Together
Women of the Otherworld Fanfiction
Singingfrogs
No copyright infringement intended
Riley was flagging; Her eyes were tired and struggled to focus on the microscope slide that was shining brightly under the light while her nose trembled as her sense was bombarded with the unappealing aroma of death and completely ignored it. The young Doctor knew that she must have completed the autopsy no more than an hour ago and so far she had yet to find anything of significance and to make matters worse she really needed a run. She hadn't changed into her animal counterpart since she had been at Stonehaven and considering she was reaching her eighth day she could feel her skin itching, her leg unconsciously twitched and her much needed vision kept shifting from human to wolf.
It was in that moment that she knew she needed to complete a task she had been trying to avoid. Miss Randclyffe held three remarkably visible, memorable and deeply disturbing marks on her back. Three scratches that whenever Riley looked to them her mind was plagued by disturbing images from a time in her past that she wished to forget. The young Doctor just removed herself from the stall she had occupied and paced towards the box of latex gloves, making sure that her laboratory coat was clasped tightly around her middle to prevent from damaging her clothes. She flexed her fingers into the gloves, picked up a scalpel and headed towards the victim.
She hesitated; never once in her years of medical service did she falter in such a manner, but as she prepared to gain a sample to study her mind was distracted. It had been her on a Doctor's table, her screams of agony begging the Doctors to stop inflicting such tremendous pain; it had been her unashamed tears streaming from her eyes as she withered and convulsed as her body struggled to fight whatever was coursing through her blood stream. It could have very easily been her lying on an autopsy table, she could have been the one who had died but by some miracle she had been saved. Maybe the wolf within her had provided her with the strength a human didn't have, or perhaps it was Riley's strong will in surviving her attack that had seen her recuperation. Nevertheless, her scars were a painful reminder of a time she wished to never remember. She never told anyone the real story concerning her scratches and it was this deformity that caused her confidence to dwindle and never let anyone close. Well, Riley knew that this was one of a few reasons but in her mind it was one of the biggest.
She dug the metal scalpel into the victims back, not even flinching at the invasion before her attention was suddenly caught. The glass door to the lab was slowly opened and as Riley lifted her attention to the interruption she could see Nick holding open the door to Elena, the pair of them grimacing as the sudden bombardment of rotting flesh overwhelmed their noses. Riley couldn't help the smile from engulfing her lips as she took in her friends blanching; it seems years of exposure had made her immune.
"Though I'm grateful for the visit, why are you guys here?" Riley asked as she went about studying her cadaver. Elena, who was still holding onto her nose just grimaced again as she observed Riley's actions before she looked over her shoulder to see Nick's uneasy expression as he noticed Riley cutting away a section of dead flesh.
"Jeremy was getting worried." Elena managed to say, almost heaving under the poignant smell that had been caused by the cutting, removing and studying of the dead woman's skin, organs and body. "Apparently you've been here since three."
"What's the time now?" Riley asked as she balanced the dead tissue on her scalpel before dropping it into a sterile dish that was housed next to other scientific equipment that in Nicky's opinion looked like something he would find in the Saw movies.
"Just coming up to half past nine." Nick voiced as he gazed down towards his watch. "You missed dinner." He finished, a small half smile on his lips as Riley lifted her eyes to balk towards him.
"Reason for Jeremy to be a little concerned. He hates the idea of you being involved in the investigation anyway; even if he knows that it's the best place for you to be." Elena inputted as Riley meandered towards her slide preparation area.
"I've yet to find any evidence that this is a wolf kill." Riley voiced as she reached for a flat, rectangular piece of soda lime glass, her attention somewhat caught as she delicately placed her tissue sample to the slide. "But then, I've not found anything to say this was the work of a serial killer either." The Doctor finished as she removed her gloves to replace them with a clean pair.
"What is it that you have found? Anything that would help us?" Nick questioned, his interest in the subject obviously spiking as he watched Riley reach for a pipette of immersion oil that she placed onto the centre of the slide.
"The victim received a hefty wound to the back of her head which resulted in a section of her skull to come apart. From my investigation I've come to the conclusion that her head injury was the cause of death." Riley answered as she positioned her sample using a set of tweezers.
"And the scratches had nothing to do with it?" Elena voiced with a frown.
"From the blood samples and the previous tissue samples I have taken I now know that the scratches were completed post-mortem."
