1 Storm
Golden eyes flickered within the darkness unable to focus on just one thing. They searched and searched, yet there was no ability to find any living being. The cold wind and ice simply crashed into the earth which left nothing to be seen. It left nothing but white and black. The sound so strong it made ear drums ring with the sound. The trees bent to the will of the storm with no ability to defend. The storm had gone on for hours with no release, but at least she was safe from it. While she had no idea how she got here or why, she at least had shelter. She had found herself curled up in the corner of a cave with the bit of firewood she was able to muster. She was rather surprised she was able to get the flames going considering what the ground was a bit wet. That did not concern her the most though.
Her jeans were torn with ugly bloody wounds down her legs and a swelled ankle. Her shoes were long gone, her shirt in tatters. She had exposed her arm which was also bloody and swelled. She was in a great bit of pain, yet there was no ability to stop it. Just this morning she was in the warmth of her home, but now here she was in the cave. She had no idea how she got here, where she was, or why. Freya did not even understand how she was even harmed. Her memory had been fuzzy. Her very being was confused.
"What had even happened?" Freya muttered for the tenth time that day while running a hand through her raven black hair. She attempted to recall anything to give her a hint, yet nothing came to mind. Nothing inspired the memory. She just turned back to the sight of the storm outside and shivered at the memory. She was cold, yes. She was freezing. She wished to curl up in the tiny corner and simply fall asleep, but something prompted her to keep watch. Her senses screamed that she was not safe. She felt her blood boiling that she needed to run, hide, and never be seen again. She did not understand why though. She did not understand why she felt so... unsettled. It was strange, and she hated it. She hated this strange fear that seemed to come over her. It was unlike her. After all, she was a hunter. She enjoyed the feel of the wilderness, and she felt alive in it.
Breathing a deep sign, she moved to pull herself from the wall and picked up a stick. She prodded at the fire, once twice, and then the third a crash of logs fell down. The embers splattering about. She flinched back at the feel of the hot embers and the harsh smoke coated the air around her. Covering her mouth and nose, she coughed harshly. She narrowed her eyes against the sting only to blink passed the tears. It was then she heard a low snarl. Freya's whole entire body froze. Her eyes slowly flickering to turn in the direction of the sound. In the direction of the open cave her eyes fixated on a serval cat. The 26 pound feline slowly turned in the direction of Freya as its maw parted in another low growl. Its ears pulled back as it arched its back in warning, but that was not what concerned her more. Serval cats wouldn't be out in the middle of a snow storm. They... were from Africa. Could it be someone's pet?
Freya's body tensed as the cat stepped in further. The wild cat's movements begun to become slower and purposeful as it moved closer. Its eyes focused on Freya. It dawned on her then where the scratches had come from. Could it be... she was attacked by this creature? Swallowing thickly, she gripped the stick in her hand harder. Two eyes painfully focused on the beautiful creature. The soft creamy coat was invaded by the black spots that seemed to jump with the embers. The piercing yellow eyes narrowed showing a feral intention. Freya knew nothing of these cats besides for those in the pet trade. Thus, her question remained. How did it get here and why? What had she done to upset the feline so much?
The women quickly shook herself as she forced her body forward and into a kneel. By now, the wild cat had made herself into the mouth of the cave. Thus, the stare down begun. Lips peeled back to reveal canines while the growling intensified. There was no where to run. No where to hide, and there was certainly no way she fight like this. Freya's lip twitched though in a smirk. She would be damned if she did not at least try. She would be damned if she dies like this. She was a hunter, and a damn good one at that. Thus, she slowly moved while maintaining her eye contact. The feline twisted its body and stepped even closer. The large paws did not even make a sound. It was silent. Freya was impressed, yet she could see the flickering of eyes to watch the flames as well. Thus, she did what she had to do. Snapping her hand into the flames, she breathed through the pain and tossed a flaming log straight at the cat.
