Balancing Act

[Kitty McKay]

26^th of Undecimber
Year LV
21.30

The twins would lock her in the cellar, surely. Kitty was alone in the woods -- it was not a predicament she found herself in extraordinary often, though perhaps more than the average village girl -- and she had every intention of enjoying it, for it would have to be worth the fierce admonition she would receive later. For all of their jokes, her siblings did not truly believe in her Guardian Angel the way that she did. So they worried, while she did not.

By the light of a lantern placed on a large square stone but two feet away, Kitty watched as her little feet danced along the thin edge of another such crumbling column. She turned her toes out like a ballerina and lifted each leg forward without bending the knees, marching with back straight and head bent to make sure that she did not trip. Stopping near the edge, she waited for a few seconds as the cricket's applause cheered her on -- and then popped quickly onto her toes with a little sound ("boop! ta-da!"), teetering with so little on which to balance. The thunderous accolades of the forest gave her praise, and the wind through the trees were gasps of suspense as she teetered off to the side, about to fall the three or so feet to the padded forest floor.

[Nerys]

::Nerys::
It had been a good day. She had caught a fat buck in the morning: would not be hungry for a week or two. This was good and rare at the end of fall. It was good tidings and bode well for the winter ahead. Also, she had seen no one. This was good as well. She preferred to spend as little time as possible in the company of her kind. In her blunt opinion they were, for the most part, a surly and unpleasant group. Traitorous and brutish. Since her self imposed exile she had met but a handful of Gewin in the wilds of Branwen's Cauldron and liked an even smaller fraction of the few she met. In her years of solitude she became adept at avoiding sentient contact. Despite the infrequent twinges of loneliness (she would admit she suffered them), it was much much better this way. Much easier. Oftentimes in her lupine form she forgot exactly why it was easier, only knew with certainty it was.

Her belly full, but her appetite for novelty completely unsated, the green eyed she-wolf padded through the deep woods surrounding the village of Benevolence beneath the silvery light of the moon. Perhaps she should shift? That would be a change in pace. Yes, that felt right tonight. It is not too chill to go without fur. But it was cold enough for clothing. The Gewyn femme changed course for the ruins, where she had hidden a trunk she had taken from one of her victims two years past. In it she had stored her few bits of ladies' clothing, most of it stitched and patched and re-sewn. Her height was quite an inconvenience and she had been forced to scrounge for scraps to lengthen any garments she filched from travelers to fit her tall willowy frame.

She was about five miles from the ruins, but the distance was a short jaunt to her. It was not the complication. Her keen nose scented the problem before she saw it. Human girl. The definitive scent of a human girl: salt sweat and good meat like any human but the addition of the scent of soft things and fabric and soap and estrogen made it female. The lean she-wolf whined in consternation, but continued on, determined that her desire would not be thwarted by a mere human. There was no reason really. If she could reach her clothing without being seen, then there would be no problem. The long limbed wolf hugged the shadows as she caught sight of the flickering lantern light. She allowed herself a deep breath in, savoring the scent of the young woman as one might sample the air inside a bakery...even if one is not hungry and has no intention of buying. Alert emerald green eyes scanned the clearing, catching sight of blonde curls through the trees and a long swishing skirt. It was a big clearing, and must have been bigger when the ruins were intact and inhabited. She guessed this had been so because there were chunks of marble foundations a few hundred feet into the newer growth of the forest. The woods must have grown in and reclaimed some of the fallen city. Fortunately, the chest of clothing was on the other side of the clearing and the she-wolf trotted through the treeline, silent as a wraith. Her agile paws led her easily over thick protruding tree roots and across carved chunks of fallen stone until she spotted a prominent archway half crumbling. There. Keeping an eye on the young woman, who still - oblivious frail human - had not noticed her, she darted out and pressed herself into the shadows of the massive marble pillars and crumbling walls. When she reached the base of the archway, she dropped to her belly, crawling to the foundations of the thing and pressing her shoulder into a large rock that lay against the marble. It rolled to the side, relatively quietly, which was a blessing and revealed a den-like hole beneath the foundations. The long body of the dark pelted she wolf wormed its way down and dragged out a sizable wooden trunk. If she had been alone, she would have whimpered in satisfaction. It was still there, which meant no one had found her hiding place. This was good as human garb was obviously in short supply for the Gewin folk and it was not unheard of for them to steal caches of supplies. Poking her nose in the air, she scented for other wolves but at the moment there were none. She then curled herself up in the corner of the wall, out of sight of the young (and still oblivious) human and let the moonlight have her.