"You mean they were done after she had died?" Elena asked again as Riley held the slide at an angle and placed one side of the cover slip against the slide making sure the slip had come into contact with the outer edge of the liquid drop.
"That's right." Riley answered, as she made sure she hadn't got any air bubbles on her slide.
"And you have no idea if it was a Mutt?" Nick stated, scratching the back of his head as he struggled to make sense of Riley's information. Riley just smiled and nodded her head as she removed the excess water with a paper towel.
"Normally if it was a wolf, or a werewolf in animal form you tend to find strands or clumps of fur. I haven't found anything. But then they could've been in human form and was wearing gloves but Mutt's can't fight the temptation to bite their victims. We have also noticed a correlation between werewolf kills and Necrophilia. There were no traces of sexual assault or semen deposits." Riley finished, her tone business like as she dealt with what would be a horrific situation with a professionalism that the circumstances demanded of her. Nick however just looked down at his feet as the realisation of the situation engulfed him while Elena could not stop from shuffling uncomfortably. The young Doctor however readjusted her position and started to study the slide she had just prepared and what she saw only confirmed a theory she had speculated for many years; but then this realization didn't stop her from being surprised. "She's been poisoned."
"Come again?" Nick spluttered, his eyes blinking as he shot Elena a sceptical look.
"You ever heard of Komodo dragons?" Riley asked as she spun around to face her companions. "It was thought that their mouths were teaming with bacteria but in 2009 a group of American scientists discovered this lizard had a venomous bite. After one has bitten you, a Komodo will track you for hours just waiting for this venom to slowly eat away at your nervous system until you can no longer defend yourself, and then it will devour you alive."
"You mean she was scratched by a dragon?" Elena solicited, her eyes flashing back towards the victim's body as she tried to understand what Riley was describing to her. No wonder she chose to be a journalist and not a scientist.
"No, but this poison is very similar but way more efficient." Riley expressed, professionally turning back to her slide to confirm her theory as she took in the shapes of the cells and the intruding venom particles perfectly preserved on her microscope slide. "I've never seen anything like this before but the shape and size is very similar to poisons collected from other reptiles. I would like to send this off for testing but this is the only thing that could led us to whoever is responsible."
"So the poison killed her?" Nick inquired, his confusion still visibly shining on his countenance as Riley removed the slide from underneath the lens and went about conserving the sample so she would be able to study it when she was back at Stonehaven.
"I stand by what I said earlier as it was the blow to the back of her head that killed her. I can only assume that the creature that killed her scratched her to leave us a message."
"Or a threat." Elena retorted which was answered by Riley nodding her head.
"So what are you going to say to the police?" Nick inquired, "After all, you can't say you found her to be poisoned."
"Luckily the Doctor who completed the other autopsies didn't do a tox screen or investigate the possibility of poison so I can just say the scratches was the signature and the skull fracture was the cause of death."
"You came up with this lie very easily you know." Nick retorted with a smile, a smile that was rewarded with one.
"You're not the first one to say that to me." Riley started. "Besides, I'm saying a half truth with evidence to back them up. I doubt the police will be after anymore evidence considering this never really happens in Bear Valley." Riley enthused openly as Elena answered her ringing phone and allowed Riley time to pack away her things and collect her belongings.
However, as Nick picked up Riley's bag he did not fail to miss her unconscious scratching at her arm. The werewolf just snuck a peak behind his shoulder to see Elena's attention solely focused to her conversation on her phone that he turned his attention directly back towards Riley who was standing remarkably close to him considering she was collecting her other bag of medical supplies.
"You need to change." Was all Nick whispered and as he took in Riley's astonished expression he couldn't help but flash her a comforting smile as she thought back to the last time she had changed.
Like most pack wolves Riley knew she needed to change at least once a week or her animal side would force it's way out. This meant that even though she had complete control over her change she was still on a schedule, a timetable that she had ignored during her stay at Stonehaven. Part of her knew it was because they had been forbidden to run in the forests at Stonehaven by their alpha due to the trigger-happy hunters that were stalking through the trees, but then deep down she was just making excuses. As soon as she let her wolf be free, as soon as she ran liberally through the familiar and welcoming forests of Stonehaven and as soon as she resided in the feeling of happiness it overshadowed everything bad that had happened there. It would be that moment that everything that was there, Nick, the ability to run, none of it would be worth it if she felt so unworthy and unwanted.
But she could already feel the restlessness; the itchiness of her skin and Riley knew that her muscles would soon start to ache. She would have to change in a day or so considering the last time she had shifted was when she tracked the creature in England about eight days ago.
