Phantom Hollow a slab in the morgue

STEALS

It was with a haughty sort of eagerness that she had continued down the mountain and across the flatlands; the lake spotted from the peaks was stopped at—briefly—but hadn’t held her interest for very long before she was off again. She could see a forest, which she kept away from, the scent of a pack discouraging her; she wasn’t scared or anything, she just didn’t feel like dealing with a bunch of mindless, uptight pack wolves. To her, they were like sheep, so easily controlled and lacking their own, individual thoughts. Those belonging to the Gorgon family had, in the past, all come together in order to live on through the winter, but never had they formed a pack. They claimed no set piece of land, traversing the mountains freely and mocking any of the obedient little dogs that dared to cross their paths. Simply thinking of packs left a sour taste in her mouth, as well as drove her to get by the woods as quickly as she could without drawing any attention to herself.

Thankfully, the next arrangement of trees to catch her attention had yet to be tainted by the vile touch of a wolf’s herd, making it suitable for entry. As she broke through the barrier of trees that separated the outside world from the forest within, she was rather surprised by what she encountered: death. Whilst winter was known for killing everything, this place seemed as if life had never existed there to begin with. Initially, she was unsettled by it, but the feeling was quickly shaken. Replacing it was her usual, cocky self as she delved deeper, sniffing every now and again as she sought food. It was doubtful that she’d find anything, for nothing worth eating would ever end up the—wait, what’s that? A sharp intake of air brought to her the unmistakable scent of blood; it was metallic and sweet, distracting her from the wolfish hints intermingling with it.

Stalking forward she was silent, muscles tensed like a viper right before it struck—and strike she did, noticing only at the very last second that it was another wolf at the receiving end of her assault. And even though she tried to stop mid-lunge, she was too late and, should he not move, would surely land right on top of him, a forelimb placed sturdily on both sides of his neck.