The feline screeched, but she did not wait. Freya forced herself up. Instantly, she bit down onto her bottom lip against her pain. The pain shot up her ankle and into her leg, but she kept going. She flew from the cave's mouth and twisted to start down the snowy path. The snow assaulted her with whip lashes of wind and cold. The snowy ground bite and clawed at her bare feet and tried to drag her down like quicksand. It brought tears to her eyes, which only made the world that more blurry. She could see nothing, not a single thing. There was just white. It attacked her, growled at her, and shredded into her flesh. Freya pressed on. though She refused to slow down, but of course her luck had to run out. She yelled out as she tripped and slammed to the ground. She rolled to her side and gasped as the large feline flew passed her. She wasted no time as she shoved herself onto her feet again, rounded a tree, and begun running away once more. Her body bent downwards long enough to snatch up a stick as she glanced backwards in search of the feline. She could not hear a thing though besides for her own gasping and panting. Freya never thought she would become the hunted, after all she was raised to be a predator... to be a step ahead at all times.
Cursing, she turned her eyes forward and threw herself against a tree. She clenched her jaws to try and slow her breathing as she listened against the screeching wind. Had she lost the feline? She did not have to wait long to find out. A roar sounded as the feline leapt from the tree she had been hiding behind. Freya screamed out as the feline's nails connected to her arm and shredded down it. The female threw the stick which connected to the serval's throat. It yelped out and fell to the ground where it rolled once more. Freya nearly cried out again as she shoved off the tree and forced her feet to start moving. She needed to find an open area otherwise she would die. This serval clearly knew its way around this territory, not to mention it could smell Freya's blood. She was prey out here. So, she did exactly what prey did. She ran.
The trees branches plummeted into her, and just when it seemed it could not get worse her feet hit ice. Freya screamed and slid. Slamming hard onto her side, she skid for a few seconds before her back hit into a tree. There, she laid. Freya gripped the snow underneath as her back arched. Her eyes parting as she spotted movement in the tree line. Blurry vision left very little to notice though besides the glowing yellow eyes. They were coming closer. She had to move, yet her body simply refused. "You think you could get away little girl?" Freya blinked past the blacken spots in her vision as she searched for the voice. All that stood though was the serval wild cat only a few feet away. With an unearthly grace, the wild cat folded her legs under herself in a sit. Her tail curled around her while her ears pressed down against her skull in annoyance.
"Foolish." The voice came out in a hiss... a women's voice? Was the cat talking? Her vision blurred again. She could not focus. In fact, she was losing consciousness by the second. She watched as the feline slowly rose again, but within a step a yowl echoed through the storm. A large blur caught Freya's eye before red erupted onto the snow. Listening to the sound of screeches, growls, and ripping fur her world finally went black.
---
Darkness. It was dark, cold, and Freya was curled up in the middle of it. Her face pressed against scabbed knees, while her whole body shivered. Her eyes were clenched closed while her hands covered her head. She refused to move. She refused to look up even as the blanket of freeze covered her form. She felt as if the ice was devouring her, creeping into her clothing, stabbing and chewing itself way under her skin. Her very blood snapping back only to numb her flesh. The longer she laid there, the more she felt as if she could no longer breath. She just did not understand. She had been home... She had been by the fire, happy, and living in her hut. The hut her grandfather had left her when he passed. The hut her family grew up in, and the hut that held the memories she cherished the most. Yet, she was here. Why? She simply did not understand.
Freya felt a sob force itself way through her throat. "Damn it!" Finally she lost it. Freya could not stop the crying that came from her. Huge sobs and silent screams while the tears poured from her eyes. Who would take care of Prancer and Bubo? Her cats? Jolina and Ottar, her dogs? Who would miss her though? She had always been alone, but she had been content in that loneliness. Freya had lost her family at a young age, thus she had gone to live with her grandfather. He had passed away long ago, however she never left the hut they lived in together. It had been freedom. Yes, she lived miles away from civilization, other people, and humanity, yet she was one with nature. She hunted with a bow and arrows she created. She skinned her own animals, cooked her own food, and she found entertainment in the smallest things. She never asked for much. Freya never longed for anything, but now she begged for anything to save her. She wanted to go home.
"Damn it." She muttered again as she buried her face deeper. Maybe, just maybe she could simply remain here. She could remain trapped in this darkness, safe...
