Keenai meets a new friend

Clouds started to drift in over head, dark, rolling thunderclouds. Lightning flashed through the sky, a bang following soon behind it. The wind picked up, yanking the leaves on the nearby trees. Another second and the downpour started, the river raging wild in the wake of the storm. Somewhere far off, but at the center of it all, was Misty, nails dug into the earth. She was unharmed by the elements; they seemingly left her a clear circle, nothing daring to touch her now. However, a puddle had collected at her feet. She stared down at it, shaking her head as she willed the gold to drift away from her eyes. It stayed.

Keenai was dazed by the sudden storm. A strong gust of wind knocked against him, his ears flapping wildly along with this tail. When the gust past, he began to trot to the mountains. He knew their were plenty of caves to hide in and wait for the storm to pass.

He stood at the base of the cliffs and heard a voice. "Keenai!" It was faint, but he heard it. It happened to be Flare's voice, Alpha male of Condor Mountain Pack. Keenai looked up to see him nod to his packs cave.

Keenai swiftly took 3 large jumps to get to the cave. He walked up to Flare, nodded at him and walked inside. He could see everyone from his pack, and Keenai greeted them all as he took his time walking past everyone into a dark corner a lay his head.

Hours ticked by, and finally, the clouds drifted away, carrying the storm off with them. In it's place, the moon shown brightly, a shining beacon in the dark night sky. All was quiet, almost eerily so without any wind or any movement in the shadows. Except for one. Down in the cover of the trees, a lean white form slunk through its shadows, head down, glowing eyes alert. The creature slid between tree trunks, climbing up into hills, only stopping once she found a slab of rock jutting out into empty space over the vast valley below. She threw her head back, her mournful song drifting through the silent night, shattering it's peacefulness. Drowning all who heard the sad cry in sorrow.

Keenai saw that the storm had stopped and it was night. Keenai was hungry, and most importantly, he had to get out of Flare's Pack's cave. He felt like an intruder, but Flare understood Keenai and his intentions and him and the pack were not at all threatened by Keenai. To them, Keenai was just a peaceful neighbor. Even the packs new pups enjoyed talking to Keenai. Even though he wasn't fond of pups, he still put on a smile for them.

Keenai said his goodbyes early, and left the cave. He leaped down the mountain and sprung on the wet grass, which felt like early morning dew. He sprinted back to his sanctuary under the watchful eye of Flare. Keenai had to make sure everything was ok back home, which it was, then he turned back to the river. He needed food, or else he would go to bed hungry. The he heard it. A soothing sound rang over him. He looked around in confusion. It was almost the same feeling he felt when he first say Misty in her two-legged form.

The song seemed to drag on for hours, encasing the night in the heart shattering melody, but in reality, it lasted a mere few minutes. When the song ended, it slowly sank in volume, taking on a slightly more cheerful tone as it drifted off to silence. When it was done, Misty sank to her belly on the stone, her paws hanging off the edge. She put her head on her paws and blew a sigh through her nose. The gold was finally gone, drifting off with the silence that followed.

He stood there, listening, distracted by the sweet sounds. When all of a sudden, it stopped. He shook his head in disbelief, and went back to what he mind was set on: filling his belly. He began to sprint again towards the river. Once he reached it, he dove into it. Hes powerful arms like propellers. Long strides made ripples that only a jet ski could make. Keenai was a powerful swimmer, he had to be. The river had strong currents at the farthest end where everyone avoids. Most usually cross at the bass of the river, but not Keenai, his mind was too focused on his next meal.

Jumping out from the river, landed a soaking wet Keenai. He shook his pelt violently. He was beginning to get cold because of the night breezes. So he sprinted down to Elk hunting grounds, creating heat all the way. This was the best time to hunt for him. The night sky against his jet black pelt, perfect. He was slowly beginning to approach an Elk herd, resting about a kilometer away from him.

From her spot on the cliffs, Misty noticed Keenai below. She flicked an ear, debating on going to see him. Finally, the idea of having social contact again won over. Carefully she hopped from ledge to ledge, getting to the bottom of the valley unharmed. She jumped off the last ledge, landing lightly on her paws before she broke into a sprint, determined to catch up before he started his hunt. She could help him, whether he would admit it or not.

Keenai slowed his sprint to a light trot. He did not want to waste his breath. He was careful not to drag his feet so that the grass would make less noise. He was 75 meters from them now. Then he heard the grass behind him. He stopped, and got low to the ground. Carefully, he turned around and faced where the sound came from. He was ready for whatever it was. He could hear it come closer, at a fast rate. Any second now, he would pounce at it.