Her bones shifted, twisting and aching and her fur melted away to peachy pale skin. The luminous green eyes shifted but remained the same captivating hue, her pointed ears slipped to the side of her head and lost their fur, becoming pink and human before they were covered by her growing head of dark dark hair. The mahogany locks grew and grew till they almost reached her round buttocks. She swallowed, her throat dry, her breath stuttering. The she-wolf Nerys curled and uncurled her long human fingers experimentally, arms instinctively circling her ample bare bosom against the cold. After a few moment of silence, the hauntingly beautiful woman uncurled herself from her fetal position in the loam and reached out with trembling fingers to unlatch the trunk. From it she pulled a worn shift and simple deep green muslin gown, the skirt lengthened at the bottom with crudely cut and handily stitched swatches of black linen. Quickly, she dressed and pushed the trunk back down the hole, then stole back into the comforting darkness of the woods.

Unaccustomed to her human form, as she had not shifted in many months, she tripped over a raised tree root and caught herself upon a tree, clinging to the rough bark and holding on for reassurance. It was part of a world she knew. The fabric felt unfamiliar as it brushed past her thighs, the hard ground beneath her bare feet the most welcome sensation in her warped reality at the moment. She pushed nagging thoughts of Gareth Cleaver from her mind. Her last sojourn to his smithy had resulted in a nasty fight with a Guardian. She had scars from his teeth upon her forearm still. He probably had his own fair share of scars to remind him of her but she didn't really care about that. No, forget your smithy for tonight, Nerys. She knew she should - the girl was the main problem. If any other Gewin had picked up her scent the girl would likely be dead already. No, Nerys had no desire to hunt this young woman. She was full and unlike many of her kind, did not kill for pleasure. Come to think of it (her mind was much clearer now that she had shifted), just what was a young villager doing alone in the woods at night? At the ruins no less. Well, there was one way to find out now that she had a voice, she reminded herself and lifting her skirts above her bare feet, stepped cautiously from the trees and into the lantern light. Even as a human, her footsteps were quiet and the pretty young woman continued her circus solo. The female Gewyn noted that for a human she was quite agile.

Perhaps the woods is not the safest place to practice a balancing act.

Her voice was husky and rough from disuse, but not altogether unpleasant to the ears. Nerys shifted from one foot to the other and raised her eyes to the young woman's, remembering that too much stillness unnerved a human and that meeting gazes was not considered a rude or a challenge among this girl's kind.

[Kitty McKay]

Kitty careened wildly and then fell, managing to land on her feet with only a minimal amount of stumbling. She was righting herself, arranging her skirts and picking some dried leaves from the hem, when a voice startled her. For being startled, Kitty seemed quite calm -- in fact, she merely jumped slightly and turned her head with a small smile. Her eyes scanned up and down the newcomer, but not in an unfriendly way. She noted many things all at once. The abnormal height, the patches in the clothing, the quite abnormal lack of stays. In the dress, the woman's breasts were quite unhindered -- she wore the gown as if it were a nightshift. The lady was curvy and quite stunningly beautiful. It was very suspect, but Kitty was merely intrigued.

She spoke finally, her calm smile still in place. "I have never seen eyes the colour of yours," she said, her voice a husky, quiet murmur that somehow wasn't difficult to hear. She had completely declined to answer the statement made earlier, and she knew it, but it was not because she disagreed. It was probably very dangerous here, at night of all times.

"You are not from Benevolence." It was both a statement and an inquiry. "Or anyplace like it." She added, wanting to let the woman know that falsehoods would only waste breath. She was curious as to the woman's origins. Some tales of the Gewin said that they could steal and inhabit human bodies. It was possible, she supposed, that this was such a creature; she simply saw no malice in the stranger's eyes, and so decided to remain. Better to die an adventurer than to live a life of wondering.

