pulling the snarling cat with her... she dragged it... throwing them both over the ravine ledge--the only terrapace between them and a thirty foot drop. Releasing the big cat, she pumped with her small underdeveloped wings to pull herself away from him and break her own fall, but the cat was not so easily out maneuvered. It swiped at her in vain, but failed to catch her body. Instead, it ripped through the thin, leather of her winged fingers. A startled scream echoed from her, and an unfullfilled wrath broke out in a fury... brought on by the infliction of pain.

Without the catch of the wind through an evenly set pair of wings, she began to spiral... but not before she caught the cat once more. Instead, of leaving her bacterial weapons to their work, she dug in with her talons and jaws, slicing and clawing, even as he continued to catch equal marks on her. It was a hard fight as they fell... but it did not last long... Seconds before impact, she found herself atop him, between his body and the ground.

Her broke her fall... and in return... the large predetory feline died from impact against the hard stone. She on the other hand, had the slight breaking of her tattered wings and his own cushioning body. But she still felt the jarring effects through her thin joints.

Scratches to her...
She tore into the dead flesh, ripping the muscle from bone and letting the blood splatter and soak the ground and herself... mingling with her own blood and wounds. She did not gorge, she barely ate. But she continued to vent, wrendering the starving animal's body a wreckage of mitilated carnage and scatter bones. The ravine was stained whole-heartedly with his blood, that Rai made sure to scatter to the wind.

Her hatred was momentarily satisfied...

________________________________________________


When she finished eating her full from the meat she had displaced among the ravine she stood, still breathing heavily from her toils. Only now, did she take the time to stagger back to a small ledge that stood out of the ravine face. Her limbs were sore to the very bones that supported them, and her body sported an assortments of cuts and lacerations that would threaten to kill a lesser being. Her left wing was nearly completely destroyed--and hung in tattered banners that fluttered painfully upon the viscious gales that struck across the mountain face. She sighed, feeling the loss of energy and feeling of dread that came with every outbreak of her wrathful nature. It was something she couldn't help and her sudden recklessness would one day cause serious problems she knew. What if the cougar had not been a surviving predetor? What if it had been a group of village boys, out for fun...? She did not condone their actions and still hated them for their vile sport... but in this peaceful age, she had no real desire to kill them. Yet, she knew there was that risk. What would keep her from releasing her wrath on them as she had upon the cougar? She was dangerous, she affirmed... she needed to be careful. She needed to mature. She knew control would come with maturity, but that was still several years away. She had nothing static in her life to keep her secure. How long before she became little more than a beast?

She sighed and let her body fall unceremoniously upon the grey rock--now stained red by her own clotthing blood flow. Resting her soiled maw upon her clawed fore's she let her eyes close in dreary desire for rest, that came from her wounds and from the languor from the feast. When she awoke, she would decide how to care for her own mutilated body.

[shay]

So it had been a fight. She placed two fingers in the pool of red liquid and brought them to her nose. Her keen senses took in the information from the blood and filled her head with facts. A cougar and some strange animal had fought here. By the look of the blood and marks on the rocks from there fight, they had took the thirty foot dive from the ledge she was kneeling on. Death was wafting in great waves from the darkness below, smelling like a meal. One had died. She could make out forms of rocks and a carcass below, along with another out of place mass.

One had lived. She listened closely, and for a moment she could pick out the heavy breathing of the creature. Another draft of air, more information for the young shape shifter. It was wounded, badly. The scent of fresh blood was to overwhelming, and the fall had been to great for it to live it unharmed. If she acted, she could have a fresh meal. But, she sniffed again, it had no scent of prey. The cougar didn't either. It was definitely a hunter, and hunters did not hunt other hunters, such was wolf law. Shay may have left all of her old life behind, but those laws were all she knew and so she followed them. There was no need to go after the creature, she would leave it be. But still....

She shifted her bent legs beneath her, ready at any moment in case she had to jump away. Hands had found places to rest on the rock, keeping her balanced as she peered over the ledge. Her long, silver hair was tied back with a strip of hide, keeping it out of her face. As she leaned forward slightly, ice blue eyes took in the form.

She should leave. The scent of the creature was unknown to her. It was wounded, and would be on its guard. But if she left she would have a potential threat wandering around, and sense the cave she had been calling home for the winter was nearby she could not let that happen. She had to do something, but what?

She cocked her head to the side, ice blue eyes flickering with curiosity. A thought crossed her mind, and a smile formed on her lips, showing pointed teeth. This winter had changed her, and she could tell by the fact she felt no urge to go down and help the creature. Sense she had crossed it off her list of food she had no wish to harm it, but if they had met in her past, she would already be down there tending to it. That thought made her want to laugh, and she raised a hand to brush dust of her hand made leggings. She had been such a fool.

But what she had been was not the matter at hand, what she should do was. She turned away and looked along the wall by the ledge. She spotted a outcropping eight feet away, about ten feet lower then her current place. Shay made a decision, and in one fluid motion she was up and taking a running leap. She easily covered the space between the ledge and the outcropping and with procession landed feet first on the rock. It held without complaining, and she let herself turn to look downward again.

She had made noise while doing that little stunt, enough to get attention. She would let the thing make the first move. If it attacked, she would end its life with an arrow through the throat from the quiver and bow on her back. She had no worry that she would miss her mark, she had shot from a much greater distance before and had hit with ease. If it let her be, maybe, if she was in a good mood, she would help the creature. But for now she crouched down again and placed one hand on the wall behind her, waiting.

[sweety]

She had but closed her eyes for mere moments, before she found her awareness pricked by a sudden approached. Blessed gifts of earth alerted her through the stone which she rested upon, and it was enough to put her wary--if weary--sense at guard.

The small gift was not enough to identify the approaching quarry, but atleast she knew something was near. She tried to make herself still, but the pulsing of her wounds prevented her from properly emptying her mind. She found herself an easy mark.