Misty came tearing through the grass, a near ghost in the moonlight. Before she could run into Keenai, she skidded to a halt, stopping at the last possible second. She blinked, realizing their noses where touching. She ducked her head, looking down at the ground and sliding back a step, almost afraid of what he'd do.

Keenai didn't actually get a feeling of how fast the creature was coming toward him. As a result, he was late to pounce and ended up nose to nose with the creature ... No. This creature was .. Misty. Did she follow him through the river? It was all a mystery to him.

He could see Misty shy away from the nose touch. He was just as shocked as her. How she managed to catch him after a few hours. But for that split second during the nose touch, his heart beat out of his chest.

"Misty! What are you doing here?" he whispered, through his excitement, trying not to disturb the resting elk.

Misty's ears flagged back at the outburst. "I..." she backed up another step, a small whine rumbling in her throat. "I don't know. I"m sorry, I didn't mean to-" she slid back a few steps, backing into a tree. Her body shuddered once, surprised at the contact.

He looked at her funny.

"Are you ok Misty? You look like you just seen a ghost." he said as he took 2 steps toward her and sniffed her forehead.

Misty flinched at the contact, her head dropping lower to the ground. "Have you forgotten how I almost /killed/ you?"

He looked at her, a straight look on his face.

"Misty, that's not going to make me afraid of you. I still think of you a kind canine. Besides, I'm not afraid of death. If I had died right there, I would have accepted it. I mean, the world has to have room for more pups, right?"

Keenai grabbed the nape of her neck and pulled her off the tree. It seemed forceful to Misty, but Keenai didn't mean to be forceful, just helpful.

"Now, are you ok?"

Misty growled in the slightest, that hue of gold showing up again, seeming to cause the mood swing. "Do /not/ touch me." She snapped at his nose, ramming into him as she went past. "Nothing is ever okay, but one couldn't expect /you/ to understand. They're the only ones that do. Do you hear me?" She whirled to face him, teeth showing. And then, just like that, it was gone.

It was obvious Misty knew what had happened. Her head went down, ears flagging back. "I..I'm sorry-" she whimpered, whirling and taking off into the shadows.

Even though Keenai didn't fully understand why her mood would swing the way it did, he felt bad for her. He knew something was troubling her, but she was gone now. What could he do? He was too close to the elk to call out her name look for her. So he decided to go with the next best thing: Chase an elk to his home and kill it there, then he would go look for her.

He looked into the woods, then at the elk, and made a move towards the elk. He got low the ground as he approached them, then circled to the other side so that he could run the elk back to his home. With a swift move, he jumped onto an elks back bit deep inside her flesh. The elk shot out a pained warning call. The rest of the herd fled while his elk went in circles trying to knock him off. He wait until the elk faced his home, the jumped off of her, ripping out a large chunk of meat from her neck.

The elk, as he predicted, began to run. He guided the elk right to the top of the river, across it, and up the hill to his home. He made no attempt to catch it. The elk ran slower and slower because it had been running so long and because of the pain it was already in. As soon as the elk crossed the threshold of Keenai's home, he went into a sprint, quickly catching up to the elk, and tripping it up. As the elk fell, he grasped the elk's throat between his jaws. A side of Keenai came out that he hadn't seen in a while. His pupils began to dilate as his teeth shred into the voice box of the elk. He ripped the flesh from the elks throat, as it struggled. Then finally he grew tired of the punishment and decided to end it. Taking one last moment, he sunk his fangs into the throat again, squeezing harder and harder and harder until finally .. the elks throat was shattered and it's body went limp. Keenai opened his jaws finally, letting it slip right out of his mouth.

A solemn look on his face as he licked the blood from his lips, yet it still dripped from his chest. He could clean the blood from his lips, but never from his heart.

Misty had paused at the base of the woods, slinking into the bushes while she waited for the terror to wash away. Her breathing was heavy, her sides heaving with the effort while her body shook. It was getting harder for her to keep control. And yet...she couldn't stay away. She couldn't be alone anymore. She needed someone to know. To care before they finally destroyed all that she had been.
Slowly, with an uneasy step, Misty made her way to where Keenai was, following his scent with ease. She stopped, out of sight but in such a path that her scent would be carried to him in the wind, alerting him of her presence. In the safety of the bushes she dropped onto her belly, nose tucked under paws, ears down and back against her skull. She whined, not daring move any closer. She couldn't trust herself anymore.

