Post by bloodredmoon on Jan 24, 2010 16:55:59 GMT -5
Raed had awoken that Sunday morning earlier than usual, the sun still far from peeking out from the horizon. It had been with a small sigh that she had gotten up from her small bundle of rags that she had piled together to make a sort of burrowing nest in the corner of an old department store. Raed had taken to sleeping for only a few hours at a time lately, her longest slumber amounting to 5 hours straight. She found it easier to beat the continuation of the day if she was able to revitalize herself with food instead of sleep, for some reason. So she hushedly crept away from her small nest and found her way through the near deserted store into the central halls of the mall where the rest of her pack had made its base. Even when in her human form, with her heightened senses, Raed could still make out the steady doggish breathing of her fellow packmates, still drifiting in and out of their sweetest dreams.
After exiting through one of the side doors that had once lead into a packed parking lot, Raed took off. The reaction of her pale skin to the bitingly chilled air sent a reaction down her spine that allowed for her feet to immediately clamber down upon the pavement, tearing through the lot like a... Well, like an animal. Small she was, with a fragile stature, but Raed was built like a sprinter. The wind whistled past her ears as her red hair flew behind her, eyes watering and dry. The freedom of her heart pumping quickly, her blood rushing to her feet and her head spinning felt familiar and welcoming, like an old friend you hadn't spoken to in years. The cold atmosphere reminded her of northern Canada where even those who were used to the bitter weather ventured very little.
A straight hour passed until her pace finally began to slow down. Her lungs were aching, quenching the oxygen that had been denied them for a bit too long. Even her muscular calves were throbbing, the muscles deprived of any sort of energy that had been in them when she had first awoken. Only her face seemed calm and collected, not even a drop of sweat beaded upon the porcelein skin. With a deep, shaking breathe Raed squatted down so that her knees were bent, all of the weight resting upon the balls of her feet. "Perfect," she muttered raspily, watching as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. Looking around her, Raed realized that she truly had no idea where she was or how she had managed to get herself here....
Another three hours passed as the young pup wandered around in a seemingly empty and lifeless part of the city, each of the old abandoned buildings more decrepid and haunting than the last. Clear crystal eyes carefully examined the world in which she was walking, taking in all of the little details and leaving out the ones that may have proved necessary one day. No more trees grew where she was. They must've been destroyed in one of the earliest fights and never dared to grow back. Raed pitied Mother Nature and her children who were so carelessly tossed aside in the face of 'larger' matters. Did man forget that it was Nature that gave them life? But Raed did not dwell upon her sadness for very long. A hunger over took her that she could not resist and she searched around for any sort of morsel that could satisfy this groaning in the pit of her stomach.
After what seemed like ages even though it was really only another four hours it appeared that the young werewolf would never find any sort of food around here. With this knowledge in mind she went back in the general direction in which she had originally come. A sense of being watched creeped into her spine, sending a slight shiver down to her toes though she did not acknowledge the omnious feeling. Although she resented being looked at let alone watched Raed was no stranger to being stalked within the perimeters of this city. It appeared that everyone was watching out for new prey or potential enemies. Whoever was watching her, Raed hoped that they saw her as more of a threat than a lunch.
Arriving back at the Mall was more of a depressing moment than she would've thought it have been. The sight of the large metal construction made an impatient and biting sort of grunt escape from her lips, eyes rolling into the back of her head. Although she had come to like the majority of her packmates the building itself was something for her to resent, push guilt towards. This bitch did not find it pleasant to have to sleep in the same place twice let alone every night of every week. Quite frankly, she hated it. The yelps and squeals of dogs fighting drifted over to her, the unmistakeable sign that there were wolves around. A slow pace and ten minutes later Raed was once again in the halls of the place, her eyes searching around for any small reserves of food. An older wolf passed her by, his eyes darting at her with the interest of a small bird. His hand reached into his knapsack and pulled out five pieces of beef jerky, not something a raw-meat preferring werewolf often has on his person. He tossed her the smoked meat and she gratefully took it, nodding her head appreciatively towards the man. She took the pieces back to her small nest, chewed upon them fervently, then took a small nap.
After she had once again awoken by the sound of yowling wolf, Raed decided that she needed to get out once again. Without saying a word to anybody as usual, she left the mall in the direction of the beach that people rarely frequented anymore. Although she had never been there herself she had heard some others talk about it and it sounded like a fairly calming place to go when someone just wanted to think and remember. It took her only twenty minutes until she found the path to it and she removed her worn out shoes, placing them gently underneath a fern that would undoubtedly hide them from anybody who happened to pass by. The air had become considerably warmer since the early morning and the sun pushed down a nice, relaxing pulse of gentle radiance. At the first feel of sand beneath her feet a small grin creased Raed's face, revealing very small dimples on either side of her mouth.
A hundred yards away was the ocean, the pulsating waves crashing upon the smooth sand in steady beats. Raed allowed her feet to travel closer to the water and the surprisingly warm water greeted her toes with a sort of electric happiness. The quick removal of her pants and tunic were imminent as she waded into the water, only wearing her undergarments. The water was refreshing and calming to her and Raed began to hum an old tune under her breath. Walking in deeper so that the tip of her hair was just barely grazing the water, Raed felt herself truly become at peace for the first time in months. For a few minutes longer she stood there, just like that, allowing her mind to become blank.
It was with a heavy heart that she let herself emerge from the water, the air now chilly her face flushed. Dressing herself quickly was her only thought so she hurriedly replaced her clothing, her muscles now feeling the ache from her morning run. She returned to the water's edge, however, and sat down. The water periodically graced her feet with it's soothing rush, allowing her the pleasure of staring out at the sun as it began to turn red and phased the clouds wonderful shades of pink and orange and yellow.