She shifted her weight, placing her limbs beneath her in case of quick action. She was wounded yes--in multiple places--but her legs could still work, and the soreness she could ignore. But kept her eyes closed... the earth knew all and thus she let it speak to her. Nothing could hide. The arrival was cautious and moved slowly from place to place. The stone directed the black dragon to a height several feet up; same place where she had plunged with the feline. Aprehension filled her, but her stiff limbs and tired body prevented her from moving--her senses also cautioned her. It was better to appear dead or incapacitated than to appear the threat.

Indeed, she was far more dangerous than she looked... for she was young, but past pains had made her callous to injury, and if the need arose she could still defend to a point, or atleast make a fair attempt to injure and flee. Even for her young and small size, she was formidable enough...
Now, her attention never wavered from the approaching menace, however... she was taken aback when suddenly she sensed nothing. The soil had nothing to share, and her awareness was broken--only to be sharply reawakened in an opposite side of the ravine nearly ten feet lower than the original presence.

Unable to remain as docile, she opened yellow slitted eyes and a deep warning hiss played from her throat as she raised her head proudly from it's bearings... fixing a cold glare upon the intruder. She found herself observing a humanoid of some kind, that bore a strange scent with a musky odor like that of a furred mammal. Rai could not ascertain if the girl before her was human, or merely an image of a human... but either way, Raiden was resentful.

Feeling threatened, she raised herself upon sore legs, and presented herself squarely at the full four feet she presently stood from earth to shoulder. Her ledge was near even to that of the new presence and stood maybe eight feet away. It was a distance, she could easily cover, but one which she had no motivation to do so, and so no proper intent. Besides, she was indeed, wounded in several places, and another fight would simply be unhealthy.
She resorted herself to anger and retaliation if she needed, but not before them.

Lowering her head, she continued to hiss threateningly as she backed up slowly, finding a small sloping ascent to a higher more secure level. Taking her eyes off the girl momentarily, she found her foothold, and began to pull herself up--talon's scraping against the stone with a harsh grating sound as she labored to a high ridge, but a mere seven feet up. She averted her gaze back to the young woman, whom she now noticed possessed a weapon that proved useful at a distance.

Her shredded wing dragged uselessly behind her as she found her new standpoint, and stood their defiantly... as if daring the girl to try and overtake her. She had weapon's enough, that a human body could not hope to subdue her without recieving due harm.

Opening up her mind, she reached out to the confident humanoid and spoke briskly upon a telepathic channel, which was her only means of language beside the vocal sounds of the draconic kin.
Her words were blunt and blatant, but did not provoke or encourage war between the two, "Go away."

It was matter of fact and reflected her true desires. For Raiden never felt the impulse to be kind of generous in words unless she truly felt the emotion behind it. She spoke her mind, and right now... she would be perfectly content and prefer to be left alone as she always was and always would be. To her human's only brought trouble, and she didn't like to be near them and didn't trust them worth as far as she could throw them.
So, with intentions still masked... to her this strange new arrival who watched Raiden with such intensity only made the youthful drake uncomfortable.
So, Rai stood firmly behind her request, obsidian scales glistening in the winter noon sun; eyes narrowed, stubborn, and strong, whilst her good wing stood perched, poised, and erect as if ready to fly-- as useless as flight was at this point, it was still a natural part of her expression. Body language was her key communitant.

[shay]

Shay was undaunted by the hisses from the creature. They reminded her of the wild cats in the forest when you annoyed them. Instead she let out her own growl, one deep from her chest that bounced off the walls so it sounded like more then one animal was in the cave. She bared her teeth as if she was in wolf form and stood her ground. For, in Shay's mind, this was her territory. She had been here all winter, and was not about to give it up.

She watched with cold eyes as the thing backed away from her and pulled itself to higher ground, hissing all the way. It dragged its wings on the ground, they looked broken and mangled from the fight with the cougar. Good, so it couldn't fly. She saw it was reptilian, for she could pick out each scale ripple as it moved, even in the dim light. Talons scraped against stone, and Shay found herself flexing her fingers, wishing she had her claws. It starred at her cold with sharp yellow eyes, ones filled with hate and determination. Shay met them with ice blue ones.

She could tell it did not want her here, what with its body language and continued hissing. But Shay was far from happy about the creature as well. It was causing her trouble, trouble she wished she did not have to deal with. Well, only partly. The part that was always wolf within her was hoping for a good fight. Another low growl to respond to its hisses, like a wolf in a bad mood. She shifted her feet under her and stood once again to her full height, one hand still behind her to keep her well balanced on the ledge. She was tall, and knew how to square her shoulders, raise her head, and plant her feet so she looked forbidding.

When she felt the thing touch her mind she was taken aback slightly but recovered in an instant. She had felt this before and was not new to the feeling. The words were as cold as the hisses, but Shay wasn't fazed. She replied in wolf tongue, which sounded like nothing more then growls to the creature. But then she moved back to common tongue, and growled. "I don't take commands from something half dead." The words bit as much as her jaws would have.

She pushed stray silver strands behind her pointed ears, never taking her eyes off the creature. She felt the urge to change, to let the wolf take over and show whose territory the thing had crossed into. But even though the creature was clearly hurt it looked like it was ready for a fight, and would go down kicking. Shay didn't want a nasty injury to deal with in the middle of winter. She had to stay in this form, and attack with her bow. She let her gaze trail over the creatures body, picking out points that, with a direct hit, would cause instant death.

They were at a stand still. The creature was clearly making a stand, and Shay wasn't going anywhere.

[sweety]

This human was a strange one--one that growled as a beast, and snarled like a dog. She had her own secrets, and Rai accepted that. Yet, she still felt that the commanding and dominant girl was not giving her the respect she dutifully deserved. She'd done no wrong to the human, and yet it was if trouble was clawing at her, looking to make play in a dangerous game. On any other day, Rai would happily oblige, but a certain caution had succombed her this afternoon due to previous entanglements.

Continueing to growl and snarl in low warning notes, she took the other's aggression with unphased eyes. It would appear that both were just as stubborn as the other, and just as the human did not back away--neither did Rai. She was wary, no doubt... but her reckless inability to negotiate from a battle intelligently always played a part in her conversations. As it did so here...

