Spirits of the Earth

Karaya crouched low in the tall field of wheat, her eyes widening with excitement. She had been travelling for a while, and hadn't gotten a good catch for days.  At first, she had came to this farm because there were a lot of vegitables, but Karaya quickly abondened that mission when she saw the cage full of fat rabbits attached to the house. Her eyes were set on a particularly large white and gray one. However, she had to wait until the farmer went inside for his lunch. She amused herself by making a game out of it, but after a while it was getting REALLY boring. That was why when he finally laid down his tools to go inside, Karaya practically jumped to her feet.
Hurry up, hurry up..! she thought. The young wolf-girl practically bolted for the rabbit cage the moment the door was closed and locked behind him.

Karaya focused really hard to get her hands to transfer into claws before carefully unlocked the lid and pulled out the white and gray one she had her eyes on.
"Stay still, ya lil' bugger!" she muttered, struggling with the creature before finally breaking its neck. The rabbit yelped.
"Hush!" Karaya scolded it, but it was too late. A pair of angry eyes peered at her from the other side of the window. Karaya blinked for a moment.
Crap. Time to go!
She blew a raspberry before bolting into the wheat fields, adrenaline pumping through her. Karaya could hear the farmer yards behind her, shouting for her to come back and that he would butcher her. Karaya giggled manically as she bolted through the golden wheat fields, letting it conceal her small and thin body. Sh could hear the sound of dogs, too, which surprised her.
Where'd they come from? she thought.

Finally, she made it into the dense woods, the sky a canopy of leaves. Karaya wished she could slow down and cook the damned thing, but the dogs were gaining on her, somehow. Karaya picked up her pace. There was a clear stream not too far from here, she knew.
Dogs can't follow me there, she thought with a wolfish grin. Good thing, too. She was starving!

It was late afternoon, the day warm and Sebastian, being lazy, took this opportunity to nap within the shade of an old oak tree.  He had just taken a dip in the waters, trying to calm and rid himself from some of the fleas he acquired, (a new infestation from his recent visit to town), when he had become tired (from both the bathing and the itching) that he curled up to nap. His boots were lazily cast to one side, his shirt, barely buttoned back up and exposing some of his chest and a few tufts of his hair there, and the bottom, was only half tucked into his pants. His hair remained a mop of curls and waves, as it was still wet and drying while the man lazily slept on a rock out in the sun where there was a break in the dense canopy of trees.

So when he heard the barking of dogs, the scent of another wolf (and freshly killed rabbit), he began to awaken. Though he was a lazy one, not entirely ready to wake up yet. Part of him hoped they'd run the other way as he tried to drift back off to sleep, but the scents and sounds were growing closer. So he turned his back towards it and sighed, nestling back into the warm, sunny rock and just ignoring the chaos that was ever approaching.

There were only two dogs anyways. He could deal with them if they happened to...
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
And the man was back asleep, the warmth of the sun having lulled him, despite his senses itching to want to steal the rabbit or his curiosity to check on the young wolf (or werewolf as it were). But he could smell she was a young one, so it was of no real consequence to him. She'd be able to out run the dogs...
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Once she got towards the waters Karaya giggled maniacally.  Man, were dogs so dumb! She began to wade over, enjoying the sensation of the cool water between her toes, when she noticed a figure across the stream lazily lying in the shelter of a rock. Karaya gawked at him. He was a well enough dressed figure, but that wasn't it. She sniffed the air. Wolf. He smelt of wolf! Karaya clutched to her rabbit, suddenly confused. She hadn't been around wolves for a long time- two years was forever!- and her time away had made her bold. Well, he didn't smell that much of a threat.

She curiously approached him. He looked asleep. Karaya looked over towards his discarded boots and down at her own bare feet. He was asleep.  The young girl pondered on stealing the shoes for a moment. She had time. Karaya grinned mischievously as she stealthily approached and grabbed the man's boots. Her ears picked up when the sound of dogs suddenly increased. Karaya tilted her her head up to see moving shadows between the trees. The young girl rolled her eyes, and darted  through the forest. Thrills ran down her spine as she practically skipped in excitement.

His ears pricked up to the sounds of the approaching chaos-
that, and the thieving of his boots.
"Hey!" he barked out after her fleeting form, a remaining flea having becoming stirred and leaping into his eye. What the fuck!? Growling, he rubbed it away and got to his feet, just at the very moment the dog's crested the hill with a feral bark.

Gritting his teeth, Sebastian swore. "Shit." Why couldn't they just run the other way? He thought dog's hated water, but nope, these hounds dove right into the water (maybe it was cat's that hated water..). Baring his teeth, he swore again and leapt off his rock and landed into the tall reeds at the shore, pushing his way through in a hurry as he dashed off after the girl.

The scent of wolf was clear, as as the scent of his dirty, old boots. He'd get them from her soon enough,a nd shake the dog's while he was at it, but man, what a way to wake up after a nice afternoon of sleeping in the sun! So as he rushed forward and made grounds upon the girl, he figured leaping would be a much quicker method of travel.

So he leapt, landing in a tree, then leapt off a few more trees along the way in long, bounding jumps before he found himself quickly upon her. Then, in another long leap, he landed hard on the ground before her with a smirk and turned around, his shoulder hunched forward. With a fluff to his hair to push it out from his eyes (which failed to work anyways as the curls hung heavily in place), he casually put out a hand while his other leaned against a nearby tree.

"I do believe you have my boots," he said, smirking, and waited for the child to give them back.

Though Karaya wanted ever so much to think that she had lost the wolf and the dogs, she knew better.She could smell Sebastian in the air, even over the reek of his foul boots. She gritted her teeth. Her hands were full. If they weren't, she would have already drawn a knife to gut him the next time she saw him, wolf or not!
My boots, now, she stubbornly thought. 
Yes, Karaya could smell him nearby, but though she looked around, she couldn't see him. It was when she tossed a glance behind her when she hear the snapping of twigs right in front of her. Karaya took in a sharp breath as she immediately drew to a halt.

"Oi," she muttered with a frightful scowl. It wasn't fair that he caught up with her, even after being asleep and all. Karaya glared at the man with the floppy hair. She panted for breath, sweat forming on her  brow.  She hated the way how he just stood there, all easy like. She was about to snap something catty back, but then she heard the sound of dogs heading their direction.
"I only took one stinkin' rabbit!" Karaya exclaimed as she suddenly bolted towards the east, through the trees. She wasn't about to let go of either the boots or the rabbit quite so easily!

Sebastian smirked. It was obvious he startled her, and she had no idea what to do as she tried juggling the rabbit and his boots. But at her line in defense, he quirked a brow, then turned from her as she ran away, hearing the dogs' snarls and barks coming from the other side of the trees. He bared his teeth, feeling the wolf inside him want to come out, but he held back for the moment and took off after the young girl.

"One stinkin' rabbit, and my boots. I'm sure you can steal a pair that might fit you a little better than those." He was almost upon her, grinning as the wind rushing through his hair actually worked to plaster more of it against his face. "I do have rather large feet, after all, little she-wolf."

There was no sense in hiding he knew what she was. And she was a really young wolf at that.
"Don't you know the silly laws with these humans?" His dark green eyes sparkled. "And besides, you should have waited to steal it at night." He grinned this time, baring his teeth as he kept pace at her side. "Then I could have helped you steal all of them."
He had (somewhat) of a plan to do that, after all. That is, if he hadn't been distracted with his fleas and sleeping.

Karaya frowned as Sebastian managed to keep up with her yet again. Her ears pricked up at the mention of her identity revealed. Karaya gave a wolfish grin at that. She wasn't surprised at all that he knew. Takes one to know one, after all.
"I can sell them," she retorted. "You ain't the only one out there with big, stinkin' feet!"
She was too proud to add the reason why she would sell them. In any case,  her words were only meant half heartedly. It was clear she wasn't going to get away with stealing the boots, but Karaya didn't want to let them go quiet yet. She frowned as Sebastian got too close. Karaya  slowed her pace so that she was a few paces behind him so that she could see him better. His words fascinated her.

"Screw humans and their laws. I was hungry," she scowled, but a light danced in her eyes at the mention of stealing all of the rabbits. 
That sounded perfect, but entirely too much so.
"Why would you help the likes of me?" Karaya challenged as she kept her grip tight on the boots. 

"Why not?" His words simply pressed, he slowed down only slightly, keeping his head turned to her, but another eye on the path ahead. "I haven't had rabbit in a while, and farmer's keep theirs plump. They would cook well over a fire, or even eaten raw in such a state." He was salivating over the idea. "And if we wanted to get our hands on a bunch of rabbits, it would be hard for me to carry all of them." (though he had (almost)) managed something like it before, plus he saw no reason not to help her. She was a child after all, and it beat the bordeom he had been under when lazing about in the sunshine.

"Beside, what have I got to lose?" he said, smirking and scratching at his fleas. "And, " he then pointed to his boots. "I still want those back. They are mine." And a small glint of feralness shone within his eyes. Perhaps he also wanted to help her because he knew he was no alpha material, and her being so small, it was easy to dictate orders to a young pup when giving orders. That would certainly be a change of pace! And well, there was still a part of him that was meant to be part of a pack. A child was something he knew he could at least protect, farmer, dogs or other wise. Though, it wasn't like he was deducing that as he ran.
It was what it was.

Karaya listened to the stranger in silence. She grinned at the idea of eating the rabbits, ALL of them. Eating raw in her human form seemed disgusting, though, and she made a face to illustrate that point. At the feral look the stranger gave her, Karaya instinctively frowned and ducked her head. Her movements were subtle, but she seemed almost smaller.
He's right, she thought with a frustrated groan. She hated it when people she didn't know were right! How dare he be the boss of her! But  as Karaya  glared up at the stranger wolf-man, she knew that she should team up with him, for now.
Don't mean I have to trust him, she thought. So long as she got a rabbit or two out of this!

"Keep 'em then! They smell horrid," she growled as she picked up her pace and tossed the boots in his face. Then, all of a sudden, her face broke out in a geninue grin. Karaya almost looked innocent in the way children only could. She bit her lip and looked around the forest. She had passed through these parts before, and if she remembered correctly...
"This way, Floppy!"
She lead Sabestian to what seemed like a small rock wall. Beyond it, she knew was a field of red and golden flowers that would mask their scent entirely.

Sebastian caught the boots and scrambled to keep after her. If it weren't for his long limbs, it would be more of a chore, but this racing around was getting the better of him as they took their chase into some sort of flowering meadows. And there was pollen and bugs everywhere, enough to catch wind of his nose as he paused, only briefly, as he sneezed. He used this moment to slip on his boots, catching the sound of the hounds still diligently behind them. "Are you sure we weren't safer in the woods?" He sneezed again, scratching at another flea. God damn bugs! He'd have to take another bath later.

Once in the field, Karaya crouched down low to hide in the flowers and tall, wild grass. She panted despireatly for breath, but tried to keep herself silent. She scowled at the stranger's sneezing and fussing.
"Shut up and get down!" she ordered. The girl tilted her head to the side as she watched him scratch himself, and then yelped a little when she realized why. She scooted away from the man just a little, giving him a look as if he had caught a deadly virus. Karaya hated fleas, though lice was worse, especially with her hair. She shuddered. This man better not have lice, or she was out of here! However, there was no time for questions when the dogs entered the fields, the farmer behind them. Karaya held her breath as they sniffed around. The farmer looked beat.
"Bah!" he finally spat. "Come on, boys!"
He lead his mutts away, rubbing his lower back.

Karaya practically squealed from joy when they were safely out of her line of vision.
"Did ya see that?! Did ya see that?!" she whispered, excited.

Sebastian followed her lead, crouching down and keeping low. And after she began to make a fuss once the farmer and dogs were gone, he couldn't help but smirk at her excitement- smirk, and scratch more at his fleas.
"Yeah, I saw. I saw. I was right beside you," he said, giving a throughout scratching through his hair with a growl. His hair then fell into an unruly mess about his face as he sighed. "I might have to pay that river another visit." he said, picking out one flea nd pinching it dead between his fingers. "Damn human town gave me fleas."

The stranger wolf-man looked so silly with his hair all over the place that Karaya couldn't help but to fall into another fit of giggles.
"Right away," she said bluntly.
Karaya jumped to her feet and stretched. She hadn't had a run like that in a while and felt fantastic. She turned towards the stranger. Now that they were alone, Karaya had a lot of questions to ask her new, potential partner-in-crime.
"What human town, Floppy?" she asked as she began to walk towards the path that would lead to the stream.

Sebastian gave a smirk.
"The illustrious city of Avendara." He gave a leisure shrug of his shoulder as he followed behind the hyper little girl. "Where there are meat pies, warm beds, and fleas. Definitely a city to behold." He wasn't sure if she'd get the sarcasm, and despite him being witty about it, the city was fine itself. Fleas aside, there was some nice company (especially for the right coin, or no coins at all if you were good with your tongue ), and the meat pies were actually good (He had stolen one while he was visiting. Though he was pretty sure when they claimed it was chicken, that it was definitely something else, like squirrel or perhaps even cat or deer. Or a mixture of all three, perhaps).
He'd hav e to try anothe rone when he was in town. Maybe Karaya and he could swing by there and have a taste- though,  the more he thought on it, he had to wonder why he would consider dragging the young pup to the city.
Well, perhaps he'd owe her that since she'd be the one to lead him ot the rabbits.

Mmm, rabbit. They would eat good tonight!

 "Avendara," she repeated with a frown. Yeah, she had passed through there before. She didn't know what was so great about it, having missed the sarcasm entirely. It had been cold and rainy and it had been hard to find decent shelter. She ended up spending the night in some old stable, but got kicked out by an angry inn keeper. Some of the food she stole from the bins weren't half bad, though. Speaking of food... Karaya's stomach growled loudly.
"I'm so hungry!" she exclaimed, frustrated. The girl rubbed her stomach as they strolled through the forest path to the stream. The girl resolved to make a fire by the stream so that she could have some food while he bathed.
"So, Floppy-" Karaya continued, when she realized she was calling him by a nickname she automatically assigned. Karaya paused.
"Oi, do ya got a name?" she asked.

At her complaints about being hungry, Sebastian only smirked.

"Well, cook up that rabbit. But tonight, just remember, we'll be dining on many." And he left her to tend to the meat. It seemed she knew what she was doing, so he let her work while he moved nearer to the stream, pushing buttons out of the holes as he rustled his shirt open and looked back at her when she asked his name. He kept a subtle smile, pulling his shirt up and over his head, exposing his bare chest, littered with bits of hair and scars here and there, and a lean array of muscle.
"Sebastian," he said, moving down to unbutton and delace the front of his pants. "Sebastian Caft."

And seeming not to care he as in the presence of a young girl, he dropped his pants and stepped out into the stream, pausing only briefly to study the waters. When he found a darker area, he walked out towards it and let himself sink down into the deeper waters, until he was completely submerged. He came up a minute later, sputtering out a single breath and smoothing back his hair with a large hand. It was here he paused to look back over at the child-wolf with a little more scrutiny in his green eyes, but then he went back to itching his head before he laid back within the waters and just let his scalp and hair soak while he stared up at the clouds.

"So have you got a name, pup?"

Karaya wasted no time in building a fire. The skill came as second nature to the young pup, and as Sabestian began to undress by the stream, her eyes lit up as the flames started to grow. She didn't mind his nakedness. It meant nothing to her- the men in her old pack were like that, too. It didn't intimidate her none, though Karaya couldn't help but to notice that Sebastian looked strong.
And survived a scrap or two, she thought, fascinated by the scars. One day she'd have some like that, too!

So his name was Sebastian Craft. Sebastian. Karaya wasn't one for dropping "Mr" or "ma'am" or "sirs." The girl supposed, though, she ought to call him Sebastian rather than Floppy. Karaya crossed her legs as she skinned the rabbit using one of her knives. It was a rough job. She managed to get it done properly with only some blood on her tunic. The girl hadn't bothered to even think about sharing her name until Sebastian popped his head out from the water and asked her, just as she was starting to turn the spit over.
"Yeah," she replied with a grin, her bright blue eyes meeting his green ones. "It's Karaya. Just that. So you're a loner too?"

He continued to let himself float back, hair soaking in the waters. Her question carried over to him, and he could hear it, despite the stream moving beside his ear.

"Yeah, I have no pack," he shrugged and sat up, water spilling down him from where it had soaked up in his hair. He raked a hand through it, before shaking his head, and his whole body, much like a wet dog, before glancing over at her.
"Karaya.." he smirked. "Karaya the packless one." he said, trying out some semblance of a nick name.
Hey, she called him floppy, and had she been older, he might have been offended. Though he knew his nick names never stuck. It was too much effort. If anything, she'd be called Karaya, or just simply 'pup'. He moved out of hte waters now and sat beside the fires, letting the heat dry at his body. No sense in getting dressed when he'd just get his clothes all soaked, but he did manage to chance a glance over, and smirked, realizing she hadn't touched his boots. Good, at least she dropped that claim. I fhe had to, he'd challenge her and put the pup in place, but was relieved she seemed to be amicable enough. Perhaps the child knew pack etiquette well enough to know to obey her elders, though he had to wonder how old she actually was. He could only guess by smell, but sometimes he was god awfully inaccurate on guessing true age.

