The Etherealites

1: Haldryn - Chimera

I run through the thick Halveer Forest, my wolf form a gray streak through the dim night. As I race over the thick grasses of the forest, my ears pick up on the sound of something following me close. I turn my head as I slow a bit, scenting the air.

A ghostwolf shoots past me, her sleek, silver coat shiny in the shaft of moonlight she'd sprinted through. I smell the thick, cloying, coppery smell of blood on the air. I turn and follow the ghostwolf, her four legs carrying her far faster than my normal wolf form can hope to follow.

I haven't heard of any Chimera with their beastial side being a ghostwolf, as those are extremely rare. But, regardless, I press on, following her.

The ghostwolf skids to a stop, and pants hard as she stands at the edge of a river. I stop too, hiding in the weeds. Luckily, I am downwind of her, but still, I assume she will know I'm here before long. Ghostwolves are rare, like I said, but this one, a massive female with silver fur and piercing green eyes, turns side to side, searching. But searching for what, I wonder?

Suddenly, the ghostwolf leaps into the air, and falls into the water, vanishing from sight. I charge forward, looking around and sniffing the air. But I don't see or smell her, and I listen close, but do hear the rushing water.

Suddenly, I see a woman climbing onto the bank of the opposite side of the river, her clothes sticking to her pale skin. Her red hair is plastered to her face, and she brushes the wild strands away from her eyes, which.... are piercing green.

A Glamor? What is a Glamor doing here, in the Halveer forest, which is where the Chimeras hunt?

The woman climbs up the bank, her white dress shredded, bloody, and now, muddy, too. But as soon as she reaches the more even ground, she coughs hard. Blood splatters the rocks below her. I feel my wolf side brace itself. A battle. A weakened creature. In my hunting grounds.

No, no. I need to remember that first and foremost, I am a Chimera, who is half wolf, half man. All Chimeras are half human, half beast, but we wolves are one of the strongest. But for this Glamor or Chimera or whatever she is to be a ghostwolf, it's a bit .... odd.

I pad through the forest, watching the wounded woman, as she collapses onto her face, laying facedown in the mud. I search the rushing river, looking for any rocks to use as a makeshift bridge.

But then, I realize this woman isn't getting up, and she likely can't breathe very well, facedown in the mud. So, I don't think as I leap into the freezing water. It knocks the breath from my lungs, and I swim up, morphing back into my human form. I heave my body, now heavy with the cold water, up onto the bank a few feet from the strange woman.

She is still not moving. I'm glad that even when I'm not in my wolf form, I have the same senses of a wolf. So I can faintly hear her thundering heartbeat. The rushing water is too loud to hear more than that. So, I scramble to her side and gently flip her over onto her back.

I brush away some of her hair, and wipe off some mud, letting her have an easier time breathing. But I realize then that she's not breathing. I lean over her, pumping my hands on her chest, giving her my own breath. She finally gasps, coughing hard, her eyes flying open.

I scramble back as she rolls onto her side, coughing. She looks up at me, her wild eyes focusing on me. She then crawls back away from me, as though afraid. I see her stomach is where the blood is coming from. She's been stabbed. And she's losing a lot of blood.

"I won't hurt you," I assure her, my voice rough from me not using it in this form.

"Who ... who are you?" she asks. Her jaw trembles, and she stares up at me like she's afraid. And the tangy scent of the fear she feels fills my nose. I lean forward, and she inches back, scrambling on all fours.

"I am Haldryn," I say. "A Chimera. And you're in the Halveer Forest, which is our hunting grounds. Who are you?"

"I - I'm Rune," she stutters.

I nod. "Well, it is nice to meet you, Rune. But ... I must ask, what happened to you? How did you get so wounded?"

She looks down at her stomach, as if she's just now realizing that she's bleeding. As if that was some kind of dark cue, she collapses into my arms. I pick her up carefully, and start to walk through the forest, searching for a hunter's cabin, where there's likely to be some kinds of things to heal her. I don't want her to die, so I'm hurrying through the woods as fast as I can on my two human legs.

I will make sure Rune is alright. I can't let her die. I don't know why, but something tells me that I can't let her die. So, I run to the nearest cabin.