Desert wolf

Shiek woke in his hideout,

another morning in the ice desert awaited for him, his white hair characteristic of his people now well beyond shoulder length.

He took a step outside, the cold air pricking his face. The desert with its white sands was still today. No wind blew, today he thought would be an easy day.

After enjoying the view from his home, he decided to hunt, his supplies were low, and the day was young.

He stood outside the small cave that he had grown to call home, Shiek looked at the desert in front of him, and he changed. His human body begun to shrink, his hair grew, fur appeared on all his body, his face elongated, teeth sharpened, and bones twisted.

Where once stood a young man, now a grey wolf took its place, Shiek quickly started to smell the air, his senses heightened in this form, He smelled many things, From the west, he smelled men, unusual, the young shifter decided to keep away, From the east a putrid stench arrived, blood, knowing what happened already, the dragons must have been fighting again, he learned to avoid the central part of the desert, especially if the dragons had shed blood the night before.

South was the only way; Shiek did not like to go south; it was not his usual hunting grounds. Invading another's territory was always dangerous, but he had to hunt. So he headed south, running in his primal form always filled Shiek with freedom. The wolf ran as fast as he could. He knew that he had to act quickly to avoid competition from the predators of the south.

As he ran, he picked up a scent, strong, and soon after, he picked up another and another, a pack. Seven or eight, most probably camels, a hard prey for a lone hunter, and they headed eastward. HE stopped, he thought of the risks, this would be a tricky hunt, Shiek thought, his bow had broken years ago, so the wolf would have to hunt today, the herd was close to the ice peaks, dragon territory, but it was morning, few shadows for the dragons to move through, he needed this hunt, winter was fast approaching, he decided that he would hunt.

He followed the herd, moving slowly In the valleys between the dunes as he approached an oasis. This was the reason the pack was here; he looked at the oasis. it was unnatural, there was only water, no flora to be found, only water, this felt unnatural but what worried him was that his place was covered in the stench of blood.

the smell clogged his nose awakening the beast part of his brain, he looked around, on the side of the oasis, a slender black body laid there, Deep wounds covered the scaled body, he knew what that was, and he knew that he had made a mistake in coming here.