The joy continued as she ran with him, every muscle in her being burning with the pure ecstasy that was building. The fact that he truly was faster than her, it ate at every fiber of her being. Silently, Karida made an oath to herself to train harder, work harder. All so she could win a silly race with this wolf one day. The fun part being that out of all the thoughts that could be running through her mind, all she was thinking about was a silly little future race. Karida was, in all senses, feeling completely free. For the first time in her existence she felt she had purpose, she felt she had a home, she felt that she had someone....
Thudding against the ground Karida was completely thrown off by the pounce. For only a second she felt threatened, wandering what she had done to deserve such treatment. Then it clicked in her mind "This is not scolding... This is something else". Karida had never had fun with another wolf for as long as she could remember. Every other time she had met one it was out of pure incident, most of the time resulting in one or both of them leaving with injury.
Her gaze traveled to his, crimson eyes staring into what she felt was the center of her soul. Laying there, like a lifeless pup, Karida stared at him until being surprised with a lick to the side of her face. This however did not falter her position. She continued to lay there, a wolf on the forest floor taking in all the sites above her. The stars, nothing compared to the light that Jason lit inside of her. The nighttime breeze pushing through her coat, nothing in comparison to Jason's hands upon her. The moon shining down to light the night, nothing in comparison to the clarity she could see now thanks to him. This one wolf, had changed her life in only one day.
The sound of his howl echoing through the forest caused Karida to slowly rise from her position. Shaking off her coat she took a step towards him, raising her muzzle to the sky to accompany his call.
Whimpers escaped her muzzle as he crept towards her, like a moth drawn to a flame, the mere thought of distance between them seemed almost unbearable. The distance quickly being closed by his comforting nuzzle. Continuing to whimper in a submissive way she nuzzled him back before licking him below one of his ears. A slight chill ran through her, as if someone had just ran there hands down her entire body, a ghostly feeling causing her to take a few steps back.
In that moment Karida took a look around her, really wanting to take it all in. They were in a tall grass meadow, the forest wind causing the foliage to sway in an orchestral way. The moon was bright, the sky was clear, a perfect night. Taken back by the scenery Karida shifted into her human form immediately falling into the soft grass, a welcoming sensation. Never would she have shifted in the open alone, or at night. But knowing that he was there, whether in wolf form or not she felt safe.
A moment, that was all she wanted. A moment where she could enjoy a site like this without having to worry what was around her or if something or someone was coming. Like a child she laid back in the grass, her arms above her frame, her knees propped up, her feet firmly resting in the grass. "You know Jason, I have never once been able to do this... just lay here." a smile had been resting on her lips for the past few moments now. Not knowing whether she was talking to him in wolf or human form, not really caring as she loved them both, she loved everything about him.
Taking advantage of the moment she thought back to what she always had dreamed of. Those nights, alone in her cell, the moonlight only peaking in through cracks in the wall. She remembered thinking where the gods had gone, and why they had not saved her. Late at night she would always dream of what she needed. Someone who was strong, someone who was fast, someone who would sweep her off of her feet. It was the only thing that kept her will to live alive. The only thing that made her have the will to get out. That hope for a hero, somewhere just beyond her reach, reaching back for her. With every fiber of her being she knew that he would have came for her. If he had known, she knew he would have came.
"I need to confess something" she continued, still not knowing if he had shifted or was still in his true form. "I was very vague with you earlier, about why I am the way I am." she took in a deep breath, although not faltered by fear anymore. "When I was little, probably around 8... my family ran into trouble. Like you, hunters had come into town and an incident occurred exposing us all. But instead of all of us running, I was sent out to distract them. Everyone in town knew who my family was... and since my family were the ones being targeted, even though I was just a little girl, they came after me to."
Continuing on with her story she started to twirl her hair in her fingertips, still resting above her head. "I led the hunters to the center of the village while my family scattered through the outskirts. I was not fast enough though, they caught me. I thought for sure I was dead, or by some miracle they would just let me go. Thinking back now I almost wish they had killed me right then and there. But they didn't, instead they thought it better to lock me away. 10 years... for 10 years I was in there. My family never came, no one ever came." she giggled, as if telling a funny story "But whats funny is the entire time I was in there I dreamed of someone like you who would rescue me. And I know now that if you had known I was there, even before you knew me, you would have given everything you had to save me."
".... Just like Farthok" she took in a triumphant breath. Karida was horrible at showing her feelings, having never really had practice but she hoped that Jason would understand. The only reason she told her complete story so he could understand. She wanted him to understand why sometimes she was awkward, and why sometimes she didn't really know what to do.
"So thank you... thank you for being the healing hands where it used to hurt." she lifted one of her hands to cover her chest, below her fingertips her heart beat. It still ached, but not from the pain of loss, or a sad memory. It ached for him, to be right there with her. Even the few feet that separated them was almost unbearable. He truly had healed her heart, this amazing wolf, and his amazing heart.