Changing Rain

Awakening

A shifter with the golden eyes of an Eagle jabbed his sword at Eric's heart, just missing as Eric nimbly lept away. He weaved his way through the seething mass of soldiers from both sides. He didn't stop to truly battle with any shifter, he had to push through to Raiyne, get her to somewhere safe.  

His feet left the ground as someone shoved him into a shifter. He turned to see the two shifters he had seen standing atop the hill. The average one gave a look of slight surprise, something that Eric thought he wasn't used too, the other was the familiar one, and now standing closer, he could see why he had looked familiar.  

They looked just alike, he and Eric. There were differences yes, his eyes were cobalt blue, a lighter version of his fathers, and the shifters were black, Eric was taller and broader shouldered. But the resemblance was there. They stood for a moment, studying each other through the falling snow. The shifter seemed unable to breathe for a moment, his disbelief was self evident, but something else shined in his eyes. Hope?  

With a snarl worthry of the shifter who stood before him, Eric swung his sword at his foes neck. The calm avrage one blocked his thrust and thrust him backwards. Eric shrugged it off and pressed on, he would stop to ponder these strange turn of events later, right now he had to focas on getting to Raiyne. 

Little by little he forced his way across his village till his back was pressed against widow Greths house, exchanging swordplay a shifter who screeched at him with the voice of an owl. Another well placed thrust smote the owl shifter upon the leg in a grave injury. Immediately the air around him shimmered, and a dusky gray owl flew away, it's injured leg dangling instead of being tucked up underneath. With a nod of grim satisfaction of one more enemy out of his way, He pushed through.  

Ducking around the widows house, he cut across her property. To the huge mill, that stood empty and unmoving as the bodies that now littered the streets. Eric looked down into the deep snow searching for track, hoping to find a trace of her, something to find her faster. Nothing.  

He pressed on into the woods, wondering why she had gone there in the first place, head franticly whipping to and fro for any sign of her.  

The din of battle began to fade as his search carried him onwards, the trees making him feel as if he were being watched, standing like silent sentries. Cold and unfriendly. The day was fading, growing darker all around Eric, soon he would have to give up, and return to the battle. A wave of dizziness made him stumble a bit, and he groaned. His sickness was coming back, worse then ever.  

A sound make him stop and cock his head, listening hard. There it was again, snow quietly crunching just a ways ahead. Eric charged forth without abandon, ignoring his pain and weakness. He stepped out from behind a tree and stopped dead in his tracks.  

The wolf was there. The wolf who had haunted his dreams, stalked his thoughts, the wolf that had killed his little brother was playing in the snow not eighteen feet away. It romped through snow high as it's shoulder, jumped to catch the thickly falling snow flakes. Snow dotted it's black coat, less apparent against the silver and gold stripes.  

As it stopped to lay down panting in the snow, Eric's rage and hate boiled up in a smothering cloud.  

It's comrades battled on in the war a few yards away, and here it lay, playing in the snow, without a care in the world. He glanced around the trussed up snow, and saw a Raiyne sized boot print, and the bag she always wore slung around her shoulders lying on the ground, half covered by snow. The world rocked under Eric's feet, he had to place a hand against the gnarled trunk of a tree to stay upright. The wolf had found Raiyne.  

Eric's sword raised on it's own accord, how dare it. How dare that demon take Raiyne from him. Sick and weak as he was. He was determined to kill the wolf at any cost. Eric took a deep breath to steady his shaking frame as he stepped foreword, a silent snarl on his face. At his first step, the wolfs' left ear swiveled around, the rest of the head soon followed. They held each others stares for a moment, then the wolf slowly stood and took a careful step forward, it's tail wagged once, expression almost sheepish.  

With a jump foreward, Eric lashed out at the wolf with all the speed and streangth he could muster. With a yelp, it dropped below his swing and jumped back. Eric follwed with a yell, right on top of it, cutting at it with all his effort. Somehow it managed to leap and doge away, if only just. He feinted left then pivoted right to jab at it's ribs, he missed its heart, but felt the blade sink into flesh anyways. He heard it squeal a little as he sword tugged on it's belly. Blood began to fall from the fresh wound.  

