Shadows cast an eerie darkness beneath the thick leafy canopy of the trees. Although late afternoon, sunlight barely dappled across the earthy path which the lone female now hesitantly wandered upon. Her ears were pinned fearfully against her head and her tail twitched nervously behind her as she trotted slowly through the unfamiliar woodland. Euna had good reason to be nervous; her health had taken a turn for the worst recently. She was in far from good shape. The smooth curves of her ribs were beginning to show beneath her sunken skin and her fur was thin and untidy. It had been many months since her last substantial meal as she the lone female had been far too preoccupied with keeping a safe distance from unwanted attention. She had been living as a recluse. She had avoided contact with other wolves at all costs and never stayed in one area for too long, for fear that she would be discovered encroaching on claimed territory. This method of survival was particularly important now – now that she had grown too weak to put up a decent fight.

Dull golden eyes scanned the horizon obsessively, impatiently and suspiciously whilst her dry nose flared hungrily at the scents of the tiny woodland creatures that inhabited these lands. She needed something, anything, to sink her teeth into. She would even resort to scavenging if she had to – that is, if she was ever lucky enough to come across a free meal. Suddenly, ears perked to arch directly to her right. There was a sharp rustling in the foliage weaved between the endless maze of trees. Her body froze instinctively, one forepaw still dangling limply in the air as she inhaled silently. She could recognise the scent of a small rodent close by, and intuition told her that it was likely to be that very same rodent which she had startled but moments ago. Her head turned slowly to focus on the foliage to her right, her paws turning lightly to follow in the same direction. There was food to be had somewhere in the space before her, it was just a case of finding it and catching it. Her small frame lowered down so that she now hovered above the ground, slim muscles tensing as she listened closely for any signs of movement. There she remained completely focused; transfixed on that one spot, ready to pounce should the little critter come out of hiding once more.

omgcan'twait. I'm still new to Datass so we'll see how this goes.

Little did she know that the rattling bushes held no mice.

Though he wouldn't have dared to admit it, he was beginning to regret wandering so far. His sense of direction had failed him, and he although he thought he had been heading back towards the mountains he had really just been going in one great circle around his particular clearing. Time passed strangely in the darkness, and the little Aquila boy began to lose track of time in these foreboding woods. It was so dark that he was sure it midnight had come and gone. For some reason it was much less exciting to be up past his bed time than it should have been. In fact, it was vaguely terrifying. Quickly his confidence began to wane, and that was when the forest started to come alive...

There was no bird music up above, and yet some how the eerie silence was quite loud. Every crackling twig was a murderer that drove Datura behind a tree, into a hollow log, or under a bush. The forest was a graveyard, horrifying and dead. Snap! His ears lay flat against his golden little head as he flung himself into the embrace of the rather pokey underbrush. But as he lay there panting... he saw... he saw...

His heart stopped beating, his mouth fell open in a silent scream. For surely, there was no such thing as a starving rogue...

ZOMBIE.

It looked menacingly hungry as it slunk through the umbrage, nearly passing by his bush. The zombie reeked of carrion. From where he lay in the dirt, Datura could see the ribs protruding from the slowly rotting carcass of the undead wolf. What was it doing here? The answer his childish mind supplied was automatic, Looking for brains! A shudder wracked his body, so strong that it rattled the leaves of the bush.

And then suddenly the zombie froze.

His heart was in his mouth. Please don't look over here, please don't look over here, OH PLEASE, DON'T LOOK OVER HERE, he prayed to himself, his eyes screwed shut. He shouldn't have opened them. When the little boy peered out from behind the leaves he knew he was a goner, he was done for. The zombie was staring right at him. "Mommy," he whispered suddenly, discarding all pretense. He was just a scared little boy too far from home who was about to be eaten by zombies. It was okay to beg for your mommy — which Datura didn't do, because he wasn't a baby like Bella— when you were about to be eaten by zomibes.

As her dull golden eyes scanned meticulously through the brush, her ears twitched obsessively as she listened closely for any signs of movement. Her muscles shivered with excitement and nerves, at the prospect that she might just get lucky and catch herself a small morsel to keep her going. Under the dark cover of the trees that towered all around, visibility was poor. Euna found herself relying a lot more on her hearing and keen sense of smell to track down her potential meal. Black nostrils flared wildly as she inhaled the air around her; unluckily for her, the slight breeze which snaked through the woodland had changed direction – leaving her up-wind and open for detection. It also made sniffing out the critter a more daunting task, but one which the small female was prepared to follow through with.

