Behind her beautiful scenery, and ahead the same, Spirit walked at a slow pace, taking in the land around her. She was both paying attention to her surroundings, and not at the same time. She could spot any tree within her sight, but any moving creature was completely ignored. A voice in the back of her mind said this was a dangerous thing, since any wild animal could attack her and the Vantha would be defenseless. When she and Wind were younger, he would have preformed that task, but now his limbs were stiff and he couldn't run or jump like he used to.
Spirit had been feeling slightly more cautious now than in those times, but today there was something different. The staff she had acquired not too long ago sat in her hand, sturdy and strong. It felt down to earth, something which the girl needed sorely. When wandering alone, she would have her mind in the clouds, not really focusing on anything in particular. The stick also provided physical support, giving her something to keep her balance with when on slippery ground. She remembered that feeling of...power... when she had smacked a tree trunk when she had just found the staff. It was amazing the difference in strength when doing so, and it gave her a sense of more control. Power wasn't something the Vantha had often, and she couldn't remember the last time she felt she could really stand up for herself, in a physical sense. Luckily living in Avanthal, where most were kind and open, this had never been too much of a problem. Spirit had always led as simple, quiet life, with little danger or adventure. Occasionally she was slightly annoyed by this, but not that often. Shrugging slightly, the girl continued on her meandering journey.
A small creature darted before her feet, causing the Vantha to stumble back and cry out slightly. Wind looked at her in confusion, not understanding what the commotion was about. Looking around for the surprising creature, Spirit vaguely spotted a white form, blending in with the snow. A small white rabbit stared at her from 20 feet away, before turning around and loping out into the distance, out of sight. The girl stared at the spot where it had been not moments before in fascination. It had been hard to spot, with the white-on-white, and she had to admit it was effective camouflage. Her black hair stood out among the snow, though if she cared at all, her white clothes aided with blending in. But of course, she didn't mind in the slightest, not finding a need to ever blend in with her surroundings. She shrugged lightly, and resumed walking. Paying slight more attention to the area around her, she couldn't spot any more rabbits around, which surprised her slightly. She thought they lived in groups, so maybe this one was a loner. It didn't matter too much anyways, since though she adored animals, at times like this, she wanted to be alone, even from wild creatures.
Spirit spotted a small black dot on the horizon that confused her slightly, so she stopped. It grew ever bigger, closer seemingly, and eventually was joined by a white figure of the same size. They had probably been walking together, but from such a distance she didn't notice the lighter one. The girl wasn't really concerned, until she heard Wind growling behind her. Wind rarely, if ever, growled, so his reaction put her on edge. There was something about those to figures... creatures now, as they drew closer. The Vantha was still unable to identify what they were, but gripped her hands tightly around her staff all the same and didn't move. The animals had obviously spotted her, since they made a direct beeline to her location. They were after her... which didn't sound good.
Finally, the beasts came closer, and what she saw made Spirit's heart jump. A pair of wolves, one pure white, the other opposite, approaching her, hackles raised and growling. They drew slightly apart, and began to flank the sled dog and the girl, obviously planning on attack. The Vantha's pulse sped up in fear, not knowing what to do. She couldn't fight... at all, and wolves were dangerous... very dangerous. They would attack her! They would attack Wind! The last drew a gasp of breath out of her as she understood the danger for her companion. They would go after him, obviously the weaker and then... no, she wouldn't think about it. She had to protect Wind... that was the only thought that went through her mind, erasing all fear. She yelled loudly at the wolves, not forming any words, but just making noise. It was a hopeless attempt to make them go away without force, and didn't not work in the slightest, only causing the white one (who was closest to her) to prick up it's ears a bit. She and Wind watched them warily, back to back, Spirit gripping her staff tightly. She wasn’t sure if it could be used very well as a weapon, but it was all she had...
The black wolf lunged while the Vantha wasn’t looking, snapping at Wind’s legs, but the dog quickly retaliated. He snapped his jaws heavily around the night-colored animal, and held on like there was no tomorrow. The creature wasn’t expecting such an attack and quickly succumed, thrashing about, but unable to dislodge his new attacker. Wind, however strong his grip, was unable to stay upright, to was simply hanging onto the wolf’s neck with his jaws, unable to find purchase on the ground with his paws.
Spirit screamed at this attack, fearing for her companion’s life, and was about to kick the black wolf hard in the side of the chest, until it’s white counterpart made it’s move. It leaped past the girl and grabbed ahold of the dog’s rear left leg in it’s jaws. The three canines now made a long, squirming, bloody chain, that may have seemed humorous out of the moment but didn’t even occur to the Vantha. Seeing the snow-white wolf as the greatest danger now, she yelled again and aimed her kick at it’s side instead. It hit hard, fueled by fear and rage at it simply being there. It jerked the creature to the ground, sending it toppling over like Wind, but also like the sled dog it did not let go. Seeking another way to fight back, Spirit took the bottom end of her staff in two hands, and lifted it awkwardly above her head. Gathering all her strength, she brought it down onto the skull of the white creature, causing another sickening crack. With a loud, pained yelp, the beast finally let go, and turned on the Vantha. It was obviously very hungry to continue fighting like this. Before it could more again though, the girl repeated the action with another loud cry, sending the wolf crashing to the ground, unmoving, either dead or unconscious. She didn’t care, turning her attention back to the two wriggling animals beside her.
The black wolf had sunk to the ground, apparently weakened by loss of blood. There was certainly quite a lot streaming from it’s neck, where Wind’s jaws had pierced hard. Both canines looked exhausted after their short battle, but at the moment it seemed like the tame one was winning. Taking her stick again in the same position, Spirit brought it down on the creature’s neck, causing it too to collapse. It was done... they were... dead.. she collapsed to her knees beside her companion, silent tears streaming down her face as she inspected the wounds of the prone dog. He was alive, and seemed to have taken no mortal wounds, but his breathing was heavy and he looked exhausted, just like her. They’d had a hard past few chimes, and as short as it may seem, it had felt like a lifetime during the event. Wind’s body was covered in various scratches, from the black wolf’s claws and the ground, but the worst wound was his leg. The hind part was ripped to shreds, and the Vantha could see the bone below. The sight sickened her, not because of the blood but because of how badly the dog had been hurt. She cried softly for a while, before realizing she had to do something.
The girl ripped off the bottom part of one of her pants, and made it into a sheet. She didn’t care if her leg was cold from touching the snow, she needed a bandage... she took the newfound bandage and tightly wrapped it around the shredded leg, but careful not to make it too tight. She didn’t want to cut off his leg...It was a shoddy job, but all she could do at the moment. Tears flowed down her face from exhaustion and fear, as she wondered what to do. The sun was setting... she had the bodies of two wolves beside her, and an injured husky. The best she could do was... sleep. But... no, sleep. But she had to find shelter...
Forcing back the irresistable urge to collapse, Spirit looked around for a possible place to stay the night. All she saw was a small grove of well-sheltered pines, which looked like they could provide decent protection. She slowly dragged Wind under their branches, arms aching from the simple effort. She was so tired.... though tempted to fall asleep then, she noticed that the smell of blood from the pair of wolves would draw other creatures, and came up with a bad, but possibly effective way of keeping them out. She then moved the two corpses to share her tree, and covered them with massive amounts of snow. She herself was unable to smell anything from them, which wasn’t saying much, but she hoped it would work. It was all she could do. Collapsing next to Wind, slowly rubbing his side in consolation, she fell into a dreamless sleep. |
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by Spirit Frostfawn on April 9th, 2013, 10:44 pm 
