Full Moonlight [M] [DragonSong]

[Juno]

The full moon night.

It was the one time the she wolf felt drawn to step out of her shop, walk away from her books, and just be.

It was the rare time Kiesha felt truly connected with nature again and felt the most in tune with her wolf side. Every howl of the wind was sensitive on her ears and every shift of the ground beneath her paws rippled through her form as though she felt the Earth itself in her being.

The forests surrounding Ketra had served as her hunting grounds for as long as she could remember but she'd never considered them her own. It was far too close to the city to be a true territory, travelers always coming and going and there were plenty of unknown scents from wolves among them. Her lifestyle drove her to be completely non territorial, but she was usually careful to keep her distance from any others like her nearby when she could manage it.

She didn't dare hunt too close to her neighbors either, trekking far beyond the outskirt cottages to disappear into the dense trees. There the forests were truly alive and bathed in the wonderful glow and silver haze of moonlight. On the darkest nights her coat rendered her nearly indiscernible from the shadows, but the full moon shined a beacon upon her even as she moved silently through the trees.

Upon a hill in the distance Kiesha finally spotted her prey, a herd of deer had their heads bowed to graze as they shuffled around a clearing of saplings. With the icy wind at her back she made to circle them at a distance, maneuvering herself upwind to try to keep her scent from reaching them. Each step was carefully placed to try to maintain her relative silence and she drew nearer at last once she caught their familiar but faint musty scent on the wind.

She took her time observing the oblivious herd just trying to choose her target while remaining still as a statue. Stiff older does to softly bleating fawns were scattered among them though it was the younger bucks and yearlings that drew her interest the most. Trying to single one out was difficult and her mind became clouded by reasoning, the urge to choose best and correctly warring with the need to feast.

[DragonSong]

The full moon.

Gods how he hated it.

Most other aspects of his "curse" he'd come to accept and understand-- even enjoy-- but the sway that the moon held over him would forever be his greatest bane, his greatest weakness.

Elyan had managed to seclude himself away from any nearby towns or villages before the sun set, deep within the familiar embrace of the forests. He hoped it would be enough-- he hadn't attacked anyone in his "feral" form in nearly two years, but the risk was always there.

The change was painful, as it always was. Nothing like the smooth shiver from man to wolf and back again during the rest of the month. This was bones and flesh tearing, muscles morphing, his whole body rent asunder and twisted back together again but wrong.

By the time the moon had risen, the transformation was complete. The lycanthrope paced through the trees, walking bipedal but hunched forward, front paws nearly touching the ground, prepared to spring forward onto all fours at a moment's notice.

A scent tickled his nose and he huffed, jerking his head toward it. Another wolf?

Instinct rose up in him, demanding he drive the intruder away. With a low growl, he fell forward onto his front paws and began loping off through the trees.

[Juno]

In her silence the deer didn't actually notice her, but suddenly all at once they were snapping their heads up and turning to stare out into the trees. But...none were looking at her, not exactly. They were looking through her. That was odd.

A subtle tremor through the ground reached her paws and as soon as she'd felt it the herd startled and sprung away to race down the far side of the hill. Kiesha growled with her hackles raised as the tremors became stronger, honing to the distinct gait of a run.

She didn't chase after her prey, she could track them down again later when something big wasn't coming towards her. Instead she braced herself, the sound of crashing footfalls through the brush reaching her ears long before she could see the hulking form racing through the shadows.

Silver-grey eyes widened, lips curling back to bare her fangs as she suddenly found herself face to face with a beast she'd only read about in books before. The creature bounding toward her seemed caught halfway between man and wolf. For a moment she spared a thought of pity, but she was confused about what she'd done to earn the beast's attention so deep in the forests. She shook it off, though, crouching low to the ground and letting loose a warning snarl at the stranger.

[DragonSong]

The beast that had been Elyan snarled at the intruder to his not-territory, hackles raised and teeth bared in a clear challenge. He didn't charge, but every line of his body made it clear that he would if the she-wolf showed the slightest sign of aggression.

[Juno]

((OOC: Throwing an M on this in case this gets bloody >.> ))


When the beast stilled Kiesha's ears flicked forward just barely in curiosity before flattening back against her skull. His body language was clear enough, he wanted her gone but... Who was this thing to push her out?! Nobody held claim on these lands!

His bared teeth looked sharper than her own and his hulking figure was well-illuminated now by the light of the moon. The stranger was a good deal more massive than her own wolf. She looked him right in the eye though, teeth still bared in a low growl. Tail swishing slightly in agitation the she wolf took a half-step closer to him, lowing her head with snapping fangs as a snarl ripped from her throat. It was the best back off she could manage.

[DragonSong]

Elyan charged.

He didn't bother to snarl or growl. He gave no warning, just leaped forward with his front paws outstretched, twisted, humanoid fingers grabbing for the wolf's throat, claws glinting in the moonlight.

[Juno]

She hadn't expected the stranger to spring out at her. Really she hadn't expected anything other than him backing off, but she didn't have time to contemplate it as she saw the flash of his claws.

Kiesha scrambled back with another growl, a little ungainly in her unpracticed movements where she should have been agile. She paid for it, a subtle sting spreading to pointed bursts of pain as she felt a few of his claws connect and slice into her shoulder instead.

With a sharp yelp the she wolf turned her head to snap at him, sinking her fangs into the twisted creature's arm and giving a few shakes to dislodge him while struggling back. She finally ripped away from him and sidestepped further to put some distance between them, every movement painful and gushing a bit of blood down her foreleg as she continued to back away. The wounds would heal quickly once tended to, but dark fur matted with blood to hide away the slashes of pink flesh for the moment.

Who was this stranger just coming at her in the forest? She was a wolf and stronger than most, and for a moment she wondered if he would have killed any human he stumbled upon in the darkness.

Instinct told her to fight, to push him off her hunting grounds. The scent of blood in the air had her second guessing that, though. After a moment's hesitation she let loose a howl and turned towards the city, darting through the trees with a hope that the beast wouldn't follow her very far into human territory.

[DragonSong]

In the current state he was in, Elyan was less interested with pursuing and catching the perceived trespasser than he was with chasing her off "his" territory.

He thundered after the she-wolf, snarling and giving short, sharp barks that were more like quiet roars every few steps.

Eventually though, he allowed his pace to slow and peeled off in a wide arc through the trees. He paused, throwing back his head to howl, claiming the land as his, for the time being. The female seemed to be heading toward human settlement.

He had no interest in that.