A cold Escape

A legend of ancient wolf lore was passed down into the shadow Valley pack. This legend spoke of a wolf that would either bring about happiness our total destruction of the land. It is told that once every millennium the fabled wolf of legend is born; when this whelp of prophecy born it would seem normal until the first twelve moons of its life. It is said that the upon the twelfth moon of its birth its power begins to show, The wolf pelt and eyes change color, and wings grow from the wolf’s back. The color of the wolf’s pelt wings and eyes and power depends upon the wolf’s personality and choices he or she have made. Wolves walk the path of light are normally white and have pure blue eyes; and wolves that walk the dark path tend to have a coat as black as the wolf’s own soul and eyes dark red eyes. As generations past this legend became nothing more but a cubs tell as many believed this legend was only a myth, But the this legend is more than just myth and there is far more to it than any wolf could ever know.

But not any animal could know more than Tantorous for he was the next wolf chosen to fulfill the prophecy, His appearance frightened those around him. He was often treated like he was some sort of spawn of death, so why shouldn’t give them what they wanted. He acted just like they made him out to be some malevolent force of evil that needed to be destroyed; But inside of himself was still the scared little pup he had been when these changes had first occurred. It was a pain he would never forget, He felt like his former self had been brutally mangled and distorted into what he was now. Everyone feared what he had become; He was forced out of his pack at the age of one. The last memory of his father was him tearing away his wing, that was even more painful then the change itself. Why did he have to do that to him, he was still the wolf back then, that is if he was even a wolf. Now a days he wasn’t sure what he was anymore, he was labeled as so many other things it didn’t know what was true and what was not. The only thing he could be sure of was the name his mother had given to him and the lonely road he traveled.

Tantorous’s travels led him to a cold and cruel land he looked down at the snow covered land, the frozen air around made him shiver. He kept his wing close to his body to keep himself warm but it wasn’t working very well, it would just be best to keep moving to keep himself warm. He jumped from the high ledge he was on and plummeted down to the white world below. While he was falling he Shifted into the form of a snow leopard, A black flame engulfed the wolf as the change took place, his body grew longer and more slender. His head became smaller along with his ears and muzzle until it formed a perfect head of a snow leopard, and finally his tail became much longer.Once the metamorphosis was complete the black flame that covered him changed white and seem to evaporate from his body. Tantorous opened his wing to slow down his descent just enough for him to land properly on the ground below. Tantorous’s pelt was white littered with black spots, his eye colors stayed the same. He looked back to his left watching his wing, before his eyes his wing slowly changed black starting at the base of his wing. The color slow crept to the tip of his wing until it was completely black.

His shapeshifting power was incomplete, it completely change into the animals he became. His wing and eyes always give himself away, but it fooled most animals at least the ones that were unaware of him and what he really was. He wondered what sort of animals lived here. It was much to cold for wolves, much to cold for him anyway. The only way he would figure that at is if he explored the area. He tucked his black wing onto his side and moved into the forested area

Soft, muffled footsteps were only just detectable within the seemingly completely silent forest. Everything was bathed in a brilliant white color, making the black bark of the many trees stand out with a stark difference. The lacking sound of any breathing animal was almost unnerving. But then again, who would be stupid enough to enter into these desplate frozen lands? Much to the displeasure of the white wolfess, she'd been the stupid one. Of course it wasn't all her fault. The sound of Acerberus' breathing somewhere behind her reminded the female of that. Just how they ended up here she had no idea, but she was longing now more than ever for the warmth of a nice bath back home. She grinned to herself and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. She could practically feel the warm water soothing her joints, the delicate scent of the lavendar soap she'd always loved, she sound of her master's voice as she said nice things to her pet... Oh how she wished she were back home.

