She was running. Legs stretching forward and backward like a finely tuned machine that was programed to do exactly what they were doing now. The slender tendons strained as they were stretched farther and faster than they were just a few moments ago. Sinew was on fire as it was twisted back and forth with the movement of flying paws that spread apart to make the most of the surface area they covered. Her entire body was stretched out to the extent of its shorter length placing her lower to the ground than normal and increasing her dashing speed. Her tail streamed out haphazardly behind her, catching in the air currents and flicking off in many different directions and never really staying in the same place. The most frightening thing about Zaylin’s blind flight was the fact that it was, for most aspects, blind. Her mismatched eyes were hooded and the small slits that were peering from under their lids were focused solely only a few feet in front of her. The world blurred away and forest floor became rock and rock faded to grasses which then, in turn, changed back to a rocky mix of vegetation. She had no idea where she was flying to but what she did know was that she wanted to get away from her brain. She wanted to leave it behind and let it do its constant analysis somewhere else besides in her head.
When the air picked up a brisk chill and a shudder ran through her entire body, she finally became aware that she was in a place that was probably not very well suited for her. Her reckless pace began to slow to an easy lope but her eyes remained down almost as if she were afraid to look up and find herself in another situation that she did not want to be in. Now that she was in more control, her brain kicked up again and brought back the anger and rage that had been the reason for her running in the first place. Just the thought of Kiddo sent a snarl ripping through her chest and out into the world before her. The male had been pushy and commanding and… she shuddered and gave her head a massive shake as if to rid that train of thought from her mind. Afterward, the extent of her exhaustion began to crash hard on her small bodice and her tongue hung from her mouth in a pathetic attempt to catch her breath after it had been whipped away by her scamper from that clearing. Finally, her entire body came to a halt with a shudder and she dug her claws into the now sandy ground. It reminded her so much of the desert and yet it was clearly chilly in this area of the world. She finally heaved a huge sigh before finally lifting her eyes to look around her.
What she saw took her breath away even easier than her run had. Before her stretched a large lake that was reflecting the spectacular view of a small mountain range that was, at the moment, partially shrouded in clouds from a storm moving in. She was so used to the ever changing dunes of the desert that the idea of something being cemented in place and never moving astounded her. For a moment, her awe washed away her anger and she simply looked on in amazement. But, before she could fight it off, her anger settled back on her brain and flashed across her eyes. Suddenly, everything around her was too perfect and the sparkling water seemed to spurn her rage even more. Her entire body began to shake and tremble as she dug her claws farther into the sandy beach. Deep gouges were now in the place of the pristine shores and she let a deep snarl rip through her small bodice that seemed to echo across the lake and make it back to her. All she wanted to do was fling herself at the waters and cause them to ripple and wave but she was much too tired and her body was trembling with exhaustion. Suddenly, all the fight left her eyes and she let her body crumble to the sand a few feet from the water. It was lying there that she let her eyes close and sleep to drift over her mind.
Lynker stalked his way through the forest, on his way to confront another intruder. It was getting to be a bother, wolves parading around his territory as if they owned the place. At least that idiotic Nur-Rama had disappeared. And good riddance, he thought spitefully to himself. Her master, Tharamon, hadn’t been too bad personality-wise, but that pack idea of his had been a real nuisance. Lynker didn’t want random wolves running all around his home. Those wolves had disappeared, thank Shem, probably due to the resistance that he and Curse had given them. A smile came to his lips at that thought. He and his brother were a force to be reckoned with.
The black-coated wolf emerged from the forest, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light. He was greeted with the sight of the trespasser churning up his nice beach. “Excuse me miss, do you think you could do that somewhere else? This is my territory, you see, and I like it the way it is”
She didn’t seem to have noticed him, but then you could never tell with wolves, could you? They were tricky little creatures, worth more trouble than good. He eyed the she wolf suspiciously.
Suddenly, without reason, she fell limply to the sand. Lynker stared in shock. Despite his dislike for wolves, he almost immediately went over to check whether she was okay. She didn’t seem to be conscious, which wasn’t usually a good sign. Had she fainted? Her temperature was high, as if she’d been running. Maybe it was exhaustion? That seemed quite likely. But why had she been running in the first place? Lynker quickly checked over his shoulder to see whether she was being chased. No... He could see nothing unusual, and could smell no other wolves in the area.
The black arctic stared down at the she wolf, whom he was starting to feel a tiny bit of responsibility for. She had been traspassing, yes, but many had made the excuse that his scent smelled too much like a bear’s for the borders to be recognisable. Maybe there was some truth in that statement.
Lynker sighed. He supposed he must try to help this female – it would be easy enough to do, at least. Having made up his mind, he turned and briskly strode back into the forest, towards where he knew there was some moss. He gathered a small bundle of the stuff and took it back to the lake, where he submerged it in water. Returning to the she wolf, he dabbed the wet moss on her forehead in an attempt to cool her down. He did it cautiously, prepared to leap back out of reach the moment she woke. Wolves were unpredictable creatures, and none he’d met so far had disproved that theory.
Her mind was warring with her body even after she had collapsed on the sand beneath her. It continued to churn over thoughts that seemed unrelated and yet it was drawing up strange links between things like where she had roamed today was directly connected to a drink she had taken a week ago simply because there had been moss and a hawk at both places. As her brain continued to throw ideas at the walls and watch them bounce off, her body twitched and shivered in response. Being unconscious did not bring the bliss that she had previously believed it would bring. No, she seemed to be completely aware of exactly what her brain was going over and there was nothing peaceful about her current state of mind. There was no infinite blackness and the easy release of forgetfulness in her sleep, no there was not.
But suddenly, as if something had sliced through her thoughts and shoved them to the side, her forehead was cooled and she felt her body relax. Slowly, she clawed her way out of the abyss that she had let herself fall into and began to test each part of her body, starting by wiggling her toes and then moving on to stretch out each limb individually. She figured that the coolness had simply come from a rain that had started to fall and she sighed deeply as she realized that she would probably need to find some sort of shelter from the elements and other animals if she were going to let herself recover from the exhaustion of the day that was now behind her. When she finally began to open her eyes ever so slowly, her vision was blurred at first before she blinked a couple of times and cleared her mismatched vision so she could see before her once again. At first, all that was visible was the lake stretching before the towering mountains and that calm sense of serenity washed over Zaylin like it had when she had first seen the view. It was then that she realized that it was not actually raining and a frown creased her forehead as she tried to figure out why, exactly, she had been roused from her fitful slumber.
It was then that she finally opened the rest of her senses up and it was revealed that she was no longer alone in this cold beautiful place. There was a large black male staring down at her with a look of concern in his eyes, a patch of moss clamped in his jaws. It looked as if the clump had just been drawn away from her forehead and it was dripping slightly; the reason for her waking up. As his presence settled in, her entire body tensed once again and a small snarl slipped through her clenched jaw but there was no heart behind the threat. She was still much to tired but she managed to pull herself to her feet and step back twice. Now that she could fit his entire body in her vision, she realized that he held none of the posturing that Kiddo had earlier and only a look of concern and slight bafflement on his face. It appeared that he was not used to the company of others and, now that she was open to her surroundings, she could smell a hint of bear mingled right in with that of a wolf. This confused her and she narrowed her eyes and began to look beyond the male and more into the twists and turns of the terrain. Without really realizing what she was doing, she allowed her soft voice to dance into the still air. ”I’m sorry to be a bother, I’ll just be on my way.” She nodded her head slightly and turned her body so that she was facing the way she had come. A few limping steps were taken before she paused to catch her breath.
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