A dense fog rolled around her feet as she stepped forwards through the dark, ears strained to pick up the slightest sound, her sense of smell dampened by the heavy billowing clouds that rolled across the earth. Where am I? she thought to herself, puzzled. She had never been lost before... She craned her neck forward, as if it would help her to discern some distinguishable feature in the wall of haze that surrounded her.

Slowly, but surely, with each step forward, trees began to emerge from the haze. The distant sound of the falls helping to center her. She was near the falls... so there must be water nearby. Suddenly she was parched, despite the dampness of the air surrounding her, or perhaps because of it. As she stepped forward a familiar scent crossed her nostrils, a pleasantly familiar scent that sent a small shiver of pleasure down her spine.

Soon... she soothed herself as she padded to the edge of the pool and lowered her head to lap at the crystalline waters, sweet, yet refusing to satisfy her thirst for more. She raised her head, puzzled reflection staring back at her until her concentration was broken yet again by that smell... His smell.

Swift creamy paws carried her through the undergrowth as she followed her nose. Strange it was the only scent that she could discern, but not a thought that crossed her mind. Something inside her was pulling her to his side. A burning need to find him, because then everything would be ok. He could take her home. Something was terribly wrong, a part of herself was missing. She fought down the panic as she raced on through the fog, careless of what dangers may lay underfoot.

A white flash from the corner of her eye, short and stout in stature, caused her to pause as she sought it’s source to no avail. In the distance she could hear the industrious noises of beavers and another puzzled look crossed her face before she raced forth yet again, following her nose and gut to the place they wanted her to be, the fog receding with each step closer.

There he was, seated amongst the trees, so at home with his surroundings. Tawny fur tangled with black as Naira brushed up against his side, a small nudge and lick to the cheek in greeting. Settling herself on her haunches at his side, she was complete again. Turning her eyes in the direction of his, a smile of wonderment crossed her face. Oh my! The dancing lights are bright tonight...

She was coming.

He could sense her pawprints upon the ground. Smell her perfume within the air.

The fog was thick. It swirled in thick circles around the lean legs of the dark male as he sat so peacefully amongst the trees. Whilst he body may have been swallowed within the shadows, his unique and beautiful eyes flickered both steel and icy blue, it was as if they twinkled beneath the moonlight that wasn’t quite there. He’d been observing a pair of silver birds as they went about building a nest, ready for spring. Their voices filled the thick fog with warm tones, whilst each note seemed to illuminate a little piece of the world around them in different colours. Completely at peace, the tall brute arched his head upwards to watch them construct a nest for their expected young.

She appeared as if from thin air. The air swirled around her delicate paws as she drew ever closer to him. He pulled his gaze away from the birds and landed upon her. He seemed unable to hide the smile that touched his lips as she pulled up to his side, mixing their scents, their fur, their everything together. He leaned into her and ran his head from beneath her maw to the tip of her head, where he then placed his chin and sighed contently. He inhaled deeply, allowing her sweet scent of flowers, herbs and the earth to ignite his senses and touch his heart. ”I’ve been waiting for you...” came his smooth southern drawl, but his voice seemed silky, not rough and edgy like it usually did. There was no strain to his voice, no wincing as she brought their bodies together, only relief and happiness as she settled into his side, where she belonged.

Content again, he let his gaze stray back upwards towards the birds. Their silvery wings now looked white in hue, as if they were nothing more than dancing spirits beneath the moonlight. Their melody had stopped and complete and utter silence fell across the terrain. Around them, the darkness grew as thick as the fog and it appeared it was only the two of them left in the world for a moment in time.

Silence, usually a sign of danger, now enveloped them in its comfortable embrace. He hadn't flinched or lashed out, and a small part of her brain was puzzled, but she ignored it. Why would he flinch away from her? They were going somewhere, somewhere she couldn't quite remember, but that didn't bother her as she rose back to her feet and began to walk, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he was still coming.

Her laughter resonated through the air as storm cloud grey eyes met sunlit golden in challenge. As if no words were needed, the tawny lady launched. The race was on. Despite the thickness of the fog she pushed herself, the wind whipping through her fur, heart thundering in beat with her paws. She dodged branches and bushes and holes, things that may trip her up and cause injury. She could hear Rhysis on her tail but she pressed on. He was going to have to catch her...

