Red String {EDITING}

Chapter Two | Through the Forest

She had no recollection of the place she'd been kidnapped from unlike the two of them. Maybe it was because she had pushed those memories of a happier place to one side. "You belong in the darkness."

Growling, Lyra padded onwards, scenting the air in front of her. Freedom tasted and smelt rather nice, especially with the slight scent of civilisation added to the mix. The scents were almost unnoticeable if one wasn't looking specifically for them, since strong, overpowering smells weren't kind to the Children of Night. They had enhanced senses compared to other creatures – specifically eyesight, smell, and hearing. Three things which made them the ultimate moonlit hunters.

Her added speed with her gift only made her that much of a better hunter. Though she'd never had a chance to compete in a hunt, or some sort of race for speed. There were many of those, whether they be cycling or a race in the four-legged form, but with her upbringing competing in such events hadn't been possible.

While other children were out playing with their parents, she'd been learning the vital points of the body whether they be in furry form or otherwise. When other children had been learning to ride bikes, she'd been busy making corpses out of her targets. While they'd been enjoying their childhoods, she was busy being tortured and tormented in hers.

Her neck itched again, and Lyra made sure to ignore it. There was no point in stopping just to scratch at her neck. It was all in her head, anyway.

Wind ruffled through her fur, and she continued to run through the forest. Tiredness was eating at her limbs, her belly growling with hunger, but Lyra only paused to rip some berries she recognised off the bushes – and even then that little break was only five minutes at most. The other two followed in her lead, chasing after her as she continued to run and run until the trees began to thin out.

It was mid-afternoon by then, but they were out. They were safe, for the most part. She just needed to keep herself that way.

Yawning, Lyra crept behind the nearest tree, shifting smoothly back onto two legs. She stretched out her hands, relishing at the feeling of her opposable thumbs. It was one of the reasons werewolves rarely tended to shift while about the house. Hands could do plenty of things paws couldn't. Shifting had become less of a common occurrence compared to the warring years centuries before.

Though if Omega Taurus had any say, they'd bring those years of bloodshed back about.

That was one of the key reasons she despised them, not including all the torment they'd personally put her through – and if that alone wasn't enough to make her despise them, she didn't know what would.

Pulling her clothes back on, she stumbled back out on aching legs, eyeing her two companions as they joined her – dressed, ready, and utterly exhausted. "We're not far out from the nearest town," she said, sniffing again, turning her head towards where the scent of civilisation came from. "This way, but once we reach there, you're on your own," she continued, walking away from them both without another word.

Snow crunched under her bare feet, and she pressed on. She could ignore the icy chill, yet another useful thing that had come from all her training. Crisp, clear imprints of her feet were left in her wake, but they were far enough that it didn't matter. As soon as she took the nearest bus, her trail would be that much harder to pin down.

A smile curled at her lips, cold and utterly feral at the thought of her long-awaited freedom. She was almost there, and she could almost taste it on the breeze.

"Soon," she whispered, brow wrinkling as she sniffed at the air again. There was another scent on the wind. One she recognised rather intimately, having spilled it many a times. "Blood," Lyra realised, eyes narrowing on the direction it was coming from. Someone was bleeding, and from how strong the stench was – they were close. "We need to move..."

"We can wait for a few minutes, can't we?" Gwen's voice chimed, cutting off her protests before she could. "We're all exhausted..."

"I'm going on ahead," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "I guess this is where we part ways then..."

"Oh." Gwen blinked. "I guess... well, thanks for getting us out. I know Three really appreciates it too!"

Lyra sighed. "I don't need your appreciation," she grumbled. "Though don't stay here too long, unless you've lost your sense of smell you should be able to scent all the blood in the air."

"Probably just a hunt," Gwen said cheerily.

"Suit yourself," she said, running towards the town or village she could scent on the wind. "Try not to get caught, would you?" she muttered, knowing already it was likely a lost cause with the two of them.

Hurrying through the forest, fallen leaves and snow underfoot, she smiled – and promptly tripped over something lukewarm and vaguely person-shaped.

A corpse.

A recently killed one too.

Lyra groaned, pushing herself to her hands and knees, not wanting to look at the cooling body she'd just tripped over. Today was not going to be a perfect day it seemed. She glanced up, blinking at the sight of the pair of feet in front of her, and her eyes locked on the bloodied knife clutched in one hand. "Oh... I thought they'd cordoned the area off already..." Chocolate brown eyes sparkled with madness, and Lyra fought the urge to sigh in exasperation. "Too bad for you."

Lyra stopped fighting the urge and sighed loudly. Her eyes turned red, her ability cooperating with her once again, and crimson sparks crackled to life around her body. Today really wasn't going to be her day it seemed.