"I'm fine, just a little apprehensive." Riley said with a half awkward smile.
"I'm not stupid Riley, when was your last change?"
"About eight days ago."
"Eight…." Nick balked before a stern expression clouded his features. "You shouldn't leave it so long."
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Riley whispered angrily "I got over here so quick I didn't have time to shift back home and then when I've been at Stonehaven Jeremy has banned our running."
"That's not the point, you can't push the change or it will finally overtake you. God forbid you shift in front of the police."
"I'll talk to Jeremy. I just don't want to run with Clay."
"Understandable considering he was very rude to you last night."
0-0-0
The moonlight was reduced mere glimmers as the branches of the dense forest prevented the accessible amounts of light to illuminate the snow-covered driveway of Stonehaven. Only a minute before her eyes were able to detect the moonbeams, now her eyes were comfortably following the road underneath the tires of Antonio's Mercedes before the heavy snowfall from the night before completely engulfed the back roads that consisted of their route back home.
However, to her astonishment she could see the Sherriff's automobile parked to the side, the large canopy of trees looming over the vehicle. Nick just shared an uneasy look with his close companion before he followed Elena's path and parked next to the Explorer on the other side of the driveway.
As she evacuated the vehicle the cold night air was suddenly biting at her skin, the ground crusty as the snow began to freeze. For once, the elegant and rather foreboding picturesque of the wintery forest around her placed an eerie moodlet onto the young Doctor. Riley simply pulled her sleeves over her hands as she headed towards the backseat, carefully observing where she placed her feet as she heaved at the handle of one of her medical bags.
She had only been outside for a few moments but the frosty mist that was bellowing around her feet caused the biting chill to freeze Riley further, her breaths coming out as cold vapour as she cradled her cold hands closer to her chest. She gave Nick a small smile as he too removed one of her bags, his cheeks stinging with pink before his free hand wrapped around her shoulders and he guided her into the main foyer of Stonehaven. But, as the three of them moved through the open doors of Stonehaven the raised voices of a frustrated Sherriff Peterson made Elena shove an anxious glance behind her.
"All of these victims look almost identical to Doctor Thompson and the bodies started turning up right on your doorstep." The Sherriff mocked as he spoke to a calm Jeremy as if he was a toddler. "Has she got any enemies, anyone who might want to hurt her?"
"Riley very rarely stays here at Stonehaven. The last time she was here was over a year ago and the time before that was another six months. There has always been months between her visits. She does not stay long enough to warrant this kind of attention." Jeremy replied calmly but with a tone of voice that warned the Sherriff of his underlying anger.
"And in England? Is she involved in any illicit activities and someone is trying to send her a message?"
"She's a Doctor, a healer, what kind of activities do you think she could be involved in?" Antonio scoffed in disbelief. "She doesn't go around prescribing the wrong treatment just for the fun of it!"
"But what about your son Mr Sorrentino, is their any chance this could be aimed at him?" The Deputy questioned, his face hard and presumptuous as the lawmen went about accusing Nick once again considering he distrusted him the last time they met.
"What are you implying?"
"What I am implying, sir, is that your son is incredibly close to the lady in question, maybe someone is threatening your son by murdering women who look like Doctor Thompson or he is the one killing these woman to make sure she finally notices him."
"Well, why don't you ask him yourself?" Antonio growled as he cocked his head in the direction of the three newest arrivals as they headed to the archway that led towards the main living area. In that moment Peterson suddenly became sheepish and nervous as he looked towards Riley, knowing that he had just been throwing accusations about her when she had been completing a job for him. The young Doctor just frowned towards Jeremy who urged her to answer any of the questions asked of her.
"Ask me what?" Nick asked as his attention was fluttered between his father, his alpha and the Deputy who was still frowning suspiciously up towards Nick who in return was glaring down towards him.
"Nothing." Peterson retorted before he turned his cold glare towards Riley. "Did you get anything from the autopsy?" He forced as he hurried Riley for an answer.
"There was no evidence left by a Wolf, but then there was no evidence of a human killer either. I left the report with your secretary." Riley managed to stammer before she frowned at Peterson's unusual firm nod of the head before he muttered his goodbyes and rushed out into the cold night air. Riley simply watched him leave before she turned back towards her pack. "What in blazes was that all about?"