The humanoid's reply only riled her. Head lowered into a dangerous position as the frills upon her spine bristled and spiked--displaying the contrasting, venomous, white within the scarred web. Her body collected, as if to leap... but she held herself and her whole demeenor suddenly changed, as if a switch had been flipped.
Her head relaxed and her whole posture became less tense as even the hissed and snarling ceased. A silence suddenly echoed from her, and even her eyes reflected a sudden an eerie calm.
Half-dead, aye?

Suddenly the earth shook with a devestating pulse that surged from several feet below her and rippled down the mountainside and across the ravine--dissipating several meters beyond where the new arrival stood. Rocks screamed their agony and discomfort leaping from their footholds and cascading the the ravine floor below before settling back into silence. Dust lifted into the air, and disturbed snow gusted across the surface of the mountain. Beneath them, cave tunnels switched direction and hallowed tombs suddenly grew dense with stones.

Even Rai moved nonchalantly from her position, rising another five feet above her previous position, to evade any unsteady crumbling, though the initial strike did not rupture towards herself. For even after the initial impusle, a reverberating aftershock continued to echoe subtly through the granite--a beacon like that of static, which made the ground around them weary and unstable as the rocks attempted to reposition themselves into concrete arrangements.

Again, Rai demanded--her words touched by a little more force, and a newfound vigor. She had more than brawn beneath her stength, and she had a mind clever and strong-willed... enough to linger past what her body could nolonger attempt.
Again she touched the human's mind, though tempted to use her own tongue to mock as the girl had, she resisted the impulse.
"Go away."
Raiden still felt as if she was being underestimated, and it was a feeling she didn't appreciate...
She resorted back to her low threatening hiss and stubborn posture. If only to re-establish the image...

[shay]

For a moment Shay thought that the thing was just going to stand there and hiss at her. She gave an inward groan. She hated not dealing with anything that wasn't a wolf. Wolves knew each other, and even if they were from different corners of the world there were ancient rules that every single one followed. She didn't want to fight this thing for food, and she didn't want to fight it because she found some sick pleasure from killing. But she had claimed this area as hers for the winter, and she wasn't going to let anything change that.

Her thoughts stopped short.

Shay felt it a moment before it hit. A change in the air, a shift in the earth, a new emotion in the creature before her. The wolf inside her gave a cry of warning in her head just as the shock wave hit, and Shay launched herself into the air at full speed, shooting high before she let the change take over. The elf's time was over, it was the wolf's turn now. To a wolf, things had just got interesting.

Two legs replaced four, fur covered her body, muscles rippled under the skin, teeth grew to fangs, and as gravity claimed her the wolf used the energy from her take off to maneuver herself through the air. She landed on a ledge to the right of her previous one, staying only a moment before a rock crashed onto it, crumbling the outcropping instead of her. She moved like this slowly up the wall until finally the aftershock died and she could safely rest on a crevice at the original thirty feet she had started at.

She touched down without a sound, and once she was sure her spot would hold she sat, wrapping her furry white tail around her paws. She shook herself slightly to get the dust out of snow white fur, her large ears twisting back and forth as she listened to the rocks settle and the ravine calm once more. She was still tense, waiting to see if another shock would come. But when the earth seemed still she let her muscles relax, though the adrenaline was still pumping through her.

She turned crystal blue eyes back down toward the dragon, though this time she did not return the hisses. The sound of its voice echoed in her head once more, the same two words, the same feelings behind them. She shook her head. "Takes a lot to get more then just that emotion out of you." She drawled. "Pity." She stood slowly, shifting her paws ever so slightly before she leapt gracefully and landed on newly created ledge ten feet down. She sat again and gave the creature a blank stare.

Her emotions had fled, her mind much more calmed in her wolf form. It always was. In this form she could see things much more clearly without the weaknesses and insolence of her elf blood. And what the wolf saw now was that she was facing something that was as stubborn as she was, and a battle with it would not end well for either side.

"Like I said before, I don't take orders." She continued. "And I could still debate the half dead remark, but I really don't see the point." She cocked her head to the side, giving the creature a questioning look. "Now, either we could continue this, ending in one of us getting killed and the other seriously injured, or you could accept the fact that I am going nowhere and and we can stop this."

[sweety]

She raised her head up, but allowed her consistant rumblings to cease. She was aprehensive of the changling's offer and didn't understand how someone willing to kill you was also willing to help. Stubbornly, she didn't want the help, and didn't want to acknowledge that she needed it. She did however, much prefer the wolf--though it wasn't much consolation considering it still was once in a humanoid form.

She grumbled beneath her breath and broke her eye contact with the white-furred creature that lazed several feet beneath her. It's confidence annoyed her, but then again she was no different. She sighed and looked up towards the sky--so pale and livid with the scent of winter. She wasn't sure what decision to make. She was too tired to leave or struggle back up the mountainside--or down it for that matter. Yet, it would appear that though trouble-making, the shapeshifter before her was willing to assist. Of course, no thanks to her words, Raiden's descision remained illusive.
The stalemate had been reached, and Rai had no choice by to accept the terms else her own health was at stake.

She turned distasteful eyes upon the wolf, but sighed in subtle defeat.
"Fine." she hissed stubbornly across the inherant link she'd established mind-to-mind with the wolfen changling. She had only a few words to spare for the other, as she didn't like the girl's teasing and condescending vocab, and felt no need to converse or return verbal fire. Call it stupid, and perhaps her recklessness was a flaw in her being, but it was still her personality and it wouldn't change, no matter how much someone barated it.

Accepting the shifter's will to assist, she stopped all sounds of threat and warning and gently looked for a place to descend. Finding no easy path she gave up and settled herself where she was. Blood-stained maw was slightly agape, as stained jaws made one final stand-off against the world. It was not a threatening gesture, and the slit in her jawline was not wide enough to make any form of suggestive bite, but it was ready dare to say the need would arise. She didn't trust the wolf any more than she assumed it trusted her, and so, she remained ready to bite and retaliate if treachery lurked ominously around the bend.

