CoR Country Wolf in the Big City

Colette tossed and turned restlessly in her sleep. She ran soundlessly, flowing, jumping, and ducking her way through the forest. Ahead of her she caught glimpses of Amara's fur through the trees, but try as she might she couldn't seem to catch up.

The forest was home though. She knew it intimately. She knew which rocks could bear her weight, and which were too loose to make for solid footing. She knew where the badger den could trip an unwary person up, and the best points to cross the brook without getting slowed up in the mud.

She and her sister had often raced this way, pushing each other harder and harder. Something felt wrong though. She should have been able to sense the forest around her. Feel the heartbeat of the earth beneath her feet. She slowed and stopped as she turned about, scanning the trees. Something felt very wrong. She placed a hand on the trunk of a tree and tried to feel.

Rather than the familiar caress of life that she expected, something revolting spilled into her. Her senses were filled with the stench of rot and decay and she jerked her hand back with a startled cry. Something moved behind her and she wheeled about only to find herself face to face with Amara.

Her eyes locked with Amara's yellow eyes.

'They're in danger. They're all in danger.'

The words came to Colette as clearly as if Amara had spoken. A multitude of questions filled her head but she couldn't seem to grasp one long enough to form the words, and a moment later she jolted awake in a cold sweat. Amara was awake, standing over her.

Several hours later...

A sense of urgency drove Amara onward, her paws beating against the earth to the drumming of her heart as it pumped blood and oxygen through her veins. Her massive chest cavity and powerful heart could sustain her at this pace for days if it wasn't for the limitations of the body overheating from the exertion. It was for this reason that Colette rode atop her instead of running beside her. From there she could hang on, bent low over Amara's back with her fingers gripping at her thick fur.

The tattoos along her arms, chest and face had changed from black to a luminescent green as she drew out the energy that Amara was producing so that she could disperse it into the forest around them. A thick ivy had grown around her arms, and snaked its way around Amara's form in places that it wouldn't hinder her movement. Amara was more attuned to the unseen, but Colette had a finesse for manipulating it. With the ivy to keep her from falling, the pair could keep running through the night.

Around them a trail of lush foliage sprung in their wake as blossoms budded and bloomed and the undergrowth of the forest grew thick and vibrant. The energy had to go somewhere, and if she took it into herself, she would overheat in Amara's wake. So instead returned it to the earth.

They were almost there. Colette could see the city lights up ahead. The prospect filled her with an unexpected fear. Part of her wanted to turn back, to disappear back into the forest, but she had never seen Amara this way.

Amara slowed as they entered the city limits, and Colette released her grip on Amara's fur. The ivy that entwined them grew brittle and crumbled away without anything left to sustain it. Free to move again, Colette slipped down from Amara, landing softly with scarcely a sound. The sun would be up in a few hours, and with it the humans would begin to rise. A prospect that Colette was not keen on.

Amara whined lowly next to her as she sniffed the air. The unfamiliar sounds and smells of the city made it difficult for her to isolate any one specific scent. She looked back and forth, and could see subtle signs of life. Rats scurried from one crumbling building to another, and homeless people huddled together in the shadows.

She took a few steps towards a small group of people, but they shrank away from her.

Colette noticed it as well. The humans are afraid of them? This confused her.

"Why are we here, Amara?" Colette asked softly.

She knew Amara could not reply, but it seemed to pull her attention away from the fearful humans. She sniffed the air again and continued deeper into the Phantom Quarter. She moved cautiously as she went, watchful and wary. Colette did not know what they were looking for, so she could do little more than follow after Amara, while keeping a wary eye on their surroundings.

There was less than an hour left before sunrise when something caught Amara's attention. She froze, scented the air, and then was off at a run.

"Amara!" Colette tried to call her back.

Amara heard Colette, but she did not stop. She could smell the familiar scent of Aimee, laced faintly with traces of blood. She veered to her left and nearly collided with an old dumpster situated just inside an alley. The alley was a dead end and Amara scented the air again. The city had her so disoriented, but she was certain that Aimee was close. She backed out of the alley and wheeled about, scanning the area. There. On the ground.

Aimee, still wrapped up in a blanket, had been discarded and now lay in a muddy puddle. The large wolf growled and stood over her while spinning in place, looking for any nearby threats. She saw a few eyes peering out from the shadows, but not one had ventured out to check on Aimee. They most likely had assumed her a corpse.

Collette wasn't far behind and quickly caught up.

"Amara, what is it?" she asked.

Amara did not move from her vigil, and Colette knelt down to investigate what her sister seemed so intent on guarding. She let out an audible gasp of surprise.

"Aimee!"

