“Do you sense a threat?” I asked.
Orsu shook his head and the rounded ears that sat on the top of his skull twitched as his tail thumped the ground. “Not a threat. I smell something sweet.” He licked his lips. “The scent calls to me and I do not think I have the strength to ignore it.”
I shifted into my animal form as well. My hands grew larger as claws extended from my fingers, brown fur filled my neck, back, shoulders and chest, my skin grew thicker, my fangs elongated, and my feet turned to powerful paws that wouldpropel me forward in a sprint if I needed to run. My nose did not change shape but I could smell things in my shifted form that I could not in my Sirret form.
“There is something there. It smells like a female.” As soon as I caught the scent in my shifter form I felt the same pull Orsu mentioned, except it was accompanied by a hollow feeling in my chest, as if I had lost something precious and it was important that I find it again soon. I had the sudden urge to run toward the scent. The beast inside me felt as feral and untamed as it did when I first shifted when I was thirteen seasons old. I pushed the feeling down. I was a Savrix. I could not afford to give into my feral urges.
“Should we turn back?” Brexl asked with a concerned look on his face.
When we were exiled from our dekes we were told they would only give our seasonal offering to the goddess if we stayed away from both the females of the dekes and the valley that protected our old home altogether. No one in my dekes had the authority to give our offering to the goddess, only the priestess from the main dekes could do so. My hunters and I were already cursed. The thought of no longer being able to give our offering to the goddess in hopes she might bless us once again was too much to bear.
Every logical thought I had told me to turn back. We could investigate what had made that noise on another day, but the pull I felt to continue onward was too strong. I found I was rubbing my chest, where I felt so hollow, without even thinking about it.
Orsu looked at me with pleading eyes while Brexl looked scared, which was not a usual expression for my fiercest hunter to wear.
“We will continue forward. If we see the other dekes or their females, we will turn back.” I looked over at Brexl, who hada pained expression on his face. He had taken the shame of our exile on his shoulders as if he alone were to blame for why we were cast out.
“Brexl, you will go back to the mountain and let everyone know what we’ve heard and scented.” His shoulders relaxed and he placed a fist over his chest and bowed before shifting into his beast form and taking off into a sprint back home.
I looked over at Orsu. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 4
Gabby
“Do you think we could take a rest break?” The woman with the long black and red braids whose name I learned was Kayla, asked as she leaned against a tree.
“We really shouldn’t stop until we’ve found shelter,” Fatima countered.
“I need to stop too.” Hai was a thin short woman with long black hair and bangs that swooped to the side.
Both women looked strangely haggard, as if they’d walked twice the distance as the rest of us.
“What’s up with you two?” Talia, with all the tact of a five year-old, asked.
“I’ve got a heart condition, which means I get tired easily,” Kayla admitted.
“I’ve got a chronic illness that makes me tire easily, too,” Hai added.
“I need to use the bathroom,” Sarah interjected sheepishly.
“Ok, we can stop for a bathroom break and maybe discuss ways we can help you two move forward, but then we need to refocus on finding shelter.” The women were about to disperse when I added, “Hey, this is a dangerous place. We need to stay on high alert. You won’t need to get ready, if you stay ready. You know what I’m saying?”
“I hear you,” Kayla acknowledged and all the other women nodded their heads. How I had become the leader of our group,I had no idea, but I was here now and ready to roll with the punches.
We each found our own tree to hide behind as we relieved ourselves. It was strange to be wearing clothes I hadn’t seen until a few hours ago. The material was scratchy, which made me think it was cheap material for us “cargo” to wear.
“I don’t want to be carried.” Kayla sounded annoyed as I approached the group again.
“Why not? You won’t have to walk and we can find shelter faster,” Talia argued.
“Because I’m not helpless, just tired.”
“Did you use any mobility devices back on Earth?” Fatima asked. “If you used a cane maybe we can find you a walking stick or maybe you can walk with your arm around someone’s shoulder.”
“I used a scooter every time I had to walk somewhere.” Kayla looked up at Talia and sighed. “Fine, I’ll walk with someone, but I’mnotbeing carried.”
“You can walk with me, we’re about the same height. Oh I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Beatrice.” This was the first time I’d heard the brown-skinned woman with the medium-length black curly hair speak.