[Nerys]

::Nerys::
She smiled, her features were unaccustomed to the gesture, so she kept it small. To force a larger expression would render it false and, unlike most of her kind, the she-Gewin intuited that this young woman would notice it. Besides, despite the fact that she was not forthcoming in the least, Nerys was no liar. Not when she could avoid it. Lies made things complex and often did more harm than good. Complexity and harm were the last things she needed more of in her life.

With her still superior senses, the tall dark haired woman drew in a breath of the night air and was detachedly surprised to catch a trace of curiosity on the air instead of uncertainty or fear. Well that was refreshing. Absentmindedly, she brushed a thick lock of hair from her brilliant eyes, which she had instinctively dropped when they were brought to attention. She could only behave human in every way for so long and at this point she averted her eyes in the customary discreet lupine manner.

No. No, I have not either. she responded, remembering to lift her eyes again. Strange creatures, humans, to consider constant, direct eye contact polite of all things. I suppose they are odd....

With wolf-like grace, she ventured a step closer to the human girl, glad that her belly was full. Her scent was not so much a temptation as it was a pleasant distraction. In fact, this girl was lucky to have her near. No other Gewin in the forest would even consider sparing this girl's life let alone defending it. And Nerys would spare it without question and perhaps even fight for her if it came to it. Not for any loyalty to the girl or the village. She had no sense of allegiance to the people as a whole. Just to one person. And to harm a neighbor of his was almost unthinkable to her. It would set off a series of reactions that would make her love even more impossible than it already was.

I am from...nowhere in particular. My family lived in one place when I was young but I remember little of it. Since then we have traveled and when I was old enough, I traveled alone....

She is determined not to tell an outright lie if she can help it. However, there is little she can do about the lack of emotion in her dark voice. Her past and her family have never been something she was deeply attached to, at least not that she can remember. Perhaps they were at one time, but if that was so, it is beyond the range of her memory now and as true as anything.

I have been through this place once before. Years ago...

A small wry smile, this one unhindered and wild, tickles and dances at the corner of her coral lips and the radiant emerald eyes wander before the woman drags them back to her companion in the clearing.

Few would remember me.

[Kitty McKay]

Katherine took a dancing step back away from the woman, perhaps out of pure animal instinct. How old was she? Although she didn't look much older than Kitty herself, something told her that the green-eyed stranger was several years her senior. Even though there was nothing effected, the shoulders were not too pulled back, there was a grace about her as if she had been born to it.

She was sure that Green Eyes was wrong; how could such a tall, beautiful woman be forgotten? Maybe she was one of the fair folk, who once you meet you cannot recall exactly... but always know you met. There were a few old men in the town who said that they had seen the Faerie, but they were often deemed simply senile. She secretly believed them. How could she not? Perhaps it was a pair of Faerie eyes that watched over her on nights like these.

"You should come to the village for lodgings. These woods are not like other woods. There are monsters." Most scoffed. She prepared herself for it. Yet, in light of the situation (this stranger being obviously unacquainted with the looming curse of death among these trees) Kitty felt obligated to give the warning.

Dropping a curtsy, she smiled slowly and said, "Kitty McKay. I am a farm-hand's daughter and live with my older siblings. We may have some floor room for you, if you have no money."
Her voice was but a whisper, a thin wisp of the familiar to accompany her when she felt strangely isolated. The other woman seemed to be from another world, oddly separated.

[Nerys]

::Nerys::
She did laugh, but the sound was not a mocking one. If anything, it was a sad one, full of regret. Slender white hands pulled her long dark locks over her shoulder and began, haltingly to braid the thick tresses. It was clear her hands had once performed the task often but now they moved slowly as if they had almost forgotten how to weave the simple pattern. The tall woman did so absentmindedly, studying her hands before glancing up to the young blonde woman once more. Constant eye contact was too much for her lupine mind, which was even unaccustomed to encountering her own kind. She laughed again, the sound dry like the wind and bitter.

I know the monsters. She said, her voice quiet but carrying. It is because of a...monster...that I cannot be with my love. It was not a lie.

