The Beast Within Us

Chapter 4: ⑄ Chala

⑄Serell nodded, seemingly pleased enough with her response. He knew it was the most he would get out of Yara, but he promised himself that he would provoke more of a reaction with the gift he planned to give her before her journey. 'She will love it,' he thought to himself, 'and perhaps it will even be of some assistance on her quest.'

The king pondered his gift even after Yara left. As he thought, he realized that he had seen his beloved smile only once before to one other person. Darryn, one of his warden's soldiers. Serell's brows knit in contemplation of that fact, a little jealousy bubbling up in him. Even if he got the reaction he desired upon giving Yara her gift, the fact remained that Darryn had needed to do no such thing to win such a prize....

'Perhaps he should be removed from the equation...' It wasn't an unpleasant thought at all. But those were matters for another day. The young king rose from his seat to set off on his next task with a chilling grin.

• • • • •  

A fresh blanket of snow covered the forest floor, crunching softly with every step. The forest was quiet aside from the soft patter of snowflakes hitting the earth and the occasional rustle of a tree branch as a birds take flight. Cool grey eyes peer out from a nearby bush, observant and calculating as they take in the surrounding area. No prey had revealed itself just yet, but it was only a matter of time.

A nearby bush shook with sudden movement, and Chala's ear flicked in the direction of the noise, not at all concerned with the dire wolf that padded from behind the snow dusted leaves and up to her side. His ear swiveled forward in question, as if inquiring if they should proceed, and the tigress flicked her tail briefly before stepping out into the open. Qifi waited patiently behind her, tongue lolling as they continued the search for their next quarry.

• • • • •  

Chala huffed. They'd been hunting for hours, but had come up empty handed. The hares hid in their warrens, and no boars were brave enough to venture out in the snow. The elk had been oddly scarce in this particular part of the forest - much more so than usual - and even the birds kept to high branches. The wolf beside her shook out his fur, tail lowering a bit as he touched his nose to the tigress' should with a low whine: he didn't like how empty the forest felt this hunting trip. Chala was more than inclined to agree at that point and assented to her partner's judgement.

The two turned back, travelling side by side through the snowy forest until they came to a tall fir tree with large claw marks across it's trunk. Chala nosed at the loose bark plank that covered its roots, revealing two sets of clothes underneath, unaffected by the frosty weather aside from a chill to the touch.

Chala shifted first, standing naked and bare in the snow as if the cold had no affect, which in truth it didn't. Her tail swayed behind her, helping keep her balance as she crouched to pick up her clothes and put them on. Qifi stood watch first for many reasons, one being that it was less out of place to see a woman and wolf in a snowy forest than a man and a tigress. The other was that his hearing and smell were the better of the two, though Chala had him bested in a contest of keen sight anyday.

Once Chala was done Qifi moved to take his turn. But, just as he had grabbed the garments in his jaws, his ears flicked and pricked forward. Raising his nose to the wind, the wolf's hackles rose and a low growl rumbled in his chest. The tigress took notice of her partner's warning, crouching and glancing around for any sign of trouble. Sure enough, a few feet away dark figures moved between the trees, coming towards the pair with obvious malintent. Chala's tail lashed as she edged away from them, eyes narrowing and pupils contracting to dangerous slits.