A repeating sticcato crack from above made Kira snap out of her daydream. Looking to the sky with her crystallike blue eyes, she could only watch in horror as a branch from above broke and snow plummeted to earth, every inch of it landing on top of her. She gave a muffled yelp as she was buried under the white onslaught of snow. She quickly shook off most of it, cursing the godforbidden lands that these were and how she was stuck here instead of surrounded by her favorite pillows and servants, obeying her every wish. Shoot, she'd go for that golden meadow she was in before instead of this frozen neverland. Anything would be better. Remembrance made the female's ears drop, and she slowly turned to look behind her at Acerberus, a warning flashing in her eyes. "Don't you dare laugh," she warned, although she knew it would be inevitable. Rolling her eyes, she gave herself another vigorous shake before delicately tiptoing around the large lump of snow she was just in. The trees hate me, she whined, yet continued on. She wanted to get out of this place.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she decided to break it out of boredom. "So, enlighten me, Cerby," she said nonchalantly, giving him his own nickname. "How on earth did we end up in this place? I honestly have no idea, though I'm loathing that." She sighed and dropped her head, squinting her eyes against the soft falling snow. She hated snow. Sure it was pretty, but it was too cold to enjoy any of it. Plus, the familiar feeling of her beautiful collar was long gone. It made her sad to think that she lost such a pretty thing. Of course Acerberus made his opinion about the "useless collar" clear, she still didn't feel right without it dangling from her neck. Those darn hunting dogs that had come after them both had torn it off. They'd better hope they never run into Kira again, she huffed mentally, invisioning all three of those dobermans running from her rath. That made her smile.

Suddenly, the white female stopped dead in her tracks. There was a form up ahead. It was walking across her path, far up ahead. It probably hadn't even seen them yet. Through the softly falling snow, it was hard to see. But there was a dark figure there, no doubt about it. It didn't look like a canine; it had a longer tail and a more slender build. But... It couldn't be a cat. That thing was huge! Cats never got that big. Shaking her head and blinking a few times, she peered forward. It was still there. She wasn't imagining it. Out of disbelief, she turned her head just slightly so she could speak over her shoulder. "Do... Do you see that?" she whispered, her blue eyes trained on the shadow. "What is it?" Whatever it was, it was far too big for her comfort level. Best to leave it at bay, eh?

Out of the frying pan and into the freezer seems to be the best way to put this one. Kira and himself were able to drive off the dogs, and he was leading to some place to lye low until he thought it was safe to go back to his hunting grounds again. Though he really didn't intend to bring them here in fact he was kind of lost but he wasn't going to admit that Kira. She was already soft from being raised by humans, and complained about every little thing she didn't like. If he said anything about them being lost he would never hear the end of it. This place just didn't suit him, his fur clashed with the pure white snow, but it looked like Kira belonged in a place like this with her white fur, but it didn't look like she was enjoying the cold.

He would just grin at her every time she looked back at him and gave him the evil eye; it was clear she didn't like the cold. He didn't like it very much either, he hopped they would find some place warm to rest or at least find their way out of this place. He heard a crack up head and looked up at the tree he could see that the branch was about to break, he opened his jaws to warn her but it was to late and snow came toppling onto her. Acerberus couldn't help but laugh at her, of course she didn't think it was funny, "Hehe it goes with your fur its like the perfect accessory or whatever you call it" it followed her around the mound of snow continuing their way through this icy land.

For a while it was quiet other then the sound of the snow under theirs as they walked, The silence was getting to him since Kira was such a chatter box before, it made him feel like he had done something really. When she finally did speak it did make him believe she figured out their little problem, " Cerby? anyway i guess he got here crossed over that mountain pass a while back. that is my guess anyway." If she didn't know he was lost before she would know now it could already hear her yelling his ears off. when she stopped he nearly ran into the back of her, he walked around her so he was standing right beside her. it looked as if she was to to peer at something through the snow. he looked ahead seeing a figure, "yeah i see it, i'm not sure what it is though its a bit too far to tell. yeah i think it would be best to just leave it alone."

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This form made this place so much more comfortable to him he had seen this animal walking wandering around in cold places before and decided to try out being one for once. Whats one more form to his already confusing selection of animals, how could he even be sure which one he really was anymore. sure he was born a wolf but he was treating like something else entirely so he couldn't be one. could he? nothing seemed clear to him anymore, nothing wanted to be around him no matter how many different forms he changed into.

