The Ties That Bind (Renaria)

[Larina]

Summer 14, 511 AV She came back empty yet again. Taldera seemed hell-bent on starving the wolf. Maybe Morwen isn’t the sweet, gentle goddess of winter that people make her out to be. Bronze fur stood out against the serene white background of the tundra, as always a bright indicator of how foreign and misplaced the dog was in the snow. Her fur was practically a beacon for other predators, luring them in from the frost and enticing them to give her chase. But Larina had become used to being a target for the dire beasts. The shape shifter had been living alone in this wasteland for several weeks now, which may seem an insignificant number to many, but for the quick minded and short lived species that the Kelivc was, it was enough. Enough to know when to run or fight or hide. And enough to have taken its toll on the girl. Larina was thinner now then she had been while living in Avanthal, as her diet had been slashed down to only that which she could catch or forage. And today, she had found nothing. Even in the warmer, summer days, the permafrost of Taldera refused to give her any leeway and maintained its rigid cold against her. Not that she deserved any favor from the winter. If anything, the girl had chosen to spend her days in the wild for the very purpose of creating a harsh climate to struggle against: maybe a penance of sorts. But for now, she was freed of the immediate cold. Larina had returned to the messy little hovel she had recently begun to call home. Her tent, if it could really be called that anymore, was spread between two large conifers. Their lower branches intertwined with the animal hide of her tarp, giving it partial camouflage in the wilderness. But the thick blanket of white snow which covered its top gave it the finishing touch, so that only those who knew where the encampment was could find it. Though, as the girl well knew, if one of the fell creatures in these wastes decided to track her scent, they would all too easily find her flimsy home in the brush. It wasn’t perfect, but burrowed into the snow as it was, Larina was content to mark this as her den – lonely and poorly constructed though it may be. Once through the draped opening to her den, Larina collapsed in a small heap atop a pile of animal furs in a corner. A bed, perhaps? These days, she hardly bothered to change back into her human form, even though she knew the dangers of being in a constant wolf state. Quick temper, slipping morality, and today – neglect. Larina had left the flap to her tent wide open, an invitation for any Taldera beast to poke its nose into.

[Renaria]

Deep footprints led from the Icewall Gates, far into the Talderan Wilderness. As usual, the Kelvic had chosen to travel in her animal-self, the snow leopard. For once she had left the city with some sort of plan in her head. Normally she just ran, with no real sense of direction. Becoming lost was very unlikely. She never jorneyed more than a half-day journey from the city and she could easily follow various scent trails back. Besides, she had spent weeks living out here alone, she was used to it. Thick legs pumped beneath her well-built frame, propelling her through the snows with ease. Any animal from warmer climate would struggle, but Renaria lived for the Winter. She had dug out her old leather pack; the small bag was now secured to her back in the way her old teacher had shown her. It contained her simple clothes and a small amount of food. All part of her plan. She had seen the Reaches only through animal eyes and she was curious as to how it looked human. She wanted to know how Atyvn saw it. She moved into the trees, using her heightened sense of smell to detect any predators. Today was the last day she wanted to bump into some over-sized Talderan beast. Nothing. She decided to scout the area quickly, to give herself a rough area where she could become human without worry. She moved east, her nose continuously twitching, scenting the air. The old smells of bears and cats lingered, mixed with something else. Canine? Yes. She knew that smell from Silvy. This was slightly different though, and it had a distinct human scent running through it. Her curiosity ignited, the great cat moved forward, the scent of human becoming all the more prominent. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the area before her, finally falling on some sort of disturbance between the trees. She crept closer, her steps almost completely silent in the snow. Silvery eyes picked out the rough shapes of a tent. A tent? Someone was living out here. Ears flicked forward and she listened carefully for the sound of breathing. After a brief moment she picked it up. It was unmistakeably animal. She blinked and added two and two together. Whoever or whatever was inside that tent was Kelvic. There was no other explanation, aside from a wild animal invading it, but that was highly unlikely. Any of the beasts that roamed the forests here were bigger than the small tent Renaria was looking at. The tent flap was wide open, a careless invitation from the sleeper inside. She deliberated for a moment before creeping to the entrance as her feline self. She would usually have shifted, but she had no idea what animal was asleep in there. She peeked through the opening, the overpowering scent of canine and human filling her nose. She exhaled air loudly through her nose in a ‘chuffing’ noise. Immediately her eyes flicked to the back of the tent, the place where the breathing was coming from. What appeared to be some sort of red wolf was lying on a heap of furs. Renaria ducked her head out of the tent quickly, since she had probably woken it, if not from the noise then her scent. She moved to stand a foot or so from the entrance and waited.