Continued.. [Story]

William handed her a bowl of the stewed rabbit meat, then sat back and enjoyed his own bowl, keeping his eyes averted. Rainier brought the bowl to her face, feeling the heat and breathing in the aroma; mature Cottontail and Sage. Her senses were completely thankful for the nourishment, and she spooned the contents into her mouth with haste. They ate is silence and then settled even further apart for sleep, having no regard for one another.

Rainier became lost in sleep, dreaming of running, like always. Always the same dream occurred during sleep. She was running full force through the forest. Jumping over fallen trunks and thick bushes with ease, her heart pumping madly in her chest. She came to a stream about six feet wide and anticipated the leap. As she leapt something tugged at her insides and once on the other side something had changed. Still she continued to run, feeling different and running on all four instead of her human feet. She had four large paws that dug into the earth with each step, her hind paws kicking up large clumps of earth with every powerful thrust. Still she continued to run. She felt complete yet terrified--

William woke to a whimpering sound coming from the other side of the camp fire. Dawn was approaching and there was a faint light coming in through the trees. He sat up and placed his hand on his dagger, ready to pull it out at the next sign of danger. He spotted Rainier curled up grabbing her chest and whimpering. If only he knew her secrets, then the mysteries of her sorrow would take form and maybe he could be useful. He sat for a while staring at his dagger and thinking of how powerful he was with it. He was a killer with it, but something made him question whether or not he would be able to conquer her fears and comfort her.

He rose to feed the fire with a few thick branches from his pile. Warming his body from the morning chill he continued to stare at Rainier, as if convincing himself she was real. Such a striking girl under all that dirt, he thought. Her once light-golden hair poured over her shoulders caked with dirt, so that it's color showed more as a golden brown. It framed her face nicely and when she wanted to she could escape within her mess of hair. William found it quite charming when she lowered her head thus resembling a cottontail. She had a strong but dainty brow that was heavy with sorrow, as if she carried every sadness between her eyebrows. Her cheekbones made her blue eyes shine, even with all the dark secrets swimming in them. Her lips were full and a perfect shade of pink, William observed, as they began to tremble--

Rainier was still dreaming and running through the heart of the deep forest, but she had left her human form at the stream. She was stalking her prey in wolf form, with teeth bared and nearing her kill. A few feet ahead her prey stumbled over a log and tumbled to the ground giving her the precious seconds to catch up. She was staring into the eyes of her prey, taking in her scents, and relishing the moment and the glory of a new kill. Her prey shuddered and let out a high scream and Rainier gorged her teeth into its throat. Blood wept from Rainier's mouth as her prey's life drained through her teeth. Feeling savage, Rainier heaved her prey upwards throwing the warm corpse into the air. It collided with the ground with a crunch and thud. Rainier stood on her powerful hind legs and let out a paramount howl that shook everything around her--

Confused, Rainier slowly opened her eyes from her deep sleep. Something was shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw William above her, hand on her shoulder, and deep anxiety in his eyes.. His left hand held the hilt of his dagger in its sheath. Dawn was approaching and she was suddenly anxious to leave the forest.

"We must be going," He said with a worried brow as he got up to hook his pack, leading the way.

Rainier stood up a little shaky. Then lowered her head and began to follow William, suddenly glad for the company.