The Hunted

We Are Wolves

The forest air was tenser than usual; with the eyes of the gods gazing down on a friendship that was built upon madness. The three musketeers that would carve its way into the overflowing river of war are fighting themselves. The wolf that had crashed the party had been followed by a group of mindless goons that are eager to see the byproduct of the hunt. Interestingly though, the three wolves that had accompanied them before, were nowhere to be seen.

Andronika only let's go of Lyras hair after she had successfully gotten her on the ground. Philia launches forward with her eyes just as bright as Andronika's, the only difference is that in Philia's mind, she and her wolf are working together. Andronika is close to becoming an unfixable puzzle that is neatly placed inside a labyrinth. Before, when it was her in everyday life, it had been her against the world. No friends, no fun, no comfort, but an endless grind where she constantly told herself whatever she wasn't enough.

When she was taken, it was right after turning down a gentleman that was willing to give her the world. He had worked so hard to be someone she could call family, only for her to tell him to "go fuck himself" after storming off. Deep in her heart she longed for someone to save her from her mind.

Easier said than done though.

The rock-hard woman could easily read people's fears and use it against them in a disrespectful rant that left the person hating her. It didn't help when suddenly, violently, and without any caution, a voice inside her head did it to her. Told her she was a failure, that she never took two steps forward but always took a step back. Her voice was a version of her she didn't realize just how badly she couldn't stand... her insecurities. 

This hurt woman was the final straw for Andronika. Not because of how much sadness, death, and havoc has surrounded her. Not because somehow in all of this she had friends forced upon her when she had been alone for so long. It was because the voice inside her head had told her she had failed once again. Failed to help someone else, failed to dodge the crazy woman, failed to even sense herself in her own surroundings.

Now you're even failing your friends.

The voice echoed in Andronika's head as she takes a wide step back to escape from Philia's strike. Philia's speed would've made her clumsy if not for the rage and need she feels right now towards the woman that she had thought was a fortress of womanhood and pride. Philia's heart is torn between who she is used to being and who she is deep down. On the surface she could be labeled as a pushover, timid, and quiet. Her heart on the other hand was as strong and unyielding as a tornado that gained momentum.

She simply knew that turning the other cheek was sometimes the better choice in a world were violence was the go-to decision. Now, if you were to harm her friends, then you'd hear the stampeding beat of her heart thump through and you'd face the terrors of the emotions she pushes down. She would do anything for the people she cares about, and Lyra had proven to be someone worthy enough to be cared after.

Andronika goes to tackle Philia in long and swift strides, going low to hopefully throw off the determined girl. Philia stumbles back from the force of impact but then wraps her arms around Andronika's torso and lifting her up into the air. As you can hear the feminine growl rip from Philia's throat, Andronika is tossed over Philia's shoulder as the both of them fall back onto the ground.

The three women have now gained a crowd of wolves. The scent of many drawing in more and more curious creatures of the night. They sit, perched in glee as the two girls hash out their problems onto one another. Eyes dancing from the fight to the girl who watches with a blank expression. Some watching her dig her hands into the dry and brittle dirt below her. Many thoughts bounce from wolf to wolf, wondering what the raven-haired beauty will do.

Lyra is speaking with her wolf. Weighing the pros and cons of stepping in on her two friends developing brain. Should she step in and stop them from tearing each other apart, risking their brains from reaching the stages they are supposed to? Or should she leave them to it, risking her two friends physically? What will happen if she stops them and they end up taking their unresolved problems on themselves permanently? What happens if she doesn't stop them and she is still has to clean up the aftermath?

What is the best way to save them?

Lyra's mind is still foggy from The Moon dropping the weight of an unknown world onto her. How can she change this outcome in a way that will still be beneficial? She needs to take their attention off of themselves, and the things going on in their minds. She needs the air to change directions, the waters to go upstream, for the perspective to shift.

SHIFT.

All sounds seemed to drown themselves out after Lyra's wolf called out for her to shift. Blood pumping through her veins kicked into hyper speed and her bones started in a sudden ache that felt like small splinters under skin. Lyra winced when it didn't feel like splinters under her skin but needles pushing against the flesh of her muscles, her veins, and her tendons.

A scream cut through the shoveling and growls, it cut through the creaks from the dead woods, and it cut through the soft breaths that came from the wolves hidden in the shadows. Lyra's bones were transforming brutally. Like shredded cheese her bones split and curled while new and stronger bone developed almost instantly after. It was almost as if she was a snake, but her shedding was more painful than any snake could ever feel.

After Lyra's throat was threadbare by how much she had been screaming, she laid there on the ground worn from the physical treatment that came with transforming for the first time. What she didn't realize was that her screaming wasn't screaming for very long, but the wails that came from a wounded animal. She hadn't fully come to grasp that she was not in her human form, but rather one known as a child of the night. She was a wolf.

Philia and Andronika had long since stopped fighting once the two heard her cry out the first time. Their eyes faded and their wounds healed as they stood next to each other in shock at the sight that had happened in front of them. A wolf now gets up on its shaky legs and raises its head high.

.... Maybe it was denial. Maybe the human brain couldn't have comprehended the probability to begin with, so the thought of possibility never taken form. It cant be denied now though, the girls know now what the crowd of wolves already did. They were werewolves.

Ones cursed by The Moon itself.