"after them!" The alpha shouted; he stomped his massive paw; his eyes were wild and bloodshot; his fur bristled. The wolves charged at them, snarling and snapping their jaws. Cedar and Phoenix sprinted, dodging and weaving between the trees, trying to lose their pursuers in the forest. They could hear Talvi's labored breathing and the sounds of her pursuers closing in behind them.
"We can't lose them like this." Talvi panted as she kept running, her lungs burning and her legs feeling like they were made of lead. "They'll just keep following us." Phoenix grunted, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he dove under a low-hanging branch. "We need to find someplace to hide, someplace they won't be able to follow." He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes darting through the trees, searching for any sign of the wolves.
"Mud should do the trick and mark our scent; it gives it away." Cedar suggested, nodding to a nearby muddy area. Phoenix glanced at him, then at the mud, before nodding in agreement. They veered off their course and headed towards the muddy area, their pursuers still somewhere behind them. As they reached the mud, they rolled in it, covering their skin with as much mud as they could. Once they were coated in the muck, they began to scatter, running in different directions in an attempt to confuse the wolves.
"We are already in our human forms; it's easy for us to get away from them." Phoenix panted, still running through the forest. "But Talvi, you can shift into a small animal, like a rabbit or a squirrel. It'll make it easier for you to lose them." Talvi nodded, already beginning to feel the familiar tingle in her limbs as her body started to transform. She let out a yip, her body growing smaller and furrowed and her legs lengthening into powerful hindquarters. With a final bound, she landed on all fours and sprinted deeper into the forest, her newfound speed and agility allowing her to easily evade the wolves that were still chasing after Cedar and Phoenix.
Cedar's mouth dropped to the ground in awe and shock as he saw Talvi shift into a sleek, pure white wolf. "I love it when she does that!!" he exclaimed, his voice loud enough to attract enemy wolves. "I will never get tired of seeing your wolf form!" Talvi looked at him, her amber eyes shining with a mixture of embarrassment and pride. "It's just something we do," she said simply. "It's part of who we are."
"Talvi can shift into three forms: wolf, fox, and rabbit, she told me once," Phoenix explained as they continued to run. "She's the only one of us who can. It's a rare and powerful gift." Cedar nodded, impressed. "I wish I could do that," he said, panting from exertion. "But it's still amazing that you can. It's like you're part animal, part human."
"She's a wolf-silkie; she shifts different forms more than one. The elders taught her the other two." Phoenix added, and Cedar's eyes widened in surprise. "You can shift into a fox, too?" Talvi nodded, her amber eyes gleaming in the dim light of the forest. "I haven't mastered it as much as the other two forms, but I can manage." She glanced over her shoulder, making sure they were still out of the wolves' reach. "Foxes are clever and sly. It's a good form for getting out of tricky situations."
Cedar's ears, picked up at the sound of thundering paws, grew louder and louder; the wolves were closing in on them once again. Phoenix looked back at Cedar and Talvi, his eyes wide with fear and determination. "We have to find a place to hide," he whispered urgently. "They'll catch us if we don't."
Cedar's gaze softened as he looked at Talvi, then back at Phoenix. "We'll find somewhere," he promised, his voice firm. "We'll be okay." He took a deep breath, trying to steady his racing heart. "Let's head towards that clearing up ahead. There's a big tree in the center with a hollow in it. Maybe we can hide there." Phoenix nodded, his expression grim but determined. "Okay," he said. "Let's go."