The girl was unconscious, and the blood on her face had dried. She had been laying here for some time. Colette didn't take the time to free her from the blanket or the tape right there and instead just picked her up, blanket and all.

"I have her. We need to get inside though," Colette told Amara. "The sun will be up soon, and if people see you, I don't know what they will do."

One thing the Phantom Quarter had no shortage of was old abandoned buildings, and the pair were able to locate one with minimal effort. Once inside, Colette laid Aimee on the floor, and began the arduous process of getting her freed from the blanket. The girl was breathing, but did not rouse. She placed her hand on Aimee's chest and reached inward to feel. What she felt was gut wrenching. Who had done such a thing? Surely not James. No, James would not do this. Not to someone who was little more than a child. Her heartbeat was strong though. There was no doubt about it. The girl was her mother's daughter.

Colette withdrew a hunting knife from a boot sheath and used it to carefully cut away at the tape that had been wrapped around Aimee's mouth and head.

Next to them Amara paced restlessly, stopping occasionally to sniff at Aimee.

"I am doing what I can for her," Colette said. "I do not have my supplies with me. We will need to get her to Baron. We can stay here until it's safe to move again."

Aimée's entire body felt like it was on fire, but at least she didn't feel wet anymore. The harshness of the ground indicated she wasn't at home and though she could sense an individual around her, there was no deciphering who theywere. Had Mitch and Lucas stuck around to torture her more. She hoped not. Whimpering, she weakly pawed at the hand removing the tape from her swollen and bruised face and tried to open her eyes. God, everything hurt so badly.

"Nnng..." Groaning, she started to shiver, thanks to the cold air running across her body save for where the towel was covering.

Coughing up spatters of blood, Aimée finally was able to focus on the familiar figure. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't get her body to move, the pain far too much. While no doctor, she knew that she had multiple fractures along her ribs and potentially broken ribs as well. The bruising that was spread along her body as evident by the coloration went deep, which also made it hard to get up. The forearm Lucas had been gripping was crushed much like her wrist had been when she fought Sasha. She had a busted right knee cap and potentially other fractures throughout her body.

"Hurts," Aimée whined, coughing once again before finally realizing who the two were.

"Why're... you here... Colette...?"

The sun was up by the time Aimee came too. It had taken Colette that long just to work on freeing the tape from her. All twisted up around her head and in her hair made it an arduously slow task. As it was, she had to cut away at the hair quite a bit. The was just finishing when Aimee had stirred.

"Amara led me to you," she answered. "Don't try to move."

She didn't want to frighten the girl more than she no doubt already was, but she wouldn't be able to hide the worry from her eyes. She had felt the girls injuries. She was lucky none of the broken ribs had punctured a lung. A fact that could change very easily.

If only they where back in the forest, she could do more for the girl. But all of her supplies, her balms, and herbs. She had left everything behind. There wasn't even clean water nearby, or any plants that she draw from to try and accelerate healing.

She didn't want to frighten the girl more than she no doubt already was, but she wouldn't be able to hide the worry from her eyes. She had felt the girls injuries. Aimee was lucky none of the broken ribs had punctured a lung. A fact that could change very easily.

"Where is James?" she asked.

Meanwhile Amara lay still next to Aimee, watching the doorway intently.

Good Amara... Aimée smiled at that thought, battling the urge to cry. When warned not to move, she did her best to remain still frdpite if she wanted to snuggle into the huge furry wolf. Hell, even if she wanted to move, she wouldn't have been able to. Being beaten for three hours drained all energy out of her. Well, the little energy she had gotten back after her shower. Camping was exhausting too.

"Uuhn... cold..." Her eyes briefly closed before images of the beating made them snap open again. Shuddering at how cruel and destructive her roommates had been, Aimée softly cried. She hadn't missed the look in Colette’s eyes and wondered if she was going to die. At least then she'd be with her mom.

Mom...

Although she was still sobbing, the Pup knew she was strong like her mom and couldn't give up. She just couldn't. It took Aimée a few minutes to realize she had been asked a question because her thoughts had drifted to the previous conversation she had had with Colette. Blinking back the tears and what memories she could recall of her parents, she grimaced.

"Mmm... he's... they..." As she somewhat answered, Aimée paused to get her mind to unscramble before she continued. "I don't know... railyard maybe. I was dropped off at my apartment." Coughing, she tried to lift her arm to shove some of her hair off her face.

The blanket that Aimee had been wrapped in had been too wet to be of any use, and had been discarded to one side. At mention of being cold, Colette quickly unclasped her green cloak and covered the girl with it.

"Where is that?" she pressed.

She hated making the girl talk, but the sooner she could get help the better.

