Vampire (Continued)

The moon shined brightly overhead. A soft mist covered the ground giving it a eerie feelings. The cool air never touched her skin. It rustled the trees in the forest. Arywin opened her eyes. No one was around. She had been sitting on this rock all day, just waiting for the dead of night. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and her chin rested on her knees. Arywin’s eyes darted here and there, around the clearing. Her prey was close.

Arywin detangled herself and jumped off the rock she was sitting on. She was still wearing the same clothes that she had worn to the club the previous night. Slowly, Arywin removed her jacket and tossed it onto the rock, hoping she would remember it. A twig snapped somewhere in the forest. Her sharp eyes drifted to where the sound had come from. She crouched down and waited.

Everything became quiet, even the wind seemed to be holding its breath. Arywin held her own breath, trying to prevent her prey from know she was here. She knew it was approaching. If it entered into the clearing, the prey would surely see her. Using the strength of her legs, Arywin jumped upwards and landed gracefully into a strong tree limb. The predator in her was crying out, wishing to hunt. Giving into her wishes, Arywin couched low on the branch.

Her eyes began to glow along with the tattoo on her back. A bright light surrounded her, blinding anything that moved. In a flash, Arywin ceased to be a human and became the predator that she was born to be. Her cat-like eyes darted around the clearing. The sound of a fleeing prey reached her ears.

‘Ug. I should have shifted sooner.’ Snarled Arywin as she started to stock her prey. She jumped from tree to tree, her black fur hiding her well among the shadows. Gracefully, Arywin jumped to the ground, landing on soft claws. Barely making a sound. Arywin snarled again as she crouched and hunted her prey. She could hear the sound of her prey splashing through some running water. She smiled to herself as she kept moving. Making it to a clearing, Arywin looked around. Her prey was nowhere in sight but she knew which direction it had gone. She cautiously approached the slow-moving stream. Crouching down, Arywin took a long deserved drink.

After quenching her thirst, Arywin stood and shook herself. She opened her eyes to stare down at her reflection. It wasn’t one of a girl, like most would expect but instead an animal. Her cat paws where huge but also silent when she moved. Her purplish-black fur glowed in the moonlight, making her look elegant to look at. Her long thin tail swished back and forth in a playful matter.

It had been a long time since Arywin had seen herself in her panther form. She welcomed the sight. Being able to see at least one of her two forms brought a thrill to her. She growled loudly for her own amusement. The wind suddenly picked up again. It pushed against her and played with her fur. Arywin closed her eyes and scented the air. Her prey was close.

Opening her eyes again, Arywin jumped over the stream and disappeared into the dark woods. A soft growl escaped her as she picked up her speed. Her prey was moving again. ‘This is going to be a challenge. My prey is smarter than it appears.’ Arywin thought to herself. Now she was running. The only sound she made was the crunching of leaves under her weight. She took deep breaths to keep herself from being heard. Soon her prey came into sight. Arywin stopped and crouched down at the edge of the woods.

A huge buck stood in the middle of a soft meadow. The wind pushed past him pushing his scent and the long grass towards Arywin. She growled deep in her chest, too low for anything to hear. The meadow grass was tall enough that Arywin could stock through it. Getting lower in her crouching position, Arywin advanced on the buck.

He stood there grazing unaware that his life was about to end. He looked up once; his body was stiff as he looked around the clearing. He shook his head before going back to eating. Arywin stopped. She looked the creature over. She would have to be careful of his huge antlers sitting on top of his head. Snorting, Arywin continued her hunt. The buck stiffened again, the winds had changed direction. Instead of the wind blowing his scent to Arywin, it was now blowing her scent to him. The buck took off, but Arywin was prepared. She let out a nasty snarl as she leapt into the air. The buck cried out when she landed on his back, sinking her teeth into his thick neck. Arywin released his neck and growled as the buck collapsed under her weight. Arywin sprung off the buck and turned suddenly to deliver the killing blow.

Arywin lifted her head to look down at her prey. The buck now laid there starring up at the sky he could no longer see. Snorting again, Arywin shook herself and began to settle down for a nice meal.

Thoughts now raced through her mind as she ate her meal. Most of them were on her brother. It annoyed her that he was so protective, but how could she blame him? He had always protected her whether or not she wanted it. It was his nature just as the night and shadows were hers.

As far back as she could remember her family had been shape shifters. When there’s a newborn, the child is blessed by some kind of animal spirit. Her mother was a swan because of her gentle nature and her father was lion, explaining why he was so territorial. It was usually very rare for the child to be the same spirit as his or her parents. Like every animal, each person is different. Arywin’s brother was blessed by the spirit of the wolf which explained why he was protective, like his father. However the downside of being blessed by a single animal was that the person could only change into their animal spirit.

Arywin stopped eating for a moment and looked down at her prey in sadness. Rave was a lot like his father which made sense being father and son. But where did she fit in? Her mother was a swan and Arywin was a panther so she couldn’t be like her mother. Arywin was the different one from her family. Maybe she had traits from both her parents. Her mother was graceful and her father strong and fierce hunter. Both of those traits could make up the panther spirit that claimed Arywin.

Satisfied, Arywin went back to eating. She only paused again when she got this uneasy feeling. She lifted her head to look above the grass. A new predator has entered the meadow. Arywin flattened her ears against her head and released a warning snarl. Standing up, Arywin looked around again. Her eye fell on a figure at the edge of the clearing.

It was a boy, only about 19 years old. He stood there starring at her with wide eyes. His black hair framed his face, making him look gorgeous. In his hands was a gun, but it was lowered to his waist. Arywin starred at the boy, her ears were perked forward. Slowly, he put the gun at his feet and stood again. With nervous steps, he walked forward a couple steps only to stop again. Arywin stood her ground, watching him.

“Gabriel!” Came a voice deeper in the woods. Arywin snarled. Something wasn’t right. A weird odor filled the air making Arywin’s nose cringe. Soon a man came running into the meadow only to stop a few feet behind the boy. “Gabriel? What are you doing? Pick up your gun.” Yelled the man.

Suddenly Arywin knew what the scent was. Arywin lowered herself into a crouch position and snarled. Slowly she backed away from the two. ‘Cursed Demon Hunters.’ thought Arywin. ‘They must have tracked me.’ When she reached the edge of the woods, Arywin hid in the shadows. Smiling to herself, Arywin left the two strange demon hunters in the meadow.