Blackfoot

Chapter 12

Selene was awoken by the sound of lapping water, but it took a long time for her to process anything that was happening.

Her first thought was that she was cold, and as she tried to move, her second was that she was in a lot of pain.

Whimpering, she tried to pull herself forward, still in her wolf form, only to find the task incredibly difficult. She could feel that a lot of bones had broken, and even moving such a small amount caused her great exhaustion.

She took it slow, allowing herself to pull herself forward every few hours as she rested, her bones mending slowly. Nothing else mattered except getting out of the cold of the river.

Once out, she allowed herself to sleep properly, instead of just resting, her body so exhausted that she fell into sleep with ease.

When she awoke next, she tried to raise her head, but this still caused a lot of pain, so she huffed and sat still, working through what had happened.

She remembered the fight, remembered Bleeder gaining the advantage as she hang off the cliff. Then she remembered falling, anything beyond that was blank.

As she tried to focus, she realised that there was a large black form next to her. The thought of pain vanished for a moment and crawled over to the form, sniffing cautiously.

She whimpers. Bleeder was dead. Grief took over her and she cried loudly. Somehow she knew, he had broken most of the fall. Guilt kept her still, he had been one of the last, along with her, and now as far as she knew, she was the last.

Selene stayed there for a long time, letting her body heal and giving herself time to get over the overwhelming sadness.

Finally, with night settling in again, she struggled to push herself up.

Her back legs shook, one of them having a very deep gash that caused her to whimper. She felt so weak but she knew she had to move, she knew that she had to get back to the Company, she knew that Thorin was alright, but it didn't stop her being worried. Azog would not give up the chase easily.

Limping, she starts on her way, trying to keep a steady pace leaving Bleeder behind. She had to break often, the wounds in her body were many and she had stop to try and let them heal.

She was not looking forward to try and turn back into a human form.

At dawn approached, she rested again, breathing deeply, her body hurting. She could no longer control the whimpering and shaking. It was as she rested that a new feeling came over her and wearily she looked up, wondering what it was.

It was different to the instinct that she'd followed for 30 years, but it had the same insistency to it and she found it unsettling. As she sat, she thought heavily on whether or not she should follow it, as soon as she thought she shouldn't, the feeling gets stronger.

So, as dawn broke, she decided to follow it.

She was cautious, having no idea what she was getting into, and being wounded as she was, she was nervous that this could be dangerous.

Selene felt herself get closer and she slowed down, taking extra caution as she realised the forest around her, was filled with silence.

Freezing for a moment, she gives a cautious sniff of the air, smelling nothing, she continues.

The air feels colder and she finds herself walking lower to the ground, ears up, straining for any sound.

Finally, she reached a clearing and she froze. Before was the remains of what used to be a small village, many of the home blackened by fire, many in rubble. The wilderness had not reclaimed them yet, in fact barely anything grew through the dark ground, which still crunched as she stepped forward.