Her body was tired and was glad for the rest, and she took the time to truly assess what was wrong. Her wing, was the major factor. The feline's deadly claws had hit the mark well, and the main fan's were ripped and tattered in all angles. It was utterly useless and would take months to heal under normal circumstances. The multiple bruises that lined her limbs, shoulders, and chest were miniciple comparatively and she paid them no mind. A deep gouge across her side would prove formidable, but the majority of attacks had been received around the neck and chest area which was projected by sturdy inches of armored plating meant to deflect such deadly blows. Nonetheless, the sharp needle-eye talons of the cat had left deep impressions in the plating, and the bone structures were indented in multiple areas. Some would probably never fill in completely. And the last thing she noted regretably was the fan at the end of her long, whip-line tail. A base ridge that allowed her to expand and collapse the fanned skeleton was mangled and hung limply, on it's end, where the bone had been broken. She cursed it and looked away, relishing in the refreshing gale of the wintry summit, before turning her gaze to watch the wolf with wary attention. She was ready for trickery, but begged that it would not come. She truly did not have the motivation to deal with it.

[shay]

Shay gave the creature a calm, fang glittering grin, and then in the flicker of a second the wolf was gone and the elf had returned, perched where the animal had been. She stood so she was at her full height, and gracefully leapt down from her perch, landing easily on the jumble of rocks below. She moved forward at an easy pace, but slow enough so there would be no sudden movements to startle the creature.

When she reached the other wall she maneuvered easily up to where the thing still rested, taking her pack from her shoulders as she did. when that was done, she leaned back slightly, now able to take in the wounds at a closer angle. The slash to her side she could mend, and she had an ointment for the bruises that lined her body. But her wing, on the other hand, she could do very little for. She had never dealt with something like this, and had no clue how to speed the healing of the paper thin material.

But it couldn't be helped, so she would do what she could. She raised both her hands in the air, like she was surrendering, and said firmly. "Don't bite me." After the warning, she reached out slowly, and began to examine the wound on her side. Her words were harsh, her teeth sharp, but amazingly her hands were extremely gentle. She had been healing injuries for so long she knew how to examine a wound and cause as little pain for her patient as possible.

"This is deep." She said seriously. "I have something to clean the wound and then I can fill it in to prevent infection and more blood loss." She reached into her pack and pulled out a pouch made to hold liquid with a cork on the end. She also grabbed something wrapped in many leaves, which she revealed to be a yellowish paste of some kind. She popped open the pouch and turned back to the creature. "This is going to sting like hell, but it will clean out the wound." She waited a moment after saying this, then reached forward and carefully poured the liquid onto the gash.

The air filled with the scent of herbs, such a familiar scent, and Shay pulled away quickly, examining her work to make she she hadn't missed a spot. She then recapped the pouch and got a scoop of paste with her fingers. "This will work like a scab. I made it myself, and its made to stay, and will protect the wound till the body heals itself." She kept telling the creature what she would do for two reasons. The obvious one was that she did not want to do something that startled it, which would end up with her missing a hand. The second was she had alway felt comforted when she knew what was being done to her. When she worked on someone, she always tried to return the favor.

She reached out slowly and in an instant had the wound covered with the paste. It took only a little bit to get the job done, and as she was wiping off her hands with a spare piece of hide from her pack she could see that it was already hardening and providing a protection to the wound. "It should sting for only a few moments, but I added a numbing herb that will sooth that in a short time."

She reached into her bag again and pulled out a bunch of leaves. They were small and shaped like a rain drop, and had were a light shade of green. She began to crush these with her fingers, releasing the liquid from inside. "These leaves here have a natural salve in them that will help with your bruises." She then put some on all the bruises she could see, using extremely light touches to prevent pain. "It should actually dull the ache instead of cause more."

The last thing she did was pull out a single red leaf that reached from the tips of her fingers to the start of her wrist, and was highly contrasting color to the others which had all been different shades of green. "I can't do anything for your wings or tail I have never seen anything like them so I don't want to cause more damage on accident. But if you eat this, it should help your blood clot. You've lost a lot of blood already, and losing anymore from those wounds could weaken your system." She placed the leaf on the ground so it was within easy reach of the creature, and then turned away to pack up her things.

When she had everything carefully put away she leapt down, giving the thing some space. She settled on the jumble of rocks which was now the bottom of the ravine. She did not look up at the creature immediately, but instead went shifting around in her pack till she found what she was looking for. She pulled out an old piece of deer jerky and began to munch on it, soothing the ache in her stomach.

"My name is Shay." She said in between bites. "Half elf, half shape shifter." She took another bite and swallowed, then asked. "What are you? I have never seen or smelled something like you before."

[sweety]

In a flicker of a moment, the wolf was gone and the humanoid returned. Still not sure exactly what to call the shifter, the inexperienced dragonling merely watched with wary attention as the young woman ascended the tarapace.
She came up to the ebony dragon's side and issued a plea for Rai to with hold her needle-point jawline. She affirmed the request with a resonant clack as her maw snapped contently shut and only nodded as she watched the girl curiously. Her own yellow eyes were interested and held fast to what the girl was doing--long serpentine neck bent nimbly around to view the gouge as the assisting young woman did.

She noted the gentle hands, and was grateful for them, but she still didn't have to like the girl much--she still didn't. Yet, she felt the feeling was rather mutual. She flinched slightly as a nerve reacted the the investigation the girl was conducting. However, it was a minor pain and gone as soon as it came, leaving only a trace of its venom behind it.
Tired of watching, Raiden looked away and rested her head upon the top of her clawed talons which stuck out before her, listening to the shifter's words without reply. She accepted them, and kept her tongue quiet. Though uncomfortable with human-like hands about her, she controlled the impulse to move away or retaliate from any pain that was inflicted upon her. Old habits died hard, but she was able to differentiate between help and harm.

Thus when the burning, cleansing sensation of the unknown liquid seeped into her flesh, she tensed but did not cry out, flinch, or retaliate in any way. she was accustomed to the bite of discomfort, and thus she let it settle in the back of her mind, where it throbbed painfully, but did little harm to her mindset or thinking capacity. With it there, she could focus on other things.

