Protector of Lost Children

| CHAPTER XII |

Hello, Readers! Please enjoy!

~CSP2708~

| Chapter 12 || Sisters Reunited |

The snow drifted under her feet as she ran, her large paws acting as snowshoes. She knew that she could run forever and not get anywhere, but anywhere was better than when she was. She had to get away from the other guardians. Her friends. She didn't want to hurt them, so she had to leave.

As soon as she'd gotten outside, Lupa's body had morphed into a sleek lynx, allowing for easy movement across the deep snow outside. Her paws were much larger than a regular cat's, nearly the size of her head so that he could spread her weight out and not sink. 

Her short tail bobbed behind her, and her ears stung from the cold, though protected by the black tufts on their tips. She could feel the snow gathering in clumps along her belly, caught in her thick reddish-brown fur.

Around her, there was nothing but the vast white landscape, formed into rolling hills, and if only the hills were green, she could be prancing through a meadow on a warm summer's day. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

The snow was cold and the wind seeped through her flesh, a chill sinking deep into her bones. It had been a while since her toes had lost all feeling, but she wasn't concerned. She was immortal. All the feeling, but none of the damage. Unless another immortal tried to kill her. That was one thing that she was worried about.

Lupa snapped out of her thoughts as she came to the edge of a tall cliff. Below her, icy water crashed savagely against the glistening blue wall of the glacier.

Ignoring the obvious height of the glacier, she jumped, transforming into a beluga whale in midair. She belly flopped into the chilling water, bubbles rising all around her as she sank deeper and deeper. She swam away, her eyes closed, allowing her echolocation to take her far away from North's workshop and the glacier he lived on.

Not a few hours later, after transforming multiple times mid-journey, finally becoming a giant anaconda as she swam down the Amazon River. Crocodiles and large fish passed her, but they were dwarfed by her immense form.

Slipping out of the cool waters, she finally shifted back into her human form, sitting on a log. There, she pulled her knees up and brought her arms close around her body, sobbing quietly.

"What's got you so down?" a voice suddenly questioned, startling her.

Lupa jumped up, spinning around. Her arms raised, protecting her chest and prepared to strike. In front of her, having appeared out of nowhere, was a girl. She looked to be Lupa's age, but she could never trust appearances, seeing as she herself was over centuries old.

"Sorry," the girl said, holding her hands up in a non-threatening way, "Didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm not scared. I'm just...surprised. W-who are you?" Lupa asked cautiously. Her arms were still in her boxing stance. She'd lifted onto her toes, bouncing slightly in anticipation of a fight.

"Peace, friend. I don't want to fight. Judging by your looks, I feel like I would lose anyway, so I won't even try," the girl assured her, her tone suggesting a possible joke in her words, but Lupa didn't laugh.

The spirit of the wild did relax, however, sensing no danger from the woman standing before her. "How do I know you? I feel like I've seen your face before," she replied. Her eyes studied the other woman's face more closely than before as she noticed the familiarity she felt with her.

"No?" the girl asked. "I think I would remember you." She held her hand out. "I'm Emily, also known as Mother Nature."

Lupa froze upon hearing those words come out of the other spirit's mouth. "Emily?" she asked in a breathy exhalation.