Tail of two Worlds

A gentle breeze flowed through the night-covered forest. It stirred the leaves of the oak and yew trees with a soft sigh. Its breath followed a path unknown to most mundane creatures, as it tracked its way into the forest. Laina's fur shifted with the touch of the nightly breeze, and picked up a faint scent. Her pack mates were near, searching, but she feared for them. She was only a gamma, not worthy of being sought. She had not the power of the alphas, nor the swift assurance of the betas, yet she was a pack-mate and a sister. This made it even more difficult for her, as she could not tell them what to do, even if it meant to save their lives.

She struggled against her bonds, the sinew pulling tightly around her throat, wrist and ankles. The chains clinking softly against her bare skin sent shivers of cold, and of dread down her back and shoulders. She moaned softly to herself wondering why the Hunter hadn't killed her, and wondering if she was only bait. Laina tried to shift forms, only to find the well tied bindings cutting into her neck, cutting off blood circulation and life giving oxygen. Dizziness made the world spin around her every sense, even as she heard the Hunter's approach. Laina growled reflexively, eyeing the human who walked calmly and surely towards her. She sniffed as this human approached, yet caught only the scent of wood smoke, the forest, deer, and the meat cooking on the fire just beyond Laina's vision. That scent of deer musk masked the Hunter’s own. She growled again at being so easily duped. Wondering if Danc or Falina, the betas, would find this amusing at her expense, if they survived.

The Hunter paused, looking at the naked woman lying on the cold hard ground. It was a look of pure wonderment, intelligence, and understanding. Slowly taking off the camouflage, stripping to the bare skin, the Hunter stood before the werewolf as she was born into this world. She? Laina blinked in surprise. Most of the tales she had ever heard involved mostly males of the human species, as they tended to be more of the predatory type by their very nature. The woman then stepped closer, and crouched down before the werewolf. She reached out a bare hand to touch Laina's hair and face.., in an almost motherly gesture. Laina didn't understand. She lay there stunned, not sure of what she should do..., if anything at all. The woman then reached around, just out of Laina’s sight, to produce a very sharp knife. Laina jerked back, only to once more nearly knock herself out from the sudden loss of blood flow and breath. She lay panting and gasping as the Hunter reached over to her ... back? Cutting the sinew cord lose from the chain bindings, the Hunter freed the werewolf. As the sinew cord loosened, the woman Hunter leapt back from the werewolf... her naked flesh glowing in the firelight and still smelling of deer musk.

Laina shift with what strength she had left, snapping the chain links, and tearing at the other sinew cords around her wrists and ankles. Then, even with the fierce pounding of her blood in her ears, calling to hunt, begging for the kill, she got up slowly savoring ever muscle twitch and slide of joint. Laina felt alive again, free and feral yet only looked at the woman Hunter... wondering. Laina stood in her glory, the saber sharp talons flexing, her hackles raised in anger... yet even as she tried to summon the emotions she displayed, she did not truly feel them. The women crouched down in a flight or fight posture with the knife in hand, held her ground only a few feet away. Fear, oddly enough, was not evident in her eyes, only mild curiosity. Laina knew what the others would do, and knew instinctively what she should do as one of the greatest of predators what roamed this land. Yet even as she pondered the many ways of disemboweling this woman... Laina held back.

The Hunter took the initiative. She slowly placed the knife back on the ground cloth where there were numerous other instruments Laina never knew even existed. The Huntress (as the werewolf was now considering this woman) slowly stood up and motioned for Laina to follow her. The Huntress walked back to her fire, and sat on another ground cover poking at the rabbit carcass roasting above the flames. Laina, ever the curious one, ventured closer. The werewolf let slid her middle form, the blending of human and wolf, into that of the human. She sat across from the woman and watched her even as the woman watched Laina. The two stared at each other, each taking in every minute detail of the other. Then the Huntress did something that completely confounded the werewolf. She sniffed at Laina.

