Earthsong stood motionlessly on the roof of a building, ice blue eyes glowing against the darkness. A strange, eerie stillness settled over the town because though it was already deep within the darkness of night, the moon did not bathe the sky with its usual pale, white light. The moon was out, but it wasn't showering the earth with its addictive, ethereal glow. Instead it was glowing a midnight black, clouding the earth with pools of darkness. The only light piercing through this blackness was the rain; cold, unrelenting rain.
Yet to those who fought for survival the rain gave a light all it's own, a hope of new beginnings, and an end to the war. Yet, if only that hope would last, if only things were that simple.
Earthsong launched herself into the sky, flapping her wings silently against the wind. This was no time to admire the scenery, no time to relax. This was war, this was a fight for blood.
The Black Moon shown like a dark omniscient eye, watching the chaos below. The White Rain began to wash the blood from the body of the earth.
"If even the heavens were at odds in these dark times, what hope was there for anyone else?," She wondered.
As she flew a demonic serpent clung to her shoulder, most of it's shadow-like body wrapped around her neck, gently, but firmly. Crimsonshift, was his name, and Earthsong was his blood source. She gave him life. Her blood was the succulent nector of his addiction.
He rubbed his featureless face against her cheek in comfort, his five green eyes looked up at her as the wind forcefully whipped him in the face. He snuggled closer into her garment, away from the horrid cold.
Earthsong sighed and nuzzled Crimsonshift back, feeling a little better.It calmed her nerves to know she had the serpent-like creature to trust with her soul.
She needed to find others besides her own clan, needing more wolves for the upcoming war. The prophecies had told that when the full moon is as black as jet, and the rain as pale as gray, the war will start. It will only end when one species is finally whipped off the face of the earth.
'That's one week from now.' Earthsong thought grimly. One week, seven days to find an alliance. Not too thrilling.
She sighed again. "What am we going to do, Crimsonshift?" She asked her companion, cutting her arm with her claw. She let the blood drip from the tips of her talons and held her wounded arm up to it's mouth.
The small serpent let out a odd hiss-like murmur, happily nuzzling against her neck and cheek as she returned the show of affection. It liked her, it would not have attached to just anyone and it took pleasure in the soft smell of her presence and the warmth of her body. It studied her face, and smiled to itself. She always looked so adorable when she was worried, her brow scrunching in though, her eyes set and determined. She may have been far from human but she still remained feminine and beautiful. It couldn't help but notice, and fell into a trace, captivated by her face.
Snapping itself out of it's thoughts, Crimsonshift looked at the blood dripping from her cut. It's eyes reflected temptation and at first the Bloodshifter, reluctantly nuzzled the wound, but then began to slowly lick it. Soon, if rather hesitantly, it sunk two tiny fangs into the small cut.
Earthsong inhaled as it's fangs pierced her sensitive skin, but it was more pleasurable than painful and she relaxed, willingly giving her offering to the small creature.
"Never know...might be people to...help? Wanderers?" It suggested as it surveyed the city below from the safety of Earthsong's neck.
She nodded, landing on a new rooftop.
"Hopefully, someone would like to aid us." She replied, looking up at the black quarter moon.
"Only a week... that may be all we have felt." She whispered, letting out a frustrated growl and running her fingers through her mane, twitching her ears in stress.
'How can we find enough wolves? Our race is nearly gone while the vampires thrive! This war may lead us to our extinction, and it'll be my fault...' Earthsong thought, dropping into a crouching position.
"Um...maybe...Or breed?...or not Lycans? Humans could help...weak...but many, versatile. " Crimsonshit said.
The Bloodshifter to fell from her shoulders, hitting the roof with a tiny squelch. Earthsong chuckled and picked Crimsonshift up in her arms again, nuzzling its cheek.
"I guess... if we bite them first. Maybe then they'll be helpful." She said, gazing down to the streets. Maybe someone would be out, even if it was very late.
Crimsonshift's serpent head nuzzled against Earthsong's own affection, the melted into it's small wolf form playfully, hugging her with a wagging tail, and miniature black wings. Bloodshifters were shape shifters, easily transforming from one form to the next. With each victim they took, they gained the ability to take on that victims characteristics. It would prove very handy in this war. It let out a gentle murmur and licked her nose for a moment before yawning.
"Possibly...but...if not...find vampires? Then i could...help better. We could kill one... I could take form."
-----
Jade crept out of her house in the city and into the woods quietly. She couldn't sleep so even though it was nearly 3 in the morning she had climbed from bed and headed to the only place she could call home, the trees.
Visions flashed through her mind of her friends and family, what they were doing, and where they would end up. She had had visions since she could remember. They weren't always pleasant, most often they were horrifying.. She was going to college, studying neural psychology in order to understand what was wrong with her. She'd read all the books on psychics, but they were mostly fakes. She didn't know what to do so she kept her mouth shut about it and carried on with her life.