An angry glint, hard as stone sharp as a knife came into the wolfs eyes, instead of mearly trying to get away, it circled Eric, now trying to attack back. They kept each other at bay, it's silvery green eyes never wavering. Silver green.  

The tip of Eric's sword lowered a bit. Silver green eyes just like...  

The wolf lept and landed all four feet on Eric's chest. Throwing them both back into the snow, causing Eric to lose hold of his sword as the wolf tumbled past. Frantically he began to dig for it in the freezing snow, watching out of the corner of his eye as the wolf fought free of the snow, crept closer. He saw it lunge, and with a cry he threw his arm up in front of his face.  

Sharp, dagger like teeth pierced his skin with a wave of sharp pain as the wolf bit down on his arm and hung on. Blood welled up through it's teeth, but it didn't move, or try to hurt him further. It just crouched there, watching with steady, grave eyes.  

Eric yanked back on his arm while the wolf locked it's legs to stay in place. He kept yanking despite the pain, digging through the snow with his numb hand, trying to find his weapon. Then his hand closed on something hard and cold, an he pulled it free from it's icy prison.  

A rock, smooth and round, the size of a small squash. Mustering the last of his strenghth, he cracked the stone against it's skull.  

It cried out and let go, the air around it shimmered, and then Raiyne crouched there in half shift, rubbing the back of her head. Sharp claws were on her hands, sharp fangs dyed red with blood were in her mouth, and her silvery green eyes were edged in black, the tips of her ears pointed. Eric watched in horrified fascination as Raiyne slowly stopped rubbing her head, eyes widening as memories flooded back to her. It was as if a veil was lifted, her eyes became brighter, sharper, and fiercer. Her rigid posture became more fluid, more agile looking, and far more dangerous.  

Slowly she put three fingers to the blood that ran down her mouth, then looked at her finger tips in wide eyed horror. Then she touched the blood that dripped from the wound on her belly, looking numb, flinching from the sight of her own claws. Eric was shaking hard, disbelief and anger, and relief that she was okay swirled around in him. In that moment, he wasn't sure if he hated her or not.  

" Raiyne?" He croaked, his mouth and throat felt as if they were stuffed with sawdust. She flinched at the sound of his voice, looking up at him with a tourtred expression, a self loathing. 

" Raiyne, you? Your the wolf?" It came out angrier then he thought it would, his words cracked through the air like a leather bull whip. She looked down at her trembling, blood soaked hands before looking back at him, mouth working in an attempt to force words out. An apology? An explantion? He didn't know, he didn't care. All that he had ever learned to hate now stood before him, wearing the body of the girl he loved.

The girl he loved... How strange it felt to finally admit to the truth he'd been avoiding, and how heavy the burden seemed.

" I trusted you!" He screamed, pointing an accusing finger at her, eyes harder and fiercer then Raiyne had ever seen. She whipped he head back from him. And she ran into the twilight.  

She left him there, kneeling in the snow. Wet, cold, and totally alone., snow falling from the black sky. At that moment he felt no emotion, just... Empty. A feeling of being bound tightened around his chest, like tied ropes being pulled tighter, the feeling he always got when Raiyne left him. But this time it was so much worse, he could barely breathe.  

He gasped, becomeing aware that it was actually hard to breathe, he stood but his vision fogged. Head swimming, he tried to take a few steps, only to tumble into the snow. His stomach felt like a cold knife had been plunged into it.  

He retched and thick black fluid splattered against the pure snow, running in streams from the corners of his mouth.  

He drew back from the stuff, clawing weakly at his belly as more forced itself up.  

His vision went completely black, and he felt limp into the snow, the rest of his senses disappearing. All he felt was the pain, and the noose around his chest growing ever tighter.