To Cheat Death

Chapter Three

I could run no more. I had followed the creatures. Their scent had led me to a huge city, where I could not follow.
It has been a week since I left my destroyed home. I have traveled farther than I ever have before. I have seen parts of the forest that I never knew existed. And in this whole time I have not seen or gotten any closer to finding and exploding the murderers weaknesses.

Landing on a tall tree and nestling into the branches, I Changed back human. I had been using sparrow, one of my last birds.

Using my animals to stave off exhaustion was not a good idea I hindsight.

Yes, I could stay awake for days using various animals. But then each one was exhausted until they rested normally.
Each animal had its own stamina different than mine. If I was injured that injury wouldn't transfer to my animals when I Changed.

Being separated gave me certain advantages over shape shifters. But it also ment when my animals grew hungry and tired. I had to individually rest and feed them.

As I perched high in the tree, my weak human eyes couldn't make out much of the city. It had at least ten houses and a store where they must sell food. A long flat place between the houses must be a road. My mother had told me story's of such places. Where overcrowding was rampant and everything was made hard and unforgiving.
Looking and counting the houses again I figured there must be twenty people at least that all lived so close together.

I shuddered. So many people. How did anyone breath?

A person came out of the food store.

I ducked even though it would be impossible for them to see me hidden in the dark branches.

I was not safe in my human form.

Fumbling with my bag, I pulled out sparrows feather again.
I had read before about humans chasing off vultures so I thought it would be best to go as something inconspicuous.

Changing quickly, I flew to to roof top of the nearest house. The metal shingles were hard and unfamiliar to my feet. And the stink of humans filled the air.

You would think I would be less judgmental against humans since I was partly one. Nope.

The person I had seen before walked by the house I was perched on.
It was a male with dark colored hair. His chin was sharp and angled. He face was pale and freckles dusted his nose.
He was walking confidently with a spring in his step, like he owned everything in sight.

My olfactory gland is weak in most birds but I could smell enough to tell that his scent was unchanging.

He suddenly stopped and slid around a house.

He had a secret. That much I could tell.

Flying over the house, I followed him into the woods.

He finally paused at a large oak. It was one of those lay-under-on-a-hot-day-with-a-book tree set in a small, timeless clearing surrounded by a high brambles.

Lots of privacy I noted.

I saw the girl before he did. She came from the forest. Her hair was dusty blond but I couldn't see enough of her face whether to name her ugly or beautiful.

She pushed through the brush and threw her arms around him.

Smiling, he held her close, "You made it."

"We don't have long." She replied. And proceeded to chatter aimlessly. Telling him everything that had occurred since she had last seen him.

They fascinated me.

Is this how people behaved?

My parents certainly never acted so...so carefree. The thought made me shudder.

"I got you a ring." The boy said.

A ring, I wondered. Why would a ring be reinvent to this conversation.

"I thought you would like this one, but if you don't we can always exchange it." He continued with a hopeful look in his eye.

"Dare. We talked about this. I don't want a ring until we're sure that this is even possible." She pulled away.
"Father still won't budge. He will never agree. And neither will your clan. He wants me to marry Benjamin." She scoffed.

He was proposing? How unromantic. I always pictured romance as an adventure.

Daring sword fights.

A battle to be won.
A damsel to rescue.

Conquering death on the brink of it.

On cold winder evenings, father would recite tale after tale of beating back adversaries to win a fair lady's hand. While mother rolled her eyes behind a book.

Grief pierced me. The wound was still raw.

But words from below interrupted my self pity. They were arguing. This too I found fascinating.

My parents did not fight often, but when they did it was like a thunderstorm shaking the windows and rattling your ears.

"I have some money saved away. We could run." The boy was saying.

"And what? Try to live banished from both our clans? Without their protection we will be targeted to join any cheap pack that was in the area. Or hunted down by bounty hunters. You really want to start a life like that?"
She crossed her arms and tears sparkled in her eyes.

"No. No." He shook his head pulling her back into his embrace. "I'll get you father's approval. Somehow."

I shouldn't be listening, this was too personal. I took off from the tree, startling them both.

"Just a bird." I heard him murmur.

Yes, just a bird.

My heart ached.

I need to sleep.