A Shifting Land

Chapter 1

"Bladen!"

The little cat fought, her paws churning desperately as she struck out. Inky black water buffeted her, slamming her against rocks and trees.

She gasped, her claws tearing through branches. "Momma! Help me! Please, where are you.... I'm scared."

Bladen forced himself forward, his distinct black coat mirroring that his headmate's. "Swift. I'm here." He threw himself across her, their mind rocking precariously.

Water danced, throwing them high before sucking them low, a brand new toy, ripe for their delight. The storm whined, sending great winding fingers to pluck as the ocean played, begging to borrow a toy even for just a moment.

The water flinched back, waves slapping in jest as the winds poked deep, tickling even the earth beneath the sea.

Winds scooped the little cat, tossing her broken and battered body from hand to hand, borrowing even the breath from her lungs.

Swift slammed back down, bones snapping as she was swallowed back beneath the waves.

Her sight blurred, head pounding as the roaring of the waves faded away. "Bl-" she begged, words failing her as darkness stole her mind.

~~~~

Waves lapped, their ungainly dance disrupted with the rocks and branches left amid the silver black sands.

A young fox like canine crept, his coat blending nearly perfectly with the sands his belly brushed. His pointed face nudged at the debris, sorting pieces with a deft shove between his piles. His paws sunk in, throwing sand in plumes high above his head as he pursued a scent.

His feet froze, fur tickling at his paw pads. "Kareri?" He whispered, "Little sister?"

He dug, pulling sand back with 2 feet in great hopping motions. "Come on little sister, come on please... Please. Wake up."

His teeth sank into her scruff, sand coating his tongue as he pulled back, his body trembling.

She slipped free, the little panther dropping back to the earth.

The canine's tail shot up, tripling in size as he stared down at the Dukari at his feet. Tiny, barely his size, with salt encrusting her fur, she coughed.

He spun, his feet spraying sand across the beach. He leapt, his claws flipping him up into the tree far above his head.

Silver flashed, tightening around him as he shifted. His body shrunk, forced to separate fast as he evaporated. He glanced back, reforming on the other side, his neck stinging. A single piece of pitch black fur clung to the edge of the snare.

The fox scoffed, spinning back into his run. His paws bit earth, nearly sending him to the floor as he tried to catch his breath. "Mother! Alpha!" He stepped in, catching his flinch before his father saw again. "There's a demon on shore. Alive."

Grizzled and worn, his fur patchy with scars the old tod leapt forward. His chest met the little fox's face, driving him backwards. "And that gives you the right to disturb me and your mother when we are trying to sleep Kiri?"

The little fox, Kiri, raised his head, the challenge catching him off guard. "Alpha, with all due respect, this is a kitten from the mainland. It's alive, and I personally feel that as the alpha it is in fact your job to look after our pack from potential threats."

Alpha tilted his head, smacking Kiri into the ground with a single paw, "Alive you say? Impossible. After a storm like that, we barely lived and we took refuge high in the sky." He snarled, "And what exactly were you doing by the water? I have told you for the last 3 days to stay off the banks. The hunters are out there and I will not have you risking your life for the sake of a replaceable child."