There had to be someone, or something that was like him. Was it asking to much to find someplace to belong to? but scaring everyone that came close to him didn't help, as Tantorous was moving through the snow he could scent something. A familiar scent, one he used to be around all the time. the scent of wolves. he didn't think wolves would live out here but of course he didn't know everything there could be some wolves that could stand this cold. he turned his head to the right and could see to shadowy figures through the snow. Curiosity flooded into him, it was probably this form that made it that way. against his own judgment he started to walk towards the two wolves.

Narrowing her eyes, Kira hardly even heard Acerberus, or even noticed that he had come to stand beside her. The figure ahead was moving. Yet it seemed to be staying in the same place at the same time. Confusion welled up inside her mind, yet soon the creature came close enough to where she could actually make out that it, in fact, was a big cat. And it was still coming toward them. Folding her ears back, fear swept over the delicate wolfess. Fighting wasn't her forte, and this this was way too big for Acerberus to take by himself. Her tail shrank between her hind legs as the huge cat got even closer. More details were given at the nearer distance. It had something protruding from it's back. Well that was odd. What could it be? With the view she had of it she couldn't tell, but... It somewhat looked to her like a folded wing. Nevertheless, she couldn't drag her eyes away from the ones that were staring back at her. One bright warm blue eye, and the other a dark, sinister red. This frightened the female even more, and she crouched closer to the ground, taking a few steps back so that she was half hidden behind Acerberus. "That isn't a cat," she whispered with disbelief, her crystal eyes wide with fear and anxiety. "Cats can't get that big. I know, I've watched dogs chase them around before. But I've never seen one as big as this before."

She was shocked. And it was still gaining distance, coming ever closer with a steady, unafraid gait. "We... Should get out of here," she decided quickly, yet refused to move from behind Acerberus; her only protection at the moment. "Before it gets any closer." Yet she still did not move. Every single hair was begining to stand on end. She was terrified. Though who could blame her, really? She'd just come from the humans, being pampered all her life, she'd had no experience what so ever in fighting or hunting. She'd just been attacked by three huge dogs and gotten her leg stuck in a small trap, all the while being shot at by humans; the creatures she so much loved and trusted. Nothing made sence anymore.

Without her say so, her body began to shake. Not convulsively, but it was definately shaking, and the cold snow wasn't helping that in the least. The creature drew closer even still. What did it want? Was it hungry? Did it eat wolves? She'd certainly make an easy meal; she couldn't even protect herself. It got even closer. Now she was able to see it's pure white pelt, littered with the blackest dots. Perfect camoflauge in this iceland. She was actually somewhat proud of herself for seeing it in the snow. As it took a few more steps forward, she took one step back. "Acerberus..." she whined unsteadily, fear coloring her tone.

Tantorous stopped moving once a stood a few feet away from the pair of wolves, A brown and a white wolf the brown one being male and the white one female. they were mates perhaps or at least that was he he presumed. The white one was clearly terrified of him before he even got to say one word. He was already being judged as a monster in her eyes while the brown wolf was snarling at him, he looked as if he would protect the female with his very own life if he needed to. But there would be no need for that, he wasn't looking for a fight there was no reason for the wolf to throw away his own life by jumping to conclusions.

"i wouldn't do that if i were you pup, you don't know what your dealing with. Besides I'm not here to fight i just wondered what wolves what be out in this cold." His words may not have encourge them to not fear him but maybe he could at least show that was not going to hurt them in any.

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Acerberus watched as the figure moved closer to them, he wondered why it was coming towards them. Most big cats kept clear of wolves and any other any other animal that wasn't there own kind. but something was different about this one as it came closer into view he was able to make out its features. He glanced over his should at Kira, she stepped back away from the big cat that was approaching them he turned his head back at the white black spotted cat. He knew now that this was not some ordinary cat he never seen one with two different eye colors before. One was blue and the other red, and the thing coming from its back.

He could feel Kira trembling beside him, and he heard her suggestion fro trying to run away. he would have agreed with her but it didn't seem like she could get her self to move. There was no other choice he was going to have to fight to defend Kira. He moved into a fighting stance and snarled at the cat showing his ivory fangs. Until it spoke to him; it threw it off guard, he never spoke to one of the big cats before, he didn't even know they could speak. It sounded like he meant what he said but he wasn't going to trust this cat that easily. he stayed in his stance snarling at the cat, "How do i know your telling the truth."