Had she been possessed of the assets to do so in this form, her ears would have perked at the girl's request. It was so tempting, to be so close to him. To be invited so near. But she could not. In the daylight there would be none in the village who would have her and none she would trust herself around. Not even her beloved...it had been too long and she was uncertain if she could control herself when she would be furred and fanged. It was something she refused to risk. She felt the unfamiliar sensation of a lump building in her throat and a tickling behind her eyes. Tears. She realized, and pressed them back. God, how she longed for true humanity sometimes. She would miss the freedom, the power, the pleasure. But it might be worth it.....if only it were possible. But no. She could not even pretend. She was a menace to Gareth Cleaver, whom she wished never to harm in any way, and to the town he cared about. As tempting as the pulsing warm life of the humans in the village was, she knew it was dangerous for many reasons. There were the vile cats. And to harm them would be to harm him and she would not do it.

No! It came out harsher than she intended and she tried again. No, Miss Kitty. I could not. The girl would want to know why. Nerys could see already that she was curious, which could be good. And could be very bad. I am safe in these woods. I can fend for myself...but I would bring bad luck to the village. A monster would...follow me. I cannot escape it, it always follows. And I would not wish harm upon your village. She attempted a smile, it showed no teeth for she was by now quite unaccustomed to conversation and to go so against her lupine instincts. A bare toothed smile was a wolfen threat. Thank you Miss Kitty but please understand though I would love to...I cannot. You are very kind.

[Kitty McKay]

Kitty's lips hardened into a tight line, but a hint of a smile showed at one side of her mouth. The woman's laughter was unnaturally beautiful and, in some undefinable way, unnerving. It wasn't the type of laughter she had been expecting. So why was she sticking around? Curiosity? Overconfidence? Not only was her strange companion obviously opposed to receiving her charity, she claimed to be followed by the monsters.

So was she telling the truth? How to tell? A lone woman dressed in rags wandering the woods at night believing she is being tracked by a monster, who is keeping her from her love, who cannot seem to meet eyes and smiles so oddly... it all pointed toward insanity, really. But Kitty was a believer. So why wasn't she high tailing it in the other direction?

"Tell me about the monsters." She whispered, her eyes narrowing. Her hands flexed at her sides and then crept to her skirts, where her fingers dug in as if hiding from an impending danger.

[Nerys]

::Nerys::

...They are cursed. The woman began, her voice still haunting despite the roughness at its edges from obvious disuse. Wolves by day and....other by night if they choose. The Gewyn were but her people by blood. So many years had passed, she felt no allegiance to her shifting kin. No more allegiance than she did to the bewhiskered Guardians. If she felt any connection to any being at all, it was to the creature standing before her. Bipedal and weak and helpless. She supposed this was altogether odd, but that mattered little to her.

The green eyed woman's gaze hardened, her tone became distant and bitter. She glanced about the woods, her aristocratic features alert and her tall body poised as she spoke. They do not choose to hunger for human blood. It is part of their lives' misfortune. Many, though, do enjoy this. It is sport to them, to kill. It is a game. Most do...and they would not consider themselves monsters. Any who do are likely to revel in it. The deepest misfortune is to those who see their curse for what it is and know they are powerless to change it. Suddenly the emerald eyes locked upon the young blonde in a fit of boldness.
It is said they were once human, but if that is true the only indication of it is in their cunning. At night if they choose they can speak and think and rationalize... but never let this fool you. They are beasts all the same.

Nerys dropped her eyes again, her still alert ears and nose testing for danger. At that, she almost laughed. Technically she was danger. No, what it was truly was keeping an eye for any intruders period. Were a Guardian to chance upon the clearing, she would flee. Nerys held no pretenses of being brave, but she knew she was no coward. It simply made no sense to risk injury in a pointless fight. She did not hunt villagers, so the Guardians, while she loathed them, were not her problem. She had no desire to fight, she would fight if she were cornered. Another Gewyn was another matter...another Gewyn would be here to take the girl. This would be a problem....and in the back of her head, Nerys realized that she would defend the girl. Stranger and stranger.....