Karaya nodded at Sebastian's answer to her question, and inquired no further. She scowled at the title he bestowed her before pridefully sticking her nose up in the air. Yeah, she didn't need any pack! She could protect herself just fine on her own. When it was cooked enough, Karaya quickly picked the spit out of the fire, blew a few times and tried biting. Her effort to eat were only met with her pulling her head quickly back, her tongue sticking out.
"Burhs," she pouted, more to herself than to Sebastian who had sat beside the fire. She didn't mind his presence. For now, he was okay and he wasn't too close to her, besides. For a few content minutes, Karaya ate very noisily, ravishing the cooked meal. She was really hungry, and the first few bites only reminded her of the past few days she had gone without a real meal. Karaya ate the thing to the bone. She didn't bother to offer any to the man. He seemed fine, enough. Karaya let out a happy sigh when she was done.

"So full!" she squealed, wiping her mouth with the edge of her dirtied sleeve.
Her eyes darted over towards the stream. Karaya slowly stood up and walked towards the waters, enjoying the feel of the sand beneath her bare feet and the cool water. With a delighted giggle, she waded into the water. Her tunic fluffed up, so she dunk her whole body in so that the water weighed it down.  The water droplets clung to her curls and sparkled in the sun.
"So, Sebastian! How do we steal the rest of 'em?," she eagerly asked.

Sebastian smirked.
"If you can't tell, I run pretty fast," he said, figuring he was dry enough as he began to pull on his clothes. "So the real plan is to wait for the rabbits to be unguarded, slip in there together and cut their throats, then take off with a sack full of 'em." His grin widened enough that it exposed his teeth. "If we need to, we could dispose of the dogs first, or at least make sure they are locked up. We could move a few crates infront of the farmer's door so he'll have trouble getting out and pursuing us right away. But the best time for rabbit stealing is after they've all gone to bed." His eyes sparkled at the idea. There couldbe other complications, but those were things they could deal with at the time- you know, if they were to even arise.

Karaya listened to Sebastian with utter fascination. She nodded eagerly. His plan was bold and daring!
"I like it!" she said as she waded in the water. The girl carefully removed her doll from her belt and dunked it under the water to wash it. Fishstick had gotten dusty from the road. Karaya diligently cleaned it until the doll was heavy from the water. She laid it out by the fire to dry.
"This is Fishstick," Karaya said in a formal voice. She narrowed her eyes at Sebastian, as if daring him to challenge her possession of a doll. She would have removed her belt, but she didn't trust Sebastian enough to place her knives in an area that was easy for him to reach. Her eyes traveled back to his scars. Though she contained her questions earlier, Karaya couldn't help but to ask them, now.
"Where'd you get those?" she asked, breathlessly.

Sebastian smirked as he examined the doll, but said nothing.
Though whens he posed her question, he glanced down at his scars and shrugged.
"Werewolves, men and sharp fences," he said with a grin. "And perhaps a hound or too." he gave a good scratch under his arm before glancing back down to her doll. "So why Fishstick?" It was a curious name.

"OOoh," Karaya breathed at the explanation of the scars, her eyes shining. Those sounded like wonderful stories, though she was disappointed when Sebastian didn't dive into any of them. Instead, he asked her about her doll's name. She could tell he thought it was queer.
"Cuz it's Fishstick," she retorted. "He got little fishie bones in him, see? He's a tough 'un."
Karaya returned her to her playing in the water, when a patch of red caught her eye.
"Huh?"
A small patch of yellow cloth stained red was stuck between two rocks in the water. Karaya gingerly picked it up and sniffed it. She  scowled and closed her eyes.

"Come on, come on," she thought concentrating really hard until...
On the top of her head popped up two mangy red wolf ears. Karaya gave a wild grin as she perched herself on top of the rocks, listening closely to the forest over the sound of the cracking fire and the murmurs of the stream. In the distance, a mile- or was it a mile and a half?- away, she could hear the loud voices of men and horses. Karaya drew herself out of the water.
"Sebastian, look," she said, shoving the cloth into his hands.
Well this was a damper to her plans!
Bandits? They had better not be coming this way.

Sebastian tilted his head curiously as the girl scooped something out of the water. but she didn't need to show him that it reeked of blood. His eyes narrowed upon it before he stared off towards where he could smell a group of men off in the distance, but they were quickly approaching down an unseen trail.

"Horses.." he growled, allowing his ears, a tail and claws to come out, his teeth even sharper as he stood back defensively.
"There's a whole group of them, come on." he took Karaya by the hand and ran with her from the waters and into the brush, dunking down low and waited, peering cautiously over the thick grasses with an anxious, slow thump of his tail.
"I think I hear them coming," he said, lifting a finger to his lips as he signaled for Karaya to be quiet as he watched and waited, and as he predicated, a group of well armed men came riding past. There was at least ten of them, and much to his dismay, they decided to stop RIGHT at the waters were the pair had just been relaxing.

Shit..
the fire was still burning nearby from cooking the rabbit. He wondered if that would give them away...
He could take on ordinary men no problem, but they looked pretty mean, well seasoned and as he let his nose twitch about- he detected some poison.

Growling softly, he lowered himself even closer to the ground.
"We might have to wait for them to be off before pressing on," he informed her in a cautious whisper. "Let's hope they won't be here for long."

Her ears twitched at the sound of coming horses. Sebastian was listening, too. With no effort at all did he expose his ears, tail, and claws. Jealousy stirred in the young pup's heart. She wished she could do so that easily.
"huh?" she muttered.
Without warning, Sebastian grabbed her by the hand and ran towards the bushes. The pup reached out for her doll, her eyes suddenly wild with desperation.
"No!" she protested, squirming, but it was too late.
When Sebastian FINALLY let go, the girl bolted to her feet, but immediately came down at the sight of well armed men.
Drat! she cursed.

The girl fiercefully growled under her breath.
Oh, those men would pay...
Her eyes were glued on Fishstick. The men laughed as they sat around the fire. One picked up the ugly doll and showed it off to the others. Karaya instantly drew one of her leaf knives, ready to stab someone's eye out. She flashed her sharp teeth. For a moment, she thought the man would have thrown the doll into the fire, but she relaxed only a little when it was tossed aside, by the rocks to be forgotten.
"That was our camp! I don't wanna wait," she whispered through clutched teeth as the man tossed the doll. What she wanted to do was to beat 'em up good and take their goods. They were wolves, for crying out loud! They could take on these humans. But despite what her heart wanted to do, Karaya knew that those humans could kill her very easily. They were fighters, the lot of 'em, and she was just a pup.
When I'm a full grown wolf, this will be nothing.

A half hour later, though, she was enthralled. The men argued among themselves about some paper  and purse that they were throwing around. They nicked it from a Connloath duke who was visiting some friends. At the talk of money, Karaya's blue eyes sparkled. She didn't get much else of what they were saying, but whatever was in that purse was sure to make her filthy rich! She turned  to Sebastian with a stupidly wide grin. This news was better than any old hatch full of rabbits!

As the two remained silent observers within the bushes, he patted Karaya upon the back about her doll.
"Don't worry, we'll get Fishstick back," he told her with a grin. "And if they harm her.." he gave a nonchalant shrug and returned his gaze back to the men. "I'll kill them."
Sebastian was a smart, but at times, he wanted to play the fool. He knew when to stay cautious, but even he loved to do dumb moves. Perhaps it was the part of him that wanted to challenge his father, or the pack he really never had, to challenge authority, to challenge the world. He had gotten into a good many fights that way, just listening to his balls over his brains, but right now, he DID have a child in his care. So he'd allow himself to remain less foolish, and more brave in his speech. Though in truth, he would attack those men if he had to for her doll. As a wolf, he was still over protective by nature, even without any drops of alpha blood in him, a trait that never carried over from his bastard father.

But then as the minutes passed by and the men were talking about 'Gettin' filthy stinkin' rich' somethign about gold, a treasure, he noticed the way Karaya's eyes lit up.
"Don't tell me you're getting an idea in that little head of yours," Sebastian playfully growled beneath his breath. He shook his head. "However...Mens' gold would be rather fun to obtain.." Sebastian said thoughtfully with a stroke to his chin, then an irritating itch to his hair. Damn fleas. He kille another one between his fingers. It seemed they were so damn persistent. Damn human fleas.  He should never have taken that woman to bed. Though his body would have said other wise. Flicking the dead flea aside, he studied the men, watching them take to booze and sharpening their knives, the sound of which grated on his sensitive ears.

"I wonder how much longer they intend to be here," Sebastian muttered, for even he was losing his patience. He'd rather risk getting skinned alive than wait any longer. He wanted to be off to get those rabbits, though he had a feeling, both he and Karaya might have a change in plans as he watched them uncork another bottle and begin a second round of drinks.
He turned to Karaya, "Hrm.. how good are you at playing pretend?" he asked in a whisper.

Karaya was surprised by Sebastian's response about her doll. She stared at him for a moment, taken aback. It was the first time in a long while anybody had ever said they'd do anything for her, even kill.
What's it to you? Karaya thought, but she held her tongue. Perhaps he was just letting the excitement get to him. She giggled at jest, nodding proudly.
"Plenty of 'em," she boasted.

However, her face fell at his question of the men's lodging.
"I  dunno," she whispered in a pout. She couldn't wait here forever, not like before. Karaya narrowed her eyes, confused at Sebastian's question.
"Pretty good," she said, hesitant. "Why?"

"Well," Sebastian said, leaning down and whispering into her ear. "It seems the men are in awfully good spirits, and I think the alcohol is to blame. If we play our cards right, we could pretend to be a pair of travelers simply passing through. Father and daughter, or big brother and little sis," he smirked down at her, baring his teeth. "Perhaps we can get in cozy with them and see what information we can gather, or... you know, play off of some frantic emergency and get the camp all riled up when they're good and drunk." He shrugged. "Either way, it's better than playing the waiting game." And he gestured with his head. "And I'm sure you're eager to get your doll back, too."

Karaya pondered on Sebastian's plan for a moment. Well, she'd been around enough drunk people to know that they could get really stupid. Plus, these men didn't look like they were the smartest specimen of their species. It was worth a shot, though Karaya wasn't so sure that his plan was going to win them in those men good favors.
We can beat them up if they try anything, she told herself. Besides, walking sounded good. The girl thought for a moment more before breaking into a delighted grin. Oh, but was she clever!

"Alright," she agreed, slowly crawling backwards. She motioned for Sebastian to follow her lead.
After a minute or two of patience and slow movement, Karaya managed to hide behind a cluster of trees without being detected by the men. She then closed  her eyes really hard. Suddenly, her wolf tail and ears were gone.  Satisfied, she strunted towards the path. There was no sense for them to just reveal themselves from the bushes. It would have been obvious that they were there the whole time, in that case. Once out in the open, Karaya  gave Sebastian a wink before taking in a deep breath and bursted  into tears.

Well, if they wanted to get the men's attention and play pretend, Karaya's crocodile tears were pretty convincing. He had already transformed back into his regular, 'human' form before the show had begun, but he was more or less leisurely following her as the two departed from their former safe haven (aka- the bush!) So when the water works began, Sebastian's mouth fell open an the entire camp of men turned their grubby eyes upon them. Sebastian was quick to rush to Karaya's side.

"Hey, hey.. shhh, calm now. What's the matter Laylah?" he said, brushing some of her fake tears away with a thumb. He was on one knee before her, the men all staring skeptically as the camp had gone mostly silent from their display. His face was turned to her so she could see his smile, letting her know she was doing a good job.

"'Ey.. what's going on over there?" one of the men said, rising off of his feet, sword in hand.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but only Karaya would be able to see. Turning around, he gave a concerned frown towards the men.
"So sorry to bother you folks. We had been passing through this way earlier when my younger sister here had lost her doll. We were trying to get to my father's place up North. You see he's ill and dying, but my little sister here won't go any place without that doll. So you can see our dilemma."

The men all exchanged glances, before one of hte gruff men out front, with only one eye and no hair, gave a toothless grin.
"Oh, you mean this doll?" he said, plucking up fishstick so that she hung limply in his hand.

Karaya nodded as innocently as she could.
"Uh-huh," she said, making her voice sound dumb like some of the human girls she met.
The men chuckled crudly as the one with one eye examined the thing closely.
"Ugly piece o' shit, I warrent," he grumbled as he chucked the thing at the girl.

The other men, even those who had been sitting down, were now all standing up,    quietly.
They're mean, Karaya thought as she scanned them through her puppy eyes. They were being entirely too hostile. The gang had to be hiding something good!
"Ye got the doll, now go away!" the gruff man growled.
One of the men, a shorter one with a head full of golden curls that didn't look it had been washed in weeks, narrowed his eyes.
"You two were in an awfully hurry to leave," he said.
Karaya frowned and looked up at Sebastian. Normally, this was when she bolted, but she was with an adult wolf now.
Do we fight them now? she wondered.  Or did Sebastian have another trick up his sleeve?

Sebastian lifted his head at the blond man's question. He then tilted it.
"Were we?" he gave a shrug. "Not really. We were just being careless. I never was any good at travel. It's why we rarely visit my father. I tend to lose too much on my way from here to there, even if i'm just going to the market for a loaf of meat. Er, bread. That.." and he gave the men a cheeky grin. "And my father's a bit of a bastard."

Karaya relaxed at Sebastian's lead.
"He hits," she added with a sniff, clinging onto Fishstick.
The blonde man scoffed, though did not say a word. The bald man exchanged glances with a few men in the back, who nodded. He grinned, wickedly.
"The hasty sort, eh?" the bald man said, eyeing Sebastian's finer clothing.
"Well then, yer best be off-" he said.
"Wait!" another interrupted.
The voice belonged to a figure Karaya instantly recognized as the leader of the group. He was dark haired with beads in his beard, and had a hooked shaped nose. He smiled warmly, though there was a disagreeable look in his eye.
"Why don't you two stay a while," he suggested in a smooth voice. "I'm sure your father can wait for but ten minutes."

Sebastian tilted his head as the bearded man came out with a smile. He knew trouble when he smelled it, but only smiled instead.
"Only if you're offering alcohol," he pressed. "I haven't had some good ale in days, and my little sister and I could use a drink." His grin grew wider as he ruffled Karaya's hair. This might not turn out as planned, but perhaps they could still play a few strings in order to get this incident to head in the  direction they wished. If not, they could always turn into wolves and make a run for it. But he rather liked the exhilarating feel of not knowing the out come. He was always pushing his luck, though this time the stakes were higher. He did have the responsibility towards this young child, and even he, as hopeless as he seemed, was no heartless wolf. Even still, danger was still danger, and danger was awfully fun.

Men don't change at the drop of a pin, unless they wanted something. Karaya listened in silence as she held her doll close to her. She hoped she looked as innocent as she was trying to be. She forced herself to giggle as Sebastian ruffled her hair, though in truth the young pup was a little frightened. However, the prospect of a drink- and amongst ruffians, at that!- was definately exciting.

The man who invited them  gestured for the two to sit by the fire. Karaya sat crosslegged and reached greedily as they passed her a small bowl with a crack at the rim. She wrinkled her nose. Petty bastards, they only poured a little. She sulkingly drained it. In truth, the bold pup didn't much like the taste of alcohol, but there was no way she was going to tell adults that. The men around them smiled in a way that Karaya didn't like.
"Where are you from?" the man with the golden curls asked her. Karaya smiled shyly back. She knew this game. They were trying to get her to slip up.
"Moonspear," she replied.
"That's quite far," he replied. Karaya nodded before boldly looking up at the gruff man, her eyes meeting his.
"Where are you heading?" she challenged.

"We were actually on our way from Featherfall," the man admitted, and a few men grumble their 'ayes' as they agreed. Sebastian's eyes shifted across the men as he nodded.

"Yeah, we do a lot of traveling," Sebastian said with a nonchalant shrug, hoping the men would buy it as he took the drink that was offered to him and gave a sniff. Well, it didn't seem like they were trying to poison them. So his grin widened as he tipped back the bowl and enjoyed what meager ale they were offering.
"So Featherfall? Not sure if I've really been there. Anything exciting in that area?"

The team of men were not about to admit their true goals, naturally- for they were bandits and thieves, and Sebastian and Karaya, as innocent as they appeared, could just as easily squeal on their plans if any of it were revealed.

"Just got some business associates there," the one men said with a sniff, and gave a wary glance to his men. He sat nearer to the pair and eyed them, pouring more ale into a bowl and offering both of them a larger helping.

"Ah, well, business must be good, eh? I'm not business man myself. In fact, I'm pretty nomadic, used to living off the streets and petty jobs along the way." Sebastian gave a nonchalant shrug. "You know how these things go," Sebastian stated, as if speaking to some old friends. Though as he took to the next drink of ale, something definitely did not smell right, and it wasn't the putrid scent of the men's body odor, either. Giving a scratch to his fleas, he smiled down at Karaya. At least the drinks weren't poisoned, but what was it?

"She doens't normally have ale." He leaned in towards her. "How do you like it, sis?" Might as well keep playing up the role as her big brother, and you know, show that he cared.. at least a little. And it was only then he picked up the scent again-
something that distinctively smelled old.

Karaya smiled playfully as SEbastian described himself as a nomad.
"That's cause you're lazy," she teased.
Business men. Yeah, right. Thieves they were, that she was sure of. She could smell the money.
The girl gave a wolfish smile as he asked her how the ale was. Karaya wanted to comment on their companions' 'hospitality' but instead just muttered "S'alright."
She sniffed the air and rubbed her nose with a frown.
She could smell it too, whatever it was. The stink was weird, and she couldn't place a name to it, either. That unnerved the child.

It wasn't until the men were all laughing again, pouring another round of drinks that Sebastian began to realize what he was smelling. It wasn't the ancient map, nor the treasure, nor the gold that the men were harboring. It was something he had smelled only once, and had hoped he wouldn't smell it again...
Black Powder.

