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River Everleap of the Mercian Clan never really had a good life. As a solitary creature, it wasn't surprising for her to not receive the proper love and care humans naturally give their own; and wh...
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The sun had completely vanished from the clouded sky, turning the world dark and cold. Not that it wasn't already in the small town of Forks in Washington. The woodland creatures had stopped their songs and harvest cries a while ago and had found refuge from the taciturn night, never re-emerging from their dens and nests and reeds until the new dawn came. The trees rustled with the subtle autumn breeze, and the ground felt damp and cool under River's dry, cracked paws.
Opening her jaws to taste the air, revealing sharp feline fangs, River only could detect the faint scents of prey that had long since left and the strong smells of incoming rain that would soon turn into frost on the undergrowth the next morning.
As River stood there, in the middle of the damp, cold forest, she had an odd feeling that more time was passing than she realised. River couldn't remember how long it had been since nightfall. Was it always this dark in Forks at night? Surely, as a natural law, a little bit of moonlight would filter down through the clouds and through the gaps in the canopy of trees to find the ground. Not tonight though, it seemed. The thick, menacing clouds blocked any silver light from passing through.
River looked up with wide, icy-blue eyes. Tonight, the sky was totally black. She couldn't even see the thick clouds that constantly covered everything – even the ground as the occasional fog drifted down into the woodlands. Perhaps there was no moon tonight – a lunar eclipse or a new moon. River fluffed out her pelt, though she wasn't cold. It was always cold where she came from.
The werepuma flicked one of her ears, tensing suddenly when she had heard a sound in the distance. Was it one of those human hikers or was it a nomad creature? It sounded like something with two legs was walking around through the forest. Then, after some more loud crackling of twigs, River heard an unexpected thump that vibrated through the earth and made River's fur rise. Had they collapsed?
Curious and alert, River stalked forward, the rain finally beginning to pour from the sky. The cold and the wet never bothered her. It was refreshing against her tawny pelt. Though, her scars had begun to ache from the frozen, light wind. Old wounds never seemed to fully heal.
When she pushed past the undergrowth, River spotted something bright yellow and contrast against a moss-covered log ahead. It was a human girl wearing a dramatically bright yellow coat. She had long, thick curls of brown hair that made a halo around her head on the forest floor, and such pale skin that almost made her look ill. River also noticed that the human was shivering, clearly unconscious, and would most likely die if she were to stay out in the cold any longer.
Huffing, a hot cloud of mist came out from River's jaws, and the werepuma bent her head down to try and nudge the girl awake. Alas, the human's eyes only opened slightly, and only for a moment, before they had closed again.
River looked about, her ears moving around to find any other sounds. A road that led into the human town was close by, but she didn't know where the girl lived. River could leave the human on a footpath outside of a house for others to find her, but River wasn't sure of the chances of a random human emerging out into such a cold, rainy night like this. It may be too late if someone ever did.
A low growl rose in River's chest, and the werepuma rolled the girl over and grasped the back of her yellow coat, gently hoisting the human over her back. After making sure that the brunette wouldn't slip off, River began to pad slowly through the woods and in the direction of where she established her new den. River had made a comfortable home inside of a small, empty cave that overlooked the forest, marshland and town. Something temporary before River moved on to find a new territory.
When the werepuma arrived from trekking through the woods and climbing up the rocky, mossy slope that led up into her den, River had gently lowered the girl down on the cold, stone ground and had curled her body around the human to keep her warm with her body heat. For a moment, the girl stirred, moving her head comfortably onto River's soft tail, before going still again. River blinked down at her, finally relaxing. This, at least, was better than leaving the young girl out to die in the cold.
Eventually, River laid her head down, glancing briefly at the human before closing her eyes, letting the nostalgic feeling of sleep overtake her.