[Kitty McKay]

Katherine bit the inside of her lip, moving back from the stranger as she spoke. What strange, frightening things she said! Kitty's eyes were locked onto the green ones, which remained averted most of the time. It reminded her a bit of Mr. Benson, the blacksmith's apprentice, and the mysterious Miss Ayre. Maybe all people who survived the beasts of the wood withdrew like this; could not look into others' eyes for too long. Was there something special, then, about the eyes of the monsters? She had heard a rumour that they glowed as red as blood. As curious as the villagers were, no one had ever dared ask the ones that had survived. It was a forbidden subject.

How could this woman know them so well, though? Kitty had lived in the village all of her life and knew everyone that lived there, and could remember anyone of note that passed through. Strangers didn't know the tales, and even when they heard them, they didn't believe them. The cold feeling of warning rushed over her again; it was her own animal instinct warning her of danger. Surely a mouse had never had a conversation with a cat without feeling such a thing. Yet... she felt frozen, unable to leave. Questions burned at her, fighting down the instinct to run.

"Why does the beast follow you? Why not..." Just kill you? She let the unsaid hang in the air, but her feet were no longer willing to stay still, and she was backing away.

[Nerys]

::Nerys::
So lost in her own thoughts was she that the girl's words registered only after she had said them. Her luminous eyes snapped back to the girl, alert again and her lips parted as if she were about to speak, but then she sealed them again, thinking.
Quite a good night, tonight. Despite the memories, a good night. A full belly. A lovely scented young woman. Distraction. She imagined that this was what it must be like to be a human woman in a tea room. Discussing things and with the wonderful smell of food there but no hunger to tease you.

It cannot kill me without killing itself.... She said suddenly.
Or at least it does not know how. And I do not know how to kill it without ending my own life. We are... Now this she must word so carefully. Betraying her fellow Gewin meant nothing to her but she did not want to frighten this girl away. Guardians wanted to kill. Gewyn wanted....something, always something. Violence, clothing, tools. Gods, they just wanted and wanted and never gave. It made her sick. It was why she had nothing to do with her own kind anymore. This girl didn't want, didn't demand. To answer a Gewyn their questions was dangerous simply because they wanted and used and abused. But this girl was simply curious, which was a fascinating thing.
Bonded. We are bonded by no choice of our own.

What a strange case she was. Loving a human man, killing out of need instead of pleasure, refusing to hunt villagers, conversing with a human girl. Ah what a beautiful disaster she was. Despite the things she was saying, the thought almost made her smile. She scented fear on the girl then, fear so subtle the girl herself might not know it. Poor thing, Nerys would not hurt her. She had no reason to: she was not hungry and this Kitty was a villager. No, even if she were hungry, Nerys would be hard pressed to let herself harm this young woman. But then, Kitty would not know that. Perhaps her instinct knew already what Nerys was but humans were typically so stunningly bad at reading their instincts, let alone sensing them.
You're not wrong...to be afraid of me. She said, this time her voice a sad whisper that just barely carried. The long slender fingers knit themselves up, gathering a handful of her shabby patchwork dress.
But I swear. You will come to no harm while I am here. I swear it.

She did not know why she had said it, could not take it back and wished she could, but it was said now. How she hoped the girl wouldn't run, wouldn't be scared away. It had been almost a year since she had spoken to anyone and she knew she needed it to keep herself sane...as sane as she could be considering her life's predicament. Nerys merely sat gracefully upon a fallen pillar of stone, tucking her feet under her and resting on her hands, her eyes downcast. Out of instinct, her lupine behavior was molding her human reactions, branding her sincerity plainly, if only Kitty could read it. At the least, Nerys hoped her new acquaintance Kitty would realize that sitting down, she was less of a threat and take her statement seriously. Gods gods, she hoped she would.

[Kitty McKay]

Katherine's backward progress halted at the promise, though it was hard to make herself stop. Her heart was beating frantically, her whole body telling her to run. But somehow, she sensed a sad desperation in the graceful stranger and felt the loneliness coming off of her in waves. Her sympathy and curiosity battled frantically with her instinct to run -- and a very ignoble part of her was shouting to her other half that her life was worth much more than a stranger's comfort -- so she remained at a distance, neither moving away nor coming forward. It was an impasse, so to speak, that she could almost be content with... with some effort, of course.

