» 9/4/2020 - aro x mate oc x caius x marcus poly «
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 trail was long as River went on a familiar dirt path that led to nowhere in particular. She had gone this way many times in the Olympic woodland. Human hikers often came this way too, during the days it rained less, but they never saw the huge, 12ft cougar as she avoided them and kept to the shadows whenever they were near.
She tried to enjoy the wind on her face and the dapples of sunlight that warmed her hide. It was cloudy in some parts of the sky, but almost entirely open and blue. It was rare, nice day for Forks.
Today, the forest was full of life. All of the critters enjoyed the momentary sunlight and dry winds. However, even with the birds singing their songs, the insects buzzing noisily around her, and the occasional scurries of field mice and shrews foraging through the shrubs, the forest seemed eerier than usual. Her sense of unease only seemed to worsen the more River walked, but the sound of her paws on the cool, soft soil dampened her worries.
River loved bushwalking. Back in the forests of her tribe, her former home, she'd often go on patrols to check the borders of the territory. Always, she'd have to climb over huge boulders and fallen logs, hike up jagged hills, swim through strong river currents, and weave her way around the undergrowth.
Eventually, River stepped under a low arch made from a curling tree covered in lichen, pushing past the ankle-high ferns and into a clearing.
The stale scent of vampire was still here. River assumed it belonged to a member of the Cullen Clan. The Karakurt had told her about them. Vampires who never drank human blood and decided to turn to animals as the source of their diet. River recalled once seeing their abandoned modern home in the woods west of her den. Their scents were thicker there, but with no trace of any furniture or personal belongings, River knew that they were definitely gone.
River breathed in the old scent again. Vampires smelt like cold stone, lemongrass and frosty air. It wasn't an unpleasant smell, but it also wasn't the best.
Turning tail, she intended to leave the meadow, not wanting to spend too much time in an open field, but the crack of a twig nearby made her fur stand on end.
Ducking low to the ground, River's tawny fur camouflaged in the tall, dead grass, her icy-blue eyes peeking out past the golden strands and landing on the familiar sight of that human she had saved a moon ago. She wore hiking gear and she looked much thinner than from when River had last seen her. What was the human's name again? Stella? No, that was not right. Anastasia? Too long.
The human girl looked like a lifeless husk. It was a drastic change from when River had dragged her back to her den for the night. At least now the girl wasn't unconscious and half-dead from hypothermia.
Suddenly, as the human girl stood silently in the middle of the clearing, River felt her fur prickle with anxiety. A heavy scent filled the air of stone and lemongrass. Fresh this time. It was unmistakable as the wind blew it her way. A vampire was here. However, he was no Cullen, for his eyes were as red as freshly spilt blood.