A single twig snapped.

Euna’s body froze as her eyes darted through the bushes, following the shiver of movement which blurred through the foliage directly in front of her, the movement seeming to stop at a bush. Golden eyes sharpened. Her target had been located. Rose-pink tongue swept anxiously across her charcoal lips which were now wet with anticipation. She could smell fear in the air, but that was not surprising. The leaves of the bush rattled again. If she had any chance of catching something she had to act now, before it had a chance to get away.

Ears perked forwards and her eyes took a second’s glancing aim at her target before she pounced. Lean muscles propelled her lithe body forwards; large paws outstretched aiming to pin down her meal. Fangs flashed and a low growl resonated in her chest as she struck the bush, pounding her paws down on anything that moved. She grasped something warm and fleshy and in an instant her vice-like grip tightened, getting hold of her squirming prey. Her head dropped down instinctively to mouth the surprisingly bulky capture in her claws and she purred joyously at the prospect of catching something more filling than a mere rodent. Euna was deluded with hunger.

“Mommy..” Came the quivering whisper. It was only when she looked down to inspect her struggling prey that she noticed just what she had caught. Eyes widened in horror and a low growl of confused was quickly followed by an apologetic whine. Her jaws quickly parted, dropping the young male wolf pup as she simultaneously leapt back out of the way. Her ears fell back flat against her head and whines continued to whistle in her throat as she hesitantly backed away, her tail curling tightly beneath her legs. For a moment she stood there, trying to justify what had just happened – but her self-questioning was cut short when she noticed the scent of another individual approaching. Stricken with panic over her misdemeanour, Euna fled, darting off to hide away in the shadows out of sight.

From where she hid, she could just make out the voice of the male that had wandered in. It seemed that he did not know the pup personally, but he knew of his parents and their pack. The female’s mouth went dry. There was every chance that she could be hunted down and punished for ‘attacking’ a pack heir and a full-scale confrontation was just what the starved female had been trying desperately to avoid.

pretending that wolves can cry. JUST GO WITH IT.
DATURA > KAMOTA > EUNA > NIARA

Everything happened too fast.

Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes, and Datura whirled around to see a face peering in at him. His jaws hung agape in a silent scream. Overwhelmed by the fantastic imagination of a young wolf, Datura saw no friendly, concerned stranger offering help. In place of flashing eyes he saw wriggling earthworms and a bloody slash for a smile that had been drawn back to reveal a set of fangs as long as a tail. Instead of a wolf he saw another zombie. The questions and good-intentions fell on the deaf ears of a scared child who was more likely to sprout wings and fly away than he was to find a voice with which to answer.

Warmth began to trickle down a golden hind-leg, and suddenly Datura's head whipped back to see what the matter was... Oh. Shame began to creep up his throat in violent sobs as the golden boy abandoned all hope for his life. As if it wasn't enough to have his brain eaten by zombies, it appeared he was going to die a coward. He was just a cry-baby. Frustration wracked his small frame. Hot tears began to well up behind his eyes as he fought to gain some control of himself.

And then suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his sides, before he could so much as yelp he was ripped from the ground.

Oh God, he had been so worried about pissing himself and looking like a coward to the second zombie that he had forgotten about the first. And now it had him and he was going to die. Oh God, oh God ohgod ohgodohgod. His heart railed against his cage of ribs, as if it was fighting to burst through and escape. The Aquila boy could feel it's hot breath blowing the golden fur of his chest —his eyes were closed, of course. The zombie took him in it's jaws. Within moments he would surely be dead... Was that... Was that drool that was dripping onto his sides, now? But he was paralyzed and had not the strength to shudder. There was a growl resonating in his ears, and he braced himself for the end.

Without warning, however, he suddenly felt his captor release him and the ground came rushing up to meet him with a horrible thud as he fell in an unceremonious heap. Datura didn't understand. Is it going to eat me or not? The suspense would surely kill him, and his bladder was completely empty now. He could hear it whining behind him... Whining for what? For brains? He didn't dare breath or open his eyes. Vaguely, he realized he was bleeding along his sides from the grip of the zombie's teeth...

From somewhere behind him he could hear another zombie arrive. The growling presence came closer and closer until he could feel that it was standing up at him. And this was just too much for the poor wolf cub, he felt himself go limp just a strangely familiar scent teased his nose.

Mother?