The soft thud of paws was barely heard, the emotionless wolf that controlled them barely seen. The smell of the swamp laced her nostrils, making her consider turning around. The thought of mud squishing under her paws was a distasteful thought. Ember didn’t care at all though, she had heard of the alligators that lived in the swamp and thought it was about time she met them. Her peppered tail hung behind her, as lifeless as she felt. Ember had grown tired, tired of the way she was. Tired of how she acted totally on instinct. Tired of her life. So why not end it? These thoughts raced through her mind as she came nearer to the swamp. She could tell when she had gotten close because of how damp the ground was, sinking under her small paws. She had no idea why she was the way she was anymore, her mind all muddled and confused. There were so many things she wanted to say, so many apologies she wanted to say. Losing the ones she loved tortured her, and Ember felt so sorry for allowing them to die. Her grief had shown in her appearance, ribs showing and her small frame more bony that it should’ve been.

Ember’s white eyes viewed the swamp, the dead trees and sad landscape. It looked just like she felt, but she just didn’t care anymore. Her heart thudded pointlessly, not feeling a reason for living anymore. Nyx, her sister, was in good hands now where Ember knew she wouldn’t be harmed. Nyx knew how much Ember cared for her, but Ember hoped her sister understood why she just had to give up. Trying to turn off her emotions wasn’t working anymore, no matter how hard hard she tried to convince herself that it was. She couldn’t take back what she had done, but she thought that her death would be an apology to the world.

Coming close to the edge of the swamp, she gazed upon it’s unclear waters. She kept her distance from the water, wanting the beast to come fight her instead of pulling her into the dark depths. Her white eyes scanned for movement in the swamp, a sign that the beasts were indeed real and living. Ember thought she saw the water move, and a low growl came from her. “Come out here, you beast. You weak monster.” She teased and taunted at it, trying to get come out to fight her. Ember stood, waiting to see if the beast would come at her call for a fight.

The silent predator rested within the safety of his lake. The waters were murky and dusk, filled with muck and grime, just how he loved it. Silently he would wait for an animal to come for a sip of his cool depths. There he would be, ready to strike. For now he round protrude his nose and eyes from the water, watching and smelling for any prey that may come about. Even with portions of his body exposed, he was still completely camouflaged within the swamp. Only the trained eye could spot him, or one who had dealt with him before. Luckily for this silent predator, one fae came looking for something in his swamp. He stayed there, completely still. For a moment, he watched her, thinking of sinking into his shadowy-watery grave. But when she called for him, he was frozen. What should he do? This fae was baiting him to come from his hiding spot, to charge her and take what he truly desired. Only once in a blue moon did he ever feast on the wolf flesh. It was much better than deer, more muscle and gristle to the long haired beasts.

The dragon moved his protective eye lids over his golden hues and sank under the water. He slowly swam to the edge, just using the tip of his tail, careful not to disrupt the water, alerting the prey to his exact location. Surely the others of his kind would be wanting this kill before he had a chance. Without a second thought, he pushed himself from the floor of the lake, forcing him to spring at the fae. His mouth was agape, ready to snag her and bring her into the water. He hissed as he moved closer to her, almost closing his jaws around her neck. He missed this time, but when moved back into the water's edge. There he would wait for her move.

Ember watched the water quietly, her white eyes trying to peer into its dark depths. She knew that the alligator would be hard to see, its color the same as the water. Another teasing growl ripped from her, challenging the beast to come out and fight her. The best chance would be that the alligator would kill her, which is what she wanted. Her fur bristled, expecting a fight. There was a distant swirl in the water, but Ember didn't notice. Teeth bared, the fae smirked as she waited fo the beast to come and kill her. In an instant, Ember saw the beast burst out of the water with its jaws open wide. She didn't move as she watched it snap at her neck, but missed. Ember bared her teeth, a snarl resonating from her chest. She had to make it want to kill her, to make her see nothing but black. As she watched it retaliate, Ember lunged. Her sharp teeth bared and her jaws open. Near its leg was when she clamped down, biting right where its ankle should be. After her bite, Ember quickly backed up, gauging the alligators response.

The fae crouched low, waiting for the alligator to make his move. At any point she could spring over it, or quickly shy away. Couldn't it see that she wanted to die? Her white eyes remained focused on the beast, her mouth spitting out a slew of curses at him. "You're nothing but a worthless piece of flesh. Weak, so weak." When he lunged, the alligator had managed to fling some of his mud water onto her, wetting her gray pelt and blinding her eyes. There wasn't enough meat on the fae to be anything the alligator would want to eat and she knew that, the wetness of her pelt made it all the more obvious how thin she was. Since she was now rendered blind, the fae shook her head as to clear her vision. She could just barely see the alligator sinking back into the water, but soon she couldn't see at all. The ground had grown slippery underneath her paws. Taking a step back, Ember slipped. Her head collided with something hard and sharp. Almost instantly, Ember could feel the warmth of her own blood running along the flesh underneath her fur. She tried to blink, but felt immobilized. Dizziness set in, and Ember eyes began to roll to the back of her head. Unconsciousness set in and she couldn't think.