Sebastian visibly bristled once he realized what else these men were smuggling. He had nearly lost his tail the last time he had run into the stuff. Though something else was laced with it, he didn't care to figure it out, so returning his smile he glanced back to Karaya.

"So, now that you got your doll, are you ready to head back on the road?"

Though it was then the leader stepped forward, planting a hand upon Karaya and SEbastian's shoulder as he prodded them, "What's the rush? Why don't you stay a while? You said it yourself, it's not always a pleasant visit, after all."

Sebastian felt uneasy, but smiled anyways.
"Well, only if you're offering more drink." he said with a rise of  his cup, and the other man replied with a simple laugh.

"But of course." and as he moved to fetch more ale, Sebastian felt even more unsafe as the men began to exchange glances. So while the man was away, he leaned in real close to Karaya and whispered, "You smell that odd scent?" He wrinkled his nose. "It's black powder." And he didn't think he needed to press they had to get out of there...

Or...
he rubbed his chin in thought. Be a lot more clever in stealing it.

Karaya hiccuped. She was a very small child, and as the next round of drinks were being poured, they poured a little too much in her bowl. In an effort to prove her status, Karaya drowned it all much too quickly. The ale was a rather strong one.
"Ye-yeah," she stuttered, but just then a rough hand was placed on her shoulder, and forced her to sit down. Despite not liking the stuff much, she also held out her bowl for a third round of drink as she held Fishstick tight.

Karaya's eyes opened wide at Sebastian's deduction.
"Really?" she squealed. The girl realized quickly that they were receiving harsh stares, so she  added "Yes, please!" as if Sebastian had promised to buy her something. Karaya thoughtfully looked up at Sebastian. She could tell the man was scheming something. She wanted to steal the black powder, too. Karaya stared at their mounts.
No doubt they're in the saddlebags, she mused. One of the men grunted as he observed the child checking out the horses.
"They're pretty, aren't they?" he asked.
Karaya smiled.
His breath is foul.
"Very," she cheerfully replied. If you like those stupid beasts.

The men's lader was watching Sebastian carefully.
"Thinking about your father?" he asked in a way that Karaya thought was almost menacing. She didn't say anything about it, though. Instead, she was currently marveling about how fuzzy she felt. Karaya swayed from side to side , lost in the sensation and her schemes.
"We should go, before daddy misses us," she muttered to herself.
"Stay," somebody insisted.

Karaya giggled to herself as she turned towards Sebastian.
"That ale's really strong isn't it?" she cheerfully asked. Karaya felt a little sick. No, it wasn't supposed to be this strong, and though she didn't see, smell, nor taste anything unusual, somebody tampered with her bowl. 
How? she thought, irritably. They had been so damn careful...
"Brother, I have to pee," she flatly stated as she gave him her best puppy eyes, hoping Sebastian would pick up the code for "Let's go, for now." She wanted the black powder, too, but Karaya knew that one's wits were vital.

Suddenly, the men around them pulled out knives and ropes.
Karaya jumped to her feet, furious.
"Bandits and slave traders," she growled.
The leader of the men chuckled with a nonchalant shrug.
"We're resourceful," he said, nodding towards his men to capture the two.

As the men were all ready to launch at them, knives and blades glistening in the sun; a flea most inconveniently slipped into Sebastian's nose. ANd he couldn't help but sneeze. And the men were all flinching by it, since it was a rather disgusting 'blow'.... Sebastian figured he'd just go with it. Wiping at his nose as he went, his boot kicked forward, right into the nearest men's face, then took his bowl of ale and smashed it into another, and a fist to the man beside him before he called over his shoulder to Karaya, "Run!"
ANd if she ACTUALLY had to pee, she had better hold it as he reached to grab her hand and growled, bolting forward through the grasses with amazing speed.

Karaya screamed as Sebastian tugged on her hand, propelling the child into motion. clutching to the man with one hand and to Fishstick with the other, the girl bolted nimbly through the forest, her speed only faltered a little due to her haziness. Karaya focused on running in her attempt to ignore it. She gritted her teeth together, a storm wielding in her tiny body.
"They tricked us!" she said, baffled. "They, they... we gotta get them back! Bloody stupid bandits. Knock 'em up good. OOOF!"
The pup toppled over a root, but quickly regained her footing. She panted for breath, exhausted.
Keep going, you idiot.

"Gonna cut gut 'em, cut 'em up," Karaya muttered. 
I feel sick, she thought, miserably. She HATED ale! And whatever that was slipped into hers. Her eyelids began to feel very heavy. 
Behind her, she could hear the distant shouts of the men.
"Where are we going?"  the girl asked, stiffing a yawn, though she doubted Sebastian knew. She was trying her hardest to stay awake, though Karaya could feel herself slowing down tremendously, and hating herself for it. she had never been outwitted in a long while, and now this!
This is what I get for trusting an adult, she thought with a scowl. Though Karaya tried to continue running, her body slowed to a walk.  No good ever comes of it...

"Piss!" the wolf hissed. The two werewolves were fast, but not fast enough. He hadn't figured the men to lace their drinks with something, something they couldn't smell. They were smarter than they looked, he'd give them that, and although he was feeling sluggish, he fought tooth and nail to hang onto his adreneline that kept him rushing forward.
"Don't fall asleep now," he growled, clutching Karaya closer, and before she completely dropped into the unconscious, he snarled, hefted her up onto his shoulders, Fishstick and all, and kept moving. Though he was much larger, it didn't mean he was immune to the drug's effects, so after he had gotten several feet, the effects started to hit his brain.

"Shit, shit, shit." ANd he kept on running.. kept on running..
until even his runs turned into walks, and the walks...
He slumped suddenly, face first into the dirt. Groaning as he inhaled some through his lungs. As he turned to cough to the side, he groaned again as the men leaned over them, mean faces smiling.

"You boys.. certainly know how to throw a party," he said, giving them a salute before he passed out entirely in the mud.

Karaya could faintly hear the whinny of horses, the pounding of their feet against the ground.
I hate horses, she thought, grumpily as she fluttered opened her eyes. She found herself on the back of a wagon, face to face with Sebastian.
Wake up, she thought.
Karaya tried to move, but found that her body was still numb, the drug still having control over her body. The afternoon sun had given way to the soft glow of evening. Karaya's eyes traveled up towards the sky.
A half-moon, she thought.
She didn't have the energy to transform or even partially transform now, but already the child was scheming.
I have to wait until I get my strength back, she thought, annoyed. Karaya hated waiting like this- she wanted out- but she had to.
She just had to wait for the right moment.

Karaya sniffed the air. she carefully turned her head. That odd smell. It was coming from those boxes nearby.
Hello, she thought with a small grin.

It took a lot longer for Sebastian to wake, and when he did, he groaned. Rubbing a hand tiredly over his eyes, he lapped at his dry lips and stared up at...
Shit. Was that the-
Yep, it was the top of a wagon cart, and he and Karaya were inside. Peering over at the pup beside him, he growled tiredly through a yawn.
"Sleep well?" he asked, attempting to stretch as much as he could, but man did his limbs feel like lead. And boy was the back of his head sore. He touched it with a wince. He supposed those thugs had to make sure he was good and passed out before tossing him into the cart. He looked over at Karaya, the down at the ground beside her.
"Well, at least they were humane enough to let you keep your doll."

Karaya waited for Sebastian to wake up. And waited. She drifted in and out of sleep until night had fully fallen. They were still travelling. Karaya had overheard some information that the bandits were going to stop soon, but didn't know when.
Curses, she thought as Sebastian woke up.
Karaya desperately mouthed the words "shut up" to the man. She didn't want the bandits to know that they were conscious, nor that her feeling was returning to her. Karaya wiggled her fingers before clutching them. She also didnt' want to admit that she was  glad that her doll was still there, too. 


After a few more minutes, the cart drew to a halt. Karaya held her breath as the back of the cart was opened and a bandit - the bald, ugly one from before- dragged her out and swooped her over his shoulder before tying the girl to a tree. Karaya glared at him the whole time.
"You ugly, fat pig," she spat as he put her down by the base of a tree and tied her to it. "Bastard, toad face, horse shit, ugly-"
"ENOUGH!" he roared. He held her by the jaw, forcing her to look at him. He was five days shy from a bath, Karaya reckoned, he stank that much of sweat, horse, and blood. His gaze was fierce and threatening, but Karaya stared right back at him, despite the fear she was sure she was showing.
Don't show him that he's dominant, she thought. He's not.
"One more word out of you and my knife gets your tongue," he growled as she tried to hold her head up as high as it was possible for her to.
"I have to pee," Karaya nonchalantly pointed out. She really did have to go this time. Badly.
The man scoffed.
"Piss yourself."
Karaya wrinkled her nose.
"Fat," she muttered under her breath.

When Sebastian was hauled out of the back, he was still half awake. He seemed to just let the  humans bind him, strapping him in to a tree opposing Karaya, rather than being fastened to the same one. He saw the whole fuss she was making as he grinned, but said nothing as the men went about talking amongst themselves.

"You forgot to mention he's smelly," Sebastian called over to her, but the ugly bald man heard it (even if he did not hear Karaya's last remark.
"You got something to say to me, flea bag?"

"Hey.. woah woah...first of all, keep that breath to yourself. Secondly, I'm not a bag, though I do have fleas."

The man growled at Sebastian's smark remark, and back handed him before he laughed, sneering at the blood now dribbling down from Sebastian's nose.

"We'll see how far that smart talkin' gets ya in the market. Bet people would pay prime price for you. Though you're right, maybe we ought to give you a flea bath." he said with a sneering smile.

Sebastian looked up at him, quirking a brow, but seeming unamused.
"How about you save that bath for yourself? You need it."

And then the bald man's fist promptly sunk into Sebastian's gut, as he doubled over in pain.
"God damn idiot," the bald man grumbled and placed a blade to his throat. "Keep your tongue to yourself, or I'll cut it out for ya. You won't be singing pretty then now will ya?"

And Sebastian merely looked up at him, before spitting in the man's eyes.

And baldy was now FUMING mad. Socking a fist across his face, he cut a long gash across his cheek, once, twice, then kicked Sebastian in the gut again.

"Next time I won't be bluffing. I'll take that tongue and feed it to the wolves."

ANd as SEbastian was bent over and bleeding, he smiled, his teeth nice and bloody, as the idea wolf was proposed. These men had no idea what they were dealing with. Too bad it wasn't a full moon...

Karaya watched in numb horror as the man beat up Sebastian. It was nothing new, she had seen the likes before to people she had grown fonder of and to complete strangers. This was how people acted. Wasn't anything unusual. Still, Karaya found herself biting her tongue, her breathing becoming faster and faster as her blood practically boiled. She focused really hard and her teeth sharpened, and her hands began to transform... While everybody's attention was on Sebastian, Karaya slowly began to claw through her ropes. It felt awkward and the sensation didn't feel right, but the young pup squirmed and kept at it.

"HEY!"
The leader of the rogues punched the bald man square in the face.
"Keep your hands off MY slaves!" he barked. "People pay more for those with pretty faces."
The bald man grunted.
"And you," he said as he turned towards Karaya. "You quit squirmin' around."
Karaya stopped as she glared at the man who leaned in close. His leader  tried to pull him back, but the bald man shrugged him off.

"I ain't gonna gut her!" he snapped. Nevertheless, he grabbed Karaya by the jaw, examining her face.  Karaya clamped her jaw tight shut, wrinkling her nose at his scent.
"And you," he said. "You say another word, and you'll be plainer lookin' than before."
There was a wild hunger in his eyes as he stared at the child. Karaya knew it well. Bloodlust. A rough hand brushed her hair behind her ears to reveal her gold earrings. He hooted in laughter.
"Hey, boss," he exclaimed. "She's dressed in rags, but look at this!"
He turned towards Sebastian.

"Shame on you," he mockingly scolded. "Is this how you treat your sister?"
Karaya tried to pull back, but the bald rogue tensed as he turned to face her and slapped her across the face. Karaya gasped.
"I said no squirming!" he shouted, his face inches from Karaya's.
The girl turned to face the man. Without hesitation, she leaned to bite the man on the nose with razor sharp teeth.

At the man's yowling, that was his cue. While the other men were distracted, Sebastian called on the wild side. He felt his bones shift, the fur sprout out from his skin, and his face elongate and his teeth sharpen into those of the wolf. His eyes flashed, yellow in the moment, as he easily broke free of the ropes.

'They should have used chains,' he thought, before leaping forward in his were form, claws sinking into the man's throat. Than his fangs came out, hungry for blood, and he finished him off by a simple tearing of teeth to his throat. And blood rained everywhere.
It didn't take long for him to turn on the other man, leaping on him and snarling like an animal, tearing his claws across his flesh and splattering more blood. It was only then he heard the other men become alerted and his ears perked.

Growling through the blood, he lifted his head and turned around, his teeth crunching into the ropes that bound Karaya before he growled and dashed away. Now it was every wolf for themselves.

Karaya wasted no time in action as the man pulled back, holding his hands over his bloodied nose. She , too, concentrated on her wolf self, using all her energy. She blocked out the dying, agonizing screams of baldy, her eyes closed shut. She had seen and heard men die before. Wolves, too. That was what they do. Death was everywhere, and adrenaline shot through her body. Part of her brain told her to panic as Sebastin the wolf finished biting through her ropes, but the wolf girl remained focused. The wrong move, and she could end up like baldy.

Once she was free, the men were in a chaotic state. Some wanted to chaise Sebastian, and others were in a state of panic. Having already sniffed out the black powder on baldy, Karaya tugged at the pouch containing it from his belt and grasped it firmly between her teeth. The men were trying to  corner the pup, now, but she  bolted between them, their fingertips barely running through her fur. Karaya darted through the thicket.

A rush of wild and pure energy pumped through the wolf's body. She could hear the men running behind her. Karaya yelped in alarm as an arrow whizzed past  and buried itself in the ground beside her.

"Wolves! Get them! Those two are werewolves!" one of the men shouted. "Don't let them get away!"
Arrows whizzed over head, sinking into the land, but none of them struck their mark. Letting out a howl of glee, to let them know they had failed, Sebastian tore off into the woods, having snatched up the little doll fishstick in the process.  It wasn't until he was well int the woods that he dared to turn around. His eyes were sharp and he saw no one, but his ears swiveled around, trying to listen to see if Karaya had made it free.

Sebastian  had her doll, Karaya knew, for she had seen him take it. Now all there was left to do was to find him. She had  heard his triumphant howl and began to follow it when she toppled over with a yelp, dropping the bag she had stolen. An arrow from afar had pierced her side, by her right hind leg. The aim was off and her fur protected her, so it did not land deep, but it landed none the less. Karaya glanced frantically behind her. She could hear the men approach closer, but the darkness hid them from even her eyes.
I have four seconds, she calculated.

Though her head dizzy with a sharp ache, Karaya did not waste a moment to yank it out, pick up the bag, and continued to run. When she couldn't run anymore, the pain being too intense, she hid under the safety of bushes as the men ignorantly walked by. Perhaps in the daylight this would not have  fooled them, but the night was her time, and the moon was her friend. She did not shine upon the pup to reveal her location. Karaya watched them go by, a twinkle in her eyes.
Dumb humans, she thought, rather smug.

Once they were safely gone, Karaya licked the blood from her wound.
I'm tired, she thought, whimpering, but she had to find Sebastian and Fishstick. The pup struggled to her feet. She immediately collapsed.
Get up, she told herself furiously as she forced herself to try again.
This time, Karaya managed to succeed. The young wolf limped  slowly deep into the woods, using her sense of smell to guide her.
I stole some black powder.  It's mine. I wonder how much this'll earn me? she  thought in a rhythmical way, using her victory to distract herself.

"Here's your doll," came his voice, as Fishstick fell ontop her head. Sebastian was already back as a human, naked and a bit disheveled as he peered down at her from where he had been lounging in a tree. Then he gave a few sniffs before leaping out of the branches. "What's in the bag?" Though he already knew the answer.

Karaya was not alarmed by Sebastian's nakedness, but was also relieved that the nude man remained where he was. If she could roll her eyes at such a question as his, the young wolf would. She sat there, thumping her tail onto the ground. The fur and the darkness concealed her wound, though the fur around it was matted down. Still, the scent was covered by the black bag, and a lot of blood had been spilled. Despite having the instinct that Sebastian wasn't one of those wolves that would take advantage of an ill pup, she knew plenty that would, and was a cautious one. 

But he was nice, she thought. Karaya let out an affirmative yelp before dropping the bag by his feet and picked up her doll.  She trotted over towards behind a tree to  carefully lick her drying wound.

Once her job was done, Karaya focused on turning back. She gasped as her bones and skin shifted, the pain new to her human form. Karaya curled down by the base of the tree and examined the spot just above her hip. The blood was starting to dry. She stayed in that position for a moment, weak from the transformation. Karaya stared solemnly at her tunic, daggers and pouches and belt, though her earrings and necklace were already in place. She was certain she wasn't dying, though she felt like she was.
At least I'll get a battle scar, she thought, rather pleased with herself.
Still, she was hardly skilled to treat it, either. Though Karaya was used to nursing herself when it came to scrapes and cuts, the pup had never been shot before.

Karaya yawned, flashing bright white teeth, a yawn that developed to the yawn of a young human child as she transformed.  By her feet were her clothes, She gasped, but then silently slipped on her tattered tunic and secured her belt with her weapons and trinket. She was starting to grow hungry again, too, but her exhaustion was greater. 
"I wanna see!" she exclaimed as she awkwardly reemerged.

Sebastian still sat there, naked in the grasses as he peered through the contents of the pouch. As suspected, she had procured a decent amount of the powder. He jostled it in an open palm, as if weighing his options before turning to Karaya with a smirk. He cinched the bag and tossed it to her.