Hearing the enormous cat's voice made Kira shrink back even more, if possible, yet she also raised her own small snarl at it's voice. She had no idea why she did this, however. She faintly remembered some word called "instincts." Was this what it was? She didn't know, nor did she remember where she'd heard that word in the first place. Her snarl wasn't something to cower over; in fact it sounded small and pitiful next to Acerberus'. She remembered the sound of his when she'd first met him; it had been directed to her at the time. Apparently she had invaded into his hunting lands. As if she knew whos area was whose. A thought occured to the white female, and she shuddered. Was this the cat's lands? Was it going to fight them? Was it going to drive them off? Of course it's words had been that of not wishing for a fight, however his tone didn't convince her in the least. She was too terrified to speak, yet within a moment of thinking that she didn't have to. Acerberus answered for her.

Having him here was an immense comfort for her. Of course that could just be simply because he was the only thing to hide behind at the moment. Yeah. That was probably it. The tone in his voice, however, was making her somewhat less comfortable. Cursing herself for being such a baby about things in the wild, she focused on the cat's eyes. Those confusing, mysterious eyes. Why on earth was one blue and the other a completely opposite dark red? It didn't make any sense. She'd never seen eyes like that before. And the thing on it's back. Was that really a wing? She decided to ask, despite her fear. But hey, that was Kira for you. Full of surprises. She couldn't even move, yet she was going to ask the scary creature a question. That made perfect sense. "What... Is that?" she asked, her voice small. "On your back? I've... Never seen anything like that before." When she spoke, she could feel its eyes on her. That made the cowardice shine again, and she moved her gaze away from it's strange eyes. One of them, the blue one, seemed open and warm. The other, however, was a stark difference to it's twin. Hatred and anger swept across the dark surface like a windswept plain. It made her shudder. Instead, she forced herself to look up, focusing only on the kindly blue one.

Tantorous sighed the the two wolves, it was like this no matter where he went, just because of his appearance he scared those around him. Though it could be because he wasn't in his wolf form. he was a cat it wasn't know for them to mingle with wolves but he couldn't change in front of them it would make things worse then they already were. he could expose himself even more then he already have been, but other animals being frightened of his appearance angered him couldn't they have at least try to know him before shooting him down you would think by now he would have been used to it but that just wasn't the case, "i don't care if you believe me or not" he was getting ready to turn away it was pointless being around those who were afraid of him.

But A small voice came form the white wolf that was hiding behind the male He noticed how she turned away from his gaze for a moment but she must of built up the courage to look at him again, she asked him about his wing that he had tucked closed to his side. He spread out his wing and glaned back at it, "You mean my wing i'm sure you say one before maybe not on one such as myself, just one of the curses i have to live with." he tucked the back to his side looking back at the cowering female, he was surprised that she even asked anything about him, "if this form really frightens you so much i could become something a bit more comfortable for the two of you"

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Acerberus continued to snarl at the cat, it was such an odd looking thing, he never say anything with tow different eye colors but what made it even odder was the way to each eye looked. the blue eye looked calm and kind while the red one looked full of rage. It gave him an uneasy feeling making him take a step back. It was clear to him that he wouldn't stand a chance in a fight with him. dying here would just be a waste of the the second chance his brother gave him. But it wouldn't back down from the cat either, things would be different if he didn't have someone to protect, He heard Kira speaking to the cat. her own curiosity overpowered her fear. but then again he was curious to know what that black thing was also.

Shock seized the wolfess' body as the creature in front of her unfurled a giant black wing. So she'd been right. She just couldn't believe it. She'd never seen anything with wings before... Besides birds, of course. But a cat having wings? That was simply unheard of. And why was there just one? What happened to the other? How did this creature get wings in the first place? Confusion roiled inside her body until that was the only thing she could thing about. No more fear, despite it's size and tone. She simply couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that it had a wing. Were there others like this one? After all, she'd only been in the wild for a day now... She didn't know any smarts out here. Was this really a strange creature, or was this a species? Judging from Acerberus' shocked expression, she guessed not. Then how?