"He's just digging for answers." Antonio mused as he stepped to the side to allow the rest of his pack into the room and towards a seat. Riley however did not fail to notice Karl quickly coming to sit next to her as Nick answered his ringing phone.
"Was what you said to the Sherriff true about not finding anything?" Clayton asked as he plonked himself next to his wife and firmly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Riley just shook her head as she looked towards Jeremy.
"Nothing that would point to a wolf kill. I did find a poison that I've never seen before." Riley voiced as she reached into her bag and pulled out the microscope slide that she had preserved. She handed it over to Jeremy and watched as her alpha lifted the slide towards the light to get a better view of the shape and size of the poison toxins. The young Doctor knew that Jeremy was about the only one educated enough in medicine to understand what his eyes were seeing considering he had been the Pack doctor long before she arrived.
"And you didn't say any of this in your report to the Sherriff?" Clay questioned as he fluttered his eyes between his father and then back towards Riley who was firmly shaking her head.
"No, I thought it best to leave that part out. I'm hoping that this poison will be something we can use to identify this creature or find out who maybe responsible." Riley expressed before she lifted her eyes towards Nick who was walking back into the room with a frown on his face, his eyes distant as if lost in thought. It seemed whoever had been on the phone had provided him with some discomfort, or it was the mysterious caller who didn't ever say anything.
"And you guided the police in the direction of a serial killer and not a wolf kill." Jeremy probed as he handed the slide back to the young Doctor.
"Yes, I also managed to sway the police investigation away from you guys so hopefully the police won't be bothering you as much."
"Good." Jeremy started. "But, while you were away I sent Clay, Marsten and Antonio to the church to see if the police had missed anything and surprisingly they had."
"What did they miss?" Nick voiced as he perched himself to the arm of his fathers chair.
"A set of inhuman and un-wolf like footprints." Marsten expressed as he folded his leg across the other. "Footprints that were leading comfortably into the forest behind the chapel so that is the best place for us to start looking."
"Are we going tonight?" Elena interrupted as she looked up at Jeremy.
Jeremy shook his head "Not tonight, there is another expected snowstorm tonight which will hide any moonlight we will need. So I plan on tracking tomorrow morning and each of us will be involved." Jeremy explained. "So rest up, we have a busy day tomorrow." Jeremy finished before resting his hand on Riley's shoulder before he moved from the room and one by one each of the pack members followed.
0-0-0
Nick wasn't taking no for an answer. Not even after Riley had argued her point about changing tomorrow, so that was how she found herself in Stonehaven's forests at ten o'clock at night. However, as she walked through the compact thicket of the forest Riley couldn't stop the itchiness of her arms from spreading down to her legs. Her limbs were aching and as she curled her toes within the confines of her boots, this action was unable to alleviate the itching, and as usual, the sensation only got worse. The Doctor could see Nick walking a few steps in front of her, his taller form gliding past the snow cladded leaves of ferns and other bushes with ease, but as her extremities started to burn she couldn't help but monitor the sensation in her arms and legs. She had gone as far as her body would allow, the final warning burning up and across her shoulders as her scalp started to burn and itch.
Riley wasn't surprised when Nick looked over his shoulder to see the apprehension shining in her eyes; she didn't have to say anything, just shot him a look and he knew. She had walked as far as she could without loosing control. The young man simply reached for her hand, his long fingers curling around her palm as he squeezed it in comfort before he parted and clamoured his way through the underbrush to find a place to change. Riley just watched after him, her heart yearning for his comfort before she headed in the opposite direction to find her own clearing to shift.
It didn't take her long to find a spot and quickly removed her clothing. The next step was getting down on all fours which was completed in time considering she could feel her skin stretching, the burning sensation sparking into a roaring flame deep within her being. She tried to calm herself but she could not prevent the cry of agony from tumbling out of her lips as she grimaced in torture, as she felt like she was being seared alive. She puffed out the cold night air, to calm her withering body as she tried to allow her body to undergo something that came so naturally to her; but as she concentrated on her shift she failed to notice her screaming body to stop thinking so human. Her muscles were convulsing and knotting, her skin was stretching and then shrinking, and her bones were snapping and protruding her body in impossible ways.
Sweat was trickling down her icy skin, her muscles finally untwisting into position as Riley continued with her change. Next came the most painful part of her change that had her screaming like an infant; this stage was vital and it was also the phase of her shift that terrified her most. This was the point where anything could happen and it was also the segment that provided most of the problems. This was the part when her body finally shifted. Her skin was prickling and her fur sprouted, the pain was riddling her body and she could not stop her fingers from curling into the dirt as she grunted and mumbled to herself, refusing and unable to reverse the process.