"Take a good look. Black powder." he stated with a grin. "Should fetch a hefty price in the town nearby. Though don't stick your nose directly in it," he said, and began to scratch at a few of the (still remaining) pesky flea.

"Ooooh," Karaya breathed as she looked at the powder in Sebastian's hand. She poked at it with her finger, cautiously standing opposing from the direction of the passing breeze. She marveled at its touch.
"Like sand!" she exclaimed.
Of course, by the time he had warned her not to sniff too closely, Karaya did, and a little went up her nose.
The child howled, the sound muffled by her covering her nose and mouth.  Tears welled in her eyes, partially because of the sensation overload, and partially because of her side.
"Yoth not gonnith tuh towon dresseth like dath," she pointed out, her hand still covering her mouth.
The girl sneezed loudly.
Still, the news was rather promising. A hefty price, huh? Karaya already imagined the things she would get. A new tunic. Pants, even! A pair of boots, and maybe even undergarments, though Karaya always thought those were uncomfortable looking. And food, lots of it.

Sebastian looked up at her with a curious tilt of his head, then back down at his naked body and shrugged.
"I suppose most humans would find offense." He grinned over at her, then shook his head at the tone of her voice. He had warned her not to sniff it, after all. Oh well, pups would be pups, or something like that was how the saying went.
"One thing to look forward to when you get older, transforming is a lot more difficult to keep your pants on." He gave a scratch at his hair again. Damn fleas.
"We could go back and pay those men a visit and steal some pants and a shirt while they sleep..." he idly rubbed his chin at the thought.

It was Karaya's turn to tilt her head curiously at Sebastian's comment. She supposed he was right, though she hadn't owned a good pair of pants since her parents were still alive. Karaya bowed her head at Sebastian's suggestion with a sad gaze. Normally, she would spring to the opprotunity, but she knew that her current condition would probably get her captured.
"I-I guess," she said, unusally timidly. She paused.
"Baldy's body is still back there," she hopefully suggested. It was easier to steal from the dead.  "You can reclaim your things and his. Shame for it to go to waste."

Sebastian's eyes sparkled darkly at the suggestion.
"A fine idea," he said, ruffling a hand through her hair. "We can wait for things to cool down, then head back there to see if they let his body rot. Though hopefully there's a stream around here so I can clean his clothes. That man stunk worse than a rotting skunk."
He peered over at her just then, eyeing the wound.
"How does that feel? Think you'll be alright with it?"

Karaya smiled at Sebastian's compliment, giggling as he ruffled her hair.
"Right?" she gleefully responded, but her expression froze  when he mentioned her wound.
Her nostrils flared wide as she glanced up at him, a confused expression on her face mixed with the look of one who had just lost a very important game. He was so calm, and didn't look like he was planning on leaving or stealing. Not yet, anyway. She looked down and cursed. The blood was seeping through her tunic. Well, now that the cat was out of the bag...

"It feels like somethin', but it ain't that deep," she responded, still trying to keep up the tough front. Karaya didn't want to admit that she couldn't run properly, either.
"I think I need to close it up, but  I don't know how," Karaya admitted. "But I guess it'll heal fast."
She gave a pained, but excited grin up at Sebastian.
"Think it'll scar?" she asked, breathlessly.

Sebastian studied her and the blood on the tunic.
"Yeah, if you can get it to clot properly. Got any thread and needle? That thing'll need stitched back up if you want to run around proper again. That things got to hurt like a bitch."

"Clot properly?" Karaya was seriously trying to think this through, but at the mention of threads and needles, the child blanched. There was no being tough at that.
"Y-yeah, I do," she said, reluctantly pulling it out from a pouch. Karaya hesitated for a moment before pulling the back of her tunic up towards her front and tucking it into her belt before slowly peeling up the right side to reveal the dark mess.  She examined it while Sebastian spoke, her knees bolted together.  Karaya looked down at the needle in her hands and back up at Sebastian with a scrunched up face when he suggested actually stitching herself together.
"Do I have to?" she whined.
Sure, it looked something awful, but that didn't mean poking more holes in her, did it?

OOC: I edited it because I figured she would show him.

"Well," Sebastian began with an idle scratch to his hair. "Living amongst humans long enough gets one learned in the ways they treat their wounds. And they're not stupid. Sure we can lick our wounds and let nature run it's course, but a part of us is connected to man. Might as well use whatever knowledge they can give us to our advantage." And then he put a large hand out.
"Here, give me the thread and needle. I can stick it up." And he eyed her over, seeing her becoming anxious as he smirked. "Come on, you'll suffer worse than this. And I'll do it quick. Just be glad we dont' have any alcohol, though we probably should try to find some to clean out the wound.. that stuff burns like a bitch."

Karaya pouted sullenly at Sebastian's words. Though she didn't like it much, his words did have reason. She nodded.
"Kay," she muttered as he held out his hand. Karaya  slowly lifted her hand to press the bobbin and needle in it. Fine. She would trust him with this, for now.
But I want those back, she thought, though questioned the use of the needle afterwards. She narrowed her eyes under Sebastian's smirk. She didn't much like being laughed at, not like this.

"You gonna do it now?," she asked, becoming fidgety.
Doing it like this wasn't clean, was it? Karaya had heard that somewhere. Yeah, that was it. Wasn't clean! She couldn't just patch up something if it wasn't sanitary. However, despite her protest against the inevitable, Karaya was a little interested to see how this worked. Was that thread really going to hold? 

"I don't see how alcohol will do much good," she replied, wrinkling her nose at the recent memory of the foul stuff they were given. Alcohol didn't clean a body of anything except for manners, memories, and their money.

Karaya hugged Fishstick tight, her fingers clawing into the doll's skin as her jaw was clamped tight shut. Sebastian was right, she had to keep a brave face. She could handle anything!

Well, she tried looking brave, but she looked more silly and miserable than anything.

Sebastian tilted is head to one side after having closed his hand around the needle and thread. He smirked at her lousy disposition, though he supposed he couldn't blame her.
"Well, technically the end of the needle ought to be sanitized by flame, but we're werewolves." He smirked. "We're a lot tougher and heal a lot faster than humans. Now come here, before you ruin your clothing even more and draw other animals we'd rather not be dealing with right now." And he gestured for her with a jerk of his thumb for her to remove the tunic. He had to see how bad it was anywys so he knew what he was working with. Though they probably should look for a stream to clean it out first. Details.. details...

Karaya only nodded at Sebastian's words, reserving all her energy for whatever was about to happen. But then Sebastian gestured her to  remove her tunic.
"Why? You can see it just fine, can't you? Just stitch it up so we can find your pants!" Karaya snapped, taking a defensive half-step backwards. The sudden movement hurt, and Karaya violently flinched.

She glared at the man as a shadow passed through her mind, questioning his intentions.
"You try anything, and I'll gut you," she growled, halfheartedly. She didn't really take Sebastian for that kind, and she knew who those folk were because she had learned to avoid them on the street.

Sebastian gave her a look, then a laugh.
"You're too young for me to care what's under there. Now either take it off or pull it up, either way, it needs to move. I can't work with it in the way. Either that, or you're sewing." And he moved to hand the needle and thread back to her.

Karaya scowled as Sebastian laughed, but drew her head back as Sebastian held the needle and thread back to her. No way she was going to do it herself! She desperately glared up at the man, but realized that she was fighting a losing battle. She let out a noise of frustration as she fumbled with her belt, then her vest, and then her tunic. Her scrawniness was much more apparent in her nakedness. She shuddered in the night air and wrapped her tunic around her shoulders like a shawl.
"Do it quick," Karaya muttered as she mentally braced herself.

Sebastian gave a bit of a smirk when she finally resigned herself over.
"Look, if it hurts," he said, needle between his teeth as he worked at prying out a loose piece of thread. "Just bite into fishstick." Then lifting the needle up, he threaded the piece through the eye and pulled it snug and through, then peered over at Karaya and examined the wound. He frowned.
"Looks pretty nasty, but I've seen worse." He spat some of the thread fuzz out of his mouth tot he side, then focused on the wound. He took his hands, pinching the wound together.

"Now hold steady..." and he carefully began to draw the needle through her flesh, sinking it in and out and pulling it tight. He tried to work carefully, but he had rough hands and wanted to at least do a good enough job so that the wound would actually STICK together, rather than just have thread jutting out from a bloodied wound. SO after a few careful rounds of stitches, he bit off the end and knotted it tight.

"There, good as new." he said, smirking down at her then leaned back in the grasses. "Now we'll have to find ourselves a river or water source at some point to at least wash it out. That is, if we don't find some rum first."
Then he looked down at his bloodied fingers, and began to lick them clean.

The moment the needle stated to pierce her skin, Karaya chomped on top of Fishstick's head to conceal her whimpers. She couldn't control her tears or snot, either. Though she wanted to look away and her face a mess, Karaya found herself unable to look away, Instead, she watched in fascination as Sebastian diligently sewed her flesh together. Now and then, she'd flinch, but Karaya tried to steady her self. It hurt more if she moved. The girl gasped for air as Sebastian bit off the thread and announced he was done. She gasped for air as she pulled her head back and made a face, her mouth tasting of birds. Little, pointed holes created a halo on the poor and abused Fishstick.

I'll stitch him up later, the girl resolved as she spat out bird feathers.
Karaya took a moment to examine the stitches and nodded in approval.
"Thank you," she earnestly said, wiping at her eyes. She had NOT been crying.
"I'm not going to have this on me forever, am I?" she asked in wonder before scrambling into her tunic and wiping her nose with its sleeve.

"Your pants first, then rum?" Karaya suggested in a half teasing manner.

Sebastian smirked at her question and watched her dress.
"No, once it heals more, we'll cut the strings out. Or they'll fall off on their own."
Then at her latter statement, she shrugged and looked away, plucking up a piece of grass and chewing on it as his eyes cast towards the horizon.
"I suppose so. You ready to go back there to see if they left the bald man to rot?"

"Oh," replied the girl, not sure how she felt about her skin being cut out, or something falling. Though fascinatingly gross, it also sounded gruesome. She nodded at Sebastian's question and began to walk back towards the previous camp. Karaya walked slowly, using the trees for support, though she didn't dare as Sebastian for help. She was also mindful to keep from the road, least they ran into those men, again.
~

Though the corpse wasn't in sight, Karaya could smell it. They were getting close.
"You don't think the men will be back tonight?" she asked.

Sebastian walked along, though kept low as his nose took int he familiar scents of the camp.
"Well, if they're around we'll sure smell them first. Though their scents still linger.. I don't smell much else besides the two corpses." He gestured for her to keep close, and then began to crouch low in the bushes before he paused with a yelp.
"God damn thorns," he said, shaking his hand out and sticking his bleeding thumb into his mouth. Shaking it off, he gestured to Karaya again.
"Come on, but let's avoid those patch of thorns, alright?" and he gav ea fluff to shift his hair out of his eyes and continued to move forwardm only to pause just beside a large tree.

"Hey.." he smirked. "Well, there he is" And he looked around, sniffed the air, and realizing he sensed no danger, casually walked out and stood over the body.
"Well, guess it's time to get to work." Clapping his hands together, he got to his knees and began to start by prying the boots off the dead man's body. And boy did his bare feet reek.

Turning his head away, Sebastian's face went green, and he nearly vomitted.
Pinching his nose, ahd eworked on the other foot.
"Remidn me to wash these first before putting them on. I'm half tempted to just stay naked."

Karaya nodded as she followed Sebastian. She sniggered to herself as he accidentally touched bush thorns, though stopped because of her stitches. For a brief, panicked moment she thought they were coming undone, but Karaya checked, and they weren't. Karaya paused for a moment and slid down to sit under the giant tree. She wished Sebasitan would hurry up, so she could sleep.

Karaya would have slept, too, had the stink not be so foul. She stared coldly at the black hole where the tip of the man's nose had been. She thoughtfully watched Sebastian work before getting to her feet and helping with the other boot.
"Uh-uh," she protested. "Only idiots and small children run around naked."
The girl didn't want anything to do with baldy's feet, so, instead, she unlaced his vest.
Now how to get it off...
Karaya began to push the corpse to roll over, but her attempt was futile.
"He's too heavy," she muttered.

"Here, I'll help." he said. "On three. One... two... THREE!" nd with a grunt, the man rolled over, dispersing the flies. Sebastian waved them away, and also the stench.

"God, is it possible this stinky fellow smells more miserable even in death?" And with a shake of his head, he began to work on the pants, though paused a moment to try the boots on.
"Damn it, they're too big." he stood up, yes..wearing on the boots as she attempted to walk in them. "And gods, I hope my feet dont' reek like them when I have to take them off."

And then as he was bending down to unbind them, he heard a noise, a twig snap and his hearing perked up. With a sniff, he noticed the scent of a few approaching men.
"Shit, they're coming back," he growled between his teeth, fetching up the clothing and making a dash towards the trees. Baldies scent must have masked their approach. And it wasn't long before the men gave a yell.

"There they are!" And soon arrows and cross bow bolts were fired their way. And wasn't Sebastian the lucky one as an arrow sunk cleaning into his ass as he gave a yelp.

"God damn it!" he said, yanking the thing out as he stumbled into a run. "All of this for a damn pair of pants. Come on pup, let's go!" And off he was running, only with his boots on, the pants flapping within his hands like  a flag to the winds.

A hoarse roar, equal parts scream of agony and expression of blind fury, broke over the forest, cracking at the end, and... something burst its way through the underbrush off to the side of the men!

------------------------------------

Minutes before, though, A dark shape winnowed its way between trees, flitting from shadow to shadow. The men weren't the only ones masked by the stench of the corpse of the fat bald sadist. A wolf was using the mask of mud to hide herself that night, and using the shadow and cloud cover to avoid the sparse moonlight.

In truth, she'd been tailing the pair downwind for some time... ever since they'd escaped from bondage, really... but Rogue was shy. She was terrified, actually - terrified of upsetting the pair, of making the male, who was obviously protecting the young girl, attack her to protect the pup, of... having to talk to someone else for the first time in two weeks. She'd planned to approach the pair during the day... when it was safe, when the moon wasn't poisoning every sensation, but... but...

The transformation, Rogue reflected, changed more than her nature. It changed how she saw the world. She was never good with people - always too quiet, too honest, but now she was afraid of them - of herself, of losing control, of hurting someone. Once, she'd have walked in the silvery night boldly - and now she was afraid of it? Becoming a werewolf had made her a coward... who knew?

Just the same, she thought as she tailed them back to the bandits' camp on a shadowy sidelong path thirty or forty feet widdershins of the path they walked along, she aught to look out for them a little... vengeance was a fine thing... but if you seek revenge, you dig two graves. Why they would return aside to exact revenge, the she-wolf was unsure... but she was almost certain that was what they were doing.

Her heart in her throat, Rogue Made her way to the camp, trying her best to ignore the scent of... fresh corruption, of death at work, but it was hard - the moon was waxing... and despite cloud cover, despite leaves of canopy protecting her most of the way... the moon was still shining tonight. She could still feel its tug... and her wolf... felt hungry, deep inside her, beneath her flesh.

Perhaps because she was so keen on ignoring the scent of the dead man, the shewolf noticed the men coming. She wanted to warn them, to tell the wolves to run away, to hide - what actually came out of her mouth was-

"Mllk!" Stupid throat! Obey! The men were drawing closer... they knew someone was at the camp... they had weapons she identified as crossbows... gods she had to do something! She tensed to spring out, she drew her bow, but fear stayed her hand! She sweat and shook like a leaf blown in a gale - she'd never.... intentionally killed ANYONE before! How could she now?

Come on now, Rogue she told herself Just line up a shot... maybe they'll notice?

An arrow was knocked in her bow... and arms that felt like noodles drew the bow string back in a practiced motion. Her breathing was heavy through her nose and her eyes were watering... but she still held the shot, lined it up... and...!

The clouds broke, just at the moment when shit was getting real, when the men cried out "There They Are!", the universal cry of the chase! Moonlight lanced into her, and flipped every switch - whether she wanted them flipped or not. The greenhorn shewolf paled as the wolf tore its way out of her. Every nerve ending gave her stabbing pain, and a cry began to rise in her throat, Her hands became claws and her gloves tore to shreds in an instant as the bow snapped in the sudden grip of arms much too strong for it, muscles spasming at random.

Rogue wanted to puke as she sank to her knees, as the wolf tore her humanity apart in its quest to freedom, but still she looked forward. EVerything flowed in slow motion for her then - the men raising bows... and firing on the two wolves she'd wanted to save, to protect. The wolf's disgust at her own cowardice was appearant... and now she had to watch the male get struck. Vision went red, fur exploded over her body, and...

The Beast roared.
---------------------------------------------

Glowing golden eyes and flashing fangs were only briefly visible before in a blur the monster was upon one the man who shot Sebastian, claws tearing into him and fangs flashing with glistening crimson as he screamed and struggled in the monster's grip! Men turned, terrified of the sudden development, and, with viscera still running between her fangs, the monster in Rogue, eyes blazing with hate as only a monster could hate, roared again at them, pouring everything into the expression, which now wasn't so much audible pain as much as a lament that she could not hurt them enough!

At the sound of the roar, Sebastian whirled around, taken back by the sudden appearance of a feral wolf. ANd by the scent of it, a female. Though she was wild and untamed, her bites coming out to kill, and for a moment he simply watched. That was, until he realized.. shit. Perhaps he ought to get into wolf form too. Considering if she were to turn on them..

