Changing Rain

One More Battle Won

Raiyne ran, behind her she could hear many voices screaming. The wind whipped her hair about in a tangled whirlwind as her feet flew across the snow. She leaped high into the air and phased, then came down in her True Form and braced herself for the attack. 

Nearly twenty of some of the village's youngest happily screaming children pounded against her side as they finally caught up to their new favorite playmate. Most merely bounced off her large side, but it was Ralph who finally knocked her down into the snow. She quickly phased to rub snow into his hair then bounded away as a wolf once more and the chase continued.

Elih watched from the tents, and had to hold tight to one of the makeshift pole to keep himself upright he was laughing so hard. He wasn't alone, Joseph, Thomas, and Christina were laughing along as some nervous parents watched nearby.

"Well at least we finally found someone to wear out the children." Christina said around her giggles as she wiped a tear from her eye. A woman named Kathy gave her a small smile. "It is easier to get the work done, she keeps them out from underfoot." Thomas was working furiously to get his chuckling under control as he gasped for breath, and Elih had to take a couple deep breaths to catch his. Watching Raiyne everyday helped ease him of the everyday worries that never stopped plaguing him. Even just remembering his burdens made his shoulders sag, and he turned back towards the center of their temporary town. 

Slowly Elih walked along, popping his head into each tent as he passed, checking in and asking about each family. In truth he was avoiding a certain tent, the one where Jessica was being held prisoner. He sighed as he ran a rough hand through his hair, wondering what to do. He knew he just didn't have it in him to kill her, even though she had committed Hilda's murder, and most likely was the one who caused Eric's death as well.

It wasn't that he had never killed before; heaven knew how many shifters had fallen from his blade. He just couldn't stomach the thought of even more killings. He didn't even think he could even fell another shifter, learning about Raiyne's humanity and remembering their aid in the fire had changed his way of thinking. He couldn't think of them as the way he had been raised to believe, as beasts. But he still had to deal with the murderer among them.

He stopped outside the tent that stood on the outskirts of both the forest and their thrown together camp. He felt a certain sense of dark foreboding as pushed aside the canvas flap. Inside, Jessica was sitting on the floor wrapped in a blanket. Her hair had a few more flyways than usual, but other than that she looked how Elih had always seen her. She calmly picked at the silver of rabbit meat on her wooden plate as two men stood just inside the door way watching her. Both were glaring at her silently. Jessica looked up to meet Elih's stare with cool eyes.

"Elih. You came to see me." 

"I came to try and decide what to do with you." He said bluntly. She watched him as he looked her up and down, reading the doubt in his eyes.

"Is the shifter dead yet?" The two men traded looks with each other behind Elih's back, and Elih sighed as he ran his hand through his hair again and ignored her question. Why did things have to be so confusing as of late? It all used to be so simple, shifters were the villain and humans were always the ally. And yet now the roles had been twisted and muddled, shifters were as human as they, his people were revealing their own dark secrets and killing their own while shifters ran with him while within the flames as they brought buildings down around their heads. 

"Why Jessica? Why did you have to make thinks so... conflicting?" She stared at him with passionless eyes. He heard a soft rustle of cloth behind him, and he turned to see Raiyne as her wolf standing quietly behind him.

"Raiyne. You shouldn't be here." She glanced up at him even as she approached, her silver green eyes veiled of emotion. She sat at his side, training her stare on Jessica, who was looking from Elih to Raiyne in complete disbelief.