So you just turned into a wolf, Can't turn back, And you need food...

psst, Don't tell Kate..enjoy :D

Not the Bunnies

Two day's Later

Max wandered down to the river to get a drink. She was so thirsty. All this walking and running hadn't helped. The not so subtle reminders from her stomach did nothing to help. While water was easy enough, food was beginning to be all she could think about. The morning sun cut through the canopy of the trees and a flock of birds chirped away as she trudged through the forest. Not only did she feel thirsty and hungry, but tired too. She really hadn't been sleeping well. Could anyone blame her after what she had been through? She could still see the horror show from the other day clearly whenever she closed her eyes. She saw her father's cold, dead eyes and her mother's eyes lose their light right in front of her.

Nearby, she heard the crunching of leaves as a small animal scurried into hiding. For a brief moment, she thought about food and quickly tried to bury it, but it was too late. Her stomach reminded her once again that she hadn't eaten anything in nearly three days. Not that she needed reminding. She already felt weaker, more sluggish. She let out a drawn-out, guilty sigh. If she was gonna do this, it would be on her terms.

'Akira.' No answer. She could feel her at the back of her head. She was ignoring her, trying to teach Max a lesson. Pfft, she had nothing on her. Max knew how this dance worked. She had seen it a hundred times with her mother. 'Akira, I know you're there... if I faint and something happens to me, what would Vanessa think?'

'That's below the belt… definitely your mother's daughter,' Akira replied, half amused and half annoyed at the underhanded tactic.

'I promise I won't use it too often.' So long as Akira made her life easy, anyway.

'So, you've rethought your diet, then?' Akira asked, sounding a little smug. For the past couple of days, she had told Max time and time again that she couldn't survive without hunting. The teen had brushed her off every time. Now, she realized it was necessary.

With a sigh, Max reluctantly nodded. 'Begrudgingly, yes. I have to eat something and I don't think a few leaves is going to do it.' In her current form, she used a hell of a lot more energy than when she looked human. The difference was insane.

'Well, let's get to it then…' When Max didn't move, she figured something was wrong. 'I'm sensing a but.'

'There is. No females... And no young ones either. I'm gonna feel bad enough as it is,' Max demanded, adamant to stick to these terms, and these ones alone.

Akira seemed to deliberate this for a few moments while Max lapped at the ice cold water, trying not to think about what she was about to do.

'Ok, I can work with that, well the no girl bit. Age wise, just go for the biggest one you can get.' Akira almost sounded too eager for this.

After wandering around for nearly an hour, taking in the different scents and with Akira's help learning to tell the difference between the males and females, Max's nerves began waging a war on her hunger. She didn't want to cause any suffering.

Akira noticed her hesitation. 'Max, what's wrong?'

After a few seconds of silence, Max finally replied, 'I… don't want it to suffer.'

'It won't,' Akira reassured to calm her worries. 'Just go for the neck and don't hold back. A firm bite, quick shake, and it's done.'

Just then, there was a rustling just within earshot, causing Max to prick her ears in the general direction. She felt her stomach rumble and she swallowed hard. Hesitantly, she took a step towards the noise. Giving the air a sniff, she breathed a slight sigh of relief as she picked up a male scent. Seeing a large brown rabbit dart across her path, Max hesitated for a moment before feeling something press her forward. Before she knew it, she had broken into a full out sprint in hot pursuit of the terrified brown rabbit. It tried desperately to evade the hungry wolf but to no avail. Before Max knew it, she was on top of her prey, her jaws around its neck as its body hung limply in her mouth. Upon realizing what she had just done, she dropped the dead rabbit to the floor, backing off a little. As she did, she got a better look at the poor critter. Blood oozing from the bite wounds, patches of fur missing, neck tilted at an awkward angle…

'What did I…? Akira, you made me do this,' Max accused, confusion and anger fusing together when she made the connection.

'I did,' Akira admitted guiltily.

This confession sent Max into a whole new level of rage. They were supposed to be working together on this. 'You can't… WHY?!'

'Because I promised your mother I would look after you. I won't make you do anything you really don't want to, but I won't see you starve yourself,' Akira finally responded, flickers of melancholy permeating through her voice. She had already lost Vanessa… and so many others. Max would be different.

'Akira, I… thank you… But I don't think I can… ya know…' Max hesitated, hoping that she would understand.

'I'll keep my promise, Max, to you and your mother, but you have to keep your strength.' Using logical reason, hopefully she could convince Max. Provoking her wouldn't help matters.

Max hesitantly took a step towards her kill, swallowing hard as her stomach grumbled loudly. Again, she could feel something pressing her forward. Knowing what, or better who it was this time, she relaxed as best she could, allowing Akira to guide her. She felt her teeth cut through the fur and skin of the dead rabbit, tearing away a slab of streaming flesh. Her first instinct was to wince away, but Akira was there to give her a gentle nudge and she let her wolf side take over. She found that she didn't have to really think about it and shortly after starting, there was little of the rabbit left say for a bit of fur and a few bones.

'Thanks,' Max thought as she rubbed her snout in a small patch of grass to clean off what blood she couldn't reach with her tongue.

'You're welcome. Feel better?'

Max lay down on the grass stretching out, enjoying a warm full belly. 'I do. I'm just gonna rest for a bit while things settle down.'

Akira chuckled lightly. 'Just like your mother. You think you'll be ok doing this now?' Max thought about it for a moment. Providing she didn't think about it, it honestly wasn't so bad, taste-wise at least. Thinking about a fluffy bunny though was still hard for her. She briefly thought about rats but Akira was quick to interject. 'I strongly recommend against that. For one, there's not much meat on them. You'd need half a dozen just to equal a small rabbit. Another reason, they taste AWFUL. Take my word on that.'

Let's hope it wasn't related to Alice.