Glitz & Grime

Prologue

"You can stay in there and rot for all I care!" He snarled after me as I skidded down the halls, dry heaving and clutching my chest, tears streaming down my cheeks. Finally making it to my room, I hurried inside, bolting the door shut behind me before falling to the floor in a heap. An animalistic wail of anguish leaving my lungs, my whole being wishing the floorboards, and the dirt would just open up and swallow me. 

After a long time, I had calmed enough to stop crying, my voice coming out as a hoarse whisper. "What am I going to do without you..." biting my knuckle to choke down another round of my emotions I set my mind on thinking logically. I needed to leave, and it had to be now.
I could not stand to be where such an atrocity was committed against me, where the people here cared not for my wishes, only for what or rather who I can pretend to be in the eyes of the wolf council. I will no longer be a pawn in his games.

Gathering my will and any tenacity I could muster; I dug through the bottom of my closet. A small, relieved sigh fell from my lips as I pulled out the canvas utility pouch from its hiding spot. Emptying the contents quickly onto the floor, I counted and counted again, making sure all of my hidden cash was still there. A measly two thousand dollars in an array of bills lined my vision.  Shoving it back into the protective plastic bag, I place it back in the pouch and turn to stand. Closing the distance to my bedside table, I wrenched the stubborn old drawer free, reaching carefully behind it to retrieve his letters.

A handful of silly little love notes was all I had to remember him by. Clearing my throat to hold down the bile threatening to rise, I too shove those into the plastic bag and into the pouch. Throwing in a handful of my other sentimental or prized items, I zip the pouch closed and secure the crudely sewn on elastic band up my arm, nestling it securely just below my armpit. 

Aruna, come forth. We have to go. I called in my mind, willing my wolf to come forth.

Her light gray eyes appeared in my mind, assuring me she was ready to go as soon as I was. I needed her more defined senses if I was going to escape as stealthily as possible without raising the alarm of the packs border patrol guards. 

Swinging my window open, I eased myself out onto the sturdy wooden trellis, letting my claws elongate slightly to help my descent. This trellis used to hold a beautiful crop of climbing nasturtium, but my father had ripped it clean off in one of his rages, shredding it purely for the fact that it had brought me joy. Cringing softly at the memory of his cruelty, I perk my ears up. The hush of my old running shoes meeting the dirt as my feet left the last rungs of the trellis, the only sound I could hear nearby. 

Peering around to make sure the coast was clear, I began to strip, tying my laces together and rolling my long sleeve and leggings small enough to fit them inside of the shoes. With a small huff of nerves, I called Aruna forth. Shifting quickly, I sent a prayer to the Moon Goddess, hoping that nobody was around to hear the sickening crunch of my bones as they broke and elongated into the body of my wolf. Scenting the air deeply, Aruna grunted the all clear before grabbing the secured laces of my shoes into her sharp teeth. 

I am thankful that the bright full moon in the sky was covered by some clouds, for now I began my trek to the edge of our territory. Staying low to the dirt, we began to slink through the pack house gardens, blades of grass, a tickling whisper against the fur of my under belly. Keeping our breathing steady as she raced between some of the houses at the outskirts of town, Aruna sniffed the air, checking for the patrolman for this span of the border.

About 2 miles out. She huffed into our shared mind space. Perfect. That would be enough time to do what I needed and get away without being noticed. 

Exhaling through my nose, I shifted back for this moment, preparing myself for the agony of severing the pack bond. 

" I, Tallulah Viper, daughter of Alpha Eldric Viper and Luna Alanna Viper of The Blood Lotus Pack, hereby abdicate my claim to this pack and this land. I sever my ties and renounce my title as the next Alpha of The Blood Lotus Pack." I hissed softly and clutched my hand to my heart as I felt the loss of the pack bond. It was a relief to be free of their burden, but at the same time I felt like my very being was crushed under the emptiness that had crept in and settled its heaviness in my soul.

Crouching down and shifting back into my wolf, we snatched my shoes back up and charged through the shimmering border wall. Shaking out my fur at the strange feeling as I darted between trees trying to throw off my path. With each passing step I felt myself growing weaker, but I had to escape and get somewhere, anywhere safe. 

5 months later
January

Stumbling through the trees of this unfamiliar land, the soft crunch of my shoes in the snow and the soft panting fog of my breath the only sounds around. Aruna was too weak to help me, unable to shift and not having had a proper meal in at least 2 weeks. My money had run out within the first 3 months of running, having bought a backpack to store the necessities I knew I would require keeping myself alive: a fire-starting kit, a tarp, some rope, and other things I would need to make a safe shelter to guard me from some of the harshness of the winter winds. I was also stupid and had wasted some of the money on frivolous comforting items and food that I didn't need when I had the ability to hunt some down myself.

I knew I was growing weary, but this open area was not a safe place for me to set up my makeshift shelter. With how hard the chilled air was whipping and how little I weighed at this point, it'd be a recipe to get blown away like Dorothy in the wizard of Oz. I scoffed at my own stupid joke, trudging onwards, towards where my map had said the next town would be.

***

An hour or so had passed by before I started to break through the sparse tree line I had come too, some buildings and weathered roads acquainting my weary eyes. My stomach began loudly making its hunger known as I stumbled along the well-worn path towards the aroma of what I hoped was a restaurant. Saliva pooled in my mouth as I grew closer, the air absolutely flooded with the smells of some type of spiced meat and french fries. I began to round the building looking for the large green garbage cans in hopes of scoring something to eat, having no way to pay for something fresh at the moment. 

Spotting the open roofed brick enclosure that housed the dumpsters, I stealthily made my way over, scanning my surroundings in hopes nobody would see me. Satisfied with the lack of witnesses I slid myself over the wall, the simplest route to make the least amount of noise. Standing on my tip toes, I peered at the contents of the can, a smile lighting up my face at the sight of a bag with what looked to be a burger and maybe even a half-eaten baked potato in it. 

Taking a step or two back and bending slightly at the knees, I readied myself to vault into the can. Leaping up and catching the edge as I swung my legs up, a small yelp escaped me as my ankle collided with the sturdy metal before I clattered inside with a whoosh of air and squish of the unknown contents as the bags crumpled under my weight. Knowing that was too loud of a noise to not be noticed, I hurriedly started shuffling my way over to the bag I had my sights set on, quickly yanking at the thin plastic of the bag to free my prize. 

Beginning to stand myself up to climb out of the dumpster I saw a figure in the corner of my eye, immediately dropping back down in hopes that I hadn't been seen. 

"You can come out of there deary, we don't bite, and I think a hot meal would palate a lot better than whatever you're scrounging around for in there." 

***

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