Skinwalker

Chapter 1

I sat perched in a tree, watching in amusement as a battle raged between the men on horseback and the dark creatures on the backs of their mutated and twisted wolves. It seemed that the men were winning, but the creatures had also slain a fair amount of the men. I let out a sigh. Typical battle. My wings spread, ready to fly to a new place. I wished for something a little more entertaining.

A small figure caught my attention.

It looked very much like a dwarf.

My feathers puffed up in a sort of laugh. What on earth was a dwarf doing in the middle of all of this? I had seen dwarves before but rarely out on the surface. Most liked to stay below ground, and considered the ones living on the surface to be lesser than them. The dwarves on the surface lived lowly lives, usually becoming poor merchants or blacksmiths. Hardly what I would call a life at all.

Yet this one fought alongside these men with the pride of a dragon. Amused, I watched as he took down creature after creature. As soon as the battle started, it was over. Corpses of the dark creatures and their wolves lay strewn amongst those of the men and their horses.

I leapt from my branch and flew above the field to get a better view of the men that were still alive. The dwarf seemed to be looking for someone, but wasn't finding him. He was soon joined by an elf, a beautiful contrast of the dwarf's rough features. The elf's long dark hair fell a little below his shoulders. I circled the two for a moment studying them. The elf turned his face to the sky and his gaze fell on me.

My feathers ruffled and my gliding faltered for a moment before I could regain my composure. His eyes were the most vibrant shade of green I had ever seen. His face, although full of sadness, was still beautiful. Flustered, I flew away. I looked over the hills. The elf seemed to be looking for that person too.

Some part of my mind urged me to find this missing person. With my mind made up, I glanced back at the small army. They were leaving. Not even bothering to take their dead or burn the bodies. My eyes narrowed. Typical humans, I thought with disgust.

Seeing a body lying farther away from the battleground, I decided to investigate. I gently landed on the ground and shook out my feathers. As I shook, my wings grew and reformed, and so did my legs. My beak melted into my face and became a nose. The black feathers morphed into a gown and I stood up straighter and significantly more human like. I stretched and ran my fingers through my dark black hair.

"Alright, let's see if you're alive."

I held my hand near his face and could feel his shallow breaths. I carefully poked his face. He didn't stir.

"Hey." I said, prodding his arm.

Again there was no movement. Bored, I decided to look him over. He was just as beautiful as the elf boy, but his face bore many scars. His hair was a light strawberry-blonde and just barely covered the tops of his ears.

His ears?!

They looked like normal human ears but upon closer inspection I saw that they had a very small, almost unnoticeable, point. He must be part elf. I sigh and lightly shake him. It took several more attempts before his eyes finally fluttered open. He groaned in pain and then tried to sit up before falling back to the ground.