Chimera Fields magister

She had wandered too far; farther than she ever meant to.
The forest had cradled her in its emerald arms, whispering secrets through the rustling leaves, but she had left its embrace without thinking. Drawn forward by the delicate flutter of a butterfly, the shadow girl had chased it through the dappled light, giggling softly at its dance. But now, the butterfly was gone, and so was the safety of home.
A vast field stretched before her; rolling and endless, bathed in the golden glow of spring. The wind hummed through the tall grass, bending it like waves over a restless sea. Rhaena turned in circles, her heart thudding. Where had the trees gone? Where was the path back?
And then: movement. A rustle in the bushes, a shift in the air; a low, guttural sound, deep and throaty. The beast leapt forward, and the world shattered: a cougar.
It stood before her, golden eyes like molten fire, muscles coiled beneath a pelt the color of sunlit stone. It moved with the slow, fluid grace of something that had nothing to fear. But she: she was made of fear. Rhaena froze, breath caught in her throat. Her legs trembled, rooted in place. A tiny growl, barely more than a whimper, slipped from her lips, but it was not enough to frighten the predator. If anything, it only seemed amused.
The cougar growled back, the sound rumbling through the earth beneath her paws. Then it lunged; Rhaena screamed.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up, and suddenly, she was running; legs burning, lungs heaving, the wind slicing against her cheeks. The grass blurred beneath her as she wove desperately through the field, but the beast was faster. She could hear it, feel it, the heavy breath against her nape, the pounding of its paws against the ground.
This was it, wasn’t it?
Would her story end here, swallowed by the teeth of a beast beneath the open sky?
She did not know; did not want to know.
A sob caught in her throat, and for the first time in her young life, she prayed for another to stand between her and death. Where was her viking friend, @Raedwulf? Wouldn’t he protect her? If she called out, would he come?