Venus

Chapter 3 - The Final Puzzle Piece

Venus wasn't sure what happened.

The shattering of glass. The clinks and then a thud. Not just one.

One breath. Two. Pain.

Her chest, her arms, face, neck, everywhere.

Screams.

And a low, fierce growl.

~~~///~~~

The gray cloud that was fogging up her mind was quickly cleared away when a horrible, burning pain ran through her veins. Sharp pains, as if knives were being thrust into her joints, and the cracking and shifting of her bones caused her to be vividly aware in the moment.

Venus screamed, barely noticing the wet feeling of tears sliding down her face. With each shift and crack, her voice grew hoarser until she could only moan and groan with the constant torment.  It felt as if her body was twisting in on itself and all she could was claw the floor below her, her fingers sinking into the soft dirt.  A small thought, fleeting in the midst of her pain, where am I?

Just as suddenly as it all started, it stopped.  Venus was left panting, laying on the ground, too exhausted to move.  She was still sore, but that discomfort was quickly disappearing as well.

Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings. She was, she thought, in the middle of the forest, the only thing she could see for miles were trees and the litter of old and decayed leaves.  She lifted her head from the ground, looking around in every direction, wondering how she got out here when she was originally at Wyn's house.  With a gasp, Venus pushed herself up onto all fours, the memory of a beast smashing through the window suddenly prominent in her mind. 

But the memory was quickly pushed aside when she realized she was standing on four paws.  What the shit?  She turned her head to get a glimpse of her body, noting the fur color was that of a wolf.  WHAT THE SHIT?  She thought louder.  Lost in the middle of the forest and a wolf of all things?  What the hell was happening? 

Venus whined, looking at her surroundings again.  She needed to get back to the house to make sure her family were okay.  But she didn't know what direction the house was in, she didn't even know if she was even in the same state anymore.

Her mind was clouded in panic, keeping her from being able to think logically. She circled herself, whimpering and pawing at the ground.  Breathing heavily, she made false starts in random directions, unsure and confused.

Then her mind cleared when she smelled a calming scent.  She stilled, her head raised in the air and began taken deep breaths.  It was a smooth scent, she wasn't sure what the smell was, all she thought was that she should follow it.  There was no other option.

With one last deep breath, Venus made her way forward through the forest, following the scent. She was wary of putting her trust into something she can't even see, but Venus didn't really have many other options, and one of them was stand around and panic. Which gets her nowhere.

In the back of her mind, she still couldn't get over that she was an actual wolf.  Maybe she was lucid dreaming?  She perked her head up at that idea, but then realized if she were lucid dreaming she'd be able to show up wherever she needed to in a moment.

She snorted.  So not a dream.  How the hell was she a wolf then? 

Venus stopped and crouched low, hiding under the forest's undergrowth when she heard the crunching of feet and people talking.  She crawled forward slowly, trying to sneak a peek of who they were.  Maybe she could get help from them?