Rhavara climbed the last bit of the craggy face of the mountain springing straight up at the very northern edge of the forest. It was getting dark, and in the distance she could see the gathering clouds, feel the leaves rustle and animals scurry to shelter. When she closed her eyes, she could see the colorful imprints of creatures for twenty miles, splashes of greens and blues and reds on a black background.

"It’s going to rain in the forest tonight." It was always disappointing to her when the clouds shied away; the land on the other side of the range was a vast desert. "And the bears are becoming a problem again. One nearly had my arm today," she said, favoring her injured right arm, the bicep housing vicious-looking claw marks.

"You must be more careful.”

"No," she corrected, "I must be faster." Rhavara pulled back the blanket that covered the entrance to the cave, holding it open for her companion to pass through. "They used to not be able to get close. Perhaps I’m getting fat." She rested her spear next to the door, crossing the cave to pull a clay jar off of a shelf. Shaking it and deciding it was the right one, she flipped the latch and opened it. Inside was a dark green paste, thick and smelling of herbs. Scooping some out with two fingers, Rhavara smeared it over the open wounds.

"No dinner?" Her friend asked.

"We’ve still got some dried venison over there," Rhavara said, pointing to the low stone table, more a round slab than an actual table, before putting the jar back above the collection of furs and leathers that served as a bed in the back of the room.

"Good. You need to eat. You’ve been spending too much time worrying about those bears." Her companion went to the back end of the cave, no longer sitting next to the entrance. The stone floor was smoothed and covered by furs as well, to keep the cold at bay. The skins of deer and bears and other forest-dwelling creatures suitable for eating made the floor comfortable.

"I’m telling you, something is going on!" Rhavara opened a woven basket on the table. "They’ve never been so aggressive."

"Mindless beasts is all they are!" The other growled, "There’s always something going on! It’s not your responsibility to watch over the forest, Rhavara."

"Morra, you really can’t expect much of them. They were the first to turn, after all." She pulled out a stack of dried venison and tossed a piece to Morra, who was now sprawled out on the bed looking comfy.

"That’s because they were cowards!"

"Even so, they’re going to end up killing again at this rate," she gnawed thoughtfully on the jerky, plopping herself down on the floor.

"It still amazes me sometimes how compassionate you are towards the humans."

Rhavara laughed as she looked over at the great wolf and said, "It’s not their fault for what I am."

Next Chapter: 1.4 Eamon