Laina raised one eyebrow, watching in wonderment and no less then confusion. The woman looked at the werewolf, paused in her sniffing and chuckled. The sound was friendly enough and it caused the muscles along the werewolf’s back to relax. She shook her head at the thought of a human trying to be a werewolf, or a beast.., or, she chuckled to herself remembering the scent, a deer. Laina thought the whole scent masking rather ironic and very informative. Here was a female human which are prey to werewolves, masked in the scent of that which was prey to both humans and wolves. She could have killed Laina simply enough, even with a fight, and had caught the werewolf completely off guard in the first place. Laina couldn't believe it.., and then wondered about her pack.

Laina stood bolt upright, startling the woman to the same action. Laina scented the breeze, then cursed herself for being so stupid... the human form was not capable of such senses, even if her inherent wolf nature made certain things clearer. She shifted most swiftly to wolf, and tracked the breeze that flowed through the forest. She could pick up individual scents now. They were closer then before, but up wind of the two. She sighed a bit in relief, and then a realization struck her. Why, in all of creation, was she so worried about a Hunter? Laina turned back towards the woman, who still stood in a posture of readiness. She padded up to the woman, growling, trying to scare her off. She didn't want her pack to catch wind of this woman; she didn't want them to rend her flesh from the bone. She was worried that this most interesting female would lose her life... all for the pursuit of knowledge. The thought made Laina freeze. How did she know that? The woman still stood before the werewolf, waiting patiently, then crouched before Laina's four-legged form. She extended her arms to the wolf, a slight smile on her face. The werewolf felt compelled to drop into the woman's arms... and for once since her brother’s disappearance, she felt at peace.

The Huntress stroked the thick pelt, running her fingers through the soft fur. Laina hadn't felt this much peace since Derek disappeared over 18 years ago. The wolf took in the woman's body scent, and found something even more startling. This Huntress didn't smell completely human. There was a lingering scent of the deer musk, but being this close, it was but a cover scent. Laina looked into the woman's eyes and knew. This human wasn't human... but kin. Laina didn't know what to do. She knew her pack was near, but this link, this person was more then human, and yet again less. The lingering body scent that was a mixture of both this woman’s parents, she recognized as related to her brother's. Why Derek would take a human mate was beyond even Laina's vast imagination, but the scents did not lie. She watched the woman's face and saw hints of her brother in the woman's eyes and jaw-structure. The werewolf backed away, puzzled and frightened.

Suddenly, a vicious howl echoed through the forest. All the night creatures went completely silent. Laina jumped, suddenly shifting to her battle form, that of the man-wolf. She growled suddenly a warning to the woman, the words running guttural from her throat. It was simple and, Laina hoped, perfectly clear.

"Run. Now"

Yet the woman only scurried to her pile of possessions. Swiftly the Huntress threw on her camouflage suit, grabbed a bunch of throwing knives and stored them in pockets that just didn't seem as if they were there in the first place. She also grabbed a wrist-bow-gun-thing, a few bolts, and some rope. Laina couldn't comprehend why this human wasn't afraid. Even those related by the odd and rare mixing of blood showed fear at the nearness of those who were made to hunt them. It made no sense.

Laina reached out with a powerful taloned hand and caught the human as she was mucking about. She flipped the Huntress to the ground and point to the far woods. Laina repeated her command, but the woman just sat where she landed looking more emotionally hurt then afraid. The werewolf marveled at this display of courage, and motioned to the Huntress in a kinder posturing that she must leave. The Huntress just shook her head, grabbed a bottle and dumped musk over her head once more. At first the smell was a bit over powering, but it faded quickly as she rubbed her entire body down, from hair to boot sole. The werewolf stood in a sense of awe, as the kin leapt from the ground and raced into the woods nearby. She just as suddenly disappeared, as does a moon shadow in a dark forest.