So many questions she was unwilling to ask. Instead, she shook the questions from her mind and decided to simply accept the fact that this cat did indeed have a wing, no matter how strange it was. She now focused on what it had said earlier. Maybe she could get more answers. "If this form really frightens you so much I could become something a bit more comfortable for the two of you," he said, his tone of voice still not friendly. What's that supposed to mean? she wondered. How can he change his form? Was he crazy? Or was this just another weird trick of nature that she didn't know about? She'd need to ask Acerberus later to make sure on that, but now she wanted more answers. "What do you mean, "become something"?" she asked, echoing her thoughts. Her voice had become a bit stronger now, not so much frightened anymore, but she was still wary of the huge cat. She'd get ripped to pieces easily if he decided to attack.

(I'm too lazy to make it long xD)

Acerberus's jaw dropped when the cat showed off its wing, he was for sure not that this was no normal cat. its eyes, and now its wing, but wouldn't it have made sense for it to have two wings? Maybe something happened to the other one, or it could have just been born that way. In any he made sure to keep his guard up there was no telling what other surprises he could be hiding. It was odd how he kept while Kira was asking all of the questions, she had to be terrified of the beast and yet she went on with her questions. perhaps she wasn't as soft as he had though, or maybe it was the fact that she lived a pretty closed life different from "normal" wolves. in any case you was just as curious as too what the cat meant by "becoming something" what else could it possible do.

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Tantorous became curious of the two wolves, more particularity the female. it was easy to see she was scared of him but for some unknowen reason she continued to ask questions about him other then running off. he wanted to take it a little farther how would they react if he changed right in front of them, would they run? attack him? or would they be even to scared to move; what would they do. The White female asked him yet another question by what he had meant, he guessed that maybe he didn't make that clear enough but it was hard to explain. he still didn't quite understand it himself, "It would be better if i just showed you instead, but what i can tell you is that this isn't my true self." those last few words tasted bitter coming out of his mouth he didn't even know what his true self was anymore. as least he could say he was born a wolf, but what had he become. He closed his eyes and was instantly engulfed by a black flames he could feel as his body was reverted back to its original state. the spots through out his body expanded until his fur was completely black, his body became more bulky and his tail became shorter and fluffy and his skull and muzzle grew back to the shape of a wolf. the flames turned white for an instant then dispelled its self, His wing then faded from black to white, "Do you understand what i mean now?"

Watching with curious, wide blue eyes, Kira kept up with the actions of the huge cat. She still couldn't believe that a cat could get this big. It was unheard of. Were all things in the wild just big-sized versions of what she'd seen back home? Wolves were only bigger dogs, though with more fur. Apparently cats were super sized. The only cat she'd seen was the occasional one that would show up at the house. The stupid dogs outside would always chase them away, with Kira watching idly in boredom... But this? This cat could eat one of those dogs. The movement of this cat were almost exactly similar to those she'd seen before. Just... Bigger. Though, even though frozen with fear, Kira couldn't help but remark how beautiful the pelt of this animal was. White, grey, just a slight hint of blue, and black dots scattered about. All of it was beautiful, and it looked very warm; much more accustomed to this colder climate than she or Acerberus was.

Watching with awe, Kira perked her ears as the cat spoke. It would be better if i just showed you instead, but what i can tell you is that this isn't my true self." Confused, Kira slightly opened her maw to speak... But didn't have the time to before the cat's body became engulfed in black flames. Through the shady inferno, Kira could make out the form of the cat's body changing. Becoming stouter, tail shortening, ears pointed. The sight of it made her skin crawl. Gasping as she watched the black flames change to white, and then disperse, Kira took a few good lengthy steps back, her ears plastered against her head, and her tail tucked between her legs. She couldn't take her eyes off of the creature before her. What was it? Slowly, the wing that remained unchanged, turned white, leaving a fully developed wolf in place of the big cat. Shaking her head slowly from side to side, Kira's mouth was agape as what she'd just seen sank in. She'd never heard or seen anything like this before. Fear constricted her body, and yet again Kira could not move; only stare at the creature's strange, mysterious eyes as they watched her reaction intently. "Wh... What... Are you?" she asked, her voice only just barely audible, seeming to break off in the cold, frigid air.