Keenai began to rip into the elk with ease and ate quickly. He was starving. His eyes still dilated as he ate, which made him look like a monster.

After about 10 minutes of eating, his belly at work. He wasn't hungry anymore, but he wasn't full either. As long as his belly was at work, it didn't matter to him. He would eat until he was about to burst if he wanted, but something distracted him. The scent of an intruder.

He sat up, a low growl escaped his throat. He thought he would have to fight, considering that he chased a weak and bleeding elk here. Maybe someone heard it or smelled the sweet smell of it's blood and wanted to steal a hard earned meal. Keenai wasn't about to let it happen.

He raised his head high, sniffing everywhere. To the right, the scent of a pelt. He dashed towards it. The closer he got, the scent began to smell familiar. The scent was coming from behind the bushes and he gained more speed and leaped into the air, growling loudly and viciously. When he landed, none other than Misty, lay at his feet. Misty, in shock looked up from her paws to see Keenai standing over her. Keenai's growling stopped once he say it was only Misty, and his pupils went back to normal.

".. Mist .. Misty? .. How ..?" Keenai said in disbelief.

Misty flicked an ear, her eyes reflecting a deep sorrow. "You keep asking how..why is that? Things that don't make sense are often expected with me, you know..." her voice trailed off, ending in such a whisper it was almost impossible to tell she'd spoken. "I don't want to be a monster," she confessed, a whine backing up her words.

Keenai's mouth was opened slightly to show is brilliantly red colored teeth. The sentence Misty last gave "I don't want to be a monster" surprised him a little. He didn't think Misty was a monster, but just needed help. He wanted to be the one to help her, but had no idea of what to do to help. Asking wouldn't do much help either, as he thought from past experience with asking questions.

His sorrow for Misty began to get stronger. He didn't know what he could do to help, but he could surely give her a place to relax in, even though he was scared to have someone living with him.

"Misty .. " he said lowly. "I .. I notice that when you are stressed a lot, you tend to get upset about your curse .. But .. I wanted to tell you that you .. your welcome to stay here if you want. It's very peaceful here. .. But I really .. just don't .. wanna see you .. like this .." he looked down as he said this. He thought he had hurt her somehow, but also, he was a little shy of asking.

Misty barked a protest, scrambling back a few steps, putting a few more feet of distance between them. "I can't be around you, don't you see that? I can't control myself anymore. It only takes one second. /One second/ for them to take over and kill you." She shook her head, almost as if she was trying to get rid of the thought herself. Her eyes squeezed shut and she stood there, legs shaking before her eyes snapped open. "No one can help me now."

Keenai begins to back away from her slowly. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She couldn't be helped but yet still showed herself multiple times? It didn't make sense to him.

The only thing he could do was look at his white paw.

Misty looked down at the dirt, puddles of water had pooled out around her paws, turning to ice. "You have no idea what it's like to live like I have to. To not know who you are. Who you were. All you know is that you have to...to give up, to stand down and let them take you. You're alone, and that's it. You're nothing to them, and that's all you'll ever be.." she blew a sigh through her nose, her gaze flickering to Keenai. "If you ever see me again, or catch my scent. Get out of my path. I can't guarantee it will actually be /me/ that you'll find. Chances are, it will be them. And even I can't save you from that.."

Keenai nodded his head, and with that, he stormed off back in the direction of him home. He didn't want to seem like he didn't care about her, but he felt it was the best way to help her: by staying completely away.

Back at home, he looked at the freshly caught meal from earlier. Looking at it, made his stomach turn. He didn't feel well, and he ran over to the side of a tree as fast as he could before he regurgitated the meal. He wallow back to his sleeping rock and plopped right on top, where he fell into a deep state of sleep ..

Time ticked by, for some passing slowly, others in the blink of an eye as the night gave way to day.

The next morning as the sky was rolling into the sky, a deep, roaring commotion boomed from the woods. There was trouble there, that much was obvious. A closer inspection to any of those daring enough to walk into the dark shadows the trees cast, whoever was there would see what spectacle happening inside.

The noise was coming from a group of men in camo colored suits, all shouting loudly to each other as the tredged through the forest. They were looking for something - no, they'd already found it. They were moving in--but for what?

Slowly the shadows parted way as the trees leaves were rustled by a gust of wind, letting light filter down. There, there in the center of it all was Misty. Her golden eyes wise and alert as the men drew ever nearer. Today her eyes were golden, a sure sign she was lost within herself. A snarl escaped her teeth, her muscles shivering as they coiled to spring. Someone would die today.