Yet, some nights, like this one the weight of her 'gift' just became too much. She felt a great desire to get away, to be someone else. She tripped over a root at the edge of the forest and stumbled, cursing. What was she doing? She was no adventurer. The forest echoed with the sounds of wildlife, creatures of the night on the hunt and she shuddered, settling on a rock, by a stream to rest.
That's when it came to her, like a bolt hitting her in the head.
-- She lay on the ground, crumpled in pain, her body changing, a power trying to come out from beneath her skin. She cried out to the night sky in agony. --
It was a short snippet of the future but it sent chills down to her bones. She had never been wrong before, never.... What did this mean? She shrunk to her knees, overcome by the pain of her vision.
Earthsong watched as the girl walked into the woods and decided to follow, not too close so as not to frighten her. She picked up her scent and moved through the shadows. The forest was her element. It was where she thrived.
Blade watched Earthsong silently from the trees. The other twelve members of his squad hid in the trees behind him. They wore aluminum masks with faces of wolves engraved in them. The masks did not shine in the light of the moon, made of a special material. They were prepared, trained and lethal.
A scream pierced the sky like an arrow to the ears of their souls. Blade opened to talking with Earthsong's soul, what some would call telepathy "Ma'am shall I go investigate the possible disturbance?" He wouldn't let the Bloodshifter with her hear it. Earthsong didn't even need to think, just feel what she wanted him to hear and he would. He was a part of her clan, he had been with her since the beginning. They had no more use for words.
-----
Far off, Victor sat in the dark, arms legs and tail chained to a wall. His eyes were shifting, trying to figure out every minor detail in the room, any weakness in the bars in front of him.
He had been wandering the wilderness for some time, trying to figure out anything about his past, when he had the unfortunate experience of running into a large group of vampires, scouts by the looks of them.
The battle hadn't taken long, and he over matched every one of his opponents, but there were too many. Hissing with annoyance at his bounds...Victor suddenly heard a conversation coming from outside his cage.
"...I've never seen anything like it. The way it moved, the way it took them down..." the one leech said.
"Has the boss said anything...what are we going to do with it?" the second replied.
"The boss wants him alive, says he has plans for him" The first said angrily.
" What?!?...and let that thing do to us what it did to the others. We should kill it while we have the chance." said the second
"You're right. Here, take this gun. Go feed him, and shoot him in the head. We'll tell the boss it was trying to attack us. He'll believe that." said the first.
Victor knew of course who they were talking about...him. They were going to kill him any minute now. Victor smiled. He'd like to see them try. Sitting absolutely still, Victor's scales began to change..to shift, to blend in with his surroundings. Just as he finished, the guard opened the door, gun in hand and food in the other.
"Hello my little reptilian friend, I've got something for you..." the leech said, walking in. It was then that he found he couldn't see Victor. In his eyes, Victor wasn't in the room anymore. Panicked, the leech shouted "He's escaped!!!" and started looking around the room, trying to see if he was still there.
Absentmindedly, the leech walked over to where victor was chained up, completely unaware that he was still there. He came so close that he was an inch from Victor's face, then turned around. Victor quickly made his mouth split into their four parts...each with their own row of teeth. Before the leech had time to act, the four parts surrounded his head, tearing it off of his neck. victor swallowed the leech's head whole. Others soon came in and saw this, a look of terror on their faces.
Victor let out a high pitched screech, and the leeches covered their ears. Victor let them see the pure rage that was written on his face, then, with all the force he could put into his words...Victor shouted.
"Let.....me.....OUT!!!!!!!!"
-----
Earthsong turned her head towards the 'sound' of Blade and was about to give him the the orders to proceed when she was disrupted by a loud screech from the distance. It made her ears flatten against her head and she grunted in surprise, eyes opening wide.
"I'll check the female out. You go and see what that screeching noise is." She said telepathically, flaring her wings out and taking off.
"Yes my lady." They jumped up to leave, twelve flashes in front of her and the Bloodshifter. They moved almost too fast to be seen, hopping from tree to tree until they reached a stone building that seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere, at the western end of the woods.
Earthsong nodded and rubbed Crimsonshift's cheek with her palm, flying toward the sound of the scream.
"We're going to find out who it is, and if they can help." She said to her companion, landing on in the grassy fields of the forest. She walked through the maze of trees, following her nose instead of her sight.
The scent was definitely female, and by the wavy current of the scent, it smelled as though the female was in pain.
She just kept on going until she came to the source of the smell, now looking down at a young woman. At first, she wasn't moving, almost making her think the female was dead. Almost.
Earthsong knelt down beside the woman and gently shook her shoulder, trying to see if the woman would respond.
She looked at Crimsonshift, her eyes sparking. "What's wrong with her?"