Snarling, he felt his lips pull forward, stretching across sharp bone that was growing out from his face, and fur and hair and bones all sprouted out and rearranged themselves, bending the man and  morphing him out into the hairy, brown hair, flea infested wolf that he was. ANd with a howl, he was right there with her, chomping his powerful jaw into one of the men nearest the new she-wolf, a man who was about to dare strike her with his sword.

The man let out a yelp, dropping the blade when the teeth had sunk into his flesh, and once he was disarmed, Sebastian went in for the killing, yowling and lunging at the man, pinning him to the ground and digging into his throat, and Sebastian did not let up until he tasted the blood well into his throat,a nd the last gargles of life escaped the man's throat.

Then releasing it, he snapped his head towards Karaya's direction, giving a sniff, to see if she was still around, or had continued to flee.

Karaya shouted in alarm as Sebastian was shot. She didn't waste a moment to follow him, though her stitches didn't like it at all.
Just keep moving!

But the men were gaining on them, and the girl realized that at this rate, she wasn't going to get anywhere.  She reached for her knife, but then a she-wolf jumped out of the bushes and started mulling the men. Karaya watched her, frozen and utterly confused. She gave Sebastian a curious side-eyed glance.

He said he wasn't with anybody, she thought. So how'd this loner just by chance run into them? And why on earth was she helping them? The stranger's altruism struck Karaya as utterly unnatural, but the girl decided not to dwell on it too long. As a body fell, she quickly lunged towards it, searching the dead men's gear until she found what she was looking for. More black powder... and a match box. The girl mischievously chortled. She didn't know much about this curious stuff, but she DID know it made loud noises and pretty lights  once it was set aflame.

Sebastian shifted into a werewolf, as well, but Karaya didn't join in the maiming. Instead, she discreetly made a line of powder in the path of the approaching men. She was perhaps a little too generous, as half the pouch the man carried was emptied when she was done. Not wanting to explode herself, Karaya sprinkled a little in the nearby grass, and set that ablaze first, before awkwardly running away.
"RUN!" she shouted.

At the smell of powder exposed, Sebastian growled, and at the scent of fire and smoke, he turned towards it, internally swearing up a storm. The black powder...
Karaya...

And in a howl, he turned from the carnage, a line of fire and smoke shooting up behind him and lighting up the sky, and quickly spread across the men's location like a hot shot from a gun. Cracklin fire and smoke was reaching tall, flaring upwards, towards the trees, and was causing so much thick black smoke, it was hanging low within the trees like a fog. All Sebastian knew was that he did not like it, and continued to charge and run away, not bothering to look back at Rogue or Karaya to see if they were ok. All he knew was instincts pulled his wolf form as far away from there as possible, before stumbling into a run in mid-transformation, still naked again, with his ass still very much sore as he collapsed, heavy breathed by a stream. 

The smoke was still detectable in the distance, but he couldn't smell the men. They had run the other way. And wtih a groan, he crawled over towards the stream, then dunked his head inside it. He hated the smell of lit black powder. It burned his nostrils and made his head spin, and he felt dizzy. Thankfully that was all gone now...
Well, for now.

Tossing his head back, he smoothed a hand through his hair to keep it out of his face as it dripped water, then smoothed a hand down his face with another groan before just laying there, naked and with limbs fanned out upon the grasses as he stared up at the sky. And it was only then he grunted, "Shit."
He forgot the pants.

The wolf in Rogue, off the chain, almost growled at Sebastian when he moved in to help her, but he was doing just that - helping. Even the monster could work out that she was seriously outnumbered - if he hadn't, she'd have had a rough time of it... this prey wasn't running. She headtilted at him in confusion, but other fun was to be hand - she turned her attention back on the bandits. She left one man to bleed out, his belly torn open and his screams made into gurgles, and looked aside at the others, daring them to challenge her, to even so much as approach her. Bandits they may be, but they were bullies and thugs. They didn't go in for good fights... and two pissed off werewolves? That was a good fight for anyone's coin.

One of them legged it immediately - No, thank you! She watched him, dripping with gore, for a moment, then turned her attention back to the others. The immediate hunger for violence was slaked... so that left the rest of them... and her with all the time in the world for things that screamed and died, her voice a long, low rumbling growl, promising violence if they ran... but also if they stayed. Something wasn't right though... Rogue perked her ears, completely distracted by the tang of the black powder and the stench of fire. It must have been strong - it reached her even soaked in blood. Sebastian was already legging it, and... she didn't want to stay either. AS the fire rushed around her, she looked from her prey below her...

... to the running men... to the fire!

For the first time in the Beast's short life, she felt... apprehension. A voice in her head was screaming at her, clamoring inside of her, begging her to run, to... do something...

But... prey! the wolf emoted!

Prey won't do us any good dead! Please! The fire is getting closer! you can feel how hot it is! Listen to me for once! The wolf almost ignored her, almost looked back down at the meal out of spite... it was always trying to tell her what to do!

PLEASE! and the wolf made a life decision. She left the man behind, and ran like blazes through the flames, pain - intense pain - blinding her senses as fore and hind paws dashed across embers and her fur caught fire. When she was free, she hit the ground rolling and yelping, cursing her voice! Stupid voice! But the scent of fire was intense... and so was the pain. Shit, maybe the Stupid Voice is right?

She followed suit, on the trail of Sebastian, and booked.

Karaya coughed as she ran through the forest. This was bad, really bad... She hadn't expected the fire to start so quickly, or cause so much smoke! A feeling of dread had never seen anything like this in her life. Adrenaline pumped through her tiny body as she followed suit after the wolves. She lunged into the darkness, towards the river, though the fire was catching up behind her. She could feel intense heat coming from behind her, the trees cracking and groaning as the men screamed. Horses galloped away and the smoke rose.

The girl covered her mouth with her arm, coughing. Go to the river - that's what instinct was telling her to do. She was putting stress on her stitches, and she gasped as they began to come undone.
Crap, she thought, gritting her teeth, but there was nothing to be done about it now. She was covered in soot, and smoke was filling her lungs. The girl ran faster.
To the river.
Remembering where it was, she bolted towards it, towards the camp she and Sebastian had rested. She stumbled and fell as she dodged a falling tree branch that fell by her leg, her tunic catching on fire.
"Agh!" Karaya cried as she used Fishstick to put it out. Her leg was burned from it, but at the moment, her body was numb.

The girl jumped to her feet and continued to run, the fire biting at her heels. Once she got to the camp, Karaya paused for a second to stare at Sebastian's discarded clothes. The girl bit her lip. There was no time!
"Stupid dog!" she growled in the night as she grabbed his clothes and jumped into the water.

The girl gasped as she struggled against the river. She hand't realized how much energy she had lost. Though the current carried her down stream, she managed to wade through. karaya coughed and sputtered as she pulled herself up the bank, her feet barely out of the water as she collapsed. She turned to watch the forest glow red  and orange through wet curls matted down her face.

Still hot, she thought weakly, looking down at the bag of half used black powder in her hand and Sebastian's pants. Who knew where he was? He had left her, anyway, so did that other she-wolf. Maybe they'd find each other again, maybe not. Maybe they were dead, though Karaya found herself praying for their safety as she passed out.

The burning forest was a confusion of scents and loud noises, and it drove Rogue wild with fear. She'd never been afraid like this before - the beast was the cause of fear in others! She was rage! She was pain! She... was terrified beyond her wits of a foe she could not touch, of something she could not fight or devour! The fire crashed around her, and her tail went between her legs as she sought - desperately - for somewhere to go! Somewhere to run! A whine escaped her lips, and her ears flattened back!

Something though... something caught her nose. A piccolo hornpipe of sensation, a faint little scent in the forest... pervasive... but present. It snapped her out of her panic, like the voice in her head had grabbed her by the face and put her nose against something. This in fact she had just done.

Water.

Water was cool! Water was flowing! And above all, water was NOT ON FIRE. It was practically one of the HALLMARKS of water! It was WET! And it was within reach, if only she'd stop being a damn stupid animal! She made a break for it! The forest was screaming around her as it burned, popping and crackling - it drove her senses mad to hear it, but some part of her, perhaps this voice, was holding the scent in the forefront.

A burning tree crashed down in front of her, right in front of her face, and she yelped, jumping back on two legs, the hybrid monster's eyes wide with terror!

Fire! Fear!

But the voice pulled her up again, and pointed out that all that strength, all that power - what good was it if she couldn't deal with a stupid burning tree?! SMASH IT! and just like that.. it stopped being FIRE, and started being... Well, a stupid log. How dare it stop her from getting to the water! The feral werewolf roared furiously, and struck out at the fallen object, and was amazed to find out how easy it really was to destroy, cinders flying in every directions like a fiery shotgun blast!

What was this voice?

No time! Run now! it said, and she listened, plowing through burning underbrush... and directly into the rushing river with a yelp! She was carried off in the currents, shocked and bewildered at the sudden coldness of it compared to the heat and pain of the burning forest, but only briefly - survival instincts had their hold now, and she fought desperately for the surface, crying out in relief when she reached the surface and drew in breath at last. The water was rushing... but she fought her way to the edge, and clambered out onto the stones, body still steaming from the heart of the fire.

Panting, exhausted and weak from the combined fire, change, and shock... Rogue nevertheless perceived... something. This something was hard to miss... because it was blood. Even harder... because...

The werewolf stopped panting, and her ears perked, eyes widening. Her head jerked this way and that, the black and white shewolf sniffasnuffing the wind! The voice was saying something... but she was ignoring it now. And then... her eyes alighted on a little form on the bank.

Rogue didn't growl. She didn't extend her claws. She just... walked down the beach, in a hunched two legged posture, stunned and still in shock... but nevertheless clear as crystal about one thing.

The little girl.

She stared dully at the child, at the terrible wound in her hip, torn open and bleeding... the blood... a human... She crouched beside the child... and extended her claws out to grab and sink and tear... but....!

NO! The force of the thought came like a brick to the side of the head, and she retracted her 'hand' very suddenly, shocked at this!

Not a child. the voice pleaded, gripping her consciousness as hard as it could. Rogue tilted her head at the girl... and bent lower, gently applying the finest tool known to man and beast - her nose. She snuffled the girl... and perked her ears high again, eyes wide! This girl... smelled of wolf. This... this...

... this was a pup. She was hurt, too... She smelled of... something tangy, something... strange... but she was a pup. Something older than the rage, older even than the hunger, gripped her in a fist. Something the Voice felt too, ancient and compelling. The shewolf gripped the girl's cuff in her suddenly gentle jaws, and dragged her out of the water onto the bank. The roar of the fire was dulled... a cursory examination told her she was safe, and as Rogue curled protectively around the child, her mind and body were united, even for only for a while.

The child was to be protected.

A more welcome scent caught his nose, and the unusual loud noise of animal grunts and groans caught his ears as he heard Rogue drag Karaya from the river. It took a minute for him to register  the smell of something else, when he sat up and blinked over at the pair. They were a few yards away, tall grasses rattling in the winds between them.

And not even bothering to ask if either was ok, he simply inquired, "Hey.. are those my pants?" as his eyes looked down at the pair of pants resting in the muddy river bank.

Standing up, he stood much closer now to the two within the tall grasses and reeds, tilting his head to observe the beastly woman, and the girl and her wound. It was bleeding.He frowned. Guess he'd have to stitch that up again. Moving past them, he picked up the pants and shook off the mud, before beginning to slip the pair of pants on. Pity this was all the clothes he'd get, and by the looks of it, they were a bit to big on him as they sagged down off his hips. Oh well. Turning his eyes to the others, he observed the new werewolf, saying nothing and crouching down and simply stared.

Then he moved a finger to poke Karaya. "Hey, pup, you ok?"

Karaya had been knocked out as Rogue dragged her body and Fishstick away from the riverbank and curled herself protectively around the child. Though the girl stirred and coughed, she did not wake up, not until somebody poked her. She groaned in protest as she sleepily fluttered opened her eyes.
"Huh?' she muttered, narrowing her eyes.
"Sebastian? Hey, I have your pants..."
Wait, but he was wearing his pants now. That was good.  He looked stupid walking around naked.

"Your butt was shot. You-" Karaya's words were cut off as she wheezed, clutching her stomach. The girl wiped the tears from her eyes. Though the fire did not reach this side of the river, the thick smoke loomed overhead.
She turned to look at the giant, wet wolf that was curled around her.
It's the weirdly helpful she-wolf from before. And it appeared that the wolf had helped her. Why? What did this stranger want from her?
Karaya narrowed her eyes, her heart pounding.
"You said you were alone," she said between coughs. "So whose she?"

Rogue glared at the hewolf as he approached her and her ward, but didn't protest as he put pants on. In the smoke-addled, exhaustion-spattered nothing feeling, nothing much of anyone did concerned her overmuch, at least to a point - she didn't have a problem with it. too tired. The girl stirred, and that stole Rogue's attention... But the approaching finger of poking was a problem large as life, and the she wolf made an attempt to get Sebby's finger!

She would have done, at any rate... But the smoke inhalation wasn't doing her reaction times any favors, so the maternal creature defaulted to flashing Sebby a healthy measure of fang, still full of blood, and treated him to a threatening rumble. She still wasn't sure why she was protecting the girl - but she wasn't analyzing the instinct either. She just... Was.

The girl's labored breathing made the Voice clamor and rattle, and Rogue gently licked the girl's filthy cheeks, cleaning away tears and tasting of the child's salty, salty pain with an... Oddly maternal grunting noise, still glaring at Sebastian with a side order of ice, then turned her attention to the matter of the girl's injury, almost muzzily.

She sniffed at it... Not infected, best as she could tell. At least, that was what the Voice said... And an old instinct bade her start to lick the wound, passing away the mud and grime of the deep wound, one paw gently holding the child steady as she had a go at comforting noises. The Voice went on about injuries... The wolf ignored it.

Sebastian only blinked as the she-wolf was growling at him, and looked down at Karaya with a shrug as he scratched at his head. The damn fleas were still there. He kept on scratching.
"She's not friend of mine. If anything, she's acting like your mother." He siad, giving the pup a mean grin.

"Huh?"
Karaya rigidly sat as the wolf began to lick her. She whimpered, like a puppy would, in protest. However, she didn't dare move away or fight. The girl watched the she-wolf with an awed sort of fascination. Karaya realized the wolf meant no harm to her and was taking care of her. She squirmed as caked in grime was licked off of her cheek. She hadn't been given a tongue-bath in years, and certainly not long in human form. It felt weird, but not as gross as most would have thought it to be. She wrinkled her nose at Sebastian's comment. That wasn't helping anything!
"But I've got none," she pointed out, as if she was stating the obvious state of the weather. "And why is she helpin' when I did nothin' for her?"

The pup sniffed the she-wolf. She smelt of the woods, and of smoke. She smelt danger, of course, but something warm and comforting. Karaya also smelt something metallic.
"You're hurt, too," she said, though it came out sounding like a question.

Still glowering at Sebastian (but hardly growling now at all) Rogue felt a curious calm, an easiness that in context was pretty scary stuff! The pain of the fire, the proximity of a pup, it was having a curious effect on the shewolf - for one thing, she wasn't tearing something's throat out or pissing up a tree or something. The human part of her was... astounded! The kid was cute - an urchin, certainly, but she herself had been a wild child, once upon a time... and she recognized a clever one right off. She'd realized the wolf wasn't listening to her really... but right now, that was alright.

Just the same, as the child squirmed and stiffened, she tightened her grip on the girl, and snuffled at her - daring her to have further injuries that needed a cleaning! There were some mild burns to which she applied her gentle tongue, and some especially thick patches of grime, but the shewolf grunted constantly, a low-key, soothing, almost pleasant sort of noise that fiddled with a harmonic marked 'mother knows best'.

And that was just it. She'd claimed the pup as her own now. At least... the wolf part of Rogue had. That was the first actual decision the beast made, and it mystified the human bit! Who was this girl? What was she doing out here in the woods in teh first place! Where are her parents!

Don't care. the wolf emoted, and ignored further fuss on that account, instead focusing on the heady problem of that damn gaping injury, all torn up and filthy.

The question was recieved with a glance - a distration from the delicate process of cleaning, of pulling out those weird fibers stuck in the poor girl's skin! She tilted her head incomprehendingly at the girl, her huskylike face and sharp gold eyes turning to her, growl stopping completely. Her whole expression seemed to say... "Wha?"

"Well," Sebastian begun, getting down to his haunches to stare Karaya directly in the face, all the while studying the she-wolf as she tended to her, and only being just a foot or two away as he did. "I did get shot in the ass," he reminded again. "Though thanks for the pants." he grinned ." but if you were referring ot the she-wolf, " he gestured to Rogue with his head. "I think we've all suffered a bit from that little spell." Slicking back his hair,w hich only ruffled through his fingers before falling back into his face, he glanced around to the fire's still smoking their way.

"We probably shouldn't linger here. We should keep going, before the fire's trap us in." Then to the north he looked. "We could travel, up river, to  keep down wind of the smell." Since the smoke was doing a number to his senses, burning and giving him an awful taste in his mouth. Then pausing, he stared the pair over, raising a brow. "You going to stay there as a wolf all day, girl or what?" he asked simply, not that it mattered, it just made it easier to communicate if they were all humans, Though he supposed if necessary, he could go back to being a wolf. but there was still the problem of the black powder. And fishstick.

He looked down to Karaya. "Say, where's your doll?"

Karaya whimpered as Rogue continued to clean her at the more delicate spots, but ceased her crying. Instead, she listened to Sebastian and gave a smug grin at his gratitude. The girl coughed as Sebastian talked about moving, and nodded vigorously.
"It's hard to breathe," she admitted as she spat out ash.
Suddenly, the girl yelped, not expecting the she-wolf to pull the rest of the stitches out.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, scowling at the wolf's blank expression. 
"My stitches," Karaya replied, as if that fully answered the question.