Like the "medicine" that was placed before her. She eyed it in distaste, she was not much of a herbivore and rarely touched any sort of vegetation. The leaf itself was unappealling but the method behind it complelled her to allow her jaw to part. Deep crimson tongue slipped out to catch the colored foliage--dragging it in as sharp insiscors attempted to chew it. It wasn't easy, the thin malleable material easily slipped through the creases of her jaw and being unable to rotate her jaw side to side as humans could, she could only wildly snapp her jaws and toss her head in order to finally force it down.

Finished with it, she looked frustratingly towards the elfen girl as if to blame her for the trouble. But it was an idle look, and held no real threat or dislike. With a sigh she listened to the introduction and tossed within her mind the decision to release her own name and breed. She didn't see any point in hiding her identity, she had nothing to hide, and it was not as if dragons were that far out of the ordinary.

Settling herself more comfortably, the dull throbbing and pain distant and fading, she released a heavy sigh of contentment and looked with calm eyes towards the newly aquired Shay.
It didn't bother her that the girl was a half elf and assumably of water, Raiden held no grudges against the other nations... if anything she should hate Earth... yet she found herself enthralled by Borran's ways and ensnared by his given talents--whose origins she still didn't know. She was just glad she was not dealing with a human--who due to past experiences--has become an enemy by association to the once captive drake.
In words, far gentler then before, but still brisk with old and fading distase, she replied; "My name is Raiden, and I am a dragon shifter."
Besides that she didn't know how to reply, and did not like the sound and battering roar of an uncomfortable silence, so she quickly turned about her mind for question to ask in return. One came hotly to mind.
"Why were you so responsive to my presence?" the tone was harsh and slightly accusing. It was a question she'd forgotten and now wanted answered.
True enough it was far from polite, and didn't mask any of the true emotion attached to the words, but unfortunately the reckless dragoness was not known for her wisdom or leashed tongue. She spoke her mind as she felt it, and if she held no guard towards hiding the meaning of her words and the feelings inside her head. Again, Rai never did really make good company.

However, for once in her life she caught herself and realized the position she was in. Whatever the girl's reasons were, the shifter had assisted her, and now seemed interested in mutual conversation--polite conversation say the least. She shouldn't have snapped so.

"Sorry... but I'd still like the know." the words were stubborn and the apology was slightly forced. Her tall pride was wounded in having to so, and her stubborness fought hard to take back the words. Still, she remained true to her question. She did want to know why the girl was willing to risk death to remain and confront her--though comparitively, Rai would have had the harder time of it.

[shay]

Shay turned her attention fully back on the dragon as she gave her her name. Raiden, a dragon shifter, this was interesting. Shay had met no other shifter of any kind except for her father. Interesting. But her idle thoughts were broken as the dragon voiced a question, sounding angered.

Shay felt slightly hurt at the emotions in the dragons voice. Hadn't she just helped her? Why did she deserve this harshness? She was about to make a retort when the dragon beat it to her. Shay expected more angry words, and was taken aback when she actually voiced an apology. Now Shay was torn. She wanted to accept the apology, but her pride shouting that she should not give in that easily.

She was leaning toward a snappy remark, when the wolf stepped in. Shay was still uneasy about this new feeling. Before, Shay had never noticed the difference between the wolf's mind and hers. Her body had changed, yes, but her mind was still basically the same. But now, it was like she saw things in a new light, with new thoughts and emotions. And now the wolf was stepping in when she was a elf, which was a very big change.

The wolf felt that there was no reason to be angered with the dragon. The elf had to pick her battles, and this one wasn't worth fighting. If she left it be, she would show she was willing to talk. And Shay did want someone to talk to. This winter had been the longest time she had ever been on her own. The loneliness was really beginning to eat her away.

So she focused on the words, and not the emotions behind them. It was an easy enough question to answer, though she was not sure it would make sense to the dragon. "I was hostile because you were another hunter in my territory. I am more wolf then elf, and that was how I acted. Until I could name you something besides threat, I was going to be hostile."

She starred up at the dragon, her face blank. She was glad to see the dragon had eaten the leaf. She also noticed that she seemed less defensive, and maybe would be more open to talking now. She cocked her head to the side, giving the dragon a questioning look. "Same question for you. Why were you so defensive when you saws me?"

Her voice was only questioning, and held no other emotion behind the words. She really was only curious. Raiden was not wolf, so she did not have the same reasoning that Shay had. So what had made her hostile at first sight?

[sweety]

Raiden accepted the explanation with an apologetic nod of her head, however she couldn't relate. Though a hunter herself, her instincts were still muted by young age, and she was not yet the aggressive and territorial dragoness she would soon become. Her future was unscertain to her, and beyond instinct she knew very little about the way things worked in reality. She really had no expressive control, and as she had already previously demonstrated she had no self control either. She spoke when she felt it necessary and never once did she consider the effect of her words until after they had left her mind. It was a reckless aspect of her nature that many and all young offspring had, but unlike herself many had some sort of mentor to lead them through and provide disipline when needed. Raiden had no such mentor or guardian, and now... after what had happened in past years... she would probably never take a reprimand well without retaliating with her own vigor and unbeaten pride. Her freedom had destroyed her with a wound inflicted by her past.

She suddenly fell from her thoughts as Shay inquired the same question with calm, unphased eyes. Rai briefly wondered at the emotion behind the words, but it quickly passed as she tried to concoct an answer.
Meanwhile, silence filter in at an uncomfortable rate, as the ebony colored drake shifted her weight to lay comfortably upon her good side, letting her black scales soak in the faint light of the wintry afternoon sun. She was finally at ease in the conversation and believed that Shay probably meant her no harm at this particular moment. Rai had nowhere she needed to be, and her body was sore enough to find contentment in basking on the rocks--though stained and red.

She did not know how to answer the young elf. To speak the truth was to open up a shallow grave, dug to bury the spirit of a broken past. She didn't really want to explain to the girl that at the sight of a human, she felt anger aprehension, and dislike. That when in contact with a human, she'd rather kill it than let it gain her trust, or offer her aid. And of course, to admit that would lead to more admittances, and Raiden really did not want to delve into such sorrows. She looked softly towards the shifter, nolonger the human she once saw, and her slitted eyes were not as cold, not as harsh, but held unscertain that wavered between fact and falsehood.