"My child, why do you weep?" A soft voice echoed through the silence. For a moment, the women did not open her eyes. Yet, she felt the ground around her warming. She felt the gentle flicker of flames move upon her skin, and when she did open her eyes it was as if dawn was arriving. A soft glow of light was sweeping around her while beautiful flowers begun to descend around her. For a moment, she thought they were simply red lily flowers, but in fact they were created from fire. They gathered around Freya to create a soft light. With a slow flicker of her eyes though she searched the darkness, but was unable to find the source of the voice. "My child, why do you weep? Why?" This time, she felt a gentle nudge against her side.
Freya forced herself to roll over and sat up to search the darkness. "My child?" The voice echoed again, this time painfully. It was then she found the blurry figure. It looked as if it was miles away, large, but what did stand out clearly were two golden eyes that stared back at her. Again and again the creature looked to be speaking, but this time Freya heard nothing.
"Who are you?" Freya answered, but it was to late. The creature seemed to bow its head. Even without a clear view, sadness flooded her. The sorrow choked her, burned at her eyes, and made her feel weak. Her chest clenched, and slowly the flame flowers went out.. one by one. They shriveled up and crumbled into ashes. The heat seemed to be sucked into the darkness again to leave a cold empty space behind.
"You still cannot call my name. Such a shame."
A scream. A bloody toe curling scream. It pierced through the darkness. It made Freya's ears ring, and her throat burned. It was only then she realized she was the one screaming. She was the one slashing her nails at something. "Hold her down I said!" A male voice snapped through her daze, yet she wished it had not. She felt something grip her and hold her against a hard surface. She pulled her lips back as if to growl as she felt tears collect in her eyes. Her body thrashing and twisting. She did not understand where the pain was coming from, what they were doing to her, or what had happened to her. Confusion was everywhere, but finally her eyes snapped open. The light assaulted her eyes causing her to flinch back as she thrashed once more only to realize the pain was subsiding. It gave her a moment to allow her eyes to flicker to the three males that held her.
One was holding down her arms. He was large, tanned skin and shirtless with fuzzy unkempt hair. It started off with raven black hair to end up with snow white tips. Tall, yet he looked rather lean. From what she could see, he had thick deer skin pants along with a bear tooth necklace around his throat. Deep blue eyes stared down at her as he tried to keep her still. Just looking at him had her body clenching and hot mainly when she glanced down his happy trail. If her wrists were not being held, she may have reached out to trace along his chest. The other male was a much larger person weight wise. He was not as tanned with plain brown hair. Just as the other male, he wore deer skin around his waist, but his top half was covered only by a necklace that held a collection of animal teeth. He was a bit shorter, but what she blinked in confusion at were the two ears on his head. They were flopped over and curled back in distress against his skull.
It was then her eyes looked over at the other man by her feet. Her pants had been cut to reveal the ugly wound of her ankle. It was much deeper than she thought. It was bloody, bruised and swelled. It had been cleaned up though, and the male was rubbing something on it. It was brown greenish color with a distinctive disgusting smell. She could not place it however. This man was average height, yet he was thin with toned muscles. His skin was pale as a snow flake with breath taking white hair that fell like silk passed his shoulders and down his back. The top had been tied back into a pony tail to keep it from his eyes, which were a pinkish red. Wrapped around his shoulder and laying across his chest was a white rabbit shirt. It ended on his waist only to then melt into white rabbit skin pants. All of the white was only broken up by the brown leather bag that hung across his chest and the green weaved bracelet. He was beautiful, and Freya struggled to turn her eyes away from him.
"Damn it. What the hell was this women thinking?" The man by her feet snapped causing the shorter male to flinch away. His voice was rough and young. It did not seem to fit the image he held that to her seemed innocent and pure. The tone was more corrupt.
"Now, now Mouse. No need for such harshness." The taller smirked as he spoke. It sounded like melting chocolate that had her shivering. It was a rich tone.
"Shut the fuck up! This duck brain is the one who decided to go into Cathilon territory. W-"
"Um... guys.." The shorter one hesitated. "S-She's um.. awake." That was when all eyes turned to her.
