I had been running for a long time. It was tracking us, the one who killed my mate. It had taken it three day but now it had finally caught up. It was time to die.
Beside me ran my two legged pack sister with her long reach and cunning fingers. But now all of her long claws were spent and all she had left were the bright fangs at her hips. She slowed and took out the last of the drink of second wind. I knew it was the last because there was only one. She looked from it to me as we ran and I knew she was thinking of giving it to me because of the pups I carried. I had only a week left but I knew I would never see them. Our hunter would never allow it.
It galled it even think it, ‘our hunter’. I was a mother of the pack, a daughter of the moon, I was not meant to be prey. All things died in their time and this was to be mine. If that was the case then I would not die as prey. I slowed and then turned to face our enemy.
It didn’t take it long for it to find us. In form it was much like my sister but as wide as it was tall, and it was tall enough to stand above some of the younger trees. It wore no outer skins save a tattered deer pelt held to its waist with some rope. In contrast to the elegant fangs of my sister, it carried a dead tree with a stone tied to the end. While my sister could make her fangs glow when she wished, the stone seemed to glow with its own fell light. Perhaps it is nothing like my sister after all.
As we readied ourselves I saw my sister's eyes were once again filled with damp like they were when my mate was killed. I could not allow myself such luxuries. I crouched low and ready with my tail straight back in defiance of my discarded fear. For once I had decided to die, what more was there to fear. No, the only thing to do now was to try and take this evil thing with me into the dark. I crouched and waited for the beast to come close enough. My sister moved to its flank.
It started, the dance. The creature took a step and sister dashed by, grazing its leg with a fang. The beast tried to swing its club at her and I flew in like a raincloud and bit his thigh, spoiling his swing. Just as fast, I let go and faded back into the brush. When he turned to find me, my sister struck again. This is a dance we have had with many partners before. The problem was the beasts hide was too thick, we couldn’t do any damage. My sister had said we needed the red woman. I could understand, when she called fire and lightning there were few that could stand up to her. It was not to be as much as I imagined I heard their howls in the distance.
Just then I saw the beast make a mistake spreading its stance too wide. I thought I knew a way to hurt it. Before it could rebalance I darted behind it and jumped between its tree trunk legs snapping my jaws shut beneath its deer pelt covering. On nothing. Surprisingly it was a female after all. I was disappointed it wouldn’t give what my sister called ‘solidarity’ when we teamed up on my mate.
The thought of my lost mate reignited my flagging rage and I spun in time to dodge the descending club and bite into its hand. It screamed as I finally drew blood, if only a scratch. I had to dance and spin desperately as it kept its focus on me. My sister laid into it for all she was worth but seemed to be having no effect. Then I heard a familiar voice followed by a whistling sound. I looked over to see the red woman creating a ball of fire between her hands as her brothers charged forward. I paid for my moment of inattention.
The stone struck me directly on my rear haunch, throwing me across the clearing and into a tree. I could still see when the red woman’s fire struck the beast’s head, making it shorter by just enough. I was prepared to die, but as the world faded to black I couldn’t help feeling bad for my pups who would never have a chance to see the sky. It was my last sorrow.
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As I died I saw the long story of my life. I remembered my litter mates and my mother. I remembered when she told us to run shortly after we were weaned and she was caught in a leg hold trap near the long horns we had been hunting. I remember wandering hungry for a long while until one day I had caught a rabbit by hiding in the shadow of a cloud and using it to sneak up close.
I remembered the day I met my sister as she saw me dancing between cloud shadows trying to find the right one to hunt with. She laughed and named me cloud dancer. I was afraid of her at first, but I was also still very hungry. She drew me with treats and calm tones and a few weeks later used her magic to make us sisters. It was good to have a pack again.
I remembered the day we met the red woman and her brother. They were traveling with the almost brother from my sister’s old pack and the stinky pale man. I could tell the almost brother wanted the red woman as a mate but no one else could, let alone the red woman. We started traveling with them and soon they were like part of the pack too.
I remember the sorrow when the stinky pale man died to the two legged sky lizard. We left the pack for a time after that. We went back to the forest. That is when I met my mate.
I was in my third heat and he came sniffing around. He was a little older than me but very cocky. He strutted around and wouldn’t leave when I bit him. He was very dashing but my sister and I were fine alone. He hung around all through my heat and then it was over and I thought he would leave. I was wrong. He never came too close to my sister but when we were out hunting he would show himself to let me know he was still around. My sister wondered why he had no pack but I knew. Like my bright sox that made me have to use cloud shadows to hide, he was all dark. So dark he was like the hole in the sky where the moon should be when it dies. Even his tongue was black. It made sense my sister wouldn’t understand since the red woman and her brother were dark too. It didn’t seem to matter to the two legs.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
He kept coming around and soon would come and try to play whenever I was alone. I wanted to but I couldn’t abandon my sister. He soon let her come with us but wouldn’t let her touch him. We spent many days in the forest hunting and he learned to like my sister's long reach almost as much as he liked my dancing.
Soon a year had passed and I was in heat again. Of course he thought just because he was around I would let him have me, stupid male. I let him sidle up to me at first and then when he tried to mount me I spun and pinned him by the neck. I let him up and he slunk away with his tail between his legs. My sister acted surprised but she just didn’t understand, I liked him but he had to prove himself.