The question about her doll grabbed her attention fully.
"Huh?! What? Where?!" she asked, her heart practically stopping.
It wasn't by her feet. Why wasn't the doll there?
Karaya despirately wobbled to her feet, her hands pressing against the she-wolf's soft and matted-down fur for support. She limped for a while, and would have gone down to the river bank had she not seen the dark lump hidden by the she-wolf's tail.

"Oh," she muttered. She glared at Sebastian.
"Don't do that!" she protested, as if the doll's misplacement was his fault.
Karaya took in a deep breath, trying to still herself, but that only made the smoke worse. She clung the doll to her chest as she hacked her lungs out into it. Her large, blue eyes stared at the crackling fire and the clouds of smoke rising in the air.
"Hey, in't that farmer up north?" she asked.
Despite herself, she wolfishly grinned.

Sebastian raised a single brow at the girl and her mention of the farm.
"Yes.." he said carefully, eyeing her over. "But you're not in any condition for more rabbit stealing." He turned to the she-wolf.
"And we still know nothing about her," and it was only then he gave the she-wolf a narrowed expression, one that challenged her without even saying a word.

The werewolf grunted with disapproval as the girl stood in panic looking for her Fishstick. What the heck was a fishstick? The doll was received with a snuffle, but it smelled like the girl - HEAVILY... and of fish, but that wasn't the point. The shewolf's tail, stilled a moment with the tension of the girl's apprehension, began to gently flip side to side almost cheerfully, curling upward a little bit - so like a husky's in shape.

Sebastian's question whether she would stay a wolf or not was met with perplexion though - she sincerely did not understand, and peered at Sebby with suspicion and mild... amusement? The girl was braced, and Rogue favored a four legged stance for this very reason, allowing the girl to use her as a kind of walking stick. Inside, the Voice shouted at the stupid wolf, trying to get her to understand!

He's right! Help them get out of here! it said, and the shewolf looked between Karaya and Sebastian dully, her head still muzzy. She focused on Sebby in the end as he glared and challenged her, her lips peeling back a little to reveal fangs, her eyes narrowing.

Not leave pup... Male food?

No he isn't food! He's her friend! the voice insisted!

Not like male. Smell like... she leaned in and... sniffed him, pulling his wild hair towards her muzzle a moment with the FOOF-FOOF of sniffery! ...... MALE the beast thought with disapproval!

Well yes, he WOULD, wouldn't he? On account of having A TONKER came that increasingly annoying voice. Where was it coming from?! Why wouldn't it go away?! The Beast didn't have an understanding of accounts, complex sentence structure, or the word TONKER, but the gist of it was easy to understand. The male was male because he was male. Didn't get simpler.

Fine. Male come too. With that, Rogue, ceased baring her fangs at Sebby, looked away to show mild compliance, and nosed under Karaya's bottom, pushing her onto her neck and shoulders, then stood, bearing the girl up on her back, hunched - she would be easy to hold onto.

Karaya scoffed at Sebastian's comment. She knew exactly what sort of condition she was in. She didn't need the lecture- though she felt stupid to bring it up. Besides,he was right about the she-wolf. Karaya knew nothing of this one, and she was  still getting used to being around one wolf, let alone two in one day! Not that she thought they'd stick around for very long. Karaya frowned as she peered at the she-wolf, intelligence beaming in her eyes as she leered at both Karaya and Sebastian. It occured to Karaya that the she-wolf was more beast than human.
Can she even Change?

Karaya began to walk, but  then soon found herself lifted and slid down in a coat of fur, mounted on she-wolf's back. Of course, the wolf had the right idea- the child was slow in this condition, but Karaya was too stubborn to acknowledge this completely.
"Hey!" she whined indignantly, feeling  disoriented in more ways than one. 

Sebastian, who wasn't normally one to stand his ground,a nd would rather turn taila nd run, kept his authoritative glare upon the she-wolf before she relinquished her snarl. His own lips curled up into a smirk, his eyes, still wild as it were, and an air of confidence made him rise to a more square-shouldered stance.

"Well, at least she knows I mean business," he said, smirking again and inspecting Rogue over again. "Though can't you change so we can talk?" Though he thought it over, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Unless she's a newer wolf. They say ones who have been changed in the middle of their life time, take a long time to adapt to the ways of the wolf." Though he shrugged it off and stared over at the flames.

"Though we shouldn't linger here. And the four-legger has the right idea. Though if I shift back into my wolf form," he shrugged. "I'll lose my pants." Then to the river he looked again. "Let's follow this to see where it takes us. I'd rather not be turned into barbequed wolf once these flames catch up to us." ANd he began to make his way down the river bank, hands in his baggy pants pockets, and moving as fast as his two-legged human form could carry him, he continued following it up north.

Rogue found herself sort of... accepting Sebby's dominance in this moment - the human bit of her was sputtering, but then... well, she wasn't a dominant person, herself - she was quiet, and thoughtful by nature, given to think before she punched someone. Perhaps... her as a wolf was something like that too? She certainly wasn't at the reigns - she was just holding the wolf in a leash like a cobweb! She might as well try to restrain it with a single hair! The wolf really, really was on bestial autopilot.

But, with the child on her back, complaining mildly and at last a direction in her life, her spirits were curiously high - even the wolf was in a good mood! She was a bit... cooked, but that was background noise now. She hadn't felt this good in... oh, months. A sizable part of her grieved the loss of her family, her daughter, and her humanity, and feared what was to come... but the rest - a good-sized chunk of her human self and every inch of her lupine self that wasn't currently thinking about sorting things out with Sebastian were in agreement.

Wherever these two went, that was where Rogue wanted to be.

As the group continued North, the river eventually was split in two, one direction coming from a mountain side (probably the water's source); the other, cascading off the side of a small cliff side. Sebastian perched beside the top of the thin water fall, peering over the edge. It was a long way down if you were to fall, but upon further observation, he noted a clear cut path along the side, one that wound down through the steep cliff side like a gnarled snake.

"I think going this way might be wisest. I can't see the forest fire catching this far. Come on," and as unusual as it were, Sebastian found himself, shirtless (well, him being shirtless wasn't unusual), and bare foot (whihc was also not unusual) as he lead the group down the tight knit path. Some of the crags of rocks reached well over his head, as did some of the tall grasses and weeds that grew along the choked side of this rarely traveled path. It was also dusty, and upon reaching the bottom, he found himself sneezing and kicking up more brown dust, and was happy to see the large pool of water forming at the bottom of the river.

Wiping the dust from his eyes and losing the pants without so much as an explanation, the man was in the waters, splashing the cool waters about his head and standing underneath the thin fall of waters that were falling off the cliff side,a nd just kept his head leaned back, enjoying the feeling of the waters falling over him, plastering down his unruly dark hair. Thankfully, the waters were up to his waist here, so his poor ass could soak. It was in so much pain, the cool water felt great against the arrow wound. And the water's on his head.. great against the circus of fleas that still lived there, for it washed a lot of them away, nd ceased the fiery biting they kept instilling upon him; for this was a wonderful moment of relief and bliss.

Then to the two ladies, he flashed the whites of his teeth over to them.
"Come on in, the water's fine."

Karaya silently clung to the wolf's soft fur as they ran through the woods. She coughed the whole way through until it seemed that her lungs would split, but they did not. Her breathing became steadier once they slipped further away from the clouds of ash. The promise of stopping by the pool was heartening- Karaya was exhausted.

Karaya slipped off of the wolf and clumsily limped towards the pool's edge. The water was pleasently cool to her toes. Encouraged, the girl sat by its edge, a cloud of soot lifting from her skin. She shook it from her hair,  and, carefully leaning over, she splashed water on her face. The girl sighed as the water touched her face, the sensation feeling refreshing. However, it wasn't good to drink at all. It tasted faintly of ash.

She let her legs go in deeper in the water, hissing as the water kissed her burned skin. Still, after the initial  sting, the water soothed her.
Hurry up and heal, she thought, sullenly.

Karaya frowned at her mangled reflection. She dared to watch the she-wolf and Sebastian through it, too, though the girl felt too heavy with shame to quite look up at them. This disturbed her greatly. She didn't know this was going to happen, after all. She wasn't attached to either, as well. However, she hadn't been used to so many wolfs in a place at once for a long while, and they were.... okay. Alright for now. In any case, Karaya felt deeply guilty and vulnerable in their presence.

Suddenly, Karaya knit her eye brows together as her breathing became rapid and shorter. Her shoulders shook, but her jaw hardened as she held back hot tears. There was no way she was going to cry now! Karaya quickly scooped up handfuls of cold water to splash at her face, until her mental wall was built up again.

The night was fading, giving way to the darkness just before dawn. Rogue could feel it in a way that had little to nothing to do with eyesight. Her body was trembling just faintly, like the way you can feel another hiccup on its way. The wolf was waning slightly, and the human was waxing... And she'd never tasted the sensation as forensically as this. Every other night before this, changing had been like getting plunged into a sea of fire. Pain and rage were constants and it led her farther and farther away from all other people, as far as she could possibly get.

Now... Now she would have to think. The weight of the girl on her back calmed the beast considerably, and Rogue could not help but goggle at that a bit... at least, human Rogue. Wolf Rogue understood, it was human her trying to catch up now. And sure as anything, Sebastian led the girl and her adoptive shewolf to the waterside. Water... Seemed such a sweet idea now, to both the wolf an the human, but to their mutual surprise, they both stomped on the thought of just leaping into the water. They had a pup to think about.

Calmly, she lowered her haunches as much as she could and let the chil climb down. She did not fuss exactly, but she did stay close to the girl, eyes always on her as she braced her, did her best to help her into the water while giving her the maximum space. Why she felt the space was neccesary was a mystery to Rogue, but the wolf didn't question the human instinct from the Voice. When she was in... That was when she felt it - the change.

She shivered. The shewolf was starting to panic as the half moon lost its sway over her body as it set in the sky. She gave a keening little grunting whimper and hung her head, but the human, in rising again, was fully awake and aware of what was happening now.  She did her best for the wolf, tried to comfort the part of her that was an animal as she ha once done for her dog... And it was working, but only somewhat. The beast, she realized, feared changing as much as she did. The pain was starting - her muscles were tensing, her form starting to steam in the cool night air.

Human and wolf Rogue did their best - but the change in them was a very, very new thing, and everything was cramping up. The shewolf whimpered and panted as bones cracked and shifted suddenly, stabbing nerves and wrenching her stomach. Her claws dug into the silt of the water beneath them, and by degrees, she rode out the transformation. It helped to try and breathe evenly as her body shifted between morphological stations.

When Rogue came out of the painful, but relatively quick change, she was still, to her amazement, conscious and against all bitter hopes during the rougher parts, alive. Tears soaked her cheeks and her body was shaking hard, but the cramps had quite subsided. She lifted her head muzzily to the two other wolves, still kneeling in the water near the child. For some reason, her father's face loomed up in her mind, and said... And said... "You are here, and this is now, my girl." For some reason... That thought helped her.

Rogue reached out, and very gently cupped Karaya's cheek in her palm with a mother's hand, and used her thumb to gently brush away a tear. In that moment, there was nobody else in the world. There at least she agreed with the wolf. The pup was... the child was... well, she was important. The girl was as malnourished and alone as she was. Best to make the most of things, such as they were. They might be pretty meager circumstances... But they were our circumstances.

"Hey..." Came Rogue's hoarse voice in harmonics only a mother could have "Are you hungry?" She asked, and made an attempt at a smile. Everything hurt, and she felt weak, but there it was. You were here, and this was now.

Sebastian stared over to where Karaya and the new wolf had entered the waters, though found himself unavoidably staring after Rogue as she shifted. It wasn't that he hadn't seen a shifter, or the shifting process itself, but the fact there was a naked female in the waters nearby had something of Sebastian's that resided beneath the surface of the water a little happy as he drank her form in, green eyes glowing at the prospect and sudden urge to mate. It seemed the river waters weren't cool enough to ward off instincts...

It wasn't until the new wolf-girl spoke that he was brought back to his senses (well, only partly) as he studied her with more scrutiny. Even from here he could see the bags under her eyes, the tiredness there, and her ribs pressing out from her skin. But still.. oh.. maybe if he was lucky the two could go behind the bushes and....

Yep, Sebastian had about one thing in mind when it came to females, and he had the fleas from the beds to prove it. For now, he tried to ignore those urges, but the thought might be evident in the way he was looking over at Rogue and holding his breath. And if his tail would have been out, it would have been erect as wella nd gently wagging, and rising and bristling, to show his position that he believed should be over her... in more ways than one.

OOC: Just lol  XD

The Change was different for everybody, and Karaya watched the she-wolf shift in a grim silence. It was painful for some, though the girl wasn't all too certain why. She watched in mild sympathy before turning her head away, and back towards her knees. It was rude to stare... though one glance at Sebastian told her he didn't care much about such manners. The girl couldn't help but to smirk. She didn't get what was so attractive about a werewolf shifting, out of all things, but adults were strange like that.

Suddenly, the thin and worn woman with the strange white hair cupped Karaya's face with her hands. The young pup, startled by this action, took in a sharp breath. She stared into the strange woman's eyes. Normally, Karaya would have been quick on the uptake. But this woman was different. She was acting kind in a personal way that Karaya was not used to. She wasn't asking for anything in return yet, either, which made the girl immediately suspicious. So, the girl narrowed her eyes as she brushed the woman's hands away, perhaps a little too coldly than she intended.

"I'm fine," she  said as she rose to her feet, and moved a  yard away, towards the moss covered rock. She removed her belt and slowly lowered herself by the rock, a hand pressed against her side. She wanted to heal and to sleep, and hoped the woman was interested in Sebastian enough to leave her alone.

Rogue smiled a little at the girl's reaction to her question. Silly of her, really, the girl was feral - a child by body, and probably older than her in cynicism. She remembered other wild children she'd met - herself for a start- and smiled at the girl. The wolf in her was confused by this complicated human sentiment, but the human part knew well enough what it was about. Even if she wasn't weak, this child (and thank goodness, really), that wound was a wound... And she needed food to heal up.

It was right about there that she noted Sebastian... And when she turned her head to him, the scent of his... Romantic propensities hit her in the face like a fish. She wrinkled her nose, her sickly form glistening with water. The wolf was... Well, the wolf was growling inside her, but it was a sort of... Playful growl. She couldn't help but crack a grin around her scowl of distaste. She pointed a shaking finger.

"You." She demanded. "You're going to help me find something for us to eat - we should find lots of game, its all been driven out of the upland plateau." She said sharply, and deliberately glanced at the girl so she could be sure he saw her do it. The look said, in a way,

She's hurt - she needs food. Think about her, please.

When Rogue spoke, it was the only thing that brought him out of his leerful daze. Blinking his eyes, he only smirked and sunk back casually intot he water, giving a good scratch to his scalp, hoping the waters would take more of the damn fleas away in their cool currents.

"And if I don't?" Sebastian said in a playful, challenging tone. Who was the alpha here? Was she trying to claim the spot? With the child, he could easily be the temporary 'alpha' between the two...
but with this new girl, he wasn't so sure what to even make of her, so he simply grinned and appeared as if he were taking his good old time in the waters.

"And hey, don't forget I'm injured as well."
His ass did hurt after all. Though he doubted she'd want to help him lick that wound. Or, oh.. what if she did? Yeah, it was probably best if he stayed in the waters to cool off..
at least for now. Maybe they could just breed later...

OOC: lol, oh God XD Sebastian has a one track mind around females >.>;

Rogue opened her mouth to howl the man out of the pool and drive him, but... That wouldn't really work, would it? He would try to contest her command, and either she'd hurt him or he'd hurt her and it would waste time... And she was weak in any case. No, that would not do, then. She was thinking too much like a woman, frankly. She needed to think... More like a girl.

She smiled and tilted her head at Sebastian, putting her hands on her knees as she leaned down towards him. She was thin, and she wasn't particularly healthy, but she was still a woman, and under the thinness, she was still comely. An old tone of voice teturned to her  - a sort of warm purr that once upon a time had her late husband simpering at her heel.

"Surely not!" She said, and crouched near him. "A little wound like that, stopping a hunter like you?" She blushed a little - it was just a matter of thinking dirty thoughts. Considering how her wolf felt and how chiseled the man was, despite any scrawnyness and fleas, this was not difficult.

"I don't think I can manage alone... Pleeeaaase?" And she gave him megawatt puppy eyes and... Bit her bottom lip - employing the atomic bomb of leading a man by his, ah...

...tail.

The flicker in her eyes made no mystery of her opinion of a man who would help a little girl and little ol' her hunt a deer for them to eat - hanky and/ or panky were distinct possibilities in the near(ish) future.

Sebastian simply stared at Rogue. And stared and stared, before a grin began to itch leftward across his lips.

"Well, if you put it that way," and without shame, he stepped out of the waters and stood, dripping wet, at the edge of the river. His grin bared his teeth. "So what sort of animals were you hoping to catch? I can catch just about anything.." he began, his green eyes sparkling as he leered down at the naked woman, before adding, "As a wolf."
And he kept his eyes upon hers, despite his want to digest her entire nude form again from where he stood, just a few feet away from her. It seemed he was ready to play this game.

Karaya in the meanwhile had curled up and tried to sleep. However, the whole atmosphere was too distracting. The she-wolf still went on thinking that she was the girl's mom, and Sebastian reeked of lust. The girl practically gagged in her mouth as Rogue's pitch heightened as she cooed at Sebastian. Karaya didn't know why the strange woman bothered, or why Sebastian was so much in the heat, as it were. Adults were weird.