The silence drew out, breaking through some of the surreal quality the situation had taken on. In that silence Katherine could stare at the bowed head of the woman, at her red-tinted hair and her unnaturally pale skin. So if this monster always followed, was it... here now? And if it was, it could have killed her already. So why not stay? If she left, she would be wondering about what she might have discovered until she died. Granted, her chances of dying many, many years from now were much greater if she left the forest at this very moment.

With a sigh that meant she was giving in, Katherine sat down upon the forest floor and folded her legs beneath her skirts.

"How common is it... the bonding? How many are there that are like you? Are you the only one?"

[Nerys]

::Nerys::
The green eyed woman all but breathed a sigh of relief. The blankness in her eyes that served as a mask for her constant pain lifted, if only for an instant and something within the twin gems danced, then was covered again. She shook her head at the curly haired blonde, who, to her amazement had taken a seat some distance from her.

No. I know of no others.

Her long fingers resumed the braiding that she had begun and then forgotten at Miss Kitty's fear. She was becoming more adept at it now, her hands, their skin pale and laced with a slight spider webbing of a few scars, remembering the motions. For a while she falls silent, alternately braiding her long mahogany locks and picking burs from the hem of her skirts. The flickering lantern light exposes a set of new scars: glossy puncture wounds only a few months old. They are unusual scars but not unrecognizable....they were clearly left by the fangs of a fair sized animal. Her unfathomable eyes glance at them for a moment, then move on to her braiding once more.

Is there a - a Mr. Gareth...Cleaver in the village, still?

The words are hesitant and leap unbidden from her throat. Really, she had not meant to ask. Gods, Nerys! You might as well walk yourself into the village center and announce what you really are! Stupid! Why would you ask? But she could not take the question back. It had been months since she had dared approach the village and seek out his scent. Ever since her spat with the pale lanky Guardian (had she possessed hackles, still, they would have risen) she had not dared venture near the village. It would not be worth it to be injured too badly or discovered. Then she would never see him again.

[Kitty McKay]

The only one. Kitty averted her eyes, not wanting to let her immense pity show. She could not imagine the loneliness, and the horror. It was still technically possible that the woman was insane, babbling... but how she had managed to unearth so many of the darkest details of the Legend escaped her. As much as she wanted to not believe, the aura of strangeness and honesty that surrounded this grove make disbelief impossible. She almost didn't catch what she said, so long was she in the careful examination of the woman's strange scars and mannerisms.

She was a bit taken aback. "Mr. Cleaver? Gareth Cleaver... the blacksmith?" She tipped her head, her lips parted slightly and her brow drawn together. "Yes, he is still... still... you knew him?" Her eyes darted around the clearing. Somehow, the mention of something so familiar as the local smithy wrenched her mind again to the improbability of this whole meeting. Her eyes then went back, wide with surprise, to the others' face. She was braiding her hair again, her eyes averted, but the interest was rapt and obvious. Her mind raced over what had been said. Shadowed by a monster... kept from her love.

Katherine gasped, but her lips were set into an incredulous smile. Mr. Gareth, a secret lover in the woods? She let out a quick breath, managing to keep her jaw from hanging. How insane it seemed! But how right. Why, he'd never married -- he could have. He certainly could have. She bit her lip, eyes scanning over the others' face.

"If you don't mind my asking... what is your name? I don't believe I've heard it."

[Nerys]

::Nerys::
At Kitty's response, the pale woman's great jewel-like eyes fairly shine with the first true happiness that has entered them in years. It lends a breath of summer's lush beauty to the melancholy winter grace of her features. What are you doing, Nerys? Gods, have you lost your mind?! Being so open could kill! It could kill! Why?! She ignored the voice for once, for the first time in many years; the longing for him was too strong. For any knowledge of him, any way at all to be close. But the girl would have no idea...she was much too young. She was the safest person to speak to, Nerys reasoned, even if she did guess correctly.

Yes....