Meanwhile Amara shuffled closer, right up against Aimee. She was careful not to lay atop her though, seemingly aware as well of how serious Aimee's injuries were.

This pain was by far the worst she had ever felt and Aimée was not a fan. She dropped her arm back down after managing to get the strands out of her face. Even that little bit of movement exhausted her. Stupid roommates. Her mind wandered again, back to the apartment and she mentally chastised herself for not recognizing something was wrong. She should have snagged her gun. Damn it.

"Huh..?" Blinking at the sensations of the cloak being put over her and Amara nestling closer, she fought to remain in the present. It took her a few minutes to process the question and she whined softly.

"It's... over... somewhere. I don't... where am I?" She briefly forgot she wasn't supposed to move and tried to sit up only to cry out in pain and lay down again.

"Shh, it's okay," Colette reassured her. "Get some more rest. We'll find them."

Aimée whined softly, hating that she could've even direct someone to the railyard. In her defense though, she had probably only been there a handful of times. Knowing that she wasn't alone, she nodded at Colette’s suggestion, finding it ironic that the woman said the same thing the last time they were together. She let her eyes close and was quickly out cold yet again.

The hours passed with Aimee in and out of consciousness. Her brief periods of wakefulness were largely due to the pain of her injuries that even unconsciousness did not rid her of. Colette's worry had not abated through the day, and in fact only deepened when Aimee's temperature had begun to rise. The onset of a fever was a worrisome development atop already worrisome injuries.

At one point she had attempted to draw upon a few scraggly weeds that had grown up out of the cracked foundation near the door to the building, but the brief glow of green dissipated into the air and the weeds crumbled to dust. There simply hadn't been enough of them to help the child. And so she instead passed the day humming softly.

It was a gentle humming with a distinct rhythm to it. Occasionally she sang softly in an old Iverian dialect that had largely become extinct, but was still remembered among a few of the druidic orders. Within her order, it had been passed down through song, as even they no longer spoke it.

Amara was rarely far away, but had grown more restless with dusk at hand. It was time to leave. She paused at the doorway and glanced back at Colette who nodded her head.

"Be careful," Colette warned. "This place is not like home. Try not to be seen."

Amara huffed lightly and departed.

Aimée was pretty sure she was going to die with just Amara and Colette at her side. Every time she woke up and found herself in the same place, that notion intensified. Her body ached in a way it hadn't before even when he wrist had been broken and her face gashed open. At least she wasn't alone, that much was a slight comfort. Shivering beneath the cloak, even with Amara close by, the teen coughed harshly as she woke up again.

"...Colette... am I going to die?" Aimée asked, voice cracking halfway through her question. She was so thirsty and the coughing wasn't helping her ribs at all.

"I don't want to die. I'm too young and got so much more to do." Whimpering, she fought to stay awake, but was soon drifting back into unconsciousness just as Amara left the building. Her warm body was instantly missed by the shivering Aimée.

"No you are not going to die," Colette replied gently. "Amara has left to find James. Soon you will be back with your family. We do not know the city, and Amara could not search for them during the daylight. I did not know of a faster way to bring help."

There was worry in her eyes though as she watched the doorway out into the city. The question of why Amara had brought them here still lingered at the back of her mind, but her concern for Aimee kept her from dwelling upon it for long.

Hurry, Amara.

She did not voice the silent prayer out loud.

Aimée desperately wanted to believe Colette, but the way she felt was making that difficult. Much to her dismay, she was soon waking back up again, seemingly only moments after she passed out. Grunting, the not-dying-but-feeling-like-she-was teenager swallowed and faintly smiled at Colette. Might as well pretend to be brave even if one felt like death was knocking very closely.

"Can already hear Baron and Rage now... we told you to move back to the pack..." Her voice cracked and she did her best to keep from crying although tears slowly escaped from the corner of her eyes.

"I was stupid... and now look at me. Hope Amara finds Baron..." She didn't add the before it was too late comment out loud, but she sure thought it.

"She will," replied Colette. "She will."

_____

Meanwhile....

Amara slipped through the Phantom Quarter keeping to the shadows as much as she was able. This part of the city wasn't as busy as the other quarters, and she was able to remain largely unnoticed. Those that did catch glimpses of her where quick to look away. The wretches that made their home here wanted no part of pack affairs.

Amara could smell their fear and despair. She did not understand it. How could humans abandon their own to such a fate?

It wasn't a conscious thought on her part, and was instead more of a feeling. She had been a wolf for so long that she had difficulty thinking in complex thoughts anymore. She knew what was needed though. She needed to find Aimee's family. They would help her.