"I'm fiiiiiiiine," the girl whimpered as she glared suspiciously at Rogue.
"Besides, it doesn't hurt so much anymore, and it'll be healed by the morning," she snapped. Of course, the first part was a lie and the second statement a half truth. Karaya knew it would heal, but she doubted it would be fully gone.

However, even though this woman was getting into her space, fresh game was fresh game. Despite her rabbit earlier, Karaya was growing hungry, again. The girl laid back down and stared at Fishstick. Food was one thing, staying was another. She had already caused them enough trouble as it was, and Karaya still didn't even know if she could trust them. But for now, she drifted off into a light nap while waiting for the two adults to hunt and do what ever they had to do before coming back. And if they didn't come back, or didn't bring food, well, she was used to that, too.

Rogue smiled to herself as she held Sebby's gaze and heard the girl's denial of any sort of responsibility. Yep. She'd been spot on, the girl was independent, didn't need stinking adults to tell her what was best. Well, she'd been there too. She couldn't hide the flicker in her eyes that said alot about her being mugged on memory lane.

Sebastian won a small prize though - he was clever enough to know it was a game, and that there were really prizes for someone if they played well enough. It might not be the full nine yards... she'd just met him and she'd need to share a remedy she used on her dogs... but it would be a doggy door in the shut door of a woman's fortifications. If he was up to snuff, that would be all he needed.

Rogue felt slightly disgusted with herself just the same - that part of herself that was probably her inner child thought she was a perv and a wierdo, but the wolf found it quite, quite amusing. So! it seemed to sneer The bossy voice DOES have some instincts! but probably not. Probably just her going mad.

Whatever the case though, Rogue knew how to do this one. Hunting was second nature for her, and now, with a skilled hunting "dog" (for after all, where you get a wolf that's a bit human, you certainly wound up with a sort of dog) at her side, it would be all the simpler. The first step though... was to make a bow. And the first step to that was a bow. Failing that (like now), she would settle for a good atlatl.

It was a simple matter, going into the brush and finding a few sticks and rocks - the tricky bit was getting straight ones, and finding a rock she could bust up into lots of sharp ones.  The bark, the twine from the bark, that was easy. She trimmed down the branches, cut down the wood to... straight-ish...ness and mount up the sharp pointy bits of rock... And the throwing arm was simple as pie. Just a matter of finding something proper and shaping it to fit. Pretty soon, she had a handful of bolts and everything she needed to get going - it took maybe twenty minutes.

"Arrite, we're after deer." she said to Sebastian. "Ever hunt like this before? With somebody that isn't a wolf, I mean." she smiled. This was something she knew - she wasn't being condescending when she continued - she was just laying out the game plan, bending and using the atlatl arm to draw in the sand of the beach.

"All you need to do is drive the deer in my direction - they're in a kicking mood right now I'll be bound, so don't risk yourself, please, but if you'd howl out when you've got one coming my direction, I'd be grateful." she looked up at him and practically glowed with excitement!

"Think you can handle it?"

Sebastian gave a few scratches to his wet, moppy hair as she spoke, and watched as she gathered a few things (though his eyes were hardly on the gathering so much as her naked body) and kept close enough as he dared. So it was only when she was nearly finished that he realized, with a fade of his smile, she aimed to hunt like a human.
He raised a single brow.

"What? I don't get to bring our kill down?" he asked playfully. "I was told I have very sharp teeth" And the suave words were spoken as Sebastian leaned against a nearby tree and leered her over. It seemed he was still being distracted by her erm.. naked form.

"Well I can't change as I like." She said. That was right and absolutely honest - if she had her way she wouldn't! Buy it was what it was. "So, slow em down if you like... But one wolf can get kicked to death - all the deer's world gets focused and they tend to get... Kicky. But a bolt through the chest is hard to kick" and besides, she said in the privacy of her own head, I happen to know you seem to prefer prey that you can catch - like hutch-bunnies.

She flashed him an exhausted, but chipper smile and scurried off into the forest, giving just a backward glance to be sure he was following!

"Huh?" he blinked, staring over at her. "You have no control over when you change? What are you, new to this sort of thing?" he asked, still scratching at his fleas. He was following after her sure enough, he didn't need to be told twice. He was obedient to a fault, and he was rather disgruntled over that. Either way, hey, he got a nice view to look at it, so he'd play her game as it was for now. But in all honesty, he was truly curious. Was she a new wolf? A few quick smells still made it hard to tell. A female wolf was a female wolf, and his only concern were her pheromones that made his own hormones rage within. At least he got a promise of play when this was all done. He needed it after a day like this one. Deer be damned. He'd bring down a whole beast for her. So his eyes surveyed the land, trying to keep his nose upon the smell of deer, rather than Rogue's rear, but erm.. his nose kept drifting in that direction, which he tried to hide by refocusing his tactics as they walked.

Try as she may, Karaya couldn't sleep. She tried. The girl tried rolling onto her non wounded side before giving up and facing up, again. That wasn't so comfortable, either, and she huffed at the black sky. She pulled out the half empty bag of black powder, and scowled at the thing as if it was all its fault. It didn't help matters much that her wound was itchy, it was healing so quickly.

Left alone to her thoughts, Karaya frowned down at her doll, who stared back at her with sympathetic button eyes. The girl was feeling antsy. She was hungry, and she was leaving the hunting to a a wolf woman who probably didn't know what she was doing, and Sebastian. Karaya narrowed her eyes.
I could just steal another rabbit, she thought, doubtful.
"Ugh," the girl groaned, rolling her eyes. Still a little too weak to change into a wolf, the  child  walked into the woods, following the faint scent of her new companions. 

Rogue however, as soon as they left the 'camp' for want of a better word, disappeared. She was a hinter by trade before then, and it was the work of moments to work at getting herself completely filthy. Mud was giving it the best of it, but she covered herself in the contents of the bank, its sticky green slimes and tepid water making her like a swamp monster... But her scent all but evaporated.

When she emerged into the twiligh forest, she grinned at Sebby, and weighed the atlatl in her hands. The tiredness had quite washed away in the sudden shock of something she knew, something she and the beast understood together. It was turning out to be a surprisingly large number of things! She chuckled, and fingered her weapon gently, slotting a nolt into a place and holding the arm and bolt together in that position so she was ready when the deer she was expecting Sebastian to drive out came at last.

Perhaps it was the mid coating her, or the thrill of the chase, but Karaya's presence was undetected as she sat low and... Ceased to exist. She just stopped moving and sort of switche herself off. Where she'd been, there was a vauge boulder as she became almost a part of the scenery, letting her senses expand, eyes wide as she scanned the forest for movement.

OOC: Sorry it took so long for a reply D:
I dunno why I kept staring at this thread going 'derp!'
But now I has posted!
*sparkles*
------------------

Sebastian watched in mild fascination as the woman coated her entire body in mud. It was a clever idea, and after he took a moment longer to appreciate the woman in her mud-soaked form, he felt his bones settle and crack, dissolving here, elongating there, before his body stretched out and he was now squat on the ground on all fours with fur sprouting all over.

Now a wolf again, he gave a short, gruff bark and a shake of his head, before he went about rolling all over the mud. Then once he was well coated, he looked up at the woman, smiling through his pants before he moved forward, sniffed her crotch once with a brief snort before turning away and dashing off into the woods.

It felt good to run, and the winds were cooling the mud that now caked onto his fur. His sense of smell was ever vigil, and he kept his nose pointed skyward until he spotted a family of deer. There were two does and a buck, and a fawn all nibbling on grass.
Perfect.

He skirted through the tall brush, keeping his body low, and his movements slow. When the buck perked it's head up in his direction, it's ear twitching about, Sebastian grew silent and still. After about ten minutes, the buck resigned itself back to munching on the sweet grass, and another five minutes of bided time had Sebastian stalking silently forward again.

He was barely a few feet away when the mother deer lifted her head and spotted him, and out of fear, she took flight, leaping through the air,a nd soon the others were following afterward. Sebastian made a snap at the lagging female's legs, nearly getting kicked in the head as he made chase,..t he deer unknowingly being flushed out into Rogue's direction.

OOC: AGGH. Sorry for tkaing forever. I told Nemo they could go first but got no reply? where are you  lovely :( andtheniforgottoreplyimsosorry. I.... I shall go ^^;;

IC:

Karaya made some headway, stopping now and then to wheeze for the next twenty minutes.  She managed to concentrate hard enough to produce two wolf ears on the top of her head. Her sense of smell was still muddled by the smoke.
I can't smell a thing, she thought, curious. She could smell wolf... Sebastian's scent was easy to follow, he stunk! But after a while, she realized Rogue's was missing.  It had to be some sort of trick, and Karaya was eager to learn it. Yet they were close, Karaya knew it.

However, her hunting was off putted  when a faint noise hit her ears.  She paused and laid low into the grass as she tried to make out what it was.
Suddenly a deer jumped into her path.
"Ack!" Karaya yelped before she tumbled awkwardly out of the way.

((OOC: Meeeeep! I got DISTRACTACULATED by all kinsa stuff starting up again and working and school, oh me oh my! Now then!))

Rogue crouched low to the ground and stared out at forest, stilling and fading until she was just a part of the scenery - no scent, no movement, no presence. This was the first time she'd properly hunted since the change and the wolf inside her was confused about what she was up to. It had understood the filth, and it had understood the quiet, but the rest was a mystery and it was too tired to object.

When the mother burst from the bush and ran into the night, she tensed- the creature was maybe thirty feet away? Her children came after, wild-eyed and confused - she let them pass as well. Then came a buck. He was the father of them - and he was... Magnificent, and furious. The stink of him was as awesome as his rack, and... He stopped? She stared at him in confusion a moment before looking at what he was looking at.

Karaya.

He pawed the ground and dipped his head... And Rogue reacted rather than stare any longer. She rose, drew back her arm, and fired, aiming just ahead of the buck so she'd hit him in the front side of his body.

The bolt seemed to come from nowhere, colliding with the buck and actually knocking him to the ground as the bolt struck and shuddered in place in his heart and lungs. His legs worked a few moments before Rogue made it to him, and... helped him along. She laid down his head and muttered a soft thank you to the deer as her father had taught her to do. Only then did she look up, and smile at the girl.

A moment later, the perusing wolf came stumbling along, frothed fangs bared as they chomped down onto the deers throat to get the taste of fresh, hot blood. It bubbled and flooded into his mouth, driving his crazy as he growled in wildness of the kill. After a moment, he calmed as he spotted Rogue, but was surprised him more was Karaya, though not entirely. It seemed the kid loved to tag along, even when there was danger.

He kept his teeth sunk into the buck, growling still as he watched the two before releasing his jaw from it and lapping at the blood now soaking the fur around his maw and lips. Ah, seems they'd eat good tonight. And for Sebastian, a good meal like this was few and far between.

"Oooooow," Karaya hissed as she touched her tender and healing leg.
I shouldn't have moved so fast, she thought, but the girl smiled back at Rogue, her eyes admiring the mud on the wolf's fur.
"Brilliant," she muttered as the sting left her. Karaya never learned that trick- she resolved to memorized it and use it for later.

She sat there as she watched Sebastian stumbled into their view. Karaya could smell the wilderness on him, the want to kill. Still, she wasn't afraid. Instead, she watched quietly as he helped kill the buck and concentrated on turning into a pup.
Come on, come on...
But when the girl felt the strain becoming too much, she immediately pulled back. It was no use turning into a pup and having no energy to move!
I'll just have to wait and cook over a fire, she resolved. As a wolf, raw meat was the best, but the taste lost its appeal in her humanoid form. Karaya was used to waiting, anyway. Those who killed got to eat first, and everybody else had to fight to get a piece. 

Victory was short for the wolves, for as Sebastian was the only one who had a taste, even he- as hungry as he was, couldn't help but notice the smell of something strange-
and it turned out they were not the only hunters around here.
As Sebastian raised his head, his ears swiveled a bit before he got the scent of men.
His ears instantly pinned back as he barred his teeth, hair bristling-

But the hunters, who may or may not have been after the same stag, noticed the wolf- they hesitated not to fire.

A gun shot? Guns were so rare, at least something he had never seen- so to be shot by one was quite the curious and painful sort of pain! He let out a whimper and suddenly took off, feeling the lead ball inside him knock around against his bones. He grit his teeth,a nd if he could swear in this form he would as he took off into the woods, leaving hte others behind to fend for themselves....

But it wouldn't take logn for the frightened animal to run into their trap, when suddenly the forest floor was taken from him and down he went, right into a well placed sink hole- and the net that lay over it, catching over top of his form.

"Huh?"
Karaya watched as Sebastian grew tense.
"Sebastian, what's wrong?" she asked, annoyed. His stillness made her uneasy.
Suddenly, a loud piercing nose penetrated the air. Karaya screamed and fell to the ground. She moaned, covering her ears. They hurt so bad. What was that?!
It had to be magic, she assumed, though that awful smell of the black powder faintly lingered. She watched in a half daze as Sebastian limped away. A sick feeling stirred in her stomach.
He's hurt...
Out of the corner of her eyes, Karaya saw three human forms. She grabbed Fish Sticks and ran blindly, her feet kicking off the ground as fast as they were able. She ran until she found a group of bushes and curled up behind them.
They can't find me here, not on the dark, Karaya thought, burying her face in her knees.

The wolf struggled at the bottom of the pit, nose nad teeth pressing against the thick netting- and if it wouldn't hurt to transform with this sort of wound, he might consider it. But the hunters were already over the sink hole fast and their forms looked down at their catch.

"An impressive beast. No doubt it'll make a nice mount on my wall." One gruff bearded man said.

"Aye, think he might be a dire wolf, Frank?" Another, shorter man said. The first one shrugged his arms and handed off his gun. And even from down there Sebastian could smell the scent of faded powder and smoke. Though even as he tried, the men only laughed at his attempts. They knew better. Wth his injury and how deep the pit was, there was no escape.

"Here, help me reload my gun. We can put a bullet in his head and carry 'em off. I haven't eaten wolf in a while."

And at those words, Sebastian's lips curled back as he growled at them and forced himself to stand beneath the heavy netting. Though it was difficult, he wasn't about to let them just make a stuffed animal out of him.

Her bush, as it turns out, was not too far from Sebastian's hole.  She could smell him, from there. Her ears perked up as the men talked.
Kill him? Eat?
The she-pup snarled. How dare they! She didn't was Sebastian to die, she kind of liked him. Still, she wasn't about to die for a stranger. That was always a big mistake.  She could see the hunters shadows from the bush, and heard them talk. She wrinkled her nose.
What sort of  name was Frank? she wondered.
The girl puffed out her cheeks. She didn't think she could run much anymore, but she had a feeling these men weren't like the rogues. She ran as fast and pathetically as she could towards them.  Frank immediately turned and pointed his gun at the pup.

Karaya froze, stock still. She clutched  her doll close.  with her tattered clothes, bare foot, and still visible wounds, she was a pathetic and frightful mess.
"Please don't kill him," She wept. "He's mine. You've got to help me. There's bandits in these woods and they hurt us really bad."
"Rogues?" the shorter man repeated, uncertain.
Karaya nodded.
"Uhuh," she said between sobs. She sputtered as one did in distress. "T-t-they...  got M-Ma. F-Fishstick got hit b-by a m-m-metal b-ball."
The girl threw a look behind her and stumbled closer to the hunters.

The hunters exchanged glances, then looked down in the pit.
"You sure this animal is yours?" the one named Frank inquired with a bit of a sneer. "He seems a wild beast to me. Seems awfully dangerous for a sweet girl like you to be having a wolf as a pet."

Sebastian growled at that, but kept his snarling fangs bared. Though inwardly, he was relieved and surprised Karaya had come back, part of him was still thinking of a way to get out of this. In his beast form,t he beast brains ran dominate, but it didn't mean he hadn't transformed enough to get the hang of it. So he still had pieces of humanity left to grab a hold onto, but for now, the beast glared up at the men as they shook their heads.

"What if we let your dog, er wolf," the man corrected, shaking his head. "Out of the trap and he bites one of us? Those animals aim to kill."

The other man nudged Frank in his side.

"Oh Frank, she ain't much older than Tabitha. You know she had a pet fox herself."

"But that's a fox."

"Yes, but that's not much more different than a wolf. They're all dogs. We can just yank him up from the hole and pop him out. If he's unconscious he can't hurt any one and I'm sure the girl would be more ok with that than us just shooting him dead."

Frank, pursing his lips, gave a roll of his eyes and wave of his hand. "Alright, but only if we can knock the beast unconscious. I'd like to go home with my limbs intact."

Hearing what the men had to say, Sebastian was not exactly a fan of their idea, but as the rope cage was yanked to the surface, he hadn't even a chance to bite towards their faces when the net swung past them and then a stick swiftly met tot he back of his head- even well before he realized the net had come open, and the werewolf lay still on the ground, finally free.

Frank's friend gave a whistle as he began to roll up the netting.
"Impressive beast. " he said, hands to his hips before turning to the girl. "You going to be ok with him? You sure he won't bite ya, child?"

Karaya let out a sigh of relief. That was ridiculously close!
Humans are so dumb, she thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She shook her leg, impatiently. Those men were going on and on about some stupid girl and her dumb fox. She shuddered as they hit Sebastian on the head. She frowned at his limp body. They had to get out of here, and she couldn't drag him like this. She looked up at the two men with even bigger tears in her eye. They had half a brain between the two of them, but Karaya had a hunch this was her ticket to more food and safer passage out of the forest. She nodded pitifully at Frank's friend's question.

