Introduction
Water from the steady rainfall dripped down through the leaves of the forest. The soft sound it made was the only sound that could be heard, no forest creatures were out and about this day. It had been raining steadily for several days and the usually soft ground had turned into thick, sticky, progress hindering, mud. Six men slipped quietly through the trees, almost too quietly for their considerable muscular bulk. The smallest member, and oddly enough, the leader, moved slightly ahead of the rest. He occasionally stooped down and checked the ground, though the trail they followed was easy enough to see. They followed a wounded panther, they were not sure exactly where they had wounded it but small spattering of blood accompanied the paw prints on the path.
Ahead, the trail took a sharp turn and disappeared through a dense area of trees and brush. The leader motioned for the others to fall back even more. He advanced, moving with hardly a sound, a soft scraping sound told that he had drawn a dagger. He slowly rounded the corner the trail made and found himself in a long glade. Movement ahead caused him to stop in his tracks. Whatever it was seemed to know he was coming, and it was hiding. He smiled slightly, thinking his target was in sight. He started again, the dagger ready. As he stepped cautiously around a tree, the sight before him startled him. Before him was a young woman. Her pale skin was a remarkable contrast to her flaming red hair. She was sitting beneath a tree on a log that was somewhat dry. He cleared his throat as he stepped one step forward. She turned and he was startled again. Her eyes were a clear ice blue and her gaze was cold, speaking of deep distrust. She held her stomach as if she were wounded there and as he approached she stood and slowly backed away from him. He glanced at her right hand as it dropped to her side. He could barely see the faint glimmer of a knife blade. She held it pointing upward, and was ready to slash at him at the first opportunity. He could see blood on her left arm though he couldn't be totally sure where she was hurt. She continued to back away from him, he stopped his advance and slipped the dagger back into it's sheath as he said in a gentle voice,
"I'm not going to hurt you."
Her eyes scanned the forest behind him and she continued to back away from him. She stepped over another log then bolted off through the forest and he took off after her. She seemed to move like the wind. Each time he thought he was gaining on her she put on a new burst of speed and quickly put some distance between them. Just as he thought he was going to have to give up his chase two of his biggest men stepped in her path, she tried to turn or stop but they were upon her. She let out a vicious cry and swiped at one of them with the knife in her hand but the other lunged and wrestled it from her grasp while the one she had originally gone for grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her, she screamed again but she was caught.
Their leader stepped before her and the rest off the group appeared from the forest. Her cold eyes were locked on the leader as he stood watching her, matching her gaze for gaze. Finally she spoke,
"What are you going to do with me?" Her voice was beautiful but seemed to drip with venom. He ignored her question and asked one of his own,
"What happened to you, why are you bleeding?"
"I was attacked."
"By what? A large black panther?"
She said nothing but kept her cold gaze on him. He took her silence for a yes. He figured she was a witch, one who protected nature at all costs.
"We are tracking that panther. We now have more reason to kill it. Which way did it go?"
Again she did not answer but her eyes darted to up to the branch of one of the trees a few hundred yards back. He turned to look at the tree, claw marks could easily be seen on the branch, and seemed to be heading off through the forest, a smile came to his lips as he turned back to her.
"Hold still, we'll treat your wound and then we'll be on our way after the beast."
Just as he finished something strange happened with her eyes. The pupils changed, they went almost cat-like, with the pupil one long slit. In the blink of an eye her fingernails had doubled in length, becoming more like claws than fingernails and she grabbed the hands of the one holding her and jerked, he let out a deep groan as his arms came out of their sockets and she reached around and ripped his throat out. She jumped at the man standing beside her and dug her claws in, piercing his sternum and digging down to his heart. She ripped it, still beating, from his chest and then took off into the forest.
The leader yelled at those remaining and they all went for their weapons but she was gone before any of then could get a good idea at where she went.. She paused long enough to shift back into her panther form then disappeared into the gather gloom of the forest.