She had taken a fondness for the young Bloodstone. Aimee was like her, separated from her other half. But while Amara had fully embraced herself, she could sense the turmoil within Aimee. It left her vulnerable.

Amara's focus on finding help for Aimee had momentarily distracted her from what had driven her to the city in the first place. The evil that had resurfaced. The dark shadow that hung over the Bloodstones. They needed to be warned. Again the thought was more of a feeling. A deep instinctive feeling that had compelled her to act.

As she loped through the streets, the hair along her neck bristled. She could feel a wrongness hanging in the air. It was mingled with the faint smell of the Bloodstone's. Was she too late?

She slowed as she found herself in more open ground and padded along silently beside an old rusted train track. She paused to scent the air. It was stronger now, she was certain of it.

The train tracks led her to the railyard, where she could see two individuals on watch. Perhaps she wasn't too late. She didn't recognize the white haired man, but the other... She had seen him in passing many years ago. A feeling of distaste filled her, but there was no recollection of danger or animosity. He had simply been incessantly.... noisy. The way he rambled on and on had grated at her, and she had often kept her distance when the Bloodstone's passed through back in their gunrunning days.

She approached cautiously and stopped about twenty-five yards away from the front gates. She made no further move to approach and instead stood tall, watching them. She kept her posture alert, but non-threatening. She wanted to be seen, and she wanted them to know she wanted to be seen.

A weapon was trained on her almost the moment she stepped out into view, tracking her as she cautiously approached -- though it lowered slightly when her nonthreatening posture was recognised.

The white-haired man carried the lingering scent of blood from wounds that had since been healed, and red still stained his boots. Clearly, there had been fighting here, even if the smell of death in the air hadn't already been enough to confirm it.

"Identify yourself," came his harsh demand. "I don't know you, and right now that makes this a very dangerous place for you to stand."

Leo had been talking. Just talking. The way he always did when left to idle with someone who probably wasn’t listening. He was used to it. People only tuned in when he said something useful—or something that pissed them off. The kid posted at the gate with him was no different, staring off into the distance, nodding absently at all the right pauses. Leo didn’t blame him.

What did surprise anyone who knew him, though, was the way he suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his gaze snapping toward the lone figure approaching. His sharp eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the woman as if she were a ghost.

"Well, ain't that a face I haven't seen in half an age," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else though loud enough Snow could hear. Without hesitation, he strode forward, completely unconcerned. Not much in this world could hurt him worse than it already had. And even if it tried, well—he had a habit of getting back up.

Stopping a few feet in front of her, he grinned wide, all teeth and mischief, like a cat that had just found something interesting to play with. "What was yer name again? Amanda? Amari? Amazon?" He rattled off names, each one wrong, his tone teasing as he searched his memory.

Amara met Snow's gaze, but did not move from where she stood. She simply... waited. It was difficult to read much into her intentions, and she made no move to acknowledge Snow's harshly spoken demand.

It wasn't until Leo approached her that Amara made any movement at all. She shifted her gaze from Snow to Leo and let out a huffed snort of distaste at the familiar voice. She remained as Leo remembered her. A large wolf with striking shades of blonde and golden fur contrasted against darker browns. There was an intelligence to her eyes, but a wildness to them as well.

In their passing encounters, Leo had only ever seen her as a wolf and she had kept her distance. She had never taken much of an interest in involving herself with the Bloodstones, and one would often find her simply observing them from afar during their encounters with Amara's sister, Colette. Neither she, nor her sister had ever set foot within the city to the Leo's knowledge.

Meanwhile a new message notification popped up on Snow's phone.

Snow lowered his rifle more completely when Leo spoke up and stepped forwards -- if he recognised the wolf before them, then his response indicated she was more friend than foe. He didn't drop his guard completely, mind. It would take more than a single packmate's acknowledgement for that.

"Who is she?" he asked. If she wouldn't shift to identify herself, Leo's appraisal of her would have to suffice instead.

His phone went ignored for now, though he noted its vibration. He would attend to it when he was more certain he could afford the distraction.

Leo circled her again, rattling off a string of random A-names as he made his way around. “Ami? Anastasia? Amonia? No? How about Ameenie?”

He finally stopped, looking up at Snow with a shrug. “This is Aristocrial?” he guessed, then shook his head. “Colette’s sister.”

His gaze flicked back to the she-wolf, eyes sharp with curiosity. “Always standoffish. Never been the chattering type. And as far as I know, never stepped foot in the city before.”

He studied her for a beat, arms folding across his chest before he dropped into a crouch in front of her.

“So what brings you here now, girlie pop?” he asked, head tilting, amusement flickering beneath the question.