To lie was utterly foolish. Rai wasn't good at hiding her emotions and thus, made for a bad liar. But since when did she care. Deciding to skirt the truth just a little, her eyes lost the unscertainty and found a new confidence that quickly echoed across the silent channel between them.
"I dislike humans. They have no faith and live off their own ambitions--they know only greed and power." Her words were thick with an angry bitterness, that reflected towards the "human" word. They were not directed towards Shay, though they may be interpretted that way. She looked apologetically towards the dirt at her feet, finding it scarred with the impressions of her talons, "Until proven, I thought you as Human."

She wasn't sure how the elves viewed humans and their behavior, but she was sorry to have compared Shay to such a low creature. Raiden, would never like them. It was a scar that no ointment could heal, and it was a hatred that would live on forever in the young dragon's heart. It sickened her to know that--though capable of shifting into any animalia's shape--she could only successfully master the human impression. Was the reason, not many saw her as a shifter--the reason why she was always a dragon.

Now as for the rest of her shattered past, that was still hers for now. And only a deep probing could force her to utter such curses. They were linked to such savage emotions and wrathful anger, that she dare not pry into them even now in her memory, without risking a ruined conversation between the two.

Suddenly she whispered in soft tones that echoed in Shay's mind, "Do you live out here?"

It was a curious question and didn't seem to have much foundation or direction, but it was Raiden's only attempt to settle her curiousity and--more importantly--change the direction of conversation, which could only lead to the raising of that shallow grave.

[shay]

Shay turned her gaze from the dragon as she spoke, watching her hands fiddle with a rock in her lap instead. The dragon's hate, she noticed, matched her own. They shared the same loathing for those creatures. If it weren't for humans, her father and mother would live. If it weren't for humans, she wouldn't be a murder. "If it wasn't for humans I would have a lot of things."

She hadn't noticed she had said that last part aloud till she had finished the sentence, and closed her mouth with a snap. Her eyes grew wide in surprise, and a hint of color flushed her face in embarrassment. Why had she said that? This was opening wounds that should be left alone, digging up things that had taken her all winter to bury under coldness and snow. There was no need to undue all that work.

So when the dragoness changed the topic she jumped on it, but found it not much better. In truth, yes, she did live here. But behind that there was so much more. "I have lived here ever sense winter set in. Usually I am a wanderer, but it is very hard to travel during this season. And due to....past problems, I have found it easier to stay in one place."

She was hiding, plain and simple. She was hiding from a lot of things. From her adopted parents, who she could no longer look them in the eye. From her first love, who she could no longer bare to even think about. And from those green eyes, who haunted her past and her dreams like ghosts. If she stayed here, the endless caves and harsh weather could keep it all away. But as the dragon was proving that was all coming to an end at a very fast pace. For as winter ended, so did her protection.

These thoughts were making her very depressed, and angered. She found herself suddenly on her feet and pacing back and forth, maneuvering easily through the loose rocks. All the pent up emotion was getting the better of her, and she needed to burn it off. But after a few moments of pacing everything settled down, and she was slumped back in her old pace as quickly as she had risen.

She threw and apologetic glance at the dragon; that had probably looked really odd. She grabbed blindly for something, anything to talk about. They were already making the list extremely short. "Why, of all things, did you go after a cougar?" She finally said, going back to a simple question she had first thought of when she had seen the blood. "I know this has been a hard winter, but that would be a little desperate."

[sweety]

Raiden was neither blind nor ignorant, and she noted the elf's change in demeanor as soon as the calm shifted towards a more angered note. Uncomfortably with the new tension that filled the air, Rai tensed slightly. But only truly became uncomfortable when Shay stood and began to unexpectantly pace.

Rai was confused, and didn't understand. She rumbled with unscertainty and shifted her weight--putting her feet back beneath her. From Shay's previous words, she knew that the girl wasn't reacting to Rai's opinion against humans due to Shay own reaction and affirmation to the judgement.

However, Shay was soon finished with whatever had possessed her and uttered an apology that the hesitant Rai acknowledge by falling back on her side in most comfortable position she had since found. She would have questioned the pacing if she was still not preocupied with accessing Shay's latest answer--the affirmation as to why the girl chose to live here.

Raiden could understand it, isolation was her own chosen discipline, but even she--the spitfire and stubborn, unruly dragoness desired company every once and while--this being one of those rare times. She nodded her understanding, but had no more ideas for any real conversation. Rai had no home to open up, she wandered where she needed to be, or where she felt like goining, and never once did she considering the consequences of her path. The world was open and free as far as she truly knew, and the lack of war and bloodshed in this current time led her to believe that for all extents and purposes it was fine enough to traverse between lands as long as one did not cause or search for trouble.

Suddenly Shay asked a question that Rai found quite insulting. Desperate?! Raiden was never desperate and knew her own strengths well enough to avoid a cougar or other larger beast. The beast had found her--it had been desperate, not her. She sulked silently for a moment, and flicked her wounded tail indignantly before realizing the discomfort that lingered their. Silently scolded herself she turned a wounded pride upon Shay. It was a little incredulous and the words were a little heated--how could the elf think such a thing. She was a dragon, not a scavanger and would not sink to such levels as to hunt prey she could not easily handle. She was still young and knew she could not overpower a full-grown adult male cat.
"It came after me! I merely defended myself. When it wound up dead, I merely made good of the resources that natural selection provided for me."

Her whole body seemed to inflate with the words as her damaged ego attempted to rebound and fill the gap.
"Desperate, indeed..." she muttered softly, more to herself than to shay.

Her head wandered away from the girl, to focus on something else--anything else. Her fans along her spine ruffled themselves, before settling contently against her back once more, as she sighed in a huffed manner. She wasn't angry really, but she did feel insulted.
NEarly ready to retaliate by begging to Shay to divulge her reason for pacing, Raiden held her tongue, realizing that there was probably no need to be viscious. There really was no need...

