new day | ✔

iv

She stayed completely and utterly oblivious to the sinister silence of the coppice, and was simply blinded by the joy of claret in her mouth. Distant rustles and footsteps echoed through the woodland, muffled by a strong and brisk breeze. There was a small, floating orb of yellow.

River perked her ears in alarm as she turned her regal head towards the source of light, eyes straining to get a better look. Her pale eyes narrowed as there was a glint of something smooth and metallic in the darkness. Suddenly, as River raised herself up and contracted her pupils to daunting slits, a loud BANG reiterated through the landscape.

Her body flew backwards into a nearby trunk with such a brute force, that everything disintegrated into oblivion.

* * *

The sound of whimpers and soft growls tuned into her ears as she began to regain consciousness. Numerous cages abided the cold walls of the rectangular stone room. A singular, small square window stood on the far end of the last wall, stars sprinkled all over in the night sky. And on the other side, a heavy and moulded wooden door. The only source of light was emitted by a dim lightbulb in the middle of the room.

Wolves, raccoons, foxes and other mammals were cramped altogether behind the metal bars - all either injured or dying. Confused and clouded with angst, she jumped to her paws, but was brought back down with a harsh impact to her cranium. River pulled back her ears - head throbbing - and let out a soft whine.

She turned her head as the wooden door creaked open, new yellow light flooding into the room. Two, two-legged beasts strutted into the room, carrying yet another cage with two arctic hares. They tossed it onto a tall pile of foxes.

"The man wants a wolf."

"Heh, we hadn't gotten one ages!"

"Too hard to find, them sneaky bastards. Won't come within a mile to a human."

Both men looked at River.

"Ain't that a wolf?"

"You sure?"

The larger creature approached her cage, squinting his beady eyes. River wrinkled her snout as the scent of his sour breath entered her lungs.

"What a bunch of cock and bull. She ain't no wolf. She's a coyote."

"No such thing as silver coyotes. That's a wolf."

"Barely," he laughed, banging the roof of her cage. River flinched and sinked backwards. The Man thought for a while. "Tell him we've got his wolf."

"We're gonna get paid big gold for this!"

One of them smirked and walked out the mouth of the room. The other's callous hand outstretched towards her cage. With a small click, River's containment creaked open.

She lunged forwards through the small crevice between the man and the iron bars, narrow shoulders and hips allowing sly movements. Yet she wasn't quick enough. His large hand grabbed her by the scruff upon her neck, yanking her backwards so she was unable to escape. He lifted her up and off of her legs so easily, eyes studying her with much malice.

"Not so fast darlin'." he sneered sadistically.

There was an urge to escape, gnawing inside her.

Without even considering it, River twisted her lithe body and opened her maw into a gaping bite. In the faltering, amber light, her incisors glinted and plunged right into the man's hand.

With a fresh howl, he immediately released his grasp, staggering backwards with his left hand cradled over his injured one. Turning around to face her opponent, River lowered her neck to a fathomless glower, hairs on her dorsal bristling with hostility.

She pounced, her hind legs pushing her off the stone floor towards the man. Her body pummelled into his torso and she closed her jaws on his forearm.

But River was only driven on by pure abhorrent demeanour and hatred from her past, and was seemingly blind to how skinny, weak and inexperienced she actually was. The man whirled around and slammed River's backside into the wall of cages behind them, sending miserable pangs of pain through her spine. She released her bite and crumpled to the floor.

Drip. Drip. Dip.

Blood trickled down her lips and splattered on the moulded stone floor. Before she could react, the man's shoe made contact with her thin rib cage and she was sent skidding across the ground. She shot a glance at the man - who was grunting in pain, clutching his blood-drenched appendage - and took the only chance she saw.

River sprang to her paws and dashed out the door in two long strides, pain buckled through her body with each impact. A blast of frigid air cooled over her aching body as she ran outside into the quiet streets of Klondike 1930. There were small houses where humans would abide in, their windows releasing a soft glow golden light and voices filled with laughter echoed through the dark, snow-covered roads.