Laina blinked in a bit of surprise, and was very startled as her pack mates rushed into the clearing. All this occurred in only a few minutes, and left the werewolf stunned. The alphas were not there, but the rest of the pack was, and in force. This confounded Laina to a degree that she never thought one's mind could reach. Falina, the beta female, rushed to Laina's side. She seemed very worried, and very angered.

"What happened Laina? Where did you run off to?!"

Laina just looking at her sister, friend and pack mate with a mixture of annoyance, confusion, and stunned disbelief. The beta did not like this in the least, and she made her displeasure known through both body language and voice. The beta male, Danc, and the others scoured the clearing and the campsite thoroughly as Falina snapped at Laina.

"Well? You run off," the beta's voice a mixture of sarcasm and fury, "without a second thought as to what we needed you around for, and then when we called for you and you didn't answer!"

She was a seething ball of fur and fury, her talons flexing reflexively, her teeth bared and spittle covered. Laina, strangely, was not impressed. She just watched the beta with the same confused look as before.

"When Talus ran off to track you down, he found a pit trap with a bit of your fur in the bottom. We thought you were lost like the Alphas!"

Laina then recognized the beta's fury for worry. The thought of the alphas disappearing... weirded her out badly. She postured to Falina in apology, and told the other werewolf that she had been unconscious until just now.

"I found myself unbound and free, in a Hunter's campsite, and now the Hunter is gone. I don't pretend to understand what's occurred, but I know I was freed."

"Well we didn’t find any real trace of what ever hunter was here." Danc’s voice was tinted by his own worry, but calm enough to instill the same in his mate and lover.

Falina's ear twisted towards the sound of Danc's voice, her seething anger slowly abating. She seemed mostly accepting of Laina's story, but felt that there was something missing. Laina did not add more to the story. She didn’t want to lie to her betters, but neither did she want them killing a link to her lost brother. Loyalty vied for her own personal curiosity and need. Laina just stood there as the rest of the pack searched for what ever they could find. Falina, on the other hand watched Laina very carefully. The beta’s attention split for the moment gave Laina the moment to fully compose herself, as the two betas’ began to talk. Lain was glad for it too, because their conversation brought up more questions.

"I still am not sure what happened, but some how they were ambushed," Falina was highly upset and agitated, " and I could do nothing to help them."

Danc comforted his mate, his huge battle form rough and angry looking seemed to soften a bit as he collected Falina into his arms.

"Hush now," he whispered to her, " no need to fret, this Hunter is the best by far then any we have yet encountered. Whoever it is, they are fast and subtle... with the ability to hide their scent from even the best tracker we have with us."

Laina shivered at the thought that perhaps her kin had done this treachery. To attack pack members was one thing. Yet it seemed that the alphas themselves were now but skins. A dark thought rose in the back of Laina’s mind, that perhaps her brother had something to do with this. He had always wanted to be the alpha, but then why wait ten years? Laina just couldn’t understand; her curiosity once again peeked. She continued to listen to the betas.

"I think though Melker has found another clue in the pile by the fire," Danc pointed to the pile of the Huntress’ possessions by the fire. There Melker held up a sigil of some sort. It was shield-shaped cloth patch with a gray background, a black border, and a crossbow with a bolt and arrow as the symbol inside the gray background. The others scratched their heads, but Falina grew more infuriated.

"Its like the one we found near the trap." Her words a mix of guttural human and wolfs speech. She struggled away from Danc and rushed to Melker’s side. Snatching the sigil out of the other werewolf’s claws, she stared at it as if to force its submission. She seemed to want to make it talk. Then throwing it on the ground she growled to the stars above.

"I will find who did this, and I will kill them."

It was an oath, a promise most severe. Laina felt her hopes falter as she realized that if her kin did do this, that Falina would never let her live. Laina kept her mouth shut, a stern look upon her muzzle, even as the others howled in unison. Falina and Danc looked to their pack sister in a suspicious way, until they saw the look she bore. They both smiled ferally, as they thought to themselves that Laina was just too overwhelmed with anger of her own to join. Unknown to them, Laina was plotting out a plan of action all her own.