Karaya rushed towards Sebastian's side and put on a show by hugging his neck fiercely. She leered at Frank's friend.
"you hurt him! He's hurt! H-h-he was only protecting me from the men in the forest. What am I gonna do now?"

Frank frowned, but it was his companion that spoke next.

"Don't worry girl," he said with a smile. "He'll be awake again within the hour. He might be groggy though, sure his head will be smartin', but just keep with him until he awakens." Then to Frank he gestured, "And if you need anything, we've got some waterskins and jerky, if you need something to snack on while you wait. It's the least we can offer. And sorry about your pet."

Karaya gasped at them. They were underestimating her, she realized. They didn't believe her about the men.
However, she couldn't complain at the promise of safety and food! The girl nodded, eagerly, and stopped her tears.
"Oh, thank you!" she said as she wiped the snot from her nose with her tattered sleeve.
She was going to gloat in Sebastian's face, that was for sure.

Offering out the food, the men exchanged a bit more small talk with the girl before they realized they ought to get going.

"Seems today proved fruitless on our hunt, but our wives will be harping on us if we don't go home soon." Turning to the girl, the second man regarded Karaya. "Do you need an escort into town?"
It was the least they could offer- considering all that had happened!

Karaya nodded eagerly at the men's suggestion.
"Uh- please!" she said, remembering her manners.
She turned to check on Sebastian. She knew these men felt guilty, and was going to use that to her advantage. Besides, help meant food, a roof, and maybe if she was really lucky, a bed!

Though she didn't much like thinking about the wives. The wives were going to ask more questions than the husbands. They would notice more, too, and Karaya didn't like it when humans got nosy.  Still, it had been a long day, and Karaya knew she  needed to fight for the extra protection, so nosy humans it was.

"get up," she told Sebastian, hoping he healed fast enough to be able to walk. She wasn't going to drag his flea-ridden butt to food!

Sebastian was only beginning to come around, and the pain that shot through his head made him whimper in protest when Karaya barked her demand. But upon smelling men, and more or less strangers, but more specifically the strange men who had done this to him, Sebastian's lips curled back as he exposed his fangs, growling as he managed to push himself up, ears pinning back.

Karaya smelled his pain and anger. She smiled as he struggled to walk, encouraged. She was starting to kinda like the guy. The girl didn't know how she would feel about him dying, and she knew how he felt after that incident before that almost killed her. Boy, it had been a rough, long night. They were lucky to be alive!
"That's it," she said. "Come with me."

Normally, a girl would pet her dog to help soothe them, but Karaya kept her hands to herself. She didn't know if Sebastian was the snippy type, but wolves bite, wounded or not.

Slowly but steadily, the small party made their way back to a farm - to Karaya's relief, NOT the one they had stolen from, earlier. A figure stood in front of a house with a lantern in hand. At the sight of the party, it came running towards them,  hindered by skirts. Karaya stiffened, ready to pull out a knife, but realized it was a  woman, her eyes on Frank.  Hot tears streamed down her eyes.

"Damn you!" she exclaimed. "Damn you, I TOLD you not to go out today! Didn't I? Didn't I? I heard some awful noise, and there's smoke, and.... "
Her eyes turned towards Karaya, finally resting on Sebastian. She took a step back.
"Frank, what's this?" she asked, her voice lowered and quivering.

"Well, it's funny you should ask, Martha," Frank told his wife as he gave her a sheepish grin. "We found this little girl and her pet, who got himself stuck in one of our ground traps. Couldn't leave her there. She said she was hungry. It was the least we could do to bring he rback here and offer her a bite to eat."

The woman held a hand to her chest, looking emphatically towards the girl, but as she glanced down at her 'pet', she gasped.

"Frank! It's a wolf!"

Frank chuckled. "Aye, it's a wolf, Martha. We'll keep the beast outside, and the girl can come in with us. It's her pet, after all."

"But that's a wild beast!"

Sebastian simply stared at her, his fur all matted and dirty, his tail drooped and his ears pinned back. It almost appeared as if he might whimper, but he did not. But boy did his leg hurt. And his head. Ugh.

"Ah... ah..." Karaya stammered, looking back at Sebastian.
Just as she suspected, this woman was asking all the wrong questions.  Karaya buckled her knees, trying to buy time. What was she going to do? 
What you always do, dummy.
Karaya groaned as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.  She collapsed pitifully by Sebastian.
Play vulnerable.

"Good heavens!" The woman cried, a hand to her bosom. "The child has become lame! Quick Frank! Come over to her! See what is wrong!"

And as Sebastian moved to prod the girl with his nose, a hasty hand came by and shooed the wolf away.
"There, there now girly, easy does it. Let's get her to the couch Martha. She seems starved. Must be hungry, she had a long day. And get her some water too, while you're at it!" And as they dragged the girl inside, the door was slammed infront of the wolf's face.

Karaya wanted to cheer at the prospect of food. Actual hot food that she didn't have to hunt for! Of course, she had a little of deer from before, but a growing cub was always hungry. She was extra hungry after what had happened in the woods.
Instead, she groaned and struggled to stand up. She gave a secret wink to Sebastian before the door closed behind her.


"Thank you," she muttered as they lead her to thei, which was placed by the fire. Karaya sank back into the couch with Fish Sticks in her lap.  Sebastian would be safe, she knew. Still, she was probably going to have to sneak him some food.
"Sorry about the dirt, ma'am," she said as meekly as she could.  Karaya knew humans were ridiculously finicky about the dumbest things.
It's such an ugly color too, she thought. She wasn't a big fan of mustard yellow.

"Now, now, now, don't you worry about the dirt. You can wash up your face and hands before supper is ready. There's a basin with a few clean towels and soap in the back room. Why don't you go clean yourself up then child and we can talk proper once you feel nice and clean."

Karaya blinked a few times, her mind blank. It had been a long, long time since she had a proper, shared meal in human form. There were rituals involved she wasn't quite too sure about. Her parents had started to teach her, but they were now dead.
"Okay. Yes, ma'am," she replied sweetly before slowly going towards the back room, sniffing out the sandalwood in the soap.  The basin was positioned on a small cabinet, easy for the girl to reach.  Karaya tucked Fish Stick under her arm as she grabbed the soap and dunked it under the water. She had trouble handling the slippy thing- almost like a fish, except at least fish tasted good when you caught it with your teeth! She made a bit of a mess, dropping it and splashing water around. Karaya also struggled to scrub the dirt and blood spots on her body and tunic. By the time she was done, her hair was wet and her tunic had wet spots, but at least her hands and face were clean.

The girl next picked up the towel and held it close to her face. It was a new sensation to her. It was soft and warm, almost like a blanket. Karaya dried herself off as best she could with it  until she deemed herself presentable. The smells from the kitchen  reached her nose, almost too unbearable for her to handle. Her stomach rumbled loudly, pleading for whatever it was that had just finished cooking. Karaya eagerly abandoned the towel in a heap as she rushed to the dining table.

Karaya wasn't the only one smelling the food beginning to cook in the kitchen, and the second it reached Sebastian's nose, his ears perked up and he whimpered, cocking his head and picking himself up from where he had been laying on the floor. And soon the wolf was pacing, the smell's becoming too intense as he began to whimper around and stalk back and forth in front of the house.

No one noticed him of course, but when the old woman saw Karaya all cleaned up, and a bit disheveled for it, she smiled.
"Come child, why don't you help me set the table. Set out three cups and three plates. They're still at the end of the side table over there, right behind your head, dearie."

Karaya nodded at the order. She wasn't used to be talked at so sweetly, and was made mildly uncomfortable by it. She cups and plates stacked on a shelf, and carefully stacked the wooden things in her arms.

As she set the table, Karaya smelled Sebastian outside the door. She couldn't risk talking to him now.
People feed their dogs after themselves, Karaya thought with a grin.  No doubt  the humans would be more inclined to feeding Sebastian after they were done.
Just wait a little longer, she told him in her head, as if he could hear.

She went back to the table,  eager to eat, but unsure if it was polite to sit down yet or not.

A sloppy, salty soup was what was for dinner, and it smelled heavenly, with steamed carrots and onions bobbing about amongst heavier chunks of fatty meat. Martha smiled as the young girl was served.

"Eat up, girl. I'm sure you could use some extra meat on your bones! You're so skinny!" ANd wtih a soft chuckled, the old woman and her husband were seated about and they all began to enjoy the stew, while Sebastian remained outside whimpering, ears pinned down and muzzle laying between his two paws.

Karaya gladly obliged, savoring the fat from the meats. It was so good, she slipped out a moan The before gouging her cheeks. She finished a bowlful... and then another. She eyed the level of stew in the pot, hoping that there was enough left for Sebastian. Remembering some table manners, she patted her mouth gently with her napkin now and then and tried not to eat wolfishly.
"I'm SO full!" Karaya exclaimed when she was done. "Thank you SO much, ma'am!"
She smiled as sweetly as she could.
"May I take some to my dog?" she asked, nervously. For good measure, she bowed her head and fidgeted with a lock of hair.

The couple exchanged looks, but then upon observing there was some left in the pot, the wife sighed and gave a nod of her head.
"Yes, I don't see how a little bowl of stew could hurt. But best to keep him and feed him outside. He is still a wolf, after all."

Karaya beamed and even went so far as to pounce and hug the old woman.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed.
Before they could change their mind, the young girl reached for the pot and hoisted it off the table. She walked as fast as she could to the door, careful not to spill anything and opened the door with her foot.

"I could smell ya from the table," Karaya teased Sebastian as she let the door slam behind her.
"I got to sit at a table! i've never gotten to do that before."

Sebastian's ears pinned back the moment the door swung open, nearly hitting him. But the smell of what was in the pot the little girl carried made him all but forget about that as his mouth began to salivate as he moved closer, sniffing girl and the pot before pawing at it in attempts to get her to hurry up and put the thing on the floor. He was damn hungry and the loud growling from his stomach proved it.

"Be patient," Karaya urged Sebastian as she gently pushed his paws away.
Carefully, she tipped the pot over so that the contents of the stew sat in its own small puddle.
"Isn't it good?" she asked, delighted. "I had to stop myself from licking the pot clean. Too bad human girls don't eat so much."

Sebastian enjoyed it, and enjoyed it all, his entire muzzle coated in the thing as he lifted his head and licked his chops. He gave a light wag of his tail, that was, until he heard commotion from inside. Instantly it dropped, and he turned to look at his child charge before he licked his lips again.

"I'll only be a moment," Karaya whispered as she quietly picked up the pot.
She wanted to figure out what the ruckus was about- and, more importantly, if they should run.
As quiet as she could, the young girl cracked open the front door, an awkward task to do with just one free hand and a foot.  She peaked her head inside...

Inside the old woman was hollering, and by the time Karaya would return inside, she'd find out it was...

"A mouse! A mouse! There's a mouse on the floor! Watch your step, little one!" she cried, and her poor old husband was fetching for the broom.

"Don't worry, I'll get him out!" her husband promised, but it was proving to be quite a feet indeed, for the little fella seemed to be fast and quick, and kept evading the broom as it squeaked and scurried across the room.

Having smelled the little rodent, there was a whimper at the door, as Sebastian's nose plastered beneath the bottom of it before he began to paw at it with his claws. He gave a whimper, wanting ot be let in. He could most certainly take care of that little rat! He was starvign, after all- and thought a mouse was a small morsel, food was food!

Karaya stiffled giggles as she watched the old couple throwing a fuss over a mouse. It was so silly watching them dance so.  Karaya couldn't help but to flash a huge, wolfish grin. She loved a good playful hunt.
"I'll catch it!" she promised loudly to the old woman as she swung the door wide open..

A mouse? Though to a wolf, it was a small morsel, he was also a rather lanky beast and not one to miss an opportunity at food, so the second he heard and smelled the rodent, into the house he went- causing more of a ruckus than before. Insantiy ensued, and pots were thrown and furniture toppled over, but the wolf was persistent untilt he mouse dove into a hole, in which Sebastian soon found his nose smashing into with a painfilled growl. Angrily he pawed at it while the woman of the house exclaimed,

"The beast! The beats is in here! Out with him! Throw the beast out!"

Karaya was momentarily disheartened when the mouse went beyond her reaching when Sebastian toppled her over as he tried to achieve the same thing. Her head hit the floor, and the child hissed as she rubbed the sore spot.
"Lost it," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Wasn't much meat on it, no how. No good mouse."

She looked up to find the woman of the house very, very angry.
"Uh oh," she muttered. Karaya's shoulders slumped, sheepishly. She had a feeling they weren't gonna be welcomed much longer.

Not soon after she thought it the woman was armed with a broom and took it to Sebastian's head.
"Oh, beast! OUT!"

And Sebastian, not fully sobered in human thought (as he had transformed into an animal) snarled back, baring his teeth and backed off, fur bristling in warning. And soon the husband was back on the scene, a lantern lit and ready as he shook it towards Sebastian's face.

"Go on!" he growled. "Get! Get outta here!"

The lit fire glowed bright in Karaya's eyes. Her body felt cold as she recalled the fire they had just escaped from. She watched with a new found destation of the old man as he tried to brush Sebastian away.
"Don't..." she began to say , watching as Sebastian growled. He was angry, she realized. And she could smell the fear and disgust off the kindly old couple. And Sebastian... what was he going to do?  She didn't know him well enough, she realized. And this couple... Karaya realized she couldn't stay. She knew it was irrational, but she didn't like the thought of what would happen if they discovered that she was a wolf-girl. They would throw fire at HER nose!

So, Karaya with her doll in hand, snuck to the  kitchen door, and closed it behind her with a soft 'thund,' the breeze kissing her cheek as it russled her curls.

From where she was outside, she'd be able to hear the scuffle continue as a few pots were felled and jars, broken. A few table chairs were taken out as well, but eventually, Sebastian came running out of the building and into the woods.

"And stay out!" barked the man with a snort of finality before slamming the door closed.

Before the old couple even know the child was missing, Karaya had made it safely into the wood. Once hidden in the darkness, she doubled over, panting heavily. She knew she would not be alone for long. She smelt Sebastian swiftly approaching. She wondered if he would be mad at her, like her old pack when she messed up during a heist.
He healed me and all and i got us run out, she thought, feeling a little nervous.
Just in case, her free hand rested by her side, ready to grab a knife if she had to.

When Sebastian approached, he more or less tumbled into his human form and flopped onto the grass, butt naked. He too, was breathing hard and had a single arm draped across his forehead while he looked up aimlessly at the sky.

"Remind me rats taste like shit," he went on, spitting out some fur that was still stuck between his teeth.

Karaya turned her head away out of respect as Sebastian turned, though she watched him out of the side of her eye, just in case. When he completely relaxed, she, too, plopped to the ground, her back against the tree.
"Well, yeah," Karaya replied, wrinkling her nose.
She frowned to herself, a little confused by Sebastian's behavior. She decided not to bring up what happened back at the house. Her luck was more rotton than the dead tonight, it seemed.
"Here's safe for the night, do ya think?" she muttered, exhausted.

Sebastian wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.
"I don't know. We might not be far enough from that old couple, but I doubt they pursue." Their scent, anyway, had long since faded and he hadn't smelled any new dangers.
"I suppose here's as good as any." He gestured to a cedar tree. "Here, lets sleep under there." he could smell the coming rain on the winds. And he'd rather not sleep in the rainl

"huh?" Karaya muttered, only half registering what Sebastian had said. He was gesturing towars another tree. Understanding his point, she groaned in protest as she rose to her feet and trudged towards the cedar tree. By the base of the tree, she awkardly lowered herself down, her legs sprawled in front of her as she leaned against the bark.
"Night," she said, or at least, that's what she thought she said, before she promptly passed out.

Though tired, for the first few hours, Sebastian did not sleep. He kept his eyes, ears and nose open to their surroundings. But after not sensing any immediate danger, he too, eventually succumbed to his exhaustion and soon fell into a fitful sleep beside her, but eventually calmed when the rain fell gently, just as the sun began to rise.

Karaya's bladder woke her up.
She opened her eyes lazily, and shivered slightly. It was cloudly and windy, some sun peaking through between clouds, though she couldn't guess the hour. Her joints ached. Karaya touched her side, pleased that it didn't affect her.
It'll take more than a bullet to bring me down, she thought, surprised by her own resillience.She rose to her feet too quickly, wobbling as she regained balance. Once setttled, she quietly crept towards some bushes a few yards away to relieve herself.

I'm hungry, she thought as she adjusted her tunic. The young girl thought about hunting herself,  but she had Sebastian for that. Besides, the forest was still dangerous. She went back to the tree, adjusting Fishsticks so that he was properly secured to the belt of her tunic.
"Wake up, Sebastian!" she urged, wondering if she should nudge him. How deep of a sleeper was he? Karaya hoped he wasn't like her dad. Her dad wouldn't wake up for ANYTHING unless somebody bit him on the nose.
But fleas, she thought, hesitant.

He wasn't that deep of a sleeper, though this time might have seemed like an exception. He was used to always needing to look over his back, keeping his tail firm between his legs. But when the sunlight reached his face and tickled him, he gave a yawn and stretched idly before rolling over to try to get back to sleep as his face nestled into the dirt.

Karaya huffed, indignant. Finding no other choice, she kicked him hard in the butt.
"WAKE UP!" she urged.

Sebastian grunted.
"Stop that," he growled grumpily back at her.

Gleeful at her victory, Karaya gave another punt, softer this time.
"No," she replied with a giggle.

Sebastian tried to ignore her, but the little pup was persistent.
"Can't you go find a river to play in or something?" he went on, rolling onto his other side before giving a light scratch to a few fleas.