Wolf-Shifter

Dancing among the Stars part 20

A young boy laughed, running near the river, his two companions chasing him. A woman slipped down into the mud and frowned as she saw her dress had gotten covered in muck, "You'll pay for that, Thom!" she yelled to the boy, climbing up the slight hill of the bank, red curls blowing in the wind and green eyes fierce.

"Not if I can outrun you, Gracia!" Thom called, brown hair disheveled and dark brown eyes sparkling.

The other boy, Phillip, stopped all of a sudden from watching the fish. "Wait you two!" He narrowed blue eyes and shielded them from the sun, blowing closely cropped red hair from his face.

His friends stopped, and looked at him.

"What's that?" Phil pointed and Thom splashed over to him, and looked.

"Looks like a body…" The man walked over to the willow, near the other back and investigated.

Gracia raised a brow, "You're crazy!"

"He ain't crazy" Phil whispered, "Just a little dead in the head."

Thom glared, "I heard that!" He looked back at the body and lifted it from the water, onto the riverbank. "He ain't dead, so that's a relief." Thom thought, checking the man's vital signs. Thom then gasped as he saw the fine features of a hunter. " By Thorna!" "He's a wolf!"

"Wonder what he was doing in the river, so far from the Lupine tribe." He murmured, slinging the limp form over his shoulder.

When Thom met the others, he immediately began toward the village. "Tis a wolf we have on our lands." He explained,

"Marra aught to fix him up though." Phil remarked.

They took the wolf to the bustling village, silent the rest of the way.

When Rakab awoke, he looked around and found he was on a bed, in a tent of some sort. Small night tables were set up between the beds and Rakab groggily noticed the bandages on his hands and feet and that his cuts had been treated. Lying back on the pillow, Rak sighed as the breeze blowing in from the window refreshed him.

A small voice brought him from his brief wondering, "Hello?"

He turned to see a woman, dressed in white, with a bowl and cloth in her hand, coming toward him. "Who are you and where am I?" he asked, the woman's face hidden slightly in shadow.

"You're in the village of the Panthera people, wolf."

"Panthera?" He was stunned for a moment, Senka had once told him that his childhood was with these people; that his parents had betrayed the clan's honor and were killed.

"Yes." The woman replied, moving into the sunlight. "And I am Marra." "My brother, Phillip, and his friends found you in the river this morning."

Rakab's breath caught at the woman's appearance: Lightly tanned skin gave her a golden light and washed-out blonde hair was tied in a loose bun, catching the sun, and kind amber eyes gazed at him.

"Yes, I know, wolf, I am no black-haired beauty, just a healer-in-training but at least you're alright."

"You are pretty, you know." Rak grinned.

She blushed, "Stop that!"

"Sorry, that was a bit forward wasn't it?"

She ignored the question and asked him, "What's your name?"

"Rakab"

"Well, Rakab, may I redress your wounds?"

Rak rolled his eyes and obliged.

After Marra had settled him back into the bed, she turned to leave but glanced back, smiling a bit. "Sleep well." She whispered before departing.

Namid slept that night in the forest and dreamt that night of the blue-eyed raven:

It flew and perched on a branch nearby, while she sat watching something in a mirror. The mirror was made of silver and marble and was cold to the touch as her dream-self picked it up.

The image of a kingdom in flames appeared and Namid was forced to look as the screams of the Lupine, the avian and serpiente filled the room and the heat of the fire burned in her skin. She saw pillars and debris crush people and heard the sobbing of others. A battle began again as the old hatred between the avian and the serpiente resurfaced and blood was spilt.

Namid's dream-self ran through the chaos, not part if it, but as if seeing it from another's eyes. She felt herself fall and the members of Sheeva Intre look down on her as one of him or her, Ralon, stabbed each member in the back and watched them fall in a bloody heap.

Namid picked herself up and charged at Ralon, in wolf form, enraged. Ralon easily dodged and laughed, "You think you can beat me, she-wolf?"

The woman then saw Ralon melt into the form of Rakab and saw him stab the knife into her stomach, and she fell with a cry, bleeding and dying.

"Scum" was all she heard as her dream-self tore her gaze away and, in slow motion, the mirror fell and cracked jaggedly down the middle.

The raven cawed and turned into the shadow-thing of rotting flesh, fading into the breeze, "I am a fragment of Ahnleh…sent to guide you. I may twist things and turn things, to my liking, but this future is still possible…" "I will become one with you soon, one with your fate that is."

Sleek is the wolf. Secretive is the raven. When both blend, they become one animal, one force.

Namid woke from the dream, gasping and sweating. Pressing a hand to her stomach, she closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. "Bless you Ylva, I do not have to suffer this fate do I?"

A distant, soft voice replied, "I do no know, child, only time may tell…but for now, sleep."

Namid felt her head fall back to the makeshift pillow and her fall back asleep, dreaming of happier times, while a blue eyed raven watched over her.