She sighed and turned to Shay, her eyes calm, her voice a touch brisk, but more matter of fact. "I am not desperate."
Why she needed to continously repeat the fact was more for her own benefit so as to avoid her own inner mind dwelling on the possibility that she had--at times--showed some desperation. Dare say, this incident had not been one of them, but she could remember earlier years when she would kill, just to kill, when she would gorge even when she wasn't hungry. They were years long past, back when her future was still clouded and bleak, back when she was told when to eat, when to drink, even when to breath and sleep. Such times had made her the unpredictable scourge that she now was, and only her own isolation and inner contemplations were pulling her out of it--along with the fact that she couldn't move much with the soreness still pulsing through her body. Luckily for her, the elfin maiden's help had proved worth the truce as Raiden did feel better, and an allievement of her suffering was slowly cresting it's climax before the decent towards recovery.

[shay]

Shay felt her own stubbornness rise at the sharp words from the dragon. Her body tensed and her eyes harden, but at the last second she bit her tongue, both mentally and physically. The wolf was back, literally forcing her to calm down. There was no battle here, no need to attack. Understand, reflect, retreat, and try again.

Shay wanted to heave a sigh, but thought better of it, and instead let her body relax once more into its comfortable state. She felt she had already been to understanding and was making herself look weak. The wolf entered again, telling Shay the dragoness was doing the same thing. She too had bit back words, and had even voiced an apology. In wolf culture, she should meet politeness with politeness, and understand there were some weak points that could be hit unintently. If she didn't, was she truly no better then a human?

That made Shay look up at the dragon and say in a apologetic voice. "My apologizes, I met no offense." Her voice and body language showed her words were truthful, and she went as far as to ignore the muttering coming from the dragon, guessing they really weren't for her benefit.

Instead she turned her head upward, shifting her senses to a broader range. She could smell the fresh air coming into the ravine, and faintly in the distance the sound of the moving branches on the trees farther down the slope. She frowned slightly, cocking her head to the side. The wind was picking up, she could tell by the sound. Her attention fully turned to the weather, ignoring the dragon completely as she stood, looking toward the sky.

The scent on the wind was cold and wet, with a rough mineral smell from the rocks. The wolf was alert as well, and her amazing keen senses was telling the elf that the very pressure was changing around them. It was dropping at an alarming rate, and was pointing toward one thing.

Damn.

"There's a storm coming, a big one." Shay said quickly, grabbing her pack and pulling it back onto her shoulders. "Its going to be here soon, and I don't know this cavern well enough to know if it will offer effective shelter." She took a running leap and was on a ledge fifteen feet up, still looking toward she sky. From her new position she could get a good view of the sky above, and what she saw confirmed her suspicions. Above them great dark clouds were swirling at an alarming rate, threating a great storm.

She turned back toward the dragon and said. "If you can come with me and we hurry, we can make it to my cave which will protect us till this storm dies."

[sweety]

The blue dragoness accepted Shay's apology with a nod of her head, realizing too late that perhaps her harsh tone had not been needed. She sighed inwardly and looked away from the girl--focusing on something beyond her point of vantage. She was serene and torn between herself. She did not want to linger here any longer than she had to, but it would seem that fate had different plans for her, and indeed she could not challenge that which was older than herself. Besides, even if she needed to she could not go far, and this frustrated her—a creature used to the pleasures of free movement… and eventually free flight. She looked forward to the day, when she could view the world from the sky. But her adolescence still prevented it, and surely now she could not even try.

Suddenly, drawing her out of her thoughts, she felt a cold breeze brush against her sensitive scales. A change in the air caught her attention as it did Shay’s. Raiden was no fool, and though young, she was still sensitive to nature’s beckons. She too knew of the storm, before Shay brought it out into the open.
Raiden didn’t look forward to its coming. She could move certainly, and a previously ventured ledge and niche appealed to her as she gathered her sore bodice to stand. Pain lanced up her side, but she paid it little mind as it faded away from the initial strike. Her bruised body objected strongly to the movement, but she ignored its pleas for rest, and began to ready herself for a troublesome decent.

It was just before she began to travel that Shay kind offer reached her ears. Not being one to hold back true emotion, Raiden actually took the time to consider the offer—every inch of it. The niche she had in her mind would provide shelter enough, she felt… true there could be better places, but she did not know where Shay’s cave was, nor did she know if she truly wanted to reside in the changeling’s home. She weighed the two options, but found Shay’s abode the much more logical answer to safe lodging for the duration of the impending system. She decided the gamble was worth the journey, and turned herself about to climb stiffly towards Shay’s new vantage point. It took a little over a minute for her to successfully crest the summit.

Nonetheless, she raised herself proudly and her eyes dared Shay to say something about her sluggish pace. However, though she wouldn’t openly admit it to the girl, Rai respected her for her generosity—even if it came about in a slightly rude and condescending matter. Raiden could not ignore such mercy, and would probably never forget the girl’s willingness to assist in the end.
Granted this is not to say, she fully trusted Shay at this point… but she felt in her mind that at least a mutual understanding had been established. After all, if it had not, then Raiden doubted Shay would have ever considered offering the invitation.

Looking towards the sky, she enlarged her nares and breathed deep—ignoring the subtle pains that came from filled lungs. Her body was tired, but the sudden gales against her skin, the fresh scent within the air… it put a burning in her heart and filled her with an emotional freedom that tugged at the fibers of her soul. Oh how she wished to could fly upon such wild winds, such untamable seas of blue fire… she wished it and knew one day it would come—one day she would stand more than the meager four feet she managed now. One day, she would rise high above the world, and fly unbound by earth or sky. One day…

“Thank you for the offer; I shall take you up on it.” The words were reluctant, but not because of Shay. They reflected a defeat that plagued all young creatures—the inability to establish that which lies just beyond their reach. For Rai, it was flight. And this moving wind had made her realize just how far away that goal truly was.

[shay]

Shay nodded and in a few quick leaps was at the top ledge again. She paused there to take in a deep breath. From here all of the information the wind had to offer her could reach her senses and she read it carefully. They didn't have much time. They would have to move quickly to get to the cave. She turned her icy eyes to the right and looked downward. She spotted the large boulder that marked the entrance to her home a distance down the slope. The actual entrance to the cave was unnoticeable, and could not be seen clearly until you were standing right in front of it.