A few days later he did just that. He came up to our den dragging the largest buck in the forest. The one I had been eyeing off and on all last fall. I still have no idea how he killed it on his own. He dragged it in an layed it at my feet. I was so impressed my tail was wagging like a puppy. I ate my fill and we came together. When we were done and he was stuck in me, my sister came forward and made him part of the pack too. That was also the day I found my sister could turn redder than the red woman’s dress.
Unfortunately the pups didn’t take. My sister said it was too late in the heat. I would remember for next time. The next year was the happiest of my life. We called my mate Ink after the two leg thing. I wanted to call him The Last Shadow At The Turn of The Moon Before Dawn but my sister couldn’t say it with her accent.
Another year had passed and this time the pups took. Then the red woman came to us. Her brother needed help. He needed us to go forward and find the prey he sought. I remembered how much she hurt when the pale man died so I didn’t want to go but my sister said it was important because his prey had to be hunted or it would be a problem here. So we set out not knowing we wouldn’t see the den again.
All was well for several weeks. We went ahead and marked the way. Every few days we would meet up with the others. Then we came to the pass in the mountains. It was an old human path, long unused. We left the others, taking only the talking stone the red woman gave us. We followed the road from the woods and wild scree on its border. We descended to the other side of the pass and found the prey we sought. Hundreds of hundreds of beasts. Some two legged, most not but all of them acting like a single herd. They moved across the ground like a shadow, but no cloud shadow ever left the ground so broken and defiled. There was something evil about it and we could all feel it. I wanted to flee back to the safety of the pack but my sister and my mate wanted to see more so we could know how to hunt this prey.
I remember three days ago we killed a green skin with a stick because my sister wanted to see the strange rock on top of it. As soon as we did there was a wave of power from the center of the hoard, then we were running. All that first day we would stop and sister would use her long claws to kill and green skins while my mate and I would kill or lame the four footed beasts. Once they started to bunch up and become too many we would run again.
I remember at sunset on the second day we killed the last of the green skins but the great beast finally made an appearance. We tried to fight it but couldn’t hurt it so we ran. We ran but every time we tried to rest it would catch up. We were getting tired and sloppy. When the moon set my mate had had enough. He licked my face and nosed my belly where our pups were growing and then he turned to delay the thing as long as he could. A short time later we heard him howl in challenge. We ran for miles, periodically hearing crashing or howling in the distance. Then as dawn neared I remember one last howl that was cut off short.
I remember running over all of that day and hearing that thing get closer and closer. I remember three times my sister reached into her pouch and brought out her drink of second wind and having us each drink it, even though we knew it would be bad later. I remember realizing we would never reach the red woman. I remember deciding it was time to die well.
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I became aware in fits and starts. My sister was over me with the red woman. She was crying and asking for help. The red woman said that she couldn't because of the bad magic of the stone. My sister howled he greif. I heard the red woman interrupt my sister's howling. She said she couldn't save me but might be able to save my pups. This made me happy even as I died. I felt the pain as they cut into my belly. They drew out three pups but only two were alive. I heard my sister promise to take care of them.
When I was next aware it was strange, I could see all around me. I realized my body had been put under a pile of stones just like the pale man. For some reason I could see outside the pile slightly. I could also understand the two legs better.
"What's the harm in taking the skin Amanda," asked Jacob. "Ogre hide is worth a bundle, remember rule one.”
“Fuck you and your rule one Jacob,” my sister shouted, “the thing chased us for three days and it killed both of my pack.”
“What are you complaining about,” Jacob said. “You got replacements, the black one with the sox is actually pretty cute.”
“You know what Marissa, I know we were friends but I’m done,” my sister said to the red woman. “I just lost my family to help your brother and he is acting like I misplaced a dagger.”
“Hold on Amanda, if you quit now you’ll have a black mark with the guild,” the red woman said. “With how long you went inactive you can’t afford that. If they boot you you’ll be levied in moments, either by the king or worse by some noble. They are desperate for scouts with how bad the wildlands are.”
“They’ll have to find me first.”
“They’ll find you, or worse they’ll hear about you and use a sovereign command to compel you.” the red woman put on a sympathetic face. “Just finish the job and no one will be able to come after you for at least two years.”
“Fine, but keep your brother’s mouth shut. And leave the ogre to rot.” my sister said with heat. “I still don’t know how we can face this hoard?”
The red woman pointed at the still glowing stone at the end of the ogre’s club. “That is part of a larger artifact. It has some kind of soul magic. Whoever is doing this broke it up and is corrupting it to control all these monsters. If I can get a piece and get into sight of the hoard, I should be able to disrupt it. Then the hoard should disperse or fight amongst themselves.”
“Fine, let's do it,” my sister said. “The sooner it is done the sooner I can get back to the forest and the sooner Jacob can get back to licking some nobles taint or whatever it is he does.”
Jacob was visibly shaking with rage but he kept his mouth shut under his sister’s glare. A moment later the red woman sent a blast of lightning to break off a chunk of the magic stone. When she did I felt an energy like the essence my sister taught me to draw in. On reflex, I pulled it into my core. Once I did, the world seemed to stop and I heard a woman’s voice and everything went dark.