Her lips parted, she tried to voice a reply, but parting with dearly treasured information after so long is much different than conversation. The secrets she had betrayed before were no real betrayals. She considered herself a Gewin by attributes of her shape and hunger alone. The barbaric lupine folk of these woods were no true kin to her any longer. No, Gareth Cleaver was as close as she had to true kin any more. And she wanted, no needed to know. She began again.

Yes, we knew each other long ago. When we were young.

A faint smile graced her full lips; unbidden, beautiful and unexpected as a rose in mid-Duodecimber.

I do not know if he would remember me...my name is Nerys. I am sorry if it was rude of me not to have told you before.

There were few alive who knew her name any longer, she had made certain of that. It was something she was not proud of, but it had not been so difficult. Gareth was what mattered to her, was all that had mattered since that night so many years ago. Gods, it had been so many years ago!

If he does not remember my name, perhaps he will remember my eyes. You said yourself they were...unusual, did you not Miss Kitty McKay? Could you...

He had never known her name but what little she remembered of human society had forced her words...she vaguely remembered it would be highly imprudent for a man to not even know the name of his lover. This was hardly an issue for the Gewin. Her own father had not known her mother's name till after she sought him out to tell him she was carrying his young. Still...Gareth's ways were her ways now so she must try and remember, for she wanted him so badly to know her name and she could not say why. Her throat went dry and she swallowed nervously, harnessing the instinct to whimper and lick her snout in apprehension. Surely that would give her away in a heartbeat.

Please, could you perhaps tell him that I am well and that - that I have not forgotten him.

[Kitty McKay]

Katherine lowered her eyes, tucking her chin closer to her chest and examining the grass and brush beneath her. The woman's -- Nerys' -- expression was a convoluted mixture of earnestness, doubt, pain and giddiness. The pure emotion there seared at Kitty's insides as if it was a tangible flame. She didn't feel right looking upon a face so openly exposed; it felt like an intrusion.

That isn't to say that she was uninterested -- oh no, quite the contrary. She was more intrigued than she had ever been in her life. Somehow she had found herself in the position of storybook types, when she had never expected to discover anything particularly out of the ordinary. Why would she? She was a village girl, and had no more knowledge of extraordinary things than she did about the city or politics. There was no way that she would not take this chance... although she was unsure of whether she would end up the Heroine or the Victim.

She forced her eyes up again and managed a small smile.

"I most certainly will." She stood abruptly, brushing at her skirts. "I should be headed home, however..." She almost felt guilty for saying so, but it was late, and she was probably already up to her neck in trouble. The twins would have her head. One more second and they might leave the head and take the rest of the body. She tipped her head to the side, watching Nerys curiously, her eyes thoughtful and searching.

"I am certain he will remember you. I will come back to these ruins when I can... and tell you what he said, if you can spare the time." She wiped her palms slowly over the front of her skirt, her eyes probing and curious. She was caught in the middle of something dark and forbidden, but the romance of it can caught her in its web and there was no turning back now.

[Nerys]

::Nerys::
She almost whimpered with gratitude, remembering at the last second that it would be most inhuman to do so. Humans did not whimper, humans spoke. Humans did not consider body language as important as did the wolves, they hardly seemed to realize it existed, barely (if at all) noticing telltale physical signs that a wolf would notice in an instant which would denote menace or benevolence, desire or disinterest. Nerys contained herself, nodding gratefully to Kitty. Finally! After so many years of silence and helplessness, he would know she was here. He would know she still cared.

Thank you, Miss Kitty McKay, thank you!

She said, her voice husky with an amount of emotion that surprised her. It was not that she denied the strength of her feelings for Gareth Cleaver. No, that was not the case at all. The Gewyn femme was simply shocked at how much of that emotion was manifested in her demeanor. For years she had perfected a cool facade, as impenetrable as sheer marble and now she had let it come down without even realizing it.

I will be here when you return. I hope you are right...

She watched the young woman rise quickly, observing her with her brilliant green eyes for a moment before standing slowly herself. This girl was not, as the saying went, out of the woods yet. While Nerys had scented none of her kind nearby, this did not mean the girl would not encounter one on her way home. The wind might be blowing the wrong direction for her to scent a fellow Gewin or they might not approach until the human was entirely alone. That would not do, Nerys thought. She would escort the girl.