She leap and let gravity take her down the slope, going about half way before she stopped. She turned and gazed back up Raiden, cocking her head to one side. The look she gave the dragoness was not one of impatience or pity, but simply showed she would wait and not leave her behind. She waited a few moments there, and when she turned she continued the rest of the way down, landing on the boulder just as the snowflakes began to fall.

She looked toward the sky. Even though this storm was putting her in danger, its power was breathtaking. The sky looked like the sea, with its massive grey clouds moving at a fast pace, swirling and crashing into each other like waves. It was natures beauty at its finest, and Shay couldn't stop herself from enjoying for a moment. The snowflakes fell upon her face and melted from the contact with her warm skin, leaving droplets of water in there wake.

It was only when the amount of snow increased did she turn her mind back to other matters. She gestured to Raiden, showing her where the entrance to the cave was with her hand, then went in herself.

The fire she had left was only embers, but with experienced hands she brought the flame back once again with some dry wood from a pile she had made and a few quick breaths. The cave didn't go deep, she could see the end of it from here, and the way the cave slopped up instead of down kept the wind out. Stalactites and stalagmites lined the ceiling and wall, casting large shadows from the glow of the fire.

She set her pack down next to a large skin she had laid out as a bed, and got out her second skin for Raiden to sit on. She then leaned back, starred at the fire, and let her senses roam. Nothing had been her while she was away. The cougars now knew this was claimed territory, and any prey could smell the scent of wolf and quickly ran. Outside the wind was picking up and the snow was coming down stronger. Shay could tell this was only the beginning, and it would get much worse.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering winter past. She had stayed in many caves like this, but this was her first time doing it alone. She quickly opened her eyes again.

She really didn't want to remember that.

[sweety]

ooc: life fights against me. I think I will come to some conclusion in this thread, but I believe that Rai will die from her wounds. I just don't really have time for this character. But I'm not certain yet, and I shall not up and leave you hanging, Shay. As it is, I am sorry I have been gone so long without any notice. ;D

Raiden watched Shay's every movement, memorizing her steps and understand that she would only be able to execute half of them. As it were, her body was still stiff--though the pain had lessoned, and there was a slight taste of copper in her throat. Such signs would worry her, if she were half as experienced as she should be.
With a frustrated sigh she pulled her weight up off her stomach, and shakily supported her frail wait with a sudden tenderness. Everything around her seemed keen and acute, her senses over-extending themselves in this moment. She gazed beggingly towards the sky, realizing she would have even longer to wait now before testing her endurance in its abyss. Even now... especially now... in this sudden turn of weather, she wanted to fly. To swim within those beautiful and intimidating clouds--so grey and black, but alluring in their massive demeenor. With such domineering clouds gave a venom that rocked the world with a blustery wind--a wind that only now began to truly state its presence, bending the trees and ripping accross the unstable vista. It was this wind, that also alerted Raiden to her true possition. She mustn'y linger atop this crest.

Quickly she snapped her reptilian head in Shay's direction. The animagus had paused briefly and was already continuing her persuit of the promised shelter. Hastily, Raiden began to follow--remembering her memorization and calculating each step cautiously. Designed for land travel, she scaled the cliff with amazing dexterity, even for her condition and it did not take long for her functional body to catch up to the cave opening.

Shay was already inside, but Raiden had to pause. She was not use to sharing space with another, and personaly... though Shay was not human in any respect--the humanoid appearance still unnerved and angered Raiden--a creature so used to human cruelty, that her mind had set up professional barriers and instincts that would take years of static exposure to destroy and erase. To sleep in a cave, with humanoid company, rattled such barriers, but she had no choice and would think herself rude for suddenly turning on her acceptance.
Her eyes hardened--not at Shay, but at herself--and she slowly and cautiously escaped the outside brawl for the tranquility of the inner earth.

She was walking with a limp, something she'd only noticed now, but it was minor and meager. Her wing still dragged--the only attribute not treated by the careful elf. She wanted nothing more than to rest, but she moved past Shay into the farthest reach of the cave, before she allowed herself to settle.

She arranged herself comfortably there, in the dark against the back wall. It was serene and comforting in the hallow--permitting her a strange security she'd not felt for some time. Vaguely she allowed herself to relent. Sometimes, company had it's pros.

She rested her head upon the stone, stretching herself out to release tension that had for so long built up within her young joints and muscles. The bruises screamed their disgruntled opinions, but she ignored them as she let herself drift in and out of sleep. It was a shallow slumber, if she slept at all.

[sweety]

ooc: I'm leaving, because my life is just too hectic right now. Sorry Shay. We'll just say she fell asleep and died in her sleep.

[shay]

OOC: Bye, it was fun. Probably should end this properly.

Shay woke with a start when a strange scent reached her nose. The weariness of sleep was gone in a instant as she recognized it. Death. She turned toward the scent, and spotted the dragon, lying in the back of the cave. She was completely still, even her chest had stopped its heavy rise up and down.

Shay got up and walked slowly over to the creature, and placed one hand on her chest. Her eyes did not open, there was no warning growl, not even her heartbeat made a retort. The dragon had died, sometime in the night.

A soft sigh escaped Shay's lips, and she stood up. She was not sure what to feel. Sadness? No, not that. Anger, but Shay knew everything someday died. Pity? That wasn't it, either. Shay had known the dragon at least long enough to know that was not what she would have wanted. It was more of a great weight, as the world found another way to show Shay how cruel life really was.

Shay knew she would not stay here. She turned and looked out the cave entrance. It was now dark, but she could still make out flakes of white falling steadily from the sky. She had to make her way down. Even if she did survive this storm, there would be no food for her to eat. She needed to make her way to a forest, any woods. She knew how to survive there, even in the most dangerous of weathers.

She had her stuff packed and ready to go within five minutes, sense she was always ready to travel. As she fastened her cloak under her chin she gave the dragon's body one last look. The light from the fire caught her scales, making them glimmer in the shadows. Shay made her way back to the body once more, and stood over it.

"You would have been a great warrior." She said softly, in respect to the spirit of the dead. Then she turned, and a great white wolf shot out of the cave and into the snowy landscape, leaving behind what she felt was her millionth body.