Riley toppled sideway as the pain overwhelmed her, a hideous screech squeezing from her vocal chords as they changed from human to wolf. The change finally took over and she convulsed and spasmed in pain. She could not stop the twisting and withering of her body before the pain dissipated without a lingering ache. Riley just lay on her side, panting as she recovered from her ordeal before she slowly dragged her feet under her and heaved her now animal body onto its paws.
As Riley took in her environment, her world was turned into a world of muted colours that she had been unable to detect as a human. She could see blacks and browns with the hint of blue, green and red. It was in that moment that she lifted her nose, her wolf ears pressing to the back of her head as her already sensitive senses became sharper and more prominent. She could smell the delicious scent of juvenile rabbits grazing and digging through the snow no more than a mile away, she could smell Nick's comforting aroma spiralling through the bushes surrounding her, and she could smell the welcoming redolence of a forest she had yearned to run in.
Her heart was tripping within her chest, her ears swivelling, muscles tense as she had an urge to run; but she stayed still. She cautiously lifted one of her paws and rested it out in front of her before her other front paw joined. She dropped her weight onto her hind paws, her tail curling over her back as she leant back and yipped quite happily when she felt the clicking and stretching of her back.
However, Riley's adapted eyesight could see the muzzle of a dark chocolate, all brown nose of a wolf she would never forget. A contented whine erupted from her lips as she welcomed Nick into her clearing. Nick stalked forward, his brown eyes sparkling with untrained excitement as he snorted his welcome; the freezing air around them caused their breath to turn into visible vapour. Riley just lolled her tongue between her large canine teeth in a welcoming smile, inviting Nick closer who prowled towards her and rubbed his muzzle against Riley. Nick's wolfish eyes taking in her beautiful markings, committing every mark to memory as he rubbed his flank against hers.
His companion was a hundred-pound wolf with white fur on her paws and stomach that slowly moved into fur of light orange. The only part of her that remained where her eyes, sparkling with a cold intelligence and simmering ferocity that could never be mistaken for anything but human.
Riley returned Nick's nuzzling by sweeping her body past his before she pressed the top of her head under his lower mandible; a dim part of her mind knowing that their behaviour resembled bonded animals, but she didn't care. She was with the one 'man' she couldn't bare to be apart from and she just basked in his company and attentions.
However, as she pulled apart she cautiously headed from her clearing, her nose twitching and her mouth held open as she tasted the cold winter air. She was just about to move onto the path and pass her companion when Nick surprised her. He twisted sideways and lunged towards her, grabbing her hind leg within his jaws and yanked it from underneath her. Before she could even retaliate Nick was upon her, rolling the pair of them through the thicket, neither of them caring about the animals scampering out of their way and neither of them taking notice of the scents and objects left by the intruding hunters on their land. All that mattered was each other, each of them finally enjoying the company of their wolfish mate with whom they had been parted from for so long.
They rolled down a frozen path, teeth chapping against fur, claws scratching against skin and barking like playing wolves. However, before Riley could even counteract Nick's actions she felt her back being shoved to the frozen ground with Nick firmly on top of her with his paws propelled to where her shoulders would have been had she been in human form.
She growled at him and with as much dignity that she lifted herself back onto her feet. Her companion just stood back and watched, his much larger frame towering over her form as his eyes laughed as she shook the freezing snow from her dense course hairs. Nick's small bark pulled Riley's attention back to him, his body tense, ears intently listening as he twitched his nose and smelt the air. He forced his muzzle to Riley's flank, urging her to do the same and as she did, the familiar smell of deer radiated around her olfactory senses.
Nevertheless, they didn't bolt right away. It may have seemed strange that two very large dogs stopped and considered attacking a large deer. Many people thought wolves were more vicious compared to their prey, but the slash of a Stag's antlers could cut open an un-expecting wolf and a hoof could easily crack the skull. There was actually a fifteen-inch scar that ran down Nick's left side where his flank has been sliced open by a deer.
Yet, had they been running with their pack, both of them would have been more than happy to follow the orders of their elders. Whether that was from Jeremy or Clay and Elena who were the alpha pair. But they were running together which meant it was an open canvas considering both of them held the same rank. Nick and Riley were also more than happy to listen to the other considering they shared a very similar temperament when it came to giving and complying with orders.