I will provide you with protection till you reach the forest's edge. Start walking, do not look back. You will not likely see me or hear me but I will be there and no monster will harm you. Once you clear the treeline, I will stay behind. I know of your Guardian cats. Once clear of the woods, you will be safe.

As she spoke, she walked quietly and with the same lupine grace as before, towards the shadows of the trees. Soon, she knew she would not be visible to the girl, whose eyes were not as keen in the dark as her own. The earth and stones beneath her feet were comforting; familiar. Cool breeze, smell of bark and beetles beneath fallen logs, rabbits and the sounds only she could hear: an owl's wings in the sky above and the heart of Kitty McKay, throbbing, throbbing, throbbing. She could smell the damp loam and still, thank the spirits, no sign of other Gewin on the breeze. Her tall figure receded into the dark.

[Kitty McKay]

Kitty nodded rapidly, smiling just slightly at the sudden burst of excitement from Nerys. She couldn't wait to see what Mr. Cleaver's reaction would be. For Nerys' sake, she hoped it would be similar to what was written across her companion's face just now. She bit her lip at the odd directive, feeling a rush of adrenaline pulse through her veins. Her smile faded as the strange woman disappeared into the shadows, fading into them as if she had become one of them. With a nervous gulp, Katherine turned on her heel and snatched up her lantern, starting a brisk walk in the direction of the village. Start walking, do not look back.

Her heart pounded. What would happen if she looked back? What would she see? With great difficulty she pressed her curiosity down and away -- that was not something she often did. In every fairytale she had ever read, if a person was told not to look back and they did, something awful inevitably happened. She didn't want to end like Orpheus, now did she?

You will not likely see me or hear me but I will be there and no monster will harm you. Kitty picked up her pace, thinking of the implication of all that she had learned tonight. The monsters were anything but myth. Somehow, the thought of one bonding to her as one had to Nerys was more terrifying than being killed. Maybe Mr. Cleaver had answers, though it was possible that she held some of the answers he sought.

She burst out of the trees, heart pounding, and didn't miss a beat, lifting her skirts to break into a full run. She met and followed the river, clearing a hill and looking out over the Bell farm. Her eyes found a twinkling light where the farmhands lived, and she held back a curse. The twins were still awake. Hopefully they hadn't roused a searching party.

She started down the hill, slower now, letting everything sink in. She ran a trembling hand through her mess of curls, letting out a breath.

I know of your Guardian cats.

So it was all true.

[Nerys]

::Nerys::
Removing the garments and exposing her pale skin to the night's chill breath, she shivered for a moment and then quickly folded the clothing and tucked it back into the chest, which sat at the forest's edge in the shadow of a stone pillar. Burying her human garments in the burrow beneath the stones, she crouched in the shadows, behind a massive rowan and let the moonlight take her. She gasped quietly as her bones cracked and shifted and melded together again, tightened her jaw as her flesh melted and her blood boiled and flowed about her changing skeleton. The tickling pinpricks she knew to be fur touched her skin, first here then there, then all over until the cold and ache subsided. She lay on her dark furred belly in the dirt, ears pinned back and shivered for a moment, then stood, her delicate nose working and large ears searching, then finding, the trail of Kitty McKay. Protect the girl. Blessed Gaia. We are alone. No violence tonight., she thought, her wolf thoughts half formed and scattered as they always were, while her paws ate up the distance she had given Miss Kitty McKay as a head start. She was a living shadow in the moonlight, barely the rustle of pine needles beneath her paws to give her away and her verdant eyes searching the dark. There. There the lantern glow that was Kitty McKay bobbed some fifty feet ahead of her in the gloom. Nerys followed, every sense on alert, the silence of the night overwhelming except for the throb, throb, throb of Kitty's heart. Then the girl was free of the forest and the she-wolf hung back, her form just barely visible in the scant moonlight that penetrated the underbrush at the treeline. With grateful green eyes shining softly in the dark, her head low and relaxed, ears forward and alert, she looked after the girl who bore her greatest and only hope, watching her disappear.