That was when everything went black.

Walking into the swamp, her creamy paws squished into the grotesque mud, making her pads covered in filth. Her eyes narrowed at the ground, then looked up to Nyx who had gotten the enough nerve to come along with her for company. The young fae was somehow someone Kennedy could get used to, as long as she wasn't always so hyper. Looking back to the murky waters, she scanned to see if there were any monsters lurking in them. Nothing moved, just the wind the blew through the grasses. On their way there the weather had lightened up, the rain was clear, and the sun shining onto them, warming their beautiful coats dry. Dipping her snout to the ground, she took in big sniffs to see if they were being followed, or if there was something watching them.

A strong scent made her pupils dilate to tiny black specks devoured by dark sapphire hues. The smell was another wolf's blood not at all far from where they peeked their heads out of the woods. Her ears flicked against her head, moving with her nose to the ground and tail sticking straight out. Nyx would probably think there was something wrong and copy her moves, for she was an experienced Warrior, and Nyx was just an Apprentice. If she was smart, then she too would sniff the blood in an instant. Her legs started into a trot, then into a sprint towards the scent. Leaping over the murky thin river, Kennedy touched the surface, running faster to the blood. A grey and white image came into her view. A fae lay unconscious against a large rock, blood splattered against the rock's face. Her eyes widened, pouncing to the female's side talking into her ear. "Miss?...Miss are you ok?...Hello?" Of course she's not alright, she's bleeding you fool! Her chin raised, looking to Nyx. "We need to take her back to camp, she needs medical assistance fast."

Nyx looked distastefully at the muck that was getting in between her ivory toes. Her different colored eyes flicked to her surroundings. The swamp wasn't a very pretty sight, and it sort of stunk. The scent the swamp laced her sensitive nose, making her want to cough at how strong it was. Nyx looked down into the water's murky depths, looking for any sign of movement. She was following what Kennedy did, learning by observation. So when Kennedy looked like something was greatly wrong, it alerted Nyx to smell the air as well. Among the scent of the swamp was the scent of blood. Smelling deeper, Nyx could also smell something very familiar. Horror struck Nyx in one hard blow, making her take off at a dead run to the direction of the her sister's scent. The ivory fae was like a white bullet, growing more filled with horror every second. The scent of blood grew stronger, along with the scent of her sister. Now, she could just make out the crumpled, gray form of her sister. From here, she could see how bony Ember was. Ember had been filled out last time Nyx saw her, so looking at her now was like a nightmare.

Coming up to her sister's side, Nyx let out a high whine. Blood covered the face of a sharp rock, and signs of a fight were visible. The the very center of the scene, laid Nyx's sister. Nyx gasped as she took in her sister's appearance. Her pelt covered in muck, and covered in blood near her head. Nyx couldn't find where Ember was bleeding, but she was acting on instinct now. Turning to Kennedy, Nyx spoke. "Please help me lift her. You are right, my sister will not last long without the help of a caretaker. We need to rush her to the caretaker den immediately." Being careful, Nyx crept under her sister's upper half so that Ember would rest comfortingly on her back. Her sister was so light, and it made Nyx even more eager to get Ember to a healer. Looking at Kennedy, the horror was clear in Nyx's different colored eyes as she waited to for the creamy fae to lift her sister's other half.

[[I'll make the healer's den post]]

Kennedy nodded, lowering her snout low to the ground, scooping underneath the fae's stomach and maneuvering her onto her upper back. Blood seeped from the wound upon her maw, the fae may have a cold heart but she wouldn't ignore someone in an extreme case such as Nyx's sister. Her muscles pawed into the ground, making the fae on top of her unable to fall off, or in this case, slide off the younger fae next to her. Turning around back to the pack's camp, she eyed Nyx with sapphire eyes, feeling sympathy for the poor fae who was trying to save her sibling. "We have to get there quick, she's loosing blood fast, and by the wound on her skull, it's severe." She peered down at the ground, not wanting the fae to be worried she kept calm. "The healer's den is near the clearing, if we go back the way we came-" She nodded her head towards the clearing. "-it'd be the quickest path to get there. Come on." She barked, ordering the Apprentice.

Her legs quickened into an increasing jog, then into a fast run, looking to her companion every few minutes to see how she was holding up. Nyx's older sister was immensely underweight, and by her putrid scent she'd been here longer than both of Nyx and Kennedy's time combined. She howled at the top of her lungs as they ran, singing a long cry for help. The swamp drained out any sounds in the pack, all she could here was the beating of her heart and the very few whimpers that came from the younger fae. "We're almost there." She said as she saw a white light come closer. The clearing. Her legs pumped faster into the mud, like a speeding bullet, she ran into the open.