They were racing uphill, something that had never been her forte, but she wouldn't let that ruin their game. A flash of white darted ahead. Strange... her brain whispered in warning as she altered her course to try and find it. There was no scent on the ground to tell of any creatures passing and she stopped to look around in puzzlement. She could have sworn there was something here just a moment ago. The noise started up again, chewing, trees falling, thumping. It was then it hit her... and he hit her...

She broke the silence with such a pretty sound, it had him smiling. She slipped out from beneath his chin and he knew that look in her eye. The defiance, the challenge within them was enough to pull him to his feet and his full, towering height. She ran then, turning on heels and her laugh seemed to follow behind her like steam from a train. Instantly he chased, his won deep chuckle escaped from his chest as he joined her in the chase. His strides were long, they seemed to eat the earth beneath him but he couldn’t quite close the distance between them for some reason, it was as if he were being held back by an invisible string. He seemed to glide across the land, it was almost as if the trees and roots moved out of his way, cowering in fear from him.

The hill they reached was no obstacle, it appeared he wouldn’t be catching her on flat land so maybe his long legs and good stamina would help him defeat her and the hill in one go. He pressed on, his panting breath escaped his leather lips with a little fog cloud of his own. It seemed the higher they raced, the thicker the fog until they were almost swallowing it like air. He slowed his pace as a white shape darted ahead, taking first place in their race. With the dense fog he was unable to make out what it was, perhaps another small wolf, white in colour- Athena perhaps? With narrowed eyes he looked past Naira to the shape but it seemed to slip in and out of the fog like a spirit.

From no where Naira seemed to stop and he ploughed straight into the back of her, having been so focused on the white shape he didn’t seem to see her stop to scent the ground. Convinced he wouldn’t catch her he hadn’t bothered to try, until his large chest rammed into her rear with more force then he realised he had.

A laugh filled the air upon the impact. The fog seemed to shift and swirl in different directions and climbed ever higher even he couldn’t even see the moon in the sky. Darkness swamped the pair and he felt something not quite natural here. With a growl, he took in their surroundings and lowered himself ready to fight. Convinced that something was watching them... and laughing.

She fell in a heap at his feet, struggling to contain her laughter at the jumbled mess they became, until the atmosphere shifted from pleasurable to pure torment. It was getting darker, and her skin prickled, hackles rising to stand on end. The large male standing protectively over her, lowered, ready for battle was a glorious sight but that did little to settle her nerves. It was then she heard it. The high pitched chatter of delight as a dark form approached from the fog, not at all like the white blur she had been pursuing.

The sound seemed to come from all sides at once, almost like the crazed laugh of the wolf she encountered not far from here. A shudder passed down her spine at the thought she may still be in the area. If one of her fits was upon her, who could guess what madness she may attempt. As much as she wished to raise herself to her feet and fight, she was frozen in place at Rhysis's feet. Strange... The closer the form came, the smaller its build, until finally, the tormenter was revealed.

Puzzled look plastered to her face, Naira sniffed to confirm, but no scent passed her nose. Her eyes told her it was a raccoon, the toothy grin plastered to it's face however, did not. She crept forward in an attempt to swat at it in a similar fashion to how she had hunted the beaver but her paw met empty air. It was as if the creature vanished before her very eyes. Chattering laughter surrounded again as a tree came into sight, the grinning fool perched out of reach amongst its branches. Her eyes narrowed in a glare at the little bandit as it raised a paw and pointed into the fog...another flash of white...

The laughter got louder, more menacing. A sound like nothing he had ever heard before and instinct took him to stand over Naira and the heap she had tumbled into. His legs seemed to stretch forever as he glanced down, trying to reassure her. As his gaze met hers, a flash of white came into his peripheral vision and he glanced up to look upon a strange, ghostly looking racoon. Its grin was somewhere between comical and evil, whilst its eyes looked as if they were souless but laughing. Whilst its mouth didn’t move, the laughter seemed to be oozing from its very body and it vibrated, as if it were made of static. He hadn’t realise Naira had crawled out from under him and had been about to touch the creature before he vanished, into thin air, right before their eyes.