Riley just fluttered her ear once again. Her hearing was possibly her best sense and as she listened to the forest the sound of grazing animal's bombarded her mind. The young wolf simply turned her attention to the east, her hearing picking up on the chewing of a deer that was confirmed by its scent. It seemed that a lone Stag had wondered away from its herd and was ambling through the forest. Riley scoffed at their luck considering that when they hunted deer they usually had to separate the Stag from its females. Tonight it had done that job for them. Nick just turned his attention down towards her, his emotions shining in his eyes as if to say 'you ready?" Riley just snorted her reply before Nick headed to the left and she headed right to get down wind of their prey.
It took her less than ten minutes to follow the Stag's trail and before long she was stalking through the underbrush with her stomach rubbing against the floor and waited for the opportune moment. She momentarily held her breath when she recognised the Stag's behaviour; the majestic animal lifted its hoof, his head angled high in the air as if he sensed her there. Less than a millisecond later he went about feeding and provided Riley with possibly her only chance. She crouched, her forepaws out in front of her before she wiggled her bottom in the air and sprang.
Riley inwardly cursed when the Stag bolted. Deep down she knew that this was part of the plan, but as she finally felt her paws landing on the ground she now had to try and reduce the distance that had been created between her and her prey. Even sprinting at her highest speed she would struggle to keep up with the Stag; after all he was an animal built to run at speed. Wolves on the other hand were not designed to sprint and dealt better running over long distances so her only option was to run the Stag into exhaustion.
They must have only been running for a few minutes and the pair of them were already tiring; the Stag was snorting and panting, while she wheezed and stumbled having already expended a great deal of energy from the initial tumbling around with her pack mate. But, instead of getting lost in her memories that heavy aroma of Nick washed over her mind, encouraging the young wolf onwards and she trailed behind the hide of the Stag. They bolted through the foliage, the emaciated branches of trees scratched at her coat and the flank of the deer, the pair of them slipped and slided against the icy path while the obstructions slowed their pace. The Stag however leapt over a fallen tree and quickly bolted around the corner, unaware of Nick leaping from the high ground and locked his jaw around its nose.
Riley shoved her paws to the icy ground, scrambling for a footing as her paws seemed to fall from underneath her. She skidded for a few meters, her paws entangling before she was able to regain the correct rhythm. The squeals of the panicked stag reverberated around the pair of them; a noise that only spurred them on and Riley was surprised at Nick's resilience considering he was being flung like a rag doll. The young wolf, however inexperienced she was when it came to hunting deer barrelled into the fray, lunging towards the belly of the beast and sank her teeth into its stomach. She locked her jaw and she felt her large canines ripping through the flesh of her prey as it withered and recoiled from his attackers.
They were completing an ancient technique, a ploy that had been handed down from alpha to alpha and father's teaching their sons how to hunt. Bite the face of your prey and it would always be to preoccupied to understand or register the more deadly attack that was occurring down under. Riley knew now just how successful this technique was. Riley had to suddenly readjust her hold as the Stag bolted to the right to try and shake her. Unfortunately for the deer it didn't work. She locked her jaws once again and this time tore an even bigger hole into its skin. The warm blood was trickling down her throat as her small size meant her hind limbs were dancing underneath her as she struggled to keep her balance.
Before either of them could even consider what was happening the Stag's front legs staggered from underneath him allowing Nick all the time he needed to reposition his dangerous jaws and tore out it's throat. Once the deer had finally stopped convulsing, Riley took a cautious step back as if to say 'go ahead, you take the first bite." But instead she just felt Nick sliding up her flank, his fur shuddering at her touch as the adrenaline coursing through his body spiralled through his veins. Riley barked in response before she fell to her knees and tore into the animal's side. The pair of them began to feast, tearing off chunks of meat and gulping them whole.
Once they had finished Riley simply walked towards a clearing and looked over her shoulder towards Nick who was licking his lips of the last remnants of his meal. Riley invited him to sit with her and he collapsed at her side, shifting ever closer so he was able to lift and rest his paw around her neck and started to lick her muzzle. She closed her eyes as she felt him cleaning her bloodied fur, enjoying the sensation before they switched roles and she started to remove the blood from his matted fur. Once they had finished grooming Riley curled up against Nick's side, ignoring his comforting look and drifted off to sleep in a huddle of intertwined limbs and different colour fur.