The creature reappeared in a tree. A large, black tree with no detectable features. It was almost as if the tree itself were made from shadow. Its branches curled at odd angles, like witches gnarly fingers. The white raccoon shone like a beacon from amidst the branches whilst a sickening smile crossed its face, almost seeming to stretch the creatures face to an impossible angle. It said nothing, did nothing, but another round of laughter sounded from all around. The very sound made his skin prickle and fur stand end as the high pitch was almost enough to be painful. The racoon moved then, lifted its small arm and pointed in the direction behind them.

Uncertain, Rhysis glanced over his shoulder in the direction where another white shape was forming. Slowly but surely, the white figure drew closer. It walked awkwardly, unnaturally and as the fog moved to allow it passage into the area of the hill they were within, he saw more clearly the creature. It wasn’t a single creature, instead the shape was dripping with spiders. Millions, no, billions of white spiders crawling across each other, forming the shape of one giant spider. Eight thick legs seemed to grow from the white blob as the spiders used each other to form the limbs. A set of pointed triangles fell from the blobs mouth to form something which looked a little like teeth. The sight was terrifying. Even Rhysis, the wolf afraid of nothing, took a step back in horror at the sight.

Little white spiders fell from the creature. As they hit the floor they melted, landing on the hard ground like droplets, but no matter how many fell more would appear upon the structure to take its place. Averting his eyes for just a moment, Rhysis glanced back to the racoon who seemed to be rubbing its front paws together in delight. The small creature gave a final giggle before he vanished into the shadow of the tree, leaving behind only his toothy smile.

It was then, that the large spider lunged for them.

Golden eyes widened with horror as the white flash morphed, growing out of itself, rolling small form over small form. While she had been known to collect cobwebs when desperate for something to staunch bleeding, she had always hated the larger varieties of their inhabitants and this was the largest she had seen yet. It made her skin crawl. She could see the beginnings of teeth forming at its front and angry defiance crossed her features. How dare this creature ruin their night?

The moon was now invisible for the fog, and even the brilliant northern lights were obscured. Lashing her tail angrily she decided she had had enough of this nonsense. Crouching low, raising her shoulders to protect her neck, she charged, closing her eyes at the last moment and praying it would be enough to get her through she launched herself through the ghastly beast, jaws opened wide, snapping on air and scattering million of tiny spiders in her wake. Some clung to her fur but for the most part, with its core now destroyed, the remaining legs collapsed on themselves, twitching in death throws as she shook her fur and looked on bewildered. What the hell was all of that?

An almost relieved sigh escaped her mouth as the atmosphere lifted again, laughter passing her lips as the fog began to recede again and moon light lit their path up the hill to the top of the falls. She settled into a comfortable pace with Rhysis at her side, brushing against him casually and enjoying the night as they continued their journey, not noticing as the toothy smile left by the raccoon in the gnarly black tree turned upside down, and a short round waddling creature of white following in their tracks.

As the spider moved closer, Rhysis felt as if he were frozen in place. He wasn’t afraid if spiders, in fact, he wasn’t afraid of anything and he wanted nothing more then to tango with the insect. However, as he went to lunge at the ghostly creature his paws wouldn’t move. With a panicked glance down, he saw that his leather pads were stuck firmly to the ground, whilst swirls of fog slithered around his paws like snakes, rooting him to the spot. He threw his head down, snapping at the fog but it just vanished within his mouth, only to reappear across his paws once more.

He glanced to Naira, about to tell her to run when she female flung herself into action and dived through the creature. It melted upon impact, falling in on itself as Naira broke its body in half. Rhysis had thought it would pull itself back together, but the spiders that remained soon began to disperse. Within moments, there was no trace of the creature, the spiders or even the creepy racoon and Naira appeared back at his side. His frozen paws forgotten, he settled into her embrace with a happy sigh. The fog lifted, the moon climbed back into the sky and the land around them was peaceful once more.

To his left, a waddling white figure approached and as Rhysis turned to see what was coming this time, he began to laugh. It was a beaver... maybe it was here for revenge on the pair after they had not only eaten their family but broken their dam as well. ”Survival of the fittest.” he muttered but directed it at the beaver.
The creature tilted its head, listening to the southern accent before it winked. Rhysis was confused by the gesture but said nothing more. As the beaver continued to simply stare at the pair of them, he felt himself growing more annoyed at the observer and tried to get up and chase the creature off, but he’d forgotten, his paws were rooted to the ground and the fog that covered them had slowly been snaking its way up his body. A little panicked, he glanced back at Naira and calmly said. ”I’m stuck... I can’t move.”

The beaver giggled, actually giggled and thrashed its tail into the air and landed it again with a thunderous sound. Wincing from the sheer volume the beavers tail had made, Rhysis closed his eyes and waited for the sound to evaporate into the air... but what followed it was even more confusing. Was that water? It sounded like it... heavy, fast and coming this way.

Finally her tormentor formed in front of her eyes, and both shock and anger played across her delicate features. A beaver? Really? A low growl rumbled in her chest, eyes speaking all that needed to be said. Let him go...

Another giggle of defiance sounded from the creatures form as is thrashed it's tail about, bringing its rudder-like tail down with a thump. She could hear the rushing water and her hackles raised in defiance, transforming from a gentle lady into the savage feral bitch she had been taught to channel from an early age. This would end now. Stalking forward, rage clear on her face, golden eyes met glowing red and the giggling stopped as the fat creature tried to scramble away from the tempest it had invoked.

The white creature was unexpectedly swift as the tawny wolf pursued it up the now fog-banked path to the top of the falls. She knew she shouldn't leave Rhysis behind, shouldn't be doing this on her own, but her patience had worn beyond thin. It had snapped.

Swift flowing river had slowed to a trickle as more and more white forms came into sight. It was then the castoridae made their presence known. They were building a dam across the top of the falls. Her original tormentor now lost amongst the masses. She would not let that deter her. She would not discriminate.

Launching herself amongst the beavers, snapping jaws clamping on the backs of the creatures where she could reach, tearing off limbs where she couldn't. She jumped onto the dam, throwing caution to the wind after her last experience, continuing to decimate all that could not scramble away fast enough. As her jaws clamped over the last beaver in her reach, a crack sounded, and the fog cleared. Dropping the still twitching creature from her mouth, she looked down at the smiling beaver, which gave her a final wink before melting into nothingness. Her puzzlement kept her in place for just a moment too long.

She looked up to see Rhysis reach the edge of the river as the dam collapsed beneath her. A final smile crossed her face, morphing to one of horror as she was lost amongst the debris and water. Struggling to kick her way the the surface she was buffeted back down each time she almost broke the surface. Finally finding a clear space, she kicked hard, head breaking the surface just in time to see the rapidly approaching falls. It was hopeless, and she resigned herself to her fate. With one last look to the bank, a sad smile crossed her face and she went over the edge...

Everything was black.

Glancing behind him, the water came rushing towards them at a fearsome pace. It was like the beaver dam collapsing on him again, but only hundreds of times larger. Still unable to move his paws from the fog that refused to leave him alone, he could only urge Naira to run. It appeared she didn’t need telling though and she bolted off in the direction of the beaver. The dark male could only watch and hold his breath as the water appeared as if from on where and washed across his entire body.

Beneath the surface, the world seemed different. Though his lungs burned for air, the sights he saw were simply fascinating. Mushrooms. Mushrooms of all colours and sizes. From the smallest spec to mushrooms double his size, from vivid reds to the darkest, sickest yellows, from neon greens to sky blues. The entire world beneath the water was an array of colour and fungus. With eyes wide, he took a moment, still in time, to look around the sights before he kicked off at the floor. With the water now upon him it had washed away the fog that held him in place and as if on air, he glided to the surface. The current had died down after the initial burst, but even now that he was above the water Naira was no where in sight. A loud crack thundered in the air, and he swam as fast as he could with the current towards it.

The water seemed to thin, so much so that his paws were soon back upon land. He glanced behind him as he dragged his wet body out from the water, puzzled as to how a step hill could suddenly fill itself with water, yet he managed to swim horizontally and find himself on flat ground. Nothing here seemed to make sense, but that didn’t matter as he turned back in the direction of the sound and bolted towards Naira. He could only watch helplessly as a dam which he found her upon broke and she slipped beneath the water. He tried to shout, his mouth open but nothing but silence fell out. With no voice, he could only throw himself off the solid land he’d only just found and dived into